What does שָׁמַע · יִשְׂרָאֵל mean in the Bible?
שָׁמַע · יִשְׂרָאֵל is a Hebrew phrase meaning "Hear, O Israel — the covenant summoning address".
Hebrew · H8085, H3478
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל
To hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell , etc.) · he will rule as God ; Jisraël , a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
שָׁמַע H8085 to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell , etc.)
Pronunciation šāmaʿ
Hearing that demands obedience: listening as covenantal response, not mere acoustic perception.
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יִשְׂרָאֵל H3478 he will rule as God ; Jisraël , a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
What does שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל (Shema Yisrael) mean in the Bible?
שָׁמַע · יִשְׂרָאֵל is a Hebrew phrase meaning "Hear, O Israel — the covenant summoning address".
Full entry for שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל (H8085, H3478) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for H8085, H3478?
H8085, H3478 is connected to 3,672 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew phrase. Hear, O Israel — the covenant summoning address
Source Gloss
Hear, O Israel — the covenant summoning address
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 722
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 659×
Perfect 1Kgs 5:14 · 1Sam 13:4 · 1Sam 14:22 · 2Kgs 3:21 · 2Kgs 17:14 · 2Kgs 17:40 · 2Kgs 18:12 · 2Kgs 21:9 · 2Kgs 22:13 · 2Sam 18:5 · Esth 1:18 · Exod 6:9 · Exod 6:12 · Exod 15:14 · Exod 16:20 · Ezek 12:2 271×
Sequential imperfect 1Kgs 22:28 · 1Sam 22:7 · 2Chr 18:18 · 2Chr 18:27 · 2Kgs 7:1 · 2Kgs 18:28 · 2Sam 20:16 · Amos 3:1 · Amos 3:13 · Amos 4:1 · Amos 5:1 · Amos 8:4 · Ezek 6:3 · Ezek 13:2 · Ezek 18:25 · Ezek 25:3 157×
Imperfect 1Kgs 8:30 · 1Kgs 8:32 · 1Kgs 8:34 · 1Kgs 8:36 · 1Kgs 8:39 · 1Kgs 8:43 · 1Kgs 11:38 · 1Sam 24:10 · 2Chr 6:21 · 2Chr 6:23 · 2Chr 6:25 · 2Chr 6:27 · 2Chr 6:30 · 2Chr 6:33 · 2Sam 15:35 · Deut 13:4 141×
Participle active 1Kgs 3:9 · 1Kgs 10:1 · 1Sam 2:23 · 1Sam 2:24 · 1Sam 3:9 · 1Sam 3:10 · 1Sam 15:14 · 2Kgs 10:6 · 2Kgs 18:26 · 2Sam 20:17 · Deut 4:12 · Deut 21:18 · Deut 21:20 · Eccl 7:5 · Exod 32:18 · Ezek 13:19 48×
Infinitive absolute 1Sam 23:10 · Deut 1:16 · Deut 11:13 · Deut 15:5 · Deut 28:1 · Exod 15:26 · Exod 19:5 · Exod 22:22 · Exod 23:22 · Isa 6:9 · Isa 55:2 · Jer 17:24 · Jer 31:18 · Job 13:17 · Job 21:2 · Job 37:2 17×
Jussive 2Kgs 18:31 · 2Kgs 18:32 · Isa 36:16 · Jer 23:16 · Jer 27:9 · Jer 27:14 · Jer 27:16 · Jer 27:17 · Jer 29:8 · 1Kgs 20:8 · 1Sam 13:3 · 1Sam 26:19 12×
Infinitive construct 1Sam 15:22 · Dan 9:11 · Deut 17:12 · Isa 28:12 · Isa 30:9 · Jer 16:12 · Jer 17:23 · Jer 18:10 · Jer 19:15 · Jer 42:13 · Num 30:9 11×
Cohortative Jer 4:21 · Ps 85:9 2×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 34×
Perfect 1Kgs 6:7 · Eccl 12:13 · Ezek 10:5 · Ezra 3:13 · Gen 45:16 · Isa 15:4 · Jer 3:21 · Jer 8:16 · Jer 9:18 · Jer 38:27 · Jer 49:21 · Jer 50:46 · Neh 6:1 · Neh 6:6 · Song 2:12 · Dan 10:12 16×
Imperfect 1Sam 1:13 · Exod 23:13 · Ezek 19:9 · Ezek 26:13 · Isa 60:18 · Isa 65:19 · Jer 6:7 · Jer 33:10 · Job 37:4 · Nah 2:14 · Neh 6:7 · 2Sam 22:45 · Ps 18:45 · Jer 18:22 14×
Participle passive Eccl 9:16 · Eccl 9:17 · Jer 31:15 3×
Participle active Ps 19:4 1×
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 29×
Sequential imperfect Amos 3:9 · Amos 4:5 · Isa 48:20 · Jer 4:5 · Jer 4:16 · Jer 31:7 · Jer 50:2 · Jer 50:29 · Jer 51:27 9×
Participle active 1Chr 15:16 · 1Chr 15:28 · 1Chr 16:5 · Isa 41:26 · Isa 52:7 · Nah 2:1 7×
Perfect 1Kgs 15:22 · 2Kgs 7:6 · Isa 45:21 · Isa 62:11 · Jer 48:4 · Ps 76:9 6×
Imperfect Ezek 36:15 · Isa 42:9 · Isa 42:2 · Ps 106:2 · Josh 6:10 · Neh 8:15 6×
Jussive Judg 18:25 1×
Word Origins
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain