Greek word · G4602

σιγή

sigē

silence

Silence: the absence of speech or sound, a hush that falls on a group. It can describe a crowd stilled before a speaker, the quiet of night, the reverent silence of worshippers, and in Jewish writings of the time, the 'primeval silence' before creation.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σιγή, -ῆς, ἡ

[in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 18:14, 3Ma.3:23 * ;]

silence: Acts 21:40, Revelation 8:1.†

(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 Revelation 8:1

Range of meaning

Silence: the absence of speech or sound, a hush that falls on a group. It can describe a crowd stilled before a speaker, the quiet of night, the reverent silence of worshippers, and in Jewish writings of the time, the 'primeval silence' before creation.

Against the English

Every major English version renders it 'silence', which is accurate. What modern readers may miss is the kind of silence. It is not emptiness, boredom or God being absent. It is a charged hush of people waiting for something to happen.

How it drifted

Modern religious language often uses 'the silence of God' for God not answering or not acting. That idea is foreign to this verse, where the silence is heaven's, not God's, and it comes just before God acts.

Used elsewhere in the period
  • Acts 21:40: the only other New Testament use: 'when there was a great silence' as Paul is about to speak. The silence comes right before something important is said.
  • Old Testament 'be silent before the LORD' (Hebrew has, 'hush!'): Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7 ('for the day of the LORD is near'); Zechariah 2:13 ('he has roused himself from his holy dwelling'). In each, silence is how creation responds when God is about to appear in judgment. The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) translates these with 'be reverent/wary before him', which shows the silence was understood as awe.
  • Letter of Aristeas 92–95 (2nd century BC): describes priests in the Jerusalem temple working in such complete silence 'that one would think no one was present'. Silence belonged to temple service.
  • 4 Ezra 7:30; 2 Baruch 3:7 (late 1st century AD, roughly the same time as Revelation): before the new age begins, the world returns to 'the primeval silence' that existed before creation.
  • Wisdom of Solomon 18:14–15: 'while gentle silence enveloped all things… your all-powerful word leaped from heaven' to carry out judgment.
  • Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q405): the angels' worship is described with the phrase 'a sound of quiet stillness'.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 21:40 σιγῆς silence

    Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:

    Here: Silence, the absence of voices. With "great" it pictures a mob going from uproar to a hush.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 8:1 σιγὴ silence

    When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

    Here: Silence, a hush, the stopping of speech and sound. Coming after the nonstop hymns, thunder and loud voices of chapters 4–7, the stillness is startling.

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