שְׁמַ֖ע (šə·maʿ) in Deuteronomy 6:4: Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
שְׁמַ֖ע (šə·maʿ) in Deuteronomy 6:4
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:4 links the English rendering "Hear" with שְׁמַ֖ע, Strong's H8085, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imp-ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes the verse begin with summons. Readers should hear Deuteronomy 6:4 as an address that calls Israel to responsive attention before the confession is spoken.
How To Communicate It
When teaching the Shema, use this form to explain why the opening word calls for covenantal listening rather than passive hearing.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not reduce hearing to mere sound perception in this verse.
- Do not make the imperative form prove claims that belong to the whole confession.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Qal
Imperative
Second
Masculine
Singular
Qal imperative, masculine singular
The imperative gives the line direct summons force: Israel is being called to listen with covenant attention.
This form opens the confession by commanding Israel to hear before the verse names the Lord as Israel's God.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Israel
The verb is the opening command of the verse and addresses Israel directly.
It summons Israel to covenantal hearing and response, so the Shema begins as direct address rather than as a detached slogan.
The imperative does not prove every later theological claim about the verse by itself. Context should guide interpretation and not be overridden by a grammar label.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The imperative opens the Shema as covenant address before the confession of the Lord's identity.
Qal imperative masculine singular addressed to Israel. calls Israel to attentive response before the confession is spoken. Attached to the opening Hear, O Israel summons. Governed by the covenant confession in Deuteronomy 6:4. The singular imperative addresses Israel corporately in context; the confession carries the central theological claim.
Is the opening word only information or a summons? It is a command calling Israel to covenantal hearing before the confession.
Direct: The imperative directly supports Hear as a summons.
The masculine singular form addresses Israel in the covenant setting and should not be overread as an individual-only command. Hearing includes responsive attention in this context, but that comes from Deuteronomy's covenant setting, not the grammar label alone. The imperative opens the confession; it does not by itself prove every theological claim in the Shema.
Imperative form alone proves the whole theology of the Shema: The imperative gives summons force; the confession that follows carries the central theological claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:4 links the English rendering "Hear" with שְׁמַ֖ע, Strong's H8085, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imp-ms.
H8085 can describe hearing, listening, attending, or obeying, depending on context.
The imperative form makes the word a direct summons to Israel at the head of the confession.
The verse calls Israel to listen before confessing the Lord's exclusive covenant identity.
Hearing in Deuteronomy regularly presses beyond sound toward covenant response to the Lord's word.
Teachers can show that the famous opening word is not merely an invitation to notice, but a command to listen with responsive attention.
Do not make the imperative alone carry the whole doctrine of monotheism. The confession that follows carries that claim.