Word study
Silent
5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “silent”. 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 “silent” 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)
- חָרַשׁ chârashcut in, engrave, plough, devisetranslated this way 22 times of its 69 uses · Strong’s H2790Verb · Translated: silent 11, plow 6, plowed 5, quiet 5Full study and all 65 verses →
Genesis 34:5 Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned.
1 Samuel 10:27 But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.
- חָשָׁה châshâhbe silent, inactive, stilltranslated this way 10 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H2814Verb · Translated: silent 4, keep silent 3, speak 2Full study and all 15 verses →
2 Kings 7:9 Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
Psalm 28:1 Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
- 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 →
Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
Job 31:34 because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside —
- 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 →
Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
- אָלַם âlambindtranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H481Verb · Translated: silent 2, mute 2Full study and all 9 verses →
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
Ezekiel 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
Greek words (New Testament)
- σιωπάω siōpáōI keep silencetranslated this way 9 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G4623Verb · Translated: silent 6, remained silent 2, Silence 1, remain silent 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 20:31 The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Mark 3:4 And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they were silent.
- σιγάω sigáōI keep silenttranslated this way 5 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G4601Verb · Translated: silent 2, fell silent 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Luke 18:39 Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
- 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 →
Mark 1:25 But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!”
Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.
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.