📖 Biblical Definition
"Hearken unto" is the KJV’s standard rendering of the Hebrew shamaʿ — to hear-and-obey. The Hebrew verb does not split listening from obeying as English often does; biblical hearing already implies the obedient response. The great Shema of Israel — "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4) — opens with the imperative of this verb. The prophets repeatedly cry: "Hearken to the voice of the LORD your God" (Jeremiah 26:13). To hearken is the saint’s first and continuing posture before the LORD’s word — not curating, not negotiating, not selectively engaging, but receiving with the readiness to obey. "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
KJV verb for hearing-and-obeying; biblical hearing implies response.
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Older English verb meaning to hear with attention, often with the implication of heeding or obeying. KJV's standard rendering of Hebrew shama (the verb of the Shema). The Hebrew refuses to split listening from obeying: to hear truly is to obey. The disobedient ear has not really heard. Hearkening is therefore not just attention but the active surrender of will.
📖 Key Scripture
Deuteronomy 6:4 — "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."
Isaiah 55:2-3 — "Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live."
1 Samuel 15:22 — "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern English splits hearing (passive) from obeying (active); Hebrew refuses the split.
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We speak of hearing without obeying as if they are independent. Hebrew shama refuses: to hear and not obey is not really to have heard. Modern translations sometimes lose the force; KJV's "hearken" preserves it.
Recover the unity: hearken means hear-and-obey. Half is not hearkening.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew shama.
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['Hebrew', 'H8085', 'shama', 'to hear, listen, obey']
Usage
"Hearken diligently unto me."
"Hearing without obeying is not hearkening."
"To obey is better than sacrifice."