H2790b H2790b
To be silent, hold one's peace, keep quiet; also to be deaf, unable or unwilling to hear
This Hebrew verb spans two closely related ideas: deliberate silence and physical deafness. Most frequently it describes choosing to hold one's peace—Abraham's servant watching silently to see if God has prospered his journey (Gen 24:21), or Jacob holding his peace when he heard of Dinah's defilement (Gen 34:5). In the Psalms, it becomes a poignant plea: 'Be not silent to me' (Ps 28:1), where God's silence feels like deafness to prayer. Micah 7:16 extends the imagery to ears that 'shall be deaf,' completing the spectrum from voluntary quiet to involuntary inability to hear.
3. sense 3 — To be deaf, unable to hear—a distinct extension from silence to sensory incapacity. Micah 7:16 prophesies that the nations' ears 'shall be deaf' (tēḥĕrashnāh), using the same root to describe not hearing rather than not speaking. German and English translations confirm this auditory sense ('will be deaf,' ensordecen in Spanish), distinguishing it clearly from the volitional silence of sense 1. 1×
AR["تَصُمُّ"]·ben["বধির-হবে"]·DE["[תחרשנה]"]·EN["will-be-deaf"]·FR["labourer"]·heb["תחרשנה"]·HI["बहरे-हो-जाएँगे"]·ID["akan-menjadi-tuli"]·IT["[תחרשנה]"]·jav["badhé-budheg"]·KO["멀어지리라"]·PT["ensurderecerão"]·RU["оглохнут"]·ES["ensordecen"]·SW["yatakuwa-viziwi"]·TR["sağırlaşacaklar"]·urd["بہرے-ہوں-گے"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. be silent, keep quiet — To refrain from speaking, to hold one's peace—the dominant sense across nearly all occurrences. Used of human restraint (Gen 24:21; Gen 34:5), divine command to be still (Exod 14:14), and appeals that God not remain silent (Ps 35:22; 83:1; 109:1). The Hiphil causative can mean 'to cause silence' or 'to hold someone else silent' (Num 30:4, 7). Spanish callar and German schweigen consistently reflect this volitional silence. 45×
AR["أَسْكُتُ","أَصْمُتُ","اسكُتي-","اصمُت","اُصْمُتُوا","اُصْمُتْ","تَسْكُتْ","تَصمُت","تَصْمُتْ","فَ-سَكَتوا","فَ-سَكَتُوا","وَيَسْكُتُ"]·ben["আমার-কাছ-থেকে","আমি-চুপ-করব","আমি-চুপ-থাকব","আর-চুপ-ছিল","এবং-চুপ-থাকে","এবং-তারা-চুপ-করল","চুপ","চুপ-কর","চুপ-করব","চুপ-থাক","চুপ-থাকব","চুপ-থাকো","নীরব-থাকো","নীরবে-থাক"]·DE["[אחריש]","[החרישו]","[החרש]","[ויחרישו]","[ויחרשו]","sein-deaf","sein-silent","und-ist-silent"]·EN["Be-silent","I-am-silent","I-will-be-silent","and-is-silent","and-they-were-silent","be-deaf","be-silent","will-be-silent"]·FR["[אחריש]","[החרישו]","[ויחרישו]","[ויחרשו]","et-est-silent","se-taire","être-silencieux","être-silent"]·heb["אחריש","החרישו","החרישי","החרש","ו-החריש","ו-החרש","ו-יחרישו","תחרש"]·HI["और-चुप-रहा","और-चुप-रहेगा","और-वे-चुप-रहे","चुप-रह","चुप-रहूँगा","चुप-रहूंगा-मैं","चुप-रहो","तब-वे-चुप-रहे","मैं-चुप-नहीं-रहूँगा","मैं-चुप-रहूँगा","स्थिर-रह"]·ID["Aku akan diam","Berdiamlah","Diamlah","Engkau-berdiam","akan-diam","aku-berdiam-diri","aku-dapat-diam","berdiam","dan-diam","dan-mereka-berdiam-diri","diamlah"]·IT["[ויחרישו]","disegno'","e-e-silent","e-tacere","essere-silent","essere-silenzioso","tacere"]·jav["Kawula-mendel","Lan-piyambakipun-kendel","Meneng-a","bisu","kawula-kèndel","kawula-saged-kendel","kecep","kendel","kèndela","kéndel","lan-meneng","lan-piyambakipun-meneng","meneng","mugi-kèndel"]·KO["그리고-그들이-잠잠했다","그리고-침묵하면","그리하여-그들이-잠잠했다","내가-잠잠하리라","내가-잠잠하지","내가-침묵하겠다","잔잔하지","잠잠하라","잠잠하리라","잠잠하소서","잠잠하지","조용히-하라","침묵하소서"]·PT["Calai-vos","E-calaram-se","Te-cales","cala-te","calai-vos","calarei","e-calar-se","e-calaram-se","me-calarei","te-cales"]·RU["безмолвствуй","будь-нем-ко-мне","замолчите","замолчу","и-замолчали","и-промолчит","молчи","умолкните","умолкну","умолчу"]·ES["Callad","calla","callaré","calles","enmudezcas","guarden-silencio","guardes-silencio","puedo-callar","y-callaron","y-calle","¡Calla!"]·SW["Nyamaza","Nyamazeni","kimya","kunyamaza","na-akanyamaza","na-wakanyamaza","ningenyamaza","nitanyamaza","nyamaza","nyamaze","nyamazeni","tulie","uwe-kimya"]·TR["Susun","sus","susacağım","susma","susturalım","susun","ve-susarsa","ve-sustular"]·urd["اور-خاموش-رہے","اور-خاموش-رہے-وہ","اور-چپ-رہا","خاموش رہ","خاموش-رہ","خاموش-رہو","خاموش-رہوں-گا","میں-خاموش-رہوں-گا","چُپ-رہ","چپ-رہ"]
2. sense 2 — An uncertain or transitional usage at Job 11:3, where the context suggests silencing someone or reducing them to silence through argument. The multilingual evidence is thin—English gives 'silence,' Spanish '¿harán callar?' (will they cause to be silent?)—but the passage sits at the boundary between voluntary and imposed silence. 1×
AR["تُسْكِتُ"]·ben["চুপ-করাবে"]·DE["[יחרישו]"]·EN["silence"]·FR["se-taire"]·heb["יחרישו"]·HI["चुप-कराएगी"]·ID["membisu"]·IT["tacere"]·jav["sami-kendel"]·KO["잠잠하게-하겠느냐"]·PT["calarão"]·RU["заставит-молчать"]·ES["¿harán-callar?"]·SW["watanyamaza"]·TR["susturur"]·urd["خاموش-رہیں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. [חָרֵשׁ] vb. 1. be silent, dumb, speechless; 2. be deaf; chiefly poet. (NH Pi. make deaf; Aramaic ܚܪܶܫ, ܚܪܰܫ be dumb, deaf; Arabic خَرِسَ be dumb, speechless, cf. Assyrian ḫarâšu, restrain, according to DlPr 100; v. LagBN 120)— Qal Impf. יֶחֱרָ֑שׁ ψ 50:3; 2 ms. תֶּחֱרַשׁ ψ 28:1; 83:2; תֶּחֱרַ֑שׁ ψ 35:22; 109:1; תֶּחֱרָ֑שׁ ψ 39:13; 3 fpl. תֶּחֱרַ֑שְׁנָה Mi 7:16;— 1. be silent, always of…