Shema #65

Shema is the imperative form of the Hebrew verb shama, “to hear.” The verb has a wider range than its English counterpart: it means to listen with attention and to respond, so that hearing and obeying are often the same act. The word also names the passage that begins with it, Deuteronomy 6:4, which became Israel’s basic statement of faith.

Biblical Usage

The Shema proper opens with “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4), and continues with the command to love the LORD with all the heart, soul, and might (verse 5). The words are to be kept in the heart, taught diligently to children, spoken in the home and on the road, bound on the hand and forehead, and written on the doorposts and gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Jewish practice has taken the last instructions literally, in the tefillin worn during prayer and the mezuzah on the doorpost, and recites the passage morning and evening.

Elsewhere the verb shows the link between hearing and obeying. At Sinai the people answer that all the LORD has said they will do and “be obedient” (Exodus 24:7), a phrase built on shama. When young Samuel hears God calling in the night, he is told to answer, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9-10). Samuel later tells Saul that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22), again using shama. In the Gospels, Jesus quotes the Shema when asked which is the first commandment (Mark 12:29-30).

Theological Significance

The Hebrew of Deuteronomy 6:4 can be translated in more than one way: “the LORD our God, the LORD is one,” “the LORD is our God, the LORD alone,” or “the LORD our God is one LORD.” These differences bear on whether the verse stresses the unity of God, his exclusive claim on Israel, or both. Jewish tradition has treated the Shema as the core declaration of monotheism, and Christian tradition reads it as the basis of the greatest commandment, with debate over how it bears on the doctrine of the Trinity. In either tradition, the verb shama teaches that hearing God’s word is meant to lead to action.