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(usually òָðָä , anah', ἀðïêñßíïìáé ) has other significations in Scripture besides the common one in the sense of reply.
1. Moses having composed a thanksgiving after the passage of the Red Sea, Miriam, it is said, “answered;” meaning that Moses with the men on one side, and Miriam with the women on the other side, sung the same song, as it were, in two choruses or divisions; of which one “answered” the other (Exo_15:21). So also 1Sa_29:5, where they sung in distinct choruses; comp. Num_21:17.
2. This word is likewise taken for to accuse, or to defend judicially
(Gen_30:33; Deu_31:21; Hos_5:5).
3. To “answer” is likewise taken in a bad sense, as when it is said that a son answers his father insolently, or a servant his master (Joh_18:22; Rom_9:20; 2Co_1:9).
4. To “aswer” is also used in Scripture for the commencement of a discourse, when no reply to any question or objection is intended. This mode of speaking is often used by the Evangelists: “And Jesus answered and said.” his a Hebrew idiom (Job_3:2; Son_2:10; Zec_3:4; Zec_4:11-12; Mat_11:25; Mat_12:38; Mat_17:4; Mar_9:5; Luk_7:40). SEE AFFIRMATIVE.
ANSWER OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE ( óõíåéäήóåùò ἀãáèῆò ἐðåñώôçìá ), a phrase occurring 1Pe_3:21, very variously interpreted, but apparently signifying simply the ability to address God in prayer (as if a response to His searching of the heart) with a conscience free from a sense of guilt, or the seeking after Him with a pure conscience (see Alford, in loc.). SEE CONSCIENCE.