chasha · be silent, be still

What it means

chasha (חָשָׁה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “be silent, be still”.

Be silent, keep still without doing anything.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To say nothing and do nothing, to stay still.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• keep silent ×5
• are keeping silent ×3
• be silent ×3
• I have kept silent ×1
• I kept quiet ×1
• have been silent ×1
• were hushed ×1
• were quieting ×1

Where it appears

• Judges×1
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×3
• Nehemiah×1
• Psalms×3
• Ecclesiastes×1
• Isaiah×6

• Judges 18:9

  And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and look, it is very good. And you are keeping silent? Do not be sluggish to go, to enter, to take possession of the land.

• 1 Kings 22:3

  The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are keeping silent instead of taking it from the hand of the king of Aram?”

• 2 Kings 2:3

  The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today YHWH is taking your master from over your head?” He said, “I too know it; be silent.”

• 2 Kings 2:5

  The sons of the prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today YHWH is taking your master from over your head?” He said, “I too know it; be silent.”

• 2 Kings 7:9

  They said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we are keeping silent. If we wait until the light of morning, guilt will find us. Now come, let us go and tell the house of the king.”

• Nehemiah 8:11

  And the Levites were quieting all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; and do not be grieved.”

• Psalms 28:1

  Of David. To you, YHWH, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to me, lest you be silent to me and I become like those who go down to the pit.

• Psalms 39:2

  I became mute in silence; I kept quiet even from good, and my pain was stirred up.

• Psalms 107:29

  He made the storm a calm, and their waves were hushed.

• Ecclesiastes 3:7

  a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

• Isaiah 42:14

  “I have kept silent for ages past; I have been still, I have restrained myself; like a woman giving birth I will groan; I will pant and gasp at once.

• Isaiah 57:11

  And of whom were you anxious and afraid, that you lied, and me you did not remember, nor laid it on your heart? Is it not that I have been silent, even from long ago, and so me you do not fear?

• Isaiah 62:1

  For the sake of Zion I will not keep silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes out like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that burns.

• Isaiah 62:6

  Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all the day and all the night continually they will not keep silent. You who remind YHWH, let there be no rest for you,

• Isaiah 64:12

  At these things will you restrain yourself, YHWH? Will you keep silent and afflict us to the extreme?

• Isaiah 65:6

  Look, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; and I will repay into their bosom