שָׁמַע
to hear
also: listen to, obey fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘subj. pers. hum.’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be heard’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘of man’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem.
Form
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
25 verses where H8085 appears in the Qal stem in the Book of Joshua. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Joshua
- Joshua 1:17 שָׁמַ֨עְנוּ֙ נִשְׁמַ֣ע Qal pf 1cp Qal impf 1cp According as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you: only Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
- Joshua 1:18 יִשְׁמַ֧ע Qal impf 3ms Whoever he be who shall rebel against your commandment, and shall not listen to your words in all that you command him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of good courage.
- Joshua 2:10 שָׁמַ֗עְנוּ Qal pf 1cp For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
- Joshua 2:11 וַ/נִּשְׁמַע֙ conj + Qal wimpf 1cp As soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
- Joshua 3:9 וְ/שִׁמְע֕וּ conj + Qal impv 2mp Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of Yahweh your God.
- Joshua 5:1 כִ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ prep + Qal inf.cs It happened, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
- Joshua 5:6 שָׁמְע֖וּ Qal pf 3cp For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, even the men of war who came forth out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh: to whom Yahweh swore that he wouldn't let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Joshua 6:5 ב/שמע/כם כְּ/שָׁמְעֲ/כֶם֙ prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 2mp prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 2mp It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.
- Joshua 6:20 כִ/שְׁמֹ֨עַ prep + Qal inf.cs So the people shouted, and [the priests] blew the trumpets; and it happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
- Joshua 7:9 וְ/יִשְׁמְע֣וּ conj + Qal impf 3mp For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what will you do for your great name?
- Joshua 9:1 כִ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ prep + Qal inf.cs It happened, when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore of the great sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard of it;
- Joshua 9:3 שָׁמְע֗וּ Qal pf 3cp But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
- Joshua 9:9 שָׁמַ֣עְנוּ Qal pf 1cp They said to him, From a very far country your servants are come because of the name of Yahweh your God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
- Joshua 9:16 וַֽ/יִּשְׁמְע֗וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp It happened at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they lived among them.
- Joshua 10:1 כִ/שְׁמֹ֨עַ prep + Qal inf.cs Now it happened, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
- Joshua 10:14 לִ/שְׁמֹ֥עַ prep + Qal inf.cs There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man: for Yahweh fought for Israel.
- Joshua 11:1 כִּ/שְׁמֹ֖עַ prep + Qal inf.cs It happened, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
- Joshua 14:12 שָׁמַעְתָּ֩ Qal pf 2ms Now therefore give me this hill-country, of which Yahweh spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and cities great and fortified: it may be that Yahweh will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as Yahweh spoke.
- Joshua 22:2 וַ/תִּשְׁמְע֣וּ conj + Qal wimpf 2mp and said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you:
- Joshua 22:11 וַ/יִּשְׁמְע֥וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp The children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertains to the children of Israel.
- Joshua 22:12 וַֽ/יִּשְׁמְע֖וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
- Joshua 22:30 וַ/יִּשְׁמַ֞ע conj + Qal wimpf 3ms When Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.
- Joshua 24:10 לִ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ prep + Qal inf.cs but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
- Joshua 24:24 נִשְׁמָֽע Qal impf 1cp The people said to Joshua, Yahweh our God will we serve, and to his voice will we listen.
- Joshua 24:27 שָׁמְעָ֗ה Qal pf 3fs Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which he spoke to us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
שמע (shâmaʻ) is a Hebrew word most often rendered “to hear.” Translators differ — “hear” in the King James Version, then “listen” (unfoldingWord Literal Text), as the renderings breakdown shows. It turns up in 1,072 verses across 39 books, one of the most common footprint. It first appears in Genesis 3:8. It also covers “listen to” and “obey”, alongside “to hear” — see its full sense range. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H8085 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 1,072
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 1,072 distinct verses.
- 39 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #32
- by frequency
- Top 50 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 32 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 1,072 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Jeremiah 168 verses 16%
- Isaiah 95 verses 9%
- Deuteronomy 82 verses 8%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 1,072 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 583 verses · 54%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 267 verses · 25%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 222 verses · 21%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Hear 202×, Heard 142×, Hearken 58×
- American Standard Version†: Hear 173×, Heard 114×, Hearken 48×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Hear 169×, Listen 167×, Heard 114×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Listen 189×, Hear 182×, Heard 163×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H8085 across 1,160† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 264 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H8085 across 1,157† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 300 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H8085 across 1,133† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 202 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 26 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H8085 across 1,441† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 145 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
41 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 41 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
שמע I hear (NH id.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. שׁ׳ Gn 24:52 +, שָׁמֵ֑עַ Je 36:13 + 3 times; 2 fs. שָׁמַעַתְּ 1 K 1:11 + 2 times; 3 pl. שָׁמֵ֑עוּ Ju 2:17 + 12 times; Impf. 3 ms. יִשְׁמַע Ex 6:30 +, 1 s. cohort. אֶשִׁמְעָה Nu 9:8, וָאֶשְׁמֳעָה (on—ֳ cf. Ges§ 10 h; Ol § 65 c. qu. reading) Dn 8:13; 2 mpl. תִּשְׁמְע֔וּן Dt 8:20 +, תִּשְׁמָע֔וּן Dt 1:17, etc.; Imv. ms. שְׁמַע Am 7:16 +, שִׁמְעָה Jb 32:10 + (especially ψψ), שְׁמָ֮עָה֮ Dn 9:19; fpl. שְׁמַ֫עְנָה Is 32:9; Je 9:19, שְׁמַ֫עַן Gn 4:23 (Ges§ 46 f), etc.; Inf. abs. שָׁמוֹעַ Is 6:9 +; cstr. שְׁמֹעַ 1 S 15:22 +; sf. שָׁמְעוֹ Dt 29:18 +, שָׁמְעָתוֹ Is 30:19 (Ges§ 45 d), etc.; Pt. שֹׁמֵעַ Gn 42:23 +; f. שֹׁמַ֫עַת Gn 18:10 +, etc.;— e.g. Genesis 24:52
- 1. subj. pers. hum. (vel rei personif.):
- a. hear (perceive by ear), acc. rei, especially קוֹל Gn 3:10 (J) + 46 times, דבר(ים) Am 8:11 + 50 times, etc.; acc. חָכְמָה i.e. wise sayings 1 K 5:14 + 4 times; any utterance or sound (c. 150 times) + (obj. om.) Dt 4:33 + 32 times + (cl. temp.) 1 S 14:27 + 6 times; c. ב 1 S 14:6, שׁ׳ בְּסוֹד י׳ Jb 15:8; 26:14; 37:2; c. obj. cl., כִּי Ex 4:31 + 52 times + Is 39:1b (read כִּי שׁ׳ 𝔊 𝔖 ‖ 2 K 20:12), אֶת־אֲשֶׁר Jos 2:10; 5:1 (both RD),—ֹֹמַה־ Ju 7:11 + 3 times; without connect. שׁ׳ אֹתָהּ עָשִׂיתִי †2 K 19:25 = Is 37:26; sq. orat. rect. †Is 40:28; Zc 8:23. e.g. Genesis 3:10
- b. acc. pers. + מְדַבֵּר hear one speaking Gn 27:6 (J), Je 26:7; Dn 8:13, so בֹּכֶה Nu 11:10 (J), נִבָּא Je 20:1, מְקַלְלֶ֑ךָ Ec 7:21; occas. pers. om., דֹּבְרִים Gn 37:17 (JE), אֶת־מִדַּבֵּר Ez 2:2; 43:6 (v. דבר Hithp.); acc. pers. only Dn 12:7. e.g. Genesis 27:6
- c. c. לֵאמֹר only, hear say = hear it said, 1 S 13:4; 2 S 19:3; Dt 13:13; Jos 22:11 (P), 1 K 16:16; + עַל pers. concerning Gn 41:15 (E), Is 37:9; אֶל pers. id. 2 K 19:9. e.g. 1 Samuel 13:4
- d. hear of, concerning: (1) acc. rei, אֵת (כָּל־)אֲשֶׁר Ex 18:1; 2 K 19:11 + 5 times, דבר(ים) 1 S 3:11 + 4 times, רָעָה Je 19:3 + 5 times, etc.; כַּאֲשֶׁר 1 S 23:11 ψ 48:9, כָּזֹאת Is 66:8 hear of anything like this, כָּאֵלֶּה Je 18:13; acc., etc., om. Ju 9:46 + 43 times; (2) less often acc. pers. Jb 42:5, אֶל pers. Ez 19:4, pers. om. Dt 9:2; c. ב pers. hear exultantly of their fate †ψ 92:12 (prob. imitated from ‖ הִבִּיט בְּ v a; v. especially ראה 8 a (6)). e.g. Exodus 18:1
- e. hear, abs., = have power to hear, 2 S 19:36 (c. בְּקוֹל), Is 21:3; 32:3; Pr 20:12; Zc 7:11; in sim. ψ 38:15; c. neg. of idols Dt 4:28 ψ 115:6; fig. (spiritual power) Je 5:21; Dt 29:3; Ez 12:2; Is 42:20.—Pr 21:28 is probably corrupt, v. Toy. e.g. 2 Samuel 19:36
- f. hear with attention, interest, listen to (sometimes ‖ הֶאֱזִין, הִקְשִׁיב), acc. דבר(ים) (54 times) Am 4:1 +, especially דבר(י) י׳ Nu 12:6 (JE) + 45 times; אִמְרָה Is 28:23, קוֹל v 23, זֹאת Mi 3:9, etc.; often abs. Ju 5:3 + 57 times, + (neg.) ψ 38:14 pay no attention; abs. לֵב שֹׁמֵעַ 1 K 3:9, אִישׁ שֹׁמֵעַ Pr 21:28. e.g. Amos 4:1
- g. understand (language), שָׂפָה Gn 11:7 (J), Is 33:19, לָשׁוֹן Dt 28:49, דְּבָרִים Ez 3:6, מַה־יְּדַבֵּר Je 5:15, no acc. Gn 42:23 (E), 2 K 18:26 = Is 36:11. e.g. Genesis 11:7
- h. specif. of hearing a (judicial) case, דָּבָר Dt 1:17, cf. v 17; acc. om. בֵּין pers. v 16, of י׳ Ju 11:10; c. מִשְׁפָּט 1 K 3:11; לִשׁ׳ הַטּוֹב וְהָרֵע 2 S 14:17, וְשֹׁמֵע אֵין לְךָ 15:3, cf. Jb 31:35. e.g. Deuteronomy 1:17
- i. c. acc. pers. in polite address, hear us (me)! Gn 23:6, 8, 11, 13, 15 (all P), 1 Ch 28:2; 2 Ch 13:4; 15:2; 20:20. e.g. Genesis 23:6
- j. listen, give heed (sometimes ‖ הִקְשִׁיב), abs., Gn 42:21 (E) + 18 times, + (usually ‖ הִטָּה אֹזֶן), Je 7:13 + 14 times Je, + (opp. חָדַל) Ez 2:5 + 3 times Ez; + שִׂים עַל־לֵב Mal 2:2; hear + do Dt 5:24; 2 K 18:12, etc.; = consent, agree, Gn 37:27 (J), grant request Ju 11:17; c. ל pers. (mostly late) Ju 19:25; 1 S 30:24; Jb 15:17 + 16 times, לי׳ Ho 9:17; Lv 26:14, 18, 21, 27; לְדִבְרֵי י׳ 1 S 15:1, לְעֵצָה Pr 12:15. k. c. אֶל pers. + listen to, yield to Gn 49:2; Ju 2:17 + 69 times (אֶל־י׳ 15 times, especially Je 7:26 + 10 times Je), עַל pers. 2 K 20:13; אֶל־דִּבְרֵי etc., Dt 18:19; Je 29:19 + 14 times, עַל־דִּבְרֵי etc., 2 K 22:13 + 3 times; very rarely acc. rei 1 S 24:10 (Gi v 9). l. שׁ׳ לְקוֹל = id., obey, Gn 3:17 (J) + 11 times + (לְקוֹל י׳) Ju 2:20; Ex 15:26 (JE). m. very often, שׁ׳ בְּקוֹל = obey 1 S 8:7 + 25 times, + שׁ׳ בְּקוֹל י׳ (י׳’s word, etc.) Dt 4:30; Je 3:13 + 65 times (Dt 18 times, Je 18 times). n. obey, c. acc. דבר(ים) Jos 1:18 + 2 times + (ד׳ י׳) Je 11:3 + 5 times Je, 1 K 12:24 = 2 Ch 11:4, etc.; acc. pers. Ex 6:12 (P), 2 Ch 28:11. o. abs. be obedient (especially to י׳) Is 1:19; Mi 5:14; Je 12:17 + 4 times Je + 7 times. e.g. Genesis 42:21
- 2. י׳ (God) subj.:
- a. acc. קוֹל, דברים, etc., Gn 21:17 (E), 2 K 19:4(×2), 16, usually with favour implied Nu 20:16; Dt 33:7 +, so especially acc. תְּפִלָּה, תְּחִנָּה, etc., 1 K 8:45 ψ 6:10 +. e.g. Genesis 21:17
- b. obj. cl. כִּי Gn 29:33 (J). e.g. Genesis 29:33
- c. no obj. (32 times) Is 59:2; Je 22:21, usually hear and forgive, help, etc., 1 K 8:30, 32; Is 30:19 +; hear and be angry ψ 78:59, cf. 55:20. e.g. Isaiah 59:2
- d. = be able to hear Is 59:1 ψ 94:9. e.g. Isaiah 59:1
- e. שׁ׳ בְּקוֹל = hear (and grant) Gn 30:6 (J) + 6 times. e.g. Genesis 30:6
- f. hear and answer, c. אֶל of cry, etc., Gn 21:17; 16:11 1 K 8:28 + 8 times; c. אֶל pers. Dt 3:26 + 12 times. e.g. Genesis 21:17
- g. c. לְ of utterance Je 18:19 ψ 61:6; ל pers. Jos 24:10 (E). e.g. Jeremiah 18:19
- h. hear, acc. pers. + מִתְנוֹדֵד Je 31:18; favourably, c. acc. pers. Mi 7:7 + 3 times, so, + ל concerning, Gn 17:20 (P); obj. om. 2 K 22:19 ψ 22:25 + 3 times + ψ 34:7, 18 (hear and deliver); c. cl. temp. Je 11:14. e.g. Jeremiah 31:18
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נִשְׁמַע Gn 45:16 +, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִשָּׁמַע Ex 23:13 +, יִשָּׁמֵ֑עַ 1 S 1:13, etc.; Inf. cstr. הִשָּׁמַע Est 2:8; Pt. f. נִשְׁמַ֫עַת Je 51:46, etc.;— e.g. Genesis 45:16
- 1. be heard, of voice, sound, etc., 1 S 1:13; 1 K 6:7; Jb 26:14 (or 1 pl. Qal Impf.?); of a report, נִשׁ׳ … לֵאמֹר Gn 45:16 (E); subj. cl., כִּי, Ne 6:1 (ל pers.), cf. cl. וְהַיְהוּדִים חשְׁבִים Ne 6:6; v 7 be reported, (לַמֶּלֶךְ) כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה; be heard, לִפְנֵי אֱלֹהֶיךָ Dn 10:12. e.g. 1 Samuel 1:13
- 2. be heard of, כָּמֹהוּ Dt 4:32. e.g. Deuteronomy 4:32
- 3. be regarded, obeyed, Ec 9:17; in 2 S 22:45 = ψ 18:45 it is be obedient (לִי), si vera l. (read perhaps Qal, cf. Now). e.g. Ecclesiastes 9:17
- 4. וַיִּשּׁ׳ בְּקוֹלָם 2 Ch 30:27 = (favourable) hearing was granted to their voice. e.g. 2 Chronicles 30:27
Piel
- Impf. 3 ms. וַיְשַׁמַּע 1 S 15:4 he caused the people (acc.) to hear (and respond, i.e. he assembled them), so 23:8 (v. Hiph. 1 d). e.g. 1 Samuel 15:4
Hiphil
- Pf. 3 ms. הִשְׁמִיעַ 1 K 15:22 +, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. sf. יַשְׁמִעֵנִי Dt 30:12, 13; 2 ms. juss. תַּשְׁמַע Ju 18:25, etc.; Imv. ms. sf. הַשְׁמִיעֵנִי ψ 143:8; fs. sf. הַשְׁמִיעִנִי Ct 2:14; 8:13, etc.; Inf. cstr. לַשְׁמִעַ ψ 26:7 (Ges§ 53q); Pt. מַשְׁמִיעַ Je 4:15 +, etc.;— e.g. 1 Kings 15:22
- 1. of man:
- a. cause to hear, acc. pers. + rei Dt 30:12, 13; Ct 2:14; 8:13 + 4 times; obj. rei om. (= make proclamation to) 1 K 15:22; obj. pers. om. Je 5:20 +; acc. שָׁלוֹם †Is 52:7; Na 2:1 i.e. proclaim peace; אָוֶן †Je 4:15 (מִן loc.); הַשׁ׳ קוֹל utter a sound Jos 6:10 (J; ‖ הֵרִיעַ), cf. Ju 18:25 (קוֹלְךָ, + עִמָּנוּ), Is 42:2; 58:4; הִשׁ׳ קוֹל תְּהִלָּתוֹ †ψ 66:8, בְּקוֹל תּוֹדָה †26:7. e.g. Deuteronomy 30:12
- b. abs. as musical term, sound aloud, בִּמְצִלְתַּיִם לְהַשְׁמִיעַ 1 Ch 15:19 (perhaps to mark the time, Gr ψ 67 De: cf. 16:5; also ψ 150:5 בְּצִלְצְלֵי שָׁ֑מַע), מַשְׁמִיעִים 15:16, 28; 16:42, לְהַשׁ׳ קוֹל אֶחָד 2 Ch 5:13 i.e. prob. in unison (PrinceEB iii. 3241), Ne 12:42. e.g. 1 Chronicles 15:19
- c. abs. make proclamation (often ‖ הִגִּיד), Am 3:9; 4:5; Is 41:26; Je 4:5 + 6 times Je. e.g. Amos 3:9
- d. הַשְׁמִיעוּ, acc. pers. + אֶל loc. = summon Je 50:29, עַל loc. 51:27 (cf. Pi.). e.g. Jeremiah 50:29
- 2. י׳ subj.:
- a. cause to hear, acc. pers. et rei Dt 4:10, 36 (מִן loc.), 2 K 7:6 + 4 times; acc. pers. om. Is 30:30 + 3 times; acc. rei om. 44:8; 48:5. e.g. Deuteronomy 4:10
- b. = tell, acc. pers. + כָּזֹאת Ju 13:23; acc. pers. only, Is 42:9; acc. rei only, 48:3; Ez 36:15 (אֵלַיִךְ). e.g. Judges 13:23
- c. abs., make proclamation Is 43:12; 62:11 (אֶל loc.). e.g. Isaiah 43:12
שמע II [m.] sound
שמע III m. usually Σαμα(α), Σεμαα (cf. Sab. n.pr. סמע Hal509)
- 1. in Judah 1 Ch 2:44, שָׁ֑מַע v 43. e.g. 1 Chronicles 2:44
- 2. in Reuben 5:8. e.g. 1 Chronicles 5:8
- 3. in Benj. 8:13 (= שִׁמְעִי v 21). e.g. 1 Chronicles 8:13
- 4. post-ex. Ne 8:4, Σαμαιας. e.g. Nehemiah 8:4
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. hear (NH id.; Ph. שמע Lzb378; Assyrian šemǔ; Arabic سَمِعَ; Sab. סמע, mostly in deriv., especially epith. div. סמע he who hears HomChr 124 FellZMG iiv (1900), 250, 252 DHMHofmus. No. 10, l. 1; Ethiopic ሰምዐ Aramaic שְׁמַע, ܫܡܰܥ, Old Aramaic שמע Lzb 378; cf. also משמעת MI 28 obedience);—
II. n.pr.m. usually Σαμα(α), Σεμαα (cf. Sab. n.pr. סמע Hal509);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
שָׁמַע
- (b. h.) [to be still,] to hear, listen, obey; to understand. R. Hash. IV, 2 כל עיר … ושׁוֹמַעַת וכ׳ every township near Jerusalem from where you can see (the city) and hear (the Shofar) &c. Ib. 21ᵇ עד שיִשְׁמְעוּ … מקודש until they heard from the mouth of the court m’ḳuddash (v. קָרַשׁ). Snh. 90ᵃ שְׁמַע לו listen to him (obey the prophet’s command); אל תִּשְׁמַע לו listen not to him. Keth. 5ᵇ אם יִשְׁמַע וכ׳ if a man hears an improper word &c., v. שָׁפָה II. Ber. 13ᵃ the text (Deut. VI, 4) says ‘hear’ (or ‘understand’), בכל לשון שאתה שׁוֹמֵעַ recite the Sh’mʿa in whatever language you understand. R. Hash. III, 7 אם קול שופר ש׳ if he heard the sound of a Shofar; ואם קול הברה ש׳, v. הֲבָרָה. Y. Hor. I, 46ᵃ top נותנין לו שהות עד שׁיִשְׁמַע we allow him time enough that he may have heard (the decision of the other court), opp. to עד שישמע (not שישפע) (he is not guilty) until he has really heard it; a. v. fr. e.g. Deuteronomy 6:4
- 1. to cause to hear; to announce. Ber. l. c. הַשְׁמַע לאזניך וכ׳ let thy ears hear what thou utterest &c. Ib. לא ה׳ לאזנו if he read the Sh’inʿa inaudibly to himself. R. Hash. 28ᵇ עד שיתכוין שומע ומַשְׁמִיעַ until he that hears (the Shofar) and he that causes to hear (that blows) have the intention to perform a religious act. Shek. I, 1 מַשְׁמִיעִין על השקלים וכ׳ (Y. ed. מְשַׁמְּעִין, Pi.) public announcement is made concerning the contribution of the half-Shekels &c.; a. fr.
- 2. (sub. עצמו) to show one’s self obedient, be persuaded, surrender, v. Nif.
- 1. to announce, v. supra. Y. Shek. I, beg. 45ᶜ; Y. Meg. I, 71ᵃ.
- 2. to assemble for mourning services, invite. Snh. 47ᵃ הלינו לכבודו לשַׁמֵּעַ עליו וכ׳ if burial is postponed for the honor of the dead, to assemble the surrounding townships for his funeral, to bring on lamenting women &c.
- 1. to be heard; to be listened to, be obeyed. Ber. 6ᵃ אין תפלה … נִשְׁמַעַת וכ׳ man’s prayer is heard only in the house of prayer. Y. ib. V, end, 9ᵇ שׁנִשְׁמְעָה תפלתו that his prayer will be heard (his petition be granted). Erub. 18ᵇ כל בית שׁנִשְׁמָעִין וכ׳ a house in which the words of the Law are heard by night will never be destroyed. Yeb. 65ᵇ כשם … דבר הנִשְׁמָע וכ׳ as well as it is proper to say a thing that has been heard (to mention one’s authority), so it is proper not to say a thing that has not been heard (for which you cannot cite your authority); a. fr.
- 2. to show one’s self willing; to submit to authority; (of woman) to surrender. R. Hash. 25ᵇ אשרי הדור שהגדולים נִשְׁמָעִים וכ׳ blessed the generation in which the superiors (in wisdom) submit to the authority of their inferiors, and how much more when inferiors acknowledge the authority of their superiors!—Snh. 82ᵃ הִשָּׁמְעִי לי (ed. הַשְׁמִיעִי לי) surrender thyself to me; לא תִשָּׁמְעִי אלא וכ׳ surrender thyself only to a prominent man among them; Sifré Num. 131; ib. רצונך שׁאֶשָּׁמַע לך הנזר וכ׳ if thou desirest me to surrender myself to thee, renounce the law of Moses; Yalk. ib. 771. Y. Succ. V, 55ᵇ top נִשְׁמָעוֹת … לליגיונותי וכ׳ if you will surrender to my legions, I will not put you to death. Snh. 93ᵃ הַשְׁמִיעִי אל וכ׳ surrender thyself to Zedekiah; a. fr.
שְׁמַע I
- Targ. Gen. XXVII, 5. Targ. Ex. XVIII, 1. Targ. Job IV, 16; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. שְׁמִיעַ; f. שְׁמִיעָא. Targ. Ps. XXIX, 3, sq. Targ. II Chr. VII, 12; a. fr.—Y. Ter. X, 47ᵇ bot. אנא מה דשַׁמְעִית ואינון מה דשַׁמְעוּן I report what I have heard, and they, what they have heard. Sabb. 46ᵇ הא שַׁמְעִינָן ליה לר"ש וכ׳ have we not heard what R. S. says &c.? Y. Sot. VII, beg. 21ᵇ, v. אֲלִנִיסְטִי; a. v. fr.—שמיע ל־ he has heard, he knows of. Erub. 9ᵇ ור"י מי לא ש׳ ליה הא but has R. J. not heard that (does he not know that Boraitha of R. Ḥiya)? ש׳ ליה ולא סבר (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l.) he knows of it, but does not accept it. Ib. 10ᵃ, a. fr. לא ש׳ לי הא שמעתתא this tradition is not known to me. Pes. 34ᵃ מידי ש׳ לך בהא do you know anything about this (hălakhah)?; a. v. fr.—Esp. שמע מ־ to understand from, to infer, prove. Ab. Zar. 72ᵇ, a. fr. ש׳ מינה וכ׳ (abbrev. ש"מ) deduce from this that &c. Ib. שַׁמְעַת מינה וכ׳ wilt thou conclude from this that &c.? Ib., a. fr. אלא מהא ליכא למִשְׁמַע מינה but (the conclusion is,) you can derive nothing from this.—Ib., a. fr. תא שמע (abbrev. ת"ש; v. אֲתָא) come and learn, i.e. derive it from the following. Sabb. 13ᵇ ת"ש … ש"מ ואלו תנן ש"מ I will prove it (from this Tosefta): ‘you must not …, and those are some of the halakhoth &c.’, which proves that the right version is ‘and those’: it stands proved. Y. M. Kat. III, 83ᵃ top נִישְׁמְעִינָהּ מן הדא let us prove it from this; a. v. fr.
- 1. to make music; to sing, v. Af.
- שַׁמְּעָא) to minister to, be an attendant of. Ber. 41ᵇ מאן … ונְשַׁמְּעִינָךְ would that we had iron feet, that we could always wait on thee! Meg. 28ᵇ ניחא לי דאֲשַׁמְּעֵיה למר (Ms. M. דאשתמש ליה למר, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l.) it gives me pleasure to be your servant; a. e.
- 1. to cause to hear, cause to be heard, announce, proclaim. Targ. Deut. IV, 36. Targ. Is. LII, 7. Targ. Ps. XXVI, 7; a. fr.—Esp. (interch. with Pa.) to make music, play; to be a musician. Targ. I Sam. XXIX, 5 (Ms. Pa.). Targ. I Chr. XV, 16. Ib. XVI, 42 מַשְׁמְעַיָּא ed. Lag. (ed. Rahmer משמעייאה, Var. מַשְׁמְעַיָּה; h. text מַשְׁמִיעִים) musicians. Targ. Ps. CL, 5 דמְשַׁמְּעִין לבדוחא Ms. (ed. Lag. דמשמעין בלחודיהון; ed. Wil. a. oth. דשמעין בלחודיהון, corr. acc.). Ib. דמַשְׁ׳ ביבבא (Ms. Pa.).
- 2. to give to understand; to teach, prove. Ber. 2ᵃ מילתא … קא מַשְׁמַע לן וכ׳ (the Tannai in using such an expression) wants to teach us something by the way: when do the priests eat &c.; והא קמשמע לן וכ׳ (abbrev. קמ"ל) and it is this he teaches us, that the sacrifice of atonement is not indispensable &c. Ib. 4ᵇ לאפוקי … קמ"ל דחובה in opposition to the opinion that the evening prayer is optional, he gives us to understand that it is obligatory. Sabb. 19ᵃ מהו דתימא … קמ"ל you may have thought (that the cases are different, because) this devolves upon him, and the other does not, therefore he teaches us (that they are the same). Ib. 108ᵃ מאי קמ"ל what does he teach us (is it not a matter of course)? Ber. 21ᵃ sq. דאי אַשְׁמְעִינָן וכ׳, v. צְרִיךְ; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. מַשְׁמֵע a) understood. Yeb. 102ᵇ מ׳ הכי ומ׳ הכי it may be understood thus (it may mean, ‘to take off’), and may be understood thus (it may mean, ‘to strengthen’); a. fr.—2) inferred, proved; evidence. Sabb. 84ᵇ מאי מ׳ how is this proved (from the verse quoted)? Erub. 65ᵃ מאי מ׳ וכ׳ what evidence is there &c.?, v. פּוּק. Ib. מַשְׁמְעֵי, v. infra; a. fr.—V. מַשְׁמָע.
- 1. to be heard, let one’s self be heard. Targ. Gen. XLV, 16. Targ. Job XXXVII, 4 Ms. (ed. ישמע). Targ. Ps. LXXVII, 19; a. fr.—Snh. 95ᵇ (prov.) אגב אורחך … א׳ on thy road let thy enemy hear from thee, i.e. take revenge when occasion offers. R. Hash. 27ᵃ תרתי … לא מִשְׁתַּמְּעֵי … משתמעי two different sounds produced simultaneously by the same person are not distinctly perceived, but if produced by two persons, they are. Erub. l. c. מכדי קראי מִשְׁתַּמְּעֵי בין למר וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. משמעי, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) since verses may be quoted in favor of the one as well as of the other, what is the practical difference between them?; a. fr.
- 2. to make one’s self subservient, obey; to surrender to the enemy, desert. Targ. II Kings XXV, 11 (h. text נפלו). Ib. VII, 4. Targ. Ps. XVIII, 45; II Sam. XXII, 45; a. fr. e.g. 2 Samuel 22:45
שְׁמַע II
- (v. Deut. VI, 4) Sh’mʿa, the confession of faith in the morning and evening prayers (recitation of Deut. VI, 4-9; XI, 13-21; Num. XVI, 37-41). Targ. Y. I Num. XXV, 6. Targ. II Esth. III, 8.—Ber. I, 1 מאימתי קורין את ש׳ וכ׳ from what time of the day may we read the Sh’mʿa of the evening prayer? Ib. II, 2 (13ᵃ) למה קדמה (פרשת) ש׳ וכ׳ why does the reading of the section of Sh’mʿa (Deut. VI, 4–9) precede that of v’hayah (ib. XI, 13-21) Ib. בין שניה לש׳ ובין ש׳ וכ׳ between the second benediction and Sh’mʿa (the first section), and between Sh’mʿa and v’hayah &c.; a. fr.—קריאת ש׳ (abbr. ק"ש), v. קְרִיאָה. Ib. 2ᵃ ק"ש דשכיבה the recitation of Sh’mʿa at bed-time. Num. R. s. 2020 עומדין … וחוטפין ק"ש וכ׳ they rise from their sleep like lions, and hasten to read the Sh’mʿa, and proclaim the kingship of the Lord &c. Ib. והוא … בק"ש משומרי וכ׳ and with the recital of the Sh’mʿa he is handed over from the guards of the day to those of the night. Ber. 4ᵇ אע"פ שקרא אדם ק"ש וכ׳ although one has read the Sh. in synagogue, it is proper to recite it again on going to bed. Ib. 5ᵃ אם … ואם לאו יקרא ק"ש if he conquers it (the evil thought), it is well, and if not, let him read the Sh.; a. v. fr. e.g. Deuteronomy 6:4
שֵׁמַע
- 1. report, fame. Deut. R. s. 1, end היו … שומעים שִׁמְעֲכֶם וכ׳ the nations heard of your fame and were afraid; a. e.
- 2. = מִשְׁמָע understanding, meaning. Sifré Num. 142 (ref. to Num. XXVIII, 3) כשִׁמְעוֹ וכ׳ (trad. pronunc. כִּשְׁמָעוֹ) according to its literal meaning, two each day. e.g. Numbers 28:3
שֵׁמַע ²
- , report, fame. Targ. Gen. XXIX, 13. Targ. Ps. XVIII, 45; II Sam. XXII, 45 ed. Lag. (oth. שְׁמוֹעַ, שְׁמוּעַ). Targ. Josh. VI, 27 שִׁמְעֵיה (some ed. שָׁמְ׳); a. e. e.g. 2 Samuel 22:45
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 535 distinct written forms H8085 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 475 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H8085, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- השמעות hashmâʻûwth H2045 report
- משמע mishmâʻ H4926 rumor
- שמע shᵉmaʻ H8086 to hear
- שמע shêmaʻ H8088 hearing
- שמע shômaʻ H8089 report
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- אשתמע ʼEshtᵉmôaʻ H851 Eshtemoh
- ישמעאל Yishmâʻêʼl H3458 Ishmael
- ישמעיה Yishmaʻyâh H3460 Ishmaiah
- שמואל Shᵉmûwʼêl H8050 Samuel
- שמע Shâmâʻ H8091 Shama
- שמעון Shimʻôwn H8095 Simeon
- שמעיה Shᵉmaʻyâh H8098 Shemaiah
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 13 — not the complete family. 7 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 990 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 1,072 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 3:8
- Exodus 2:15
- Leviticus 5:1
- Numbers 7:89
- Deuteronomy 1:16
- Joshua 1:17
- Judges 2:2
- Ruth 1:6
- 1 Samuel 1:13
- 2 Samuel 3:28
- 1 Kings 1:11
- 2 Kings 3:21
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
