Greek word · G2270

ἡσυχάζω

hēsychazō

be quiet/give up

To be at rest, be still, keep quiet, be undisturbed; to refrain from activity or agitation; in some contexts to stop speaking. The related noun ἡσυχία means calm, tranquillity, rest, and sometimes silence.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἡσυχάζω

[in LXX chiefly for שָׁקַט ;]

to be still;

(a) to rest from labour: Luke 23:56;

(b) to live quietly: 1 Thessalonians 4:11;

(with) to be silent: Luke 14:3, Acts 11:18 21:14 (cf. Job 32:7, Nehemiah 5:8).†

SYN.: σιγάω (which see), σιωπάω (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Range of meaning

To be at rest, be still, keep quiet, be undisturbed; to refrain from activity or agitation; in some contexts to stop speaking. The related noun ἡσυχία means calm, tranquillity, rest, and sometimes silence.

Against the English

English 'quiet' quickly suggests low volume, shyness or not talking. Here the sense is social: a calm, orderly life that does not cause disturbance or interfere in other people's affairs.

How it drifted

English 'quiet' is mostly about noise; the Greek word is mostly about rest and freedom from turmoil, with silence as only one possible sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (LXX), 'the land had rest' (ἡσύχασεν, Judg 3:11; 5:31) means peace from war. In the New Testament: the women 'rested' on the Sabbath (Luke 23:56); critics 'fell silent' and stopped objecting (Acts 11:18; 21:14). Compare 2 Thess 3:12, 'work with quietness' (μετὰ ἡσυχίας), and 1 Tim 2:2, 'a quiet and peaceable life'. Greek moralists praised the ἥσυχος βίος, the quiet life, as the opposite of restless meddling.

From the study of Acts 11:18

Range of meaning

To be quiet or at rest. It can mean to stop speaking, to drop an objection, to rest from work (Luke 23:56, the Sabbath rest), or to live quietly (1 Thess 4:11).

Against the English

BSB 'had no further objections' gives the meaning but loses the image of a room going quiet. KJV 'held their peace' is a correct old idiom for 'kept silent', but a modern reader may hear 'made peace' or 'felt peaceful'.

How it drifted

Only in the KJV idiom 'held their peace', where 'peace' once meant silence.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke uses the same verb in Luke 14:4, where the lawyers and Pharisees 'were silent', and in Acts 21:14: 'when he would not be persuaded, we ceased [ἡσυχάσαμεν], saying, "The Lord's will be done."' There too silence means giving up opposition in the face of God's will.

From the study of Luke 23:56

Range of meaning

To be quiet or at peace. It covers keeping silent, keeping still, stopping an activity, and being undisturbed. It is used of people who fall silent (Luke 14:4; Acts 11:18), who stop objecting (Acts 21:14), who lead a quiet, settled life (1 Thessalonians 4:11), and of a land that has peace after war.

Against the English

Every major English version says "rested." That is accurate, but modern English "rest" usually suggests recovering from tiredness or relaxing. The Greek suggests stopping and holding still: ceasing activity.

How it drifted

In modern use "rest" has moved toward leisure and recovery. In older English, "rest" for the Sabbath meant ceasing work, which is close to the Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) the word describes the land having rest, e.g. Judges 3:11, "the land had rest forty years." It is not the usual Septuagint word for Sabbath rest. That role belongs to katapauō ("cease, rest," Genesis 2:2), sabbatizō ("keep Sabbath," Exodus 16:30) and anapausis. Luke picks a common, everyday Greek word for keeping still.

Similar words

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 14:4 ἡσύχασαν. they were silent.

    But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

  2. Luke 23:56 ἡσύχασαν they rested

    Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.

    Here: They held still and did no work. The point is that they stopped what they were doing, not that they recovered from being tired. The tense treats the whole day's rest as one completed fact.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 11:18 ἡσύχασαν they were silent

    When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

    Here: They fell silent, meaning they dropped their objection. It answers the 'contending' of 11:2: the argument ended. It is not sullen silence, because praise follows at once.

  2. Acts 21:14 ἡσυχάσαμεν we were silent

    When he would not be dissuaded, we quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 ἡσυχάζειν to live quietly

    and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

    Here: To live a settled, undisturbed life, not stirring up agitation or getting involved in others' affairs. It is about a way of life, not about speaking softly or keeping silent.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.