Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and
kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws (ASV)
The verb שמע (shama) literally means "to hear". While this is understood as "to be obedient" it literally means "to hear and act upon what is heard". This can mean to be obedient but when God "heard" the cries of the Israelites in Egypt, he did not obey them; rather he acted upon that hearing by rescuing them.www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/013.doc The word שמע (sh'ma) is a verb literally meaning to listen but can also mean to obey or more correctly to respond. This word is the title of the "sh'ma," the Jewish affirmation of faith as found in Deuteronomy 6:4 states "sh'ma yisrael YHWH eloheynu YHWH echad" or as it is normally translated "Hear, O, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." The use of the word sh'ma in this verse is stating "hear and respond" to Yahweh.www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/026.rtf
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