To call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
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קָרָא (qārāʾ) means to call, call out, summon, name, proclaim, invite, read aloud, or cry for help. God calls created realities by name in Genesis 1, the human names animals, parents name children, messengers summon people, hosts invite guests, and public officials proclaim decisions.
Reader summary
Full entry for קָרָא (H7121) · Open the biblical lexicon
קָרָא (qārāʾ) means to call, call out, summon, name, proclaim, invite, read aloud, or cry for help. God calls created realities by name in Genesis 1, the human names animals, parents name children, messengers summon people, hosts invite guests, and public officials proclaim decisions.
The BSB source-word alignment has 733 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include called (40), summoned (30), . . . (22), call (21), and called (11).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (111), Isaiah (84), Jeremiah (63), Psalms (56).
This entry includes 10 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
קָרָא (qārāʾ) means to call, call out, summon, name, proclaim, invite, read aloud, or cry for help. God calls created realities by name in Genesis 1, the human names animals, parents name children, messengers summon people, hosts invite guests, and public officials proclaim decisions. Naming can describe identity, memory, reputation, or authority, but the verb does not make every imposed label just or permanent.
Calling on the Lord is a major prayer use. Genesis 4:26 and 12:8 speak of calling on the Lord's name, psalmists call from distress, Jeremiah 33:3 invites prayer, and Joel 2:32 promises deliverance to those who call on the Lord within its prophetic setting. God also calls people by name or to tasks, as in Exodus 3:4 and Isaiah 43:1. A narrated call can carry divine authority, but a modern person's claim to be called is not self-authenticating and must remain open to Scripture, character, community testing, competence, and safeguarding.
The verb also names proclamation and public reading. Leviticus 23 proclaims appointed assemblies, Isaiah 61 proclaims liberty, Jonah is sent to proclaim to Nineveh, and Nehemiah 8 reads Torah aloud with explanation so the people understand. Public reading is not mere performance: access, intelligibility, truthful interpretation, and response matter. H7121's broad range should not be collapsed into one doctrine of effectual calling or used to make every title, invitation, sermon, or cry carry the same force.
Qara covers naming, summoning, divine calling, prayer, invitation, proclamation, announcement, and public reading. Grammar and social setting determine who calls, whom or what is addressed, and with what authority.
God names day and night within the ordering of creation.
People begin to call on the name of the Lord, establishing a worship and prayer use.
God calls Moses by name from the bush before commissioning him.
Liberty is proclaimed in the land within the Jubilee legislation.
The Creator and Redeemer tells Israel not to fear because he has called the people by name.
The anointed speaker is commissioned to proclaim good news and liberty to afflicted and captive people.
The Lord invites Jeremiah to call and promises an answer within the prophet's confinement and restoration message.
Calling on the Lord's name is joined to deliverance within a day-of-the-Lord prophecy later cited in the New Testament.
Torah is read aloud clearly and explained so the gathered people can understand.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Foundational act of naming and summoning; establishes relationship, identity, and authority through vocal address.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 739 lexical occurrence verses.
קָרָא is built from this root:
Highlights intimate covenant belonging.Hosea 11:1-7
God’s initiating grace met with resistance.Isaiah 43:1-7
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Qara makes speech relational and accountable. God names creation, calls Moses, and addresses Israel by name; worshipers call on God in distress; prophets proclaim; restored communities read and explain Scripture publicly. The range prevents one word from becoming a badge of office. Saying “I am called” does not place a leader above evidence, training, consent, or correction.
Naming another person does not confer ownership over identity, and public proclamation does not become true through volume or platform. Nehemiah 8 offers a constructive model: Scripture is made audible and understandable to the gathered people. Churches should make reading accessible, distinguish text from interpretation, welcome questions, and protect those who report misuse of a claimed calling.
Neh.8.8
H7121 is a high-frequency verb whose objects and complements distinguish naming, calling to someone, summoning, inviting, proclaiming, reading aloud, and crying to God. It does not inherently encode salvation, vocation, or approval.
The New Testament develops calling, naming, proclamation, public reading, and prayer in relation to Jesus and the gospel. Those uses should be traced through citations and Greek grammar rather than projected onto every H7121 occurrence.