Word study
Silence
6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: silence, silenced. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “silence” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- דָּמַם dâmambe or grow dumb, silent, stilltranslated this way 6 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H1826Verb · Translated: still 4, silenced 4, rest 3, perish 2Full study and all 29 verses →
Jeremiah 25:37 The peaceful meadows have been silenced because of the LORD’s burning anger.
Lamentations 2:10 The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
- הָסָה hâsâhhushtranslated this way 3 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H2013Interjection · Translated: silent 3, Silence 3, quieted 1, still 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Judges 3:19 But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him.
Amos 6:10 And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.”
- שָׁבַת shâbathcease, desist, resttranslated this way 2 times of its 71 uses · Strong’s H7673Verb · Translated: put an end 13, cease 5, rest 5, rested 4Full study and all 67 verses →
Psalm 8:2 From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
Ezekiel 26:13 So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
- דּוּמָה dûmâhsilencetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H1745Noun · Translated: silence 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Psalm 94:17 Unless the LORD had been my helper, I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
Psalm 115:17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.
- צָמַת tsâmathput an end to, exterminatetranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H6789Verb · Translated: destroy 5, destroyed 3Full study and all 14 verses →
Job 23:17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.’’
Psalm 101:5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.
- דָּמָה dâmâhcease, cause to cease, cut off, destroytranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H1820Verb · Translated: destroyed 3, perish 2, ruined 2, silenced 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Jeremiah 47:5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?
Zephaniah 1:11 Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off.
Greek words (New Testament)
- φιμόω phimóōI muzzle, silencetranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G5392Verb · Translated: silent 2, muzzle 2, speechless 1, silenced 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Matthew 22:34 And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.
1 Peter 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
- φράσσω phrássōI stop, close uptranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G5420Verb · Translated: silenced 2, shut 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
2 Corinthians 11:10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.