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Hebrew

To call

קָרָאStrong’s H7121

qara (qa-ra)

Appears in 687 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Qara is the Hebrew word usually translated “called”, “summoned” and “called out”. It appears in 687 verses of the Old Testament.

“Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.”
Daniel 2:2 KJV
Meaning
  1. To call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim(Qal) · (Niphal) · (Pual) to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen
How it's translated
  • and he called 88
  • and he summoned 52
  • and he called out 29
  • and she called 24
  • it is called 15
  • he called 14
  • and they called 12
  • call 12

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Genesis 102
  • Isaiah 82
  • Jeremiah 58
  • Psalms 53
  • 1 Kings 37
  • Exodus 34

37 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 687 verses, by book
Ezra 2
2:618:21
Ecclesiastes 1
6:10
Song of Solomon 1
5:6
Micah 2
3:56:9
Habakkuk 1
2:2
Zephaniah 2
1:73:9
Haggai 1
1:11
Malachi 1
1:4
Hebrew dictionary

קָרָא qara · to call

: call_to/invite/entreat 1) to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound 1a2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God) 1a3) to proclaim 1a4) to read aloud, read (to oneself), read 1a5) to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow 1a6) to call, name, give name to, call by 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to call oneself 1b2) to be called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named 1c) (Pual) to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “call” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

CALL, verb transitive

[Heb. To hold or restrain.]

In a general sense, to drive; to strain or force out sound. Hence,

  1. To name; to denominate or give a name. Genesis 1:5“And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night” Genesis 1:5
  2. To convoke; to summon; to direct or order to meet; to assemble by order or public notice; often with together; as, the king called his council together; the president called together the congress.
  3. To request to meet or come.
  4. To invite.“Because I have called and ye refused” Proverbs 1:24
All definitions and other forms of “call”
  1. To invite or summon to come or be present; to invite, or collect.
  2. To give notice to come by authority; to command to come; as, call a servant.
  3. To proclaim; to name, or publish the name.
  4. To appoint or designate, as for an office, duty or employment.“See, I have called by name Bezaleel” Exodus 31:2“Paul called to be an apostle” Romans 1:1
  5. To invite; to warn; to exhort. Isaiah 22:12
  6. To invite or draw into union with Christ; to bring to know, believe and obey the gospel.
  7. To own and acknowledge. Hebrews 2:11
  8. To invoke or appeal to.“I call God for a record” 2 Corinthians 1:23
  9. To esteem or account. Isaiah 47:5

CALL, verb intransitive

  1. To utter a loud sound, or to address by name; to utter the name; sometimes with to.“The angel of God called to Hagar” Genesis 21:17
  2. To stop, without intention of staying; to make a short stop; as, to call at the inn.

CALL, noun

  1. A vocal address, of summons or invitation; as, he will not come at a call
  2. Demand; requisition; public claim; as, listen to the calls of justice or humanity.
  3. Divine vocation, or summons; as the call of Abraham.
  4. Invitation; request of a public body or society; as, a clergyman has a call to settle in the ministry.
  5. A summons from heaven; impulse.
  6. Authority; command.
  7. A short visit; as, to make a call; to give one a call that is, a speaking to; D.
  8. Vocation; employment.
  9. A naming; a nomination.
  10. Among hunters, a lesson blown on the horn, to comfort the hounds.
  11. Among seamen, a whistle or pipe, used by the boatswain and his mate, to summon the sailors to their duty.
  12. The English name of the mineral called by the Germans tungsten or wolfram.
  13. Among fowlers, the noise or cry of a fowl, or a pipe to call birds by imitating their voice.
  14. In legislative bodies, the call of the house, is a calling over the names of the members, to discover who is absent or for other purpose; a calling of names with a view to obtain answers from the person named.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.