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