---
title: חָשָׁה — be silent · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חָשָׁה (2814), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 16 times: be silent. BDB 1906: vb. be silent, inactive, still. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# חָשָׁה

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«חָשָׁה» in the Tanakh dictionary: **be silent** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 16 times · **Key:** 2814 · **BDB:** חָשָׁה

### Glosses

be.silent (3); I.will.be.silent (2); \[are.being\].inactive (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

be silent [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2814/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. be silent, inactive, still [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2814/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** vb. be silent, inactive, still (chiefly poet. and late) (NH id., Aramaic in deriv.)— Impf. 2 ms. תֶּחֱשֶׁה ψ 28:1 Is 64:11; אֶחֱשֶׁה Is 62:1; 65:6; יֶחֱשׁוּ Is 62:6; וַיֶּחֱשׁוּ ψ 107:29;—be silent Ec 3:7 (opp. לְדַבֵּר); Is 62:1, 6 (= neglect to speak); of י׳ i.e. be unresponsive ψ 28:1 (‖ חרשׁ); Is 64:11 (‖ הִתְאַפַּק); but 65:6 of י׳’s keeping silence at iniquity, i.e. overlooking it (cf. 57:11 Hiph.); of waves, be still ψ 107:29 (subj. גַּלֵּיהֶם). Pf. הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי ψ 39:3 Is 42:14; Imv. הֶחֱשׁוּ 2 K 2:3, 5; Pt. מַחְשֶׁה Is 57:11; pl. מַחְשִׁים Ju 18:9 + 3 times;— exhibit silence, be silent 2 K 2:3, 5; 7:9 ψ 39:3 (sq. מִטּוֹב, ‖ נֶאֱלַמְתִּי), fig. Is 42:14 (‖ אחרישׁ); of י׳’s being silent at iniquity Is 57:11 (i.e. overlooking it, cf. Qal 65:5), poss. also is be silent, opp. rescue, Ges Che Di Du. shew inactivity Ju 18:9, הח׳ מִקַּחַת 1 K 22:3 Gilead is ours, and we shew inactivity so as not to take it. causat. make still, quiet. sq. לְ, of direct obj. Ne 8:11 (v b הַסּוּ q.v.)

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 16 of its verses cited, 3 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חָשָׁה» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2814/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Psalms 107:29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.107.29/)

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יָקֵ֣ם סְ֭עָרָה לִדְמָמָ֑ה וַ֝יֶּחֱשׁ֗וּ גַּלֵּיהֶֽם׃

*Word for word:* he.raised \[the\].storm into a.whisper and they.were.still waves their

*JPS 1917:* He made the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof were still.

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[Psalms 39:3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.39.3/)

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נֶאֱלַ֣מְתִּי ד֭וּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁ֣יתִי מִטּ֑וֹב וּכְאֵבִ֥י נֶעְכָּֽר׃

*Word for word:* I.was.dumb silence I.was.silent from good and pain my it.was.stirred.up

*JPS 1917:* I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, had no comfort; and my pain was held in check.

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