What Does Genesis 27:8 Mean?
Now then, my son, hear and respond to my voice, just as I command you.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.THE KEY
The verse’s “obey” is שְׁמַע (shemaʿ, hear and respond): the Hebrew word holds listening and response together.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you where a close voice carries a direct request: “my son” makes the bond personal, while “I command thee” makes the demand unmistakable. The hearing named here is more than receiving sound; it includes responding to the voice.
THE ROOT
שְׁמַע
shemaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
To hear, listen, or heed.
The imperative שְׁמַע (shemaʿ, hear and respond) comes from שמע (sh-m-ʿ, hear or listen). English gives the response; the Hebrew word also holds the hearing that leads into it, so the command is voiced, received, and answered as one movement.
ALSO GROWS
shomeaʿ: A hearer or listener.
שׁוֹמֵעַ
This branch keeps the act of hearing visible inside the idea of obedience.
shemuʿah: A report or news, something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
A voice becomes something received and carried onward, showing how hearing can move beyond sound into response.
THE PATTERN
Scripture presents hearing as responsive: a voice is received in a way that shapes what follows.
Hear and respond, O Israel. The LORD our God is one LORD.My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.But be makers of the word, and not hearers only, miscounting yourselves.THE THREAD
And in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have heard and responded to my voice."“Obeyed” here and “obey” in Genesis 27:8 come from the same Hebrew root, and both are joined to “my voice.” The shared wording makes hearing and responding one movement in the verse.
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