H2013 H2013
Hush! Be silent! — an onomatopoeic interjection commanding silence, especially before YHWH; rarely as a causative verb, to silence
The interjection הַס is a sharp, onomatopoeic command meaning 'Hush!' or 'Be silent!' It carries an urgency beyond polite request — when Ehud says הָס to King Eglon's attendants (Judg 3:19), he is clearing the room for a secret and deadly errand. The word rises to its most solemn register in the prophets, where it demands reverent silence before YHWH: 'Be silent before the Lord GOD' (Zeph 1:7; Hab 2:20; Zech 2:17). Uniquely, it can be inflected as a verb — Caleb 'silenced' the people before Moses (Num 13:30) — showing Hebrew's capacity to verbalize even its interjections.
Senses
1. hush! be silent! (imperative interjection) — The imperative interjection 'Hush! Be silent! Be still!' — demanding immediate cessation of speech or noise. All seven occurrences carry this force, whether in the narrative tension of Ehud's plot against Eglon (Judg 3:19), the grim scene of plague burial in Amos 6:10 and 8:3, or the Levites quieting the crowd at Nehemiah's Torah reading (Neh 8:11). Its most elevated use commands reverent silence before the divine presence (Hab 2:20, Zeph 1:7, Zech 2:17). Multilingual glosses converge on silence-commands: Spanish 'Silencio/callad,' English 'Hush/be silent,' confirming the consistent imperative force. 7×
AR["اصمُتوا", "اصْمُتْ", "اُصْمُتوا", "اُصْمُتْ", "صَهْ"]·ben["চুপ", "চুপ-কর", "নীরব-থাকো", "নীরব-হও"]·DE["Still", "silence"]·EN["Hush", "be-silent", "hush", "silence"]·FR["[הסו]", "faire-taire", "silence"]·heb["הס", "הסו"]·HI["चुप", "चुप-रहो", "चुप।"]·ID["Diam", "Diamlah", "diamlah"]·IT["[הסו]", "silenzio"]·jav["Sami-meneng", "amargi", "meneng", "méndel"]·KO["잠잠하라", "조용히", "조용히-하라"]·PT["Cala-te", "Silêncio", "silêncio"]·RU["Тихо", "молча", "молчи", "тише", "умолкни", "успокойтесь"]·ES["Silencio", "callad", "silencio", "¡Calla!"]·SW["Kimya", "Nyamaza", "nyamaza", "nyamazeni"]·TR["Sus", "sus", "susun"]·urd["خاموش-رہو", "چُپ", "چپ", "چپ-کرو"]
2. to silence, cause to be still (Hifil causative) — A denominative Hifil verbal form meaning 'to silence someone, to cause to be quiet,' attested once in Num 13:30. When the spies brought their terrifying report, Caleb וַיַּהַס ('silenced') the people before Moses — an active, causative act of imposing quiet on a panicking crowd. This is grammatically remarkable: an interjection has been conjugated as a full Hifil verb with pronominal object. The Spanish 'Y calmó' ('and he calmed') captures the causative nuance well. 1×
AR["وَ-سَكَّتَ"]·ben["এবং-চুপ-করালেন"]·DE["und-silenced"]·EN["and-silenced"]·FR["et-silenced"]·heb["ו-יהס"]·HI["और-चुप-कराया"]·ID["dan-menenangkan"]·IT["e-silenced"]·jav["Lan-ngendhegaken"]·KO["그리고-잠잠하게-했다"]·PT["E-acalmou"]·RU["и-успокоил"]·ES["Y-calmó"]·SW["Na-akawanyamazisha"]·TR["ve-susturdu"]·urd["اور-خاموش-کرایا"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† הַס, הָ֑ס interj. hush! keep silence (prob. onomatop.) Ju 3:19 and he said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king, וַיֹּאמֶר הָ֔ס and he said, Keep silence! Am 6:10 וְאָמַר הָ֔ס (while burying men in a pestilence), 8:3 (ellipt.) in every place הִשְׁלִיךְ הָֽס׃ they cast them (the corpses) forth, (saying) Hush! sq. (מִפָּנָיו) מִפְּנֵי י׳ Hb 2:20 Zp 1:7 Zc 2:17. Inflected, as though a verb,…