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For Him Who Has Ears to Hear

The phrase 'for him who has ears, let him listen' occurs frequently in the New Testament (Mat 11.15; 13;9 ... Rev 2.7... ). You will hear scholars say it is a Hebraism, but where is it from in the Old Testament? In Hebrew the phrase is actually in the negative:

אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יַאֲזִינוּ 

'They have ears but do not listen.' Psalm 135.17

cf. Ezekiel 12.2*

 אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם לִשְׁמֹעַ וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ

'They have ears to hear but do not hear', which is even closer to the NT version. It's important to know that in Hebrew 'to hear' also means 'to listen, pay attention, obey' in Hebrew. So this phrase could be translated, 'They have ears to hear but they do not listen/obey.'

In Exodus 15.26 we find the word 'to hear/listen' repeated for emphasis:

אִם־שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע לְקוֹל יְהוָה

'If to listen you listen to the voice of the LORD.' This means 'if you listen carefully' or 'if you listen and obey' to the voice of the LORD.

The warning is to Israel, who have God's word, but do not obey it, just as believers today sometimes have God's word, but carry on with their lives as if nothing has actually gone into their consciences. 


*A similar phrase occurs in Isaiah 43.8:

וְחֵרְשִׁים וְאָזְנַיִם לָמוֹ

'They have ears but are deaf'.



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  1. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 05:36

    Would be great to hear you say more about the link between these OT texts in Hebrew, and Jesus' meaning in the NT.

    ReplyDelete

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