What does קוֹל (qôl) mean in the Bible?
קוֹל (qol) means voice, sound, or noise. It can name human speech, weeping, shouting, proclamation, singing, thunder, animal sound, battle noise, or a report.
Hebrew · H6963
קוֹל
A voice or sound
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קוֹל H6963
Pronunciation qôl
What does קוֹל (qôl) mean in the Bible?
קוֹל (qol) means voice, sound, or noise. It can name human speech, weeping, shouting, proclamation, singing, thunder, animal sound, battle noise, or a report.
Reader summary
Full entry for קוֹל (H6963) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6963?
The BSB source-word alignment has 506 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (68), the voice (44), the sound (29), my voice (26), voice (22).
Where does קוֹל (qôl) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 3:8. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (82), Psalms (59), Deuteronomy (38), 1 Samuel (37).
Are there verse guides for קוֹל (qôl)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
קוֹל (qol) means voice, sound, or noise. It can name human speech, weeping, shouting, proclamation, singing, thunder, animal sound, battle noise, or a report. Genesis 45:2 describes Joseph's loud weeping, Exodus 32:17-18 requires Moses to distinguish battle noise from singing, and Psalm 19:3 uses voice language while reflecting on speech without audible words. The noun identifies what is heard or expressed; it does not tell the hearer whether a message is true.
The phrase voice of the Lord appears in covenant and theophany settings. Deuteronomy 4:12 emphasizes that Israel heard the sound of words but saw no form, Psalm 29 portrays the Lord's voice over the waters, and prophets receive and announce divine speech. In many hear-my-voice constructions, hearing includes responsive obedience. Yet H6963 by itself does not authenticate a private impression, natural sound, institutional order, or claimed prophecy as God's voice. Content, source, canonical agreement, and tested fruit remain necessary.
Voices and cries also carry moral weight. Abel's blood cries from the ground in Genesis 4:10, God hears the boy in Genesis 21:17 and Israel's affliction in Deuteronomy 26:7, Rachel's lament is heard in Jeremiah 31:15, and Leviticus 5:1 addresses a witness who hears a public call and withholds testimony. These texts support attention to suffering and truthful witness without making volume the measure of truth. Silence can come from fear, coercion, disability, or exclusion and must not be treated as consent.
Canonical synthesisPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Qol spans voices, words, cries, music, reports, thunder, animal sounds, public calls, battle noise, and divine speech. Speaker, source, content, and response establish meaning.
- Gen.4.10
Abel's blood is personified as crying from the ground, making concealed violence answerable before God.
- Gen.21.17
God hears the boy's voice in the wilderness and addresses Hagar within their danger.
- Exod.19.19
At Sinai the trumpet sound grows while God answers Moses, locating qol within a narrated theophany.
- Deut.4.12
Israel hears a voice or sound of words but sees no form, guarding God's self-disclosure from visual reduction.
- Deut.26.7
The Lord hears the oppressed people's cry and sees their affliction and labor.
- Isa.42.2
The servant does not raise his voice in the street, contrasting his manner with public self-display.
- Jer.31.15
A voice of lament is heard as Rachel weeps for her children, giving communal grief public expression.
- Ezek.33.5
The person who hears a warning sound is responsible for response, within the watchman analogy's defined setting.
- Ps.29.3
The voice of the Lord is poetically associated with thunder over the waters in a hymn of divine glory.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It . . . 68× Genesis 21:12, Genesis 27:38, Genesis 39:15, Genesis 39:18
the voice 44× Genesis 3:8, Genesis 4:10, Genesis 21:17, Genesis 27:22
the sound 29× Exodus 19:19, Exodus 32:17, Exodus 32:18, Deuteronomy 4:12
my voice 26× Genesis 4:23, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 27:8, Genesis 27:13
voice 22× Exodus 24:3, Deuteronomy 5:22, Deuteronomy 27:14, 1 Samuel 26:17
Your voice 18× Genesis 3:10, Judges 18:25, 1 Samuel 24:16, 1 Samuel 25:35
His voice 17× Exodus 5:2, Deuteronomy 4:36, Deuteronomy 5:24, Deuteronomy 30:2
their voices 13× Numbers 14:1, Judges 2:4, Judges 21:2, 1 Samuel 30:4
to the voice 13× Genesis 3:17, Genesis 16:2, Exodus 15:26, Joshua 10:14
at the sound 12× Job 21:12, Ecclesiastes 12:4, Isaiah 6:4, Jeremiah 4:29
a voice 9× Deuteronomy 4:12, Isaiah 40:3, Isaiah 40:6, Jeremiah 3:21
- 7× Genesis 29:11, Genesis 45:2, Deuteronomy 1:34, Deuteronomy 5:28
their voice 7× 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 15:24, 1 Samuel 28:23, 2 Chronicles 30:27
Listen 6× Song Of Solomon 2:8, Isaiah 13:4, Isaiah 52:8, Jeremiah 8:19
loudly 6× 1 Samuel 7:10, 2 Samuel 15:23, 2 Kings 18:28, 2 Chronicles 32:18
sound 6× Joshua 6:5, 1 Kings 18:26, 2 Kings 4:31, Job 37:4
the noise 5× 1 Samuel 4:6, 1 Kings 1:45, 2 Kings 11:13, 2 Chronicles 23:12
The sounds 5× Isaiah 65:19, Jeremiah 7:34, Jeremiah 16:9, Jeremiah 25:10
the voices 5× Judges 5:11, Job 29:10, Jeremiah 16:9, Jeremiah 25:10
thunder 5× Exodus 9:23, Exodus 9:28, Exodus 19:16, 1 Samuel 12:17
to his voice 5× Exodus 23:21, Exodus 23:22, Deuteronomy 4:30, Deuteronomy 13:4
a proclamation 4× Exodus 36:6, 2 Chronicles 30:5, 2 Chronicles 36:22, Ezra 1:1
And the sound 4× Ezra 3:13, Ecclesiastes 12:4, Ezekiel 3:13, Amos 2:2
her voice 4× Genesis 21:16, 1 Samuel 1:13, Proverbs 1:20, Proverbs 8:1
the cry 4× Exodus 32:18, Deuteronomy 33:7, Jeremiah 4:31
to My voice 4× Genesis 26:5, Exodus 4:1, Job 9:16, Jeremiah 18:10
a cry 3× Jeremiah 4:31, Jeremiah 30:5, Zephaniah 1:10
aloud 3× Psalms 3:4, Psalms 142:1, Isaiah 13:2
and 3× Jeremiah 7:34, Jeremiah 25:10, Daniel 10:6
and the voices 3× Jeremiah 7:34, Jeremiah 33:11, Nahum 2:13
at the voice 3× Psalms 44:16, Psalms 55:3, Isaiah 30:31
my plea 3× Genesis 30:6, Psalms 31:22, Lamentations 3:56
The thunder 3× Exodus 9:29, Exodus 9:33, Exodus 20:18
the voice of 3× Deuteronomy 28:1, Deuteronomy 28:2, Deuteronomy 28:62
to your voice 3× Exodus 4:9, Deuteronomy 1:45, 1 Samuel 12:1
vvv 3× Ezra 3:13, Psalms 6:8, Ezekiel 27:28
[and] 2× Jeremiah 33:11
A sound 2× Song Of Solomon 5:2, Jeremiah 30:19
And a proclamation 2× 2 Chronicles 24:9, Ezra 10:7
like 2× Ezekiel 1:24, Nahum 2:7
like the crackling 2× Ecclesiastes 7:6, Joel 2:5
like the voice 2× Ezekiel 1:24, Ezekiel 10:5
Listen to 2× Jeremiah 50:28, Zechariah 11:3
my cry 2× Psalms 28:2, Psalms 28:6
of his voice 2× 2 Samuel 19:4, Job 37:2
our voice 2× Numbers 20:16, Deuteronomy 26:7
song 2× Psalms 98:5, Isaiah 51:3
Sounds 2× Job 15:21, Job 39:24
to the sound 2× Job 30:31, Psalms 66:19
When He thunders 2× Jeremiah 10:13, Jeremiah 51:16
with a voice 2× Job 40:9, Psalms 47:1
your words 2× Ecclesiastes 5:6, Ecclesiastes 10:20
[It is] the voice 1× Isaiah 66:6
[It was] the sound 1× Ezekiel 3:13
[listen to] the voice 1× Isaiah 66:6
[that] 1× Exodus 4:8
a battle cry 1× Ezekiel 21:22
a noise 1× Ezekiel 37:7
a public 1× Leviticus 5:1
a shout 1× Lamentations 2:7
a voice [came] 1× 1 Kings 19:13
Above the roar 1× Psalms 93:4
and have your voice 1× Isaiah 58:4
and its sound 1× Exodus 28:35
and lowing 1× 1 Samuel 15:14
and my cry 1× Proverbs 8:4
and the blast 1× Psalms 98:6
and the cooing 1× Song Of Solomon 2:12
and the lowing 1× Jeremiah 9:10
and the music 1× Ezekiel 26:13
and the sounding 1× 2 Samuel 6:15
and thunder 1× Exodus 9:34
are saying 1× Jeremiah 18:19
as loud 1× Genesis 39:14
At their cries 1× Numbers 16:34
blast 1× Exodus 19:16
bleating 1× 1 Samuel 15:14
by the sound 1× 1 Kings 1:40
by their shouting 1× Isaiah 31:4
Egypt will hiss 1× Jeremiah 46:22
for the sound 1× Jeremiah 6:17
for your voice 1× Song Of Solomon 8:13
from the noise 1× Ezekiel 26:10
from the sound 1× Ezra 3:13
he speaks 1× Proverbs 26:25
Hear 1× Isaiah 66:6
Hear the 1× Jeremiah 25:36
Him 1× Deuteronomy 9:23
his roar 1× Ezekiel 19:9
I cried out 1× Psalms 77:1
I lift my voice 1× Psalms 142:1
in such a loud 1× 1 Kings 1:41
in the roar 1× Psalms 42:7
in the thunder 1× Exodus 19:19
is the voice 1× Genesis 27:22
It is my voice 1× 1 Samuel 26:17
joyfully 1× Ezra 3:12
let the sound 1× Psalms 66:8
like the roar 1× Ezekiel 1:24
like the sound 1× Daniel 10:6
make His voice 1× Isaiah 42:2
may growl 1× Job 4:10
Me 1× Numbers 14:22
noise 1× Isaiah 29:6
not a trace 1× 2 Kings 7:10
of their voices 1× Jeremiah 51:55
of Your voice 1× Isaiah 33:3
or let your voice 1× Joshua 6:10
plea 1× Numbers 21:3
resounded 1× Psalms 77:18
response 1× 1 Kings 18:29
roar 1× Jeremiah 11:16
Shouts 1× Psalms 118:15
so that even the sound 1× Leviticus 26:36
so the speech 1× Ecclesiastes 5:3
the blast 1× Joshua 6:20
the clamor 1× Psalms 74:23
the command 1× Jeremiah 43:4
The crack 1× Nahum 3:2
the outcry 1× 1 Samuel 4:14
the rumble 1× Nahum 3:2
the sounding 1× Exodus 20:18
the thunderbolt 1× Job 38:25
the tune 1× Psalms 58:5
the witness 1× Exodus 4:8
Their calls 1× Zephaniah 2:14
their plan 1× 1 Kings 20:25
there is the sound 1× 1 Kings 18:41
this message 1× Nehemiah 8:15
Through my loud 1× Psalms 102:5
to [His] voice 1× 1 Samuel 15:22
to my plea 1× Psalms 86:6
to their voice 1× 1 Samuel 8:22
to what you say 1× Exodus 3:18
was like the roar 1× Ezekiel 43:2
When the news 1× Genesis 45:16
when you cry for help 1× Isaiah 30:19
with a shout 1× Isaiah 48:20
With a sound like 1× Joel 2:5
with His voice 1× Job 37:5
with its voice 1× Habakkuk 3:10
with shouts 1× Psalms 42:4
with the sound 1× Psalms 47:5
with the sounding 1× 1 Chronicles 15:28
with the voice 1× Jonah 2:9
with thunder 1× Psalms 77:17
without a sound 1× Psalms 19:3
your voice loudly 1× Isaiah 40:9
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 3:8 ק֨וֹל to the voice Noun - masculine singular construct Genesis 3:10 קֹלְךָ֥ to Your voice Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular Genesis 3:17 לְק֣וֹל to to the voice Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct Genesis 4:10 ק֚וֹל to The voice Noun - masculine singular construct Genesis 4:23 קוֹלִ֔י to my voice Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Genesis 16:2 לְק֥וֹל to to the voice Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct Genesis 21:12 בְּקֹלָ֑הּ to . . . Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular Genesis 21:16 קֹלָ֖הּ to her voice Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular Genesis 21:17 ק֣וֹל to the voice Noun - masculine singular construct Genesis 21:17 ק֥וֹל to the voice Noun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 3:8
Aligned rows 506
Books represented 35
Genesis 25 Exodus 31 Leviticus 2 Numbers 6 Deuteronomy 38 Joshua 7 Judges 11 Ruth 2 1 Samuel 37 2 Samuel 12 1 Kings 16 2 Kings 11 1 Chronicles 3 2 Chronicles 10 Ezra 8 Nehemiah 3 Job 21 Psalms 59 Proverbs 7 Ecclesiastes 6 Song Of Solomon 6 Isaiah 36 Jeremiah 82 Lamentations 2 Ezekiel 32 Daniel 8 Joel 4 Amos 3 Jonah 2 Micah 2 Nahum 4 Habakkuk 2 Zephaniah 4 Haggai 1 Zechariah 3
Source forms
ק֣וֹל 47x qō·wl Genesis 21:17, Genesis 27:22, Exodus 19:19, Exodus 20:18
בְּק֣וֹל 36x bə·qō·wl Numbers 21:3, Deuteronomy 30:8, Joshua 5:6, Joshua 10:14
ק֥וֹל 36x qō·wl Genesis 21:17, Exodus 32:17, Exodus 36:6, Deuteronomy 5:22
ק֤וֹל 20x qō·wl Exodus 24:3, Deuteronomy 4:12, 1 Kings 14:6, 1 Chronicles 14:15
וְק֣וֹל 16x wə·qō·wl 1 Samuel 15:14, 2 Kings 7:10, Job 4:10, Psalms 98:5
בְּק֖וֹל 14x bə·qō·wl Deuteronomy 8:20, Deuteronomy 15:5, Deuteronomy 27:10, Deuteronomy 28:2
ק֖וֹל 12x qō·wl Exodus 32:18, 1 Kings 18:26, 1 Kings 18:41, 1 Kings 19:12
לְק֣וֹל 11x lə·qō·wl Genesis 3:17, Exodus 18:24, 1 Samuel 2:25, Job 21:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct 114x Genesis 3:8, Genesis 4:10, Genesis 21:17, Genesis 27:22
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 60x Numbers 21:3, Deuteronomy 8:20, Deuteronomy 13:18, Deuteronomy 15:5
Noun - masculine singular 51x Exodus 24:3, Exodus 36:6, Deuteronomy 4:12, Deuteronomy 5:22
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct 26x Exodus 19:16, 1 Samuel 15:14, 2 Kings 7:10, Job 4:10
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular 23x Genesis 4:23, Genesis 39:15, Genesis 39:18, 1 Samuel 26:17
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 23x Genesis 27:38, Genesis 29:11, Genesis 45:2, Exodus 28:35
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular 20x Genesis 22:18, Genesis 26:5, Genesis 27:8, Genesis 27:13
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct 20x Genesis 3:17, Genesis 16:2, Exodus 4:8, Exodus 15:26
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Claims to have heard God should remain testable, humble, noncoercive, and open to correction.
- Communities should provide safe ways for quiet, traumatized, disabled, or marginalized people to communicate and be heard.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every thunderstorm, coincidence, inner impression, dream, or leader's order is God's voice.
- Do not use “obey my voice” language to override Scripture, conscience, evidence, safeguarding, or lawful authority.
- Do not treat loudness, charisma, unanimity, or emotional force as proof of truth.
- Do not interpret silence under fear, disability, dependence, or coercion as consent.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Voice as audible communication carrying authority, presence, and divine utterance throughout Scripture.
Source Gloss
a voice or sound
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Voice as audible communication carrying authority, presence, and divine utterance throughout Scripture.
a voice or sound BDB: sound Usage: aloud, bleating, crackling, cry ( out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, hold peace, (pro-) claim, proclamation, sing, sound, spark, thunder(-ing), voice, yell.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Voice; sound; thunder; the effective expression of divine will and power
Showing 1 selected witness from 506 lexical occurrence verses.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Qol teaches both receptivity and discernment. Israel hears God's voice without seeing a form, psalmists portray the Lord's voice in the storm, prophets speak what they receive, and oppressed people cry out to be heard. The same noun also describes battle noise, music, animals, rumors, and ordinary speech. A claim to “hear God's voice” therefore needs more than intensity or certainty.
It should be tested by Scripture, truth, character, community discernment, and willingness to correct error. Churches should also listen to victims, children, disabled communicators, and witnesses without assuming that the loudest person is most credible. Silence under coercion is not consent, and reporting harm must not be dismissed as rebellion against a leader's voice.
Anchor passage
Deut.4.12
Doctrinal connections
H6963 is a noun for audible or figurative voice, sound, and noise. Constructions such as hear a voice can imply listening or obedience, but the noun itself does not establish truth, speaker identity, or divine authorization.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament speaks of the Father's voice, Jesus as shepherd whose sheep hear him, proclamation, witness, lament, and discernment of prophecy. Those texts develop the theme but do not make every inner impression or audible event a divine message.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain