HEBREW WORD STUDY – LISTEN AND OBEY – SHAMA’ שמע Shin Mem Ayin
Genesis 21:12: “And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”
This is a very curious passage, at least for those who think women should keep silent in the church, they should not teach men and all those other things that could be translated differently if not for the influence of certain segments of our church culture.
God did not say directly to Abraham to send Hagar and Ishamel away, nor did God say, “Well, actually your wife is right I think it might be a good idea to do what she is saying.” What God basically said was: “Listen to Sarah.” It is not that she just stumbled on God’s plan but she knew God’s plan. She understood God plan better than Abraham.
Rashi, the great Jewish commentator calls her a prophetess and perhaps she was although Scripture doesn’t directly call her a prophetess. Still, this is clearly an example of a woman outranking her husband. We have God on her side correcting Abraham.
Note how this is worded in the Hebrew. “in all that Sarah hath said to you harken unto her voice.” That word all in Hebrew is kol which means all and all means he is to listen to every word Sarah is speaking. On top of that the word listen is shama’ which means to listen and obey. We hear so much about women being told to listen to their husbands and obey their husbands, but here we have an example of the opposite coming right from God, “listen and obey your wife.”
In prior studies I shared where Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:22 “Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing.” So is that what it means, just good, not excellent, or superior, just simply good, ok or adequate? The word good in Hebrew is tov which means to be in harmony. Just finding a wife is not what will bring favor to God. It is a wife who will bring one into tov, in harmony with God. God created adam – a human but He did not call it good until he created both male and female and then he called it very good.
This is a good description of Sarah, she was by Abraham’s side and always working as a help meet, not help mate but a help meet, someone who helped Abraham meet God. Genesis 21:12 is a good example of a wife performing the duties for which she was created and Abraham shama’(ing) it, listening and obeying.
Paul talks of the wife as the weaker vessel which in the Aramaic is mekhel which comes from a Phoenician word for the outrigging’s on a ship. Checking Google I found that the outriggings of a ship are what is used to keep the vessel stabilized. What Paul was saying is that a wife was not weak but was the stabilizing influence in a relationship.
I believe it is a lie of the enemy that has been passed down for centuries that women were second class, must keep silent in the church and that the husband has the final word in God’s plan for the family. Yes, it is dangerous to let woman speak, teach or even preach in the church, but it is dangerous for the enemy for she has been called by God to be the one to help man understand and meet God to be a stabilizing influence in his life. For her to keep quiet as many churches do and you are losing your stabilizing influence in the church.
When Eisenhower was planning the Normandy Invasion during World War II, he did not go off alone and draw up the plans. He gathered the brightest and most experienced military minds the Allies had and listened closely to their advice. He, of course, had to make the final decision but he did not do it without considering the input of the mekhel the stabilizing influences. Abraham made the final decision, but God reminded him not to do it until he listened and obeyed the voice of the mekhel the stabilizing influence.
Abraham shama’ listened to his wife. Shama’ is spelled Shin which represents passion and love, Mem which represents the revealed knowledge of God and Ayin which speaks of spiritual insight. Abraham listened to a wife who loved him and revealed the knowledge of God to him giving him spiritual insight.
Thank you Everyone for your kind and insightful comments. We read and appreciate each and every one of them! Blessings, Chaim & Laura
I recently discovered you and your site, and I love love love this!.. So appreciate all of these! Thank you!!
One question though; you mentioned Shin in Hebrew represents passion and love, but i have heard from other Hebrew scholars that Shin is a picture is teeth- and represents destroy, destruction?
Very insightful. This would be the first time of me hearing this taught like this. Thank you very much! Please keep sharing! God Bless you!
Beautiful, thank you for your messages, and for being bold enough to speak what you are receiving and not just what the “standard” say. Yesterday’s comment about Balaam and his donkey- I was laughing so hard I about fell off my chair. My husband and I both receive your daily studies and are signed up for your membership site. We encourage on another and discuss your latest. We aren’t interacting as much as we should online- but in our budget cuts this is our investment not something that we see as a cost. Thank you both!!
I appreciate the insight but this is not a law for ALL husbands to obey EVERYTHING their wives say. That would contradict at least 3 other directives on both the old and new covenant.
Paul says woman was made for man, not the other way around.
Their has to be an order of authority for function. In this case, Abraham is STILL obeying God first, by following His directive to listen (and obey) Sarah.
This culture has completely stripped men of their role as leaders of their home and lied that most men men are insecure tyrants. In fact, the FBI shows that in 2016 it was women who were the majority of culprits in domestic violence cases. Neither sex has a monopoly on virtue or insight.
Yes, men need to understand that there is no designation (or superiority) of their gender in God’s eyes or in heaven. Husbands certainly need to understand the “help meet” function to be a source of insight and advisement placed with them by God.
But as an example of Christ and His Bride (We are told) I’d hate for some to take from your lesson that women are right, or to be obeyed, in all things rather than BOTH being led by the Spirit of God.
I really needed to hear this this morning. Thank you so much.