וַ/יִּשְׁמַ֣ע

𐤅/𐤉𐤔𐤌𐤏

vayishema

and heard

a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.); [idiom] attentively, call (gather) together, [idiom] carefully, [idiom] certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, [idiom] diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), [idiom] indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim(-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, [idiom] surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.

H8085

Genesis 21:17 · Word #1

Lexicon H8085

Lemmaשָׁמַע
Lemma (Paleo)𐤔𐤌𐤏
Transliterationshâmaʻ
Strong'sH8085
In-contextand heard

Morphology HC/Vqw3ms All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan q — Qal — Simple active
Conjugation w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H8085-121

and he heard

Rootשמע (sh-m-ʿ)
Core Meaningshearing, listening, attentiveness, obedience, responsiveness
Semantic Rangeto hear, listen, pay attention, heed, obey, understand, receive news, respond to a call, grant a request
Conceptual Significanceשׁמע is central in biblical theology, expressing not mere auditory perception but covenantal responsiveness. It underlies the Shema (Deut 6:4), where hearing implies loyal obedience to YHWH, making the act of hearing a relational and covenantal posture.
Morphological NotesVerb in the Qal stem, wayyiqtol (vav-consecutive imperfect) form, 3rd person masculine singular; used for sequential past narrative action.
Rendering RationaleThe form is Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular, indicating a narrative past action: "and he heard." The rendering preserves the core idea of attentive hearing inherent in שׁמע, which often carries the sense of responsive listening that can imply obedience.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root שמע (hearing, listening, attentiveness, obedience, responsiveness)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H8085-02 ashemia I will cause to hear
H8085-03 ashemiakha I will cause you to hear
H8052-01 bashemuah at the heard-report

Word Usage (1165 occurrences of H8085)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 3:8 וַֽ/יִּשְׁמְע֞וּ vayishemeu and they heard
Genesis 3:10 שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי shamaeti I heard
Genesis 3:17 שָׁמַעְתָּ֮ shamaeta you have listened