Hebrew word · H3907
לָחַשׁ
yitlachashu
to whisper
To whisper or murmur. In its basic form it is used of charmers who whisper spells (Psalm 58:5, 'the voice of the charmers'). The reflexive/reciprocal form used here (hitpael) means 'whisper to one another' (2 Samuel 12:19; Psalm 41:7).
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to whisper, charm, conjure
1a) (Piel) charmers, conjurers, whisperers (participle)
1b) (Hithpael) to whisper to each other
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
To whisper or murmur. In its basic form it is used of charmers who whisper spells (Psalm 58:5, 'the voice of the charmers'). The related noun laḥaš means a whisper, a charm, or an incantation (Isaiah 3:3, 'skilled in charms'; Isaiah 26:16, 'a whispered prayer'; Jeremiah 8:17 and Ecclesiastes 10:11, snake-charming). The reflexive/reciprocal form used here (hitpael) means 'whisper to one another' (2 Samuel 12:19; Psalm 41:7).
- Against the English
English 'whisper' is accurate for the sound but can sound harmless or just secretive. The Hebrew word belongs to a world where low murmured speech was linked with gossip and also, at times, with spells. Its range is broader and darker than plain 'whisper,' though it does not have to mean magic here.
- Used elsewhere in the period
2 Samuel 12:19: David sees his servants 'whispering together' (mitlaḥăšîm) and realises the child is dead. That is the closest parallel: hushed talk around a sickbed about whether someone has died. The Septuagint renders it psithyrizō, 'whisper, slander in whispers.' The same Greek word family gives psithyristēs, 'whisperer/slanderer,' in Romans 1:29.
Where it appears
2 Samuel · 1
-
2 Samuel 12:19 מִֽתְלַחֲשִׁ֔ים [were] whispering to one another
When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied.
Psalms · 2
-
Psalm 41:7 יִ֭תְלַחֲשׁוּ they whisper to one another
All who hate me whisper against me; they imagine the worst for me:
Here: The verb form is reciprocal: they whisper among themselves. The Hebrew 'imperfect' tense suggests ongoing, repeated action: they keep murmuring. The same verb is used when David's servants whisper that his child has died (2 Samuel 12:19).
-
Psalm 58:5 מְלַחֲשִׁ֑ים charmers
refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.