to answer
a.nah denotes replying in speech and, in appeals or inquiries, giving or withholding a response.
The sampled verses most often use the term for a spoken reply within an exchange, whether a person answers a question, report, command, or accusation. It also marks a response sought from God or another addressee, which may be shown through an event, stated as absent, or described in relation to an inquiry.
Senses in use
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Replying in a spoken exchange · dominant
Sequential imperfect forms introduce replies after another person has spoken: in 1 Kings 1:36 the APB renders Benaiah's response to the king, and in 1 Samuel 1:15 it renders Hannah's reply to Eli. The same exchange pattern appears when Jonathan answers Saul concerning David in 1 Samuel 20:28 and when Ahimelech answers the king in 1 Samuel 22:14.
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Responding to an appeal or inquiry · common
The term can mark the response requested from an addressee rather than simply the next speech turn. In 1 Chronicles 21:26 the APB renders the LORD's response to David's call as coming "with fire from the heavens," while 1 Samuel 14:37 says that God did not respond to Saul's inquiry that day; in 1 Kings 18:37 Elijah twice issues the imperative appeal for a response.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses "answered" or "answer" for replies in dialogue and for requested responses, including statements that no answer was given. Because the English is a whole-verse translation, its wording does not by itself define the term's precise contribution in every clause.