My mom used to say this when I was little. It didn’t mean just to hear what she said, it meant to do it, usually immediately. Both the Greek and Hebrew words that we translate as “obey” are actually the word “listen”.

• The Greek word that is often translated as “obey” in the New Testament is “ὑπακούω” (hypakouō). This word is derived from the root “ἀκούω” (akouō), which means “to hear” or “to listen.” The prefix “ὑπό” (hypo) adds the sense of being under or beneath, giving “hypakouō” the literal meaning of “to listen under” or “to submit to hearing.”
• The Hebrew word commonly translated as “obey” is “שָׁמַע” (shama). This verb means “to hear” or “to listen,” and it often implies listening with the intent to obey or to take action based on what is heard.

In the Bible, they would obey God’s voice because they heard it personally and listened to Him.

This is different from what they had passed down to them. They were taught to keep God’s commandments, or to hold to God’s commands. There is no concept in the scriptures of obeying the scriptures. It’s not grammatically correct.

Let’s look at Matthew 28. Jesus is talking to them and they listen (obey), and he tells them to teach people to keep/guard/observe/hold on (but not listen) to everything he’s commanded. Both are important, but they’re different.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey [observe] everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The problem we have when we mix these up is that we think we’re listening to God because we hold to what the Bible says and keep his commands. This sounds a lot like the mistake of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,  yet you refuse to come to me to have life. – John 5:39-40

God has more for us: we are also to listen to him and obey.