Hebrew word · H1748
דּוּמָם
dumam
silence
An adverb from the root d-m-m, "be silent, still, motionless." It covers quiet waiting (Lam 3:26), the dumbness of an idol (Hab 2:19, "a silent stone"), and the stunned silence of grief or shock. The related noun dumah, "silence", is a name for the realm of the dead (Ps 94:17; 115:17).
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) silence
adv
2) in silence, silently
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
An adverb from the root d-m-m, "be silent, still, motionless." It covers quiet waiting (Lam 3:26), the dumbness of an idol (Hab 2:19, "a silent stone"), and the stunned silence of grief or shock. The root is used of Aaron after his sons die (Lev 10:3) and of the elders of Daughter Zion sitting on the ground in mourning (Lam 2:10). The related noun dumah, "silence", is a name for the realm of the dead (Ps 94:17; 115:17).
- Against the English
English "sit in silence" or "sit silent" is accurate. On its own, though, "silence" can sound like calm or meditation. Here it is the silence of the crushed.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint seems to render the idea with a word meaning "stunned, pierced with grief" (katanenygmenē), the same verb family it uses for Aaron's silence in Lev 10:3. In the ancient Near East, sitting on the ground in silence was a standard mourning posture (Job 2:13; Lam 2:10).
From the study of Lamentations 3:26
- Range of meaning
'Silently, in stillness.' Related words: dûmiyyâ, 'silence, quiet waiting' (Ps 62:1; 65:1), and the verb dāmam, 'be silent, be still, stand motionless' (Josh 10:12–13, the sun 'stood still'; Ps 37:7, 'be still before YHWH'; Lev 10:3, Aaron 'was silent'). Some lexicons (HALOT) also list a second root d-m-m, 'to wail, lament', compared with Akkadian damāmu, 'to mourn'. Few scholars apply it here.
- Against the English
'Quietly' (BSB, KJV, WEB, most modern versions) is right. To modern ears, though, it can suggest calm feelings or serenity. The Hebrew is about holding back speech and protest, staying still. It says nothing either way about what the person feels inside.
- How it drifted
English 'quiet' has shifted toward 'peaceful, tranquil'. The Hebrew focuses on not speaking and not moving.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ps 37:7 ('Be still [dôm] before YHWH and wait for him'). Ps 62:1, 5 ('For God alone my soul waits in silence'). Lev 10:3: Aaron's silence after his sons die. Lam 2:10: the elders of Zion 'sit on the ground in silence' (yiddəmû), a mourning posture. Lam 3:28: 'let him sit alone and be silent (yiddōm)'.
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 47:5 דוּמָ֛ם silently
“Sit in silence and go into darkness, O Daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
Here: An adverb: "in silence, motionless." It is the silence of the stunned, the mourning and the defeated. The voice that boasted "I am, and there is no one besides me" (v.8, 10) has nothing left to say.
Lamentations · 1
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Lamentations 3:26 וְדוּמָ֔ם and silently
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Here: An adverb from d-m-m, 'be silent, be still'. The waiting is done without protest or loud demand. Verse 28 ('let him sit alone and be silent') and verse 29 ('let him put his mouth in the dust') spell out what this looks like.
Habakkuk · 1
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Habakkuk 2:19 דּוּמָ֑ם silence
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
Here: 'Silence': a 'stone of silence', that is, a stone that cannot speak. It picks up 'mute idols' in 2:18 and sets up a contrast with 2:20, where the whole earth must fall silent before the living LORD.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.