אזן
Version Date: December 19, 2025
The meaning "ear" of the word אזן is well known and very common in the Scripture. This article considers instances in which אזן does not refer to the physical organ of hearing. The two cases considered here are:
In the context of listening, the word אזן "ear" can refer figuratively to the mind. In 2Ch 6:40, 7:15, Ne 1:6, 11, Ps 130:2, note that it is not the ear itself that is attentive, that pays attention, but one's mind can decide to listen and pay attention. Additionally, considering Jer 6:10, it is not that the hearing organ itself may be uncircumcised but that the mind of a person may be unable to handle spiritual truth, as stated also in De 29:4 (3) and Is 6:10. So, Is 50:4 mentions the Lord enabling the ear (that is, the mind) to hear spiritual truth. Some very obvious instances in which the ear denotes the mind are as follows. In Job 13:1, the ear has understanding. In Job 12:11, 34:3, it tests words, and in Pr 18:15, it searches the truth. Finally, in Job 29:11, it pronounces a blessing. As could be seen in the aforementioned references, both the singular and the plural of אזן can refer to the mind, the plural being used in De 29:4 (3), 2Ch 6:40, 7:15, Ps 130:2, and Is 6:10. It is interesting to note that in Jer 6:10 and Pr 18:15, though אזן is at the singular number, the translation to Greek uses the plural number. Notably, when an allusion to Jer 6:10 is made in Ac 7:51, the plural number is used. It could be inferred that in New Testament Greek, the fact that one ear was uncircumcised did not imply that the other was also, and since Jer 6:10 implied that both ears were uncircumcised, the plural was used in Greek. In fact, with only one exception, the plural is used in the New Testament when the word ους "ear" refers to the mind. The exception is the statement ο εχων ους ακουσατω "he who has an ear, let him hear"; it appears several times in Revelation (such as in Rev 2:29) and involves the singular form ους "ear." In this case, the singular number makes the point that if one has the ability to hear spiritual truth, then he should listen, even if his ability is not too good and could be compared to the hearing of one who is able to hear with only one ear.
The following is a list of the verses referenced above.
(De 29:4) (29:3) ולא נתן יהוה לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע עד היום הזה
(2Ch 6:40) עתה אלהי יהיו נא עיניך פתחות ואזניך קשבות לתפלת המקום הזה
(2Ch 7:15) עתה עיני יהיו פתחות ואזני קשבות לתפלת המקום הזה
(Ne 1:6) תהי נא אזנך קשבת ועיניך פתוחות לשמע אל תפלת עבדך אשר אנכי מתפלל לפניך היום יומם ולילה על בני ישראל עבדיך ומתודה על חטאות בני ישראל אשר חטאנו לך ואני ובית אבי חטאנו
(Ne 1:11) אנא אדני תהי נא אזנך קשבת אל תפלת עבדך ואל תפלת עבדיך החפצים ליראה את שמך והצליחה נא לעבדך היום ותנהו לרחמים לפני האיש הזה ואני הייתי משקה למלך
(Job 12:11) הלא אזן מלין תבחן וחך אכל יטעם לו
(Job 13:1) הן כל ראתה עיני שמעה אזני ותבן לה
(Job 29:11) כי אזן שמעה ותאשרני ועין ראתה ותעידני
(Job 34:3) כי אזן מלין תבחן וחך יטעם לאכל
(Ps 130:2) אדני שמעה בקולי תהיינה אזניך קשבות לקול תחנוני
(Pr 18:15) לב נבון יקנה דעת ואזן חכמים תבקש דעת
(Is 50:4) אדני יהוה נתן לי לשון למודים לדעת לעות את יעף דבר יעיר בבקר בבקר יעיר לי אזן לשמע כלמודים
(Jer 6:10) על מי אדברה ואעידה וישמעו הנה ערלה אזנם ולא יוכלו להקשיב הנה דבר יהוה היה להם לחרפה לא יחפצו בו
(Ac 7:51) σκληροτραχηλοι και απεριτμητοι τη καρδια και τοις ωσιν υμεις αει τω πνευματι τω αγιω αντιπιπτετε ως οι πατερες υμων και υμεις
(Rev 2:29) ο εχων ους ακουσατω τι το πνευμα λεγει ταις εκκλησιαις
There are several Old Testament passages providing evidence for the meaning "body" of אזנים. First, it should be noted that the meaning "ear" of אזן does not fit every passage; two examples are as follows. In Pr 26:17, אזנים stands for something by which one could grab a dog. Since the point of the proverb is not that it is as hard to meddle in a quarrel as it is to grab a passing dog by the ears, the meaning of אזנים is likely not "ears" in Pr 26:17. (See also the note on Pr 26:17.) Considering also the word אזן in Am 3:12, it can be seen that when a lion would get prey, it would take the prey to the den (Na 2:11-12). The lion probably also ate some of the prey immediately after catching it. If the lion got the prey from the flocks, some shepherds would pursue the lion and attack it (Am 3:12, 1Sa 17:35). If, when attacked, the lion temporarily left its prey (this possibility can be inferred from 1Sa 17:35), or if it departed leaving behind some torn pieces, the shepherd had a chance to snatch pieces of the prey (Am 3:12) before the lion returned. A shepherd might have done this, perhaps, to prove to the owner that the sheep was torn by a wild beast. When David would pursue a lion, he would take all the prey back and kill the lion when it returned (1Sa 17:35). Now, Am 3:12 makes it plain that what David did was very uncommon. In the phrase בדל אזן of Am 3:12, note that בדל is defined in BDB as "piece, severed piece." If the meaning "ear" is assumed for אזן, then the passage speaks about an ear piece separated (torn) from the body. If the lion tore it, it would not be obvious why, for a lion eating its prey would probably not start with the head. If a shepherd tore a piece of the ear, it would not be obvious either why he did it. Thus, it is apparent that אזן probably does not mean "ear" in this passage.
The meaning "ears" does not fit either אזנים in Ps 40:6 (7). If the meaning "ears" is assumed for אזנים in Ps 40:6 (7), there are mainly two interpretation. If the verb כרה is understood with the meaning "to dig," then the text has "thou hast dug ears for me." If the verb כרה is understood with the meaning "to prepare," then the text has "thou hast prepared ears for me." Neither option fits well. In fact, when translating this passage to Greek, Heb 10:5 uses σωμα "body" for אזנים, translating אזנים כרית לי with σωμα δε κατηρτισω μοι "but thou hast prepared a body for me."
Other instances in which the meaning "ear" does not fit, appear in the passages in which אזנים is the object of the verb צלל (see 1Sa 3:11, 2Ki 21:12, Jer 19:3.) In each case, the context is that of very bad and scary news. Though the common interpretation of תצלינה (שתי) אזניו in 1Sa 3:11, 2Ki 21:12, and Jer 19:3 is that "his (two) ears will tingle," as in LXX, it is plain that when receiving seriously scary news, it is far more likely to have the body shuddering than the ears tingling. Therefore, since צלל can mean "to quiver," אזנים in these passages can be identified with the body. Then, understanding אזנים to be a dual form, it would follow that the body was seen as consisting of two nearly identical parts; these could be identified with the left side and the right side of the body. With this understanding, תצלינה (שתי) אזניו would mean "his (two) sides of the body will shudder," that is, "his whole body will shudder." So, at the singular number, אזן denoted one body side. This conclusion fits well De 23:13 (14), where אזן as "side of the body" would indicate that one was supposed to keep the tool on his side (note על אזנך "on thy side.") For a more in depth discussion of the verb צלל, see the article צלל.
Considering מאזנים "balance," its plural number does not seem to be readily explained by a derivation from a verb אזן meaning "to weigh," for a singular form מאזן derived from the same verb could also indicate something used to weigh. However, from the meaning "body side" of אזן it would be possible to derive a verb אזן meaning "to be on a side." With this verb meaning, the participle מאזן could refer to something causing things to be placed on one side. Then, the dual form מאזנים would refer to two things causing objects to be placed on a side, that is, the two pans of a balance; this would explain why מאזנים means "balance."
In view of the comments above, considering again Am 3:12, בדל אזן would refer to a torn piece of (one side of) the body, not necessarily of an ear. As for Pr 26:17, since the text is not in the context of hearing, there seems to be no reason to interpret אזנים as referring to the ears and not to the body. Then, Pr 26:17 refers to grabbing a dog by the two sides of its body. In general, however, since אזנים "the two sides of the body" refers to the body, it can be translated concisely as "body." This would explain why אזנים is translated simply σωμα "body" in Heb 10:5.
The verses containing the word אזן that were referenced in this section are listed below.
(De 23:13) (23:14) ויתד תהיה לך על אזנך והיה בשבתך חוץ וחפרתה בה ושבת וכסית את צאתך
(1Sa 3:11) ויאמר יהוה אל שמואל הנה אנכי עשה דבר בישראל אשר כל שמעו תצלינה שתי אזניו
(2Ki 21:12) לכן כה אמר יהוה אלהי ישראל הנני מביא רעה על ירושלם ויהודה אשר כל שמעיו תצלנה שתי אזניו
(Heb 10:5) ... θυσιαν και προσφοραν ουκ ηθελησας σωμα δε κατηρτισω μοι (Ps 40:6) (40:7) זבח ומנחה לא חפצת אזנים כרית לי ...
(Pr 26:17) מחזיק באזני כלב עבר מתעבר על ריב לא לו
(Jer 19:3) ואמרת שמעו דבר יהוה מלכי יהודה וישבי ירושלם כה אמר יהוה צבאות אלהי ישראל הנני מביא רעה על המקום הזה אשר כל שמעה תצלנה אזניו
(Am 3:12) כה אמר יהוה כאשר יציל הרעה מפי הארי שתי כרעים או בדל אזן כן ינצלו בני ישראל הישבים בשמרון בפאת מטה ובדמשק ערש