che.resh describes those characterized as unable to hear, in laws, healing promises, and rhetorical calls to hear.

The term describes persons marked by inability to hear: it occurs in legal protection and in paired descriptions with blindness, while Isaiah also applies it in calls and portrayals that contrast deafness with hearing and having ears.

1. Characterized by inability to hear · dominant

   The masculine singular and plural adjective describes persons in concrete settings: in Exodus 4:11 the APB renders a contrast among one who is “mute or deaf, seeing or blind,” and in Leviticus 19:14 it renders the person who must not be cursed as “the deaf.” In Isaiah 29:18 and Isaiah 35:5, plural forms occur where the APB renders deaf persons hearing or their ears being opened; Isaiah 42:18 and Isaiah 43:8 place the same plural form in calls involving hearing, eyes, and ears.

   Exodus 4:11Leviticus 19:14Isaiah 29:18Isaiah 35:5Isaiah 42:18Isaiah 43:8

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB commonly presents the term as “deaf,” and in Psalm 38:14 and Psalm 58:5 it expresses the condition through “does not hear.” These English expressions confirm the verse-level presentation rather than isolate a precise rendering in every clause.