What Does Genesis 27:8 Mean in the King James?
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
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.
“obey” in this verse is shemaʿ. 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, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed 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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