Hebrew word · H8367
שָׁתַק
veyishtok
be quiet
To be quiet, become calm, subside. Rare: only four times in the Hebrew Bible. Twice it is the sea calming after a storm (Jonah 1:11, 12), once the storm-sea stilled (Ps 107:30), and here.
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Qal) to be quiet, be silent
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
From the study of Proverbs 26:20
- Range of meaning
To be quiet, become calm, subside. Rare: only four times in the Hebrew Bible. Twice it is the sea calming after a storm (Jonah 1:11, 12), once the storm-sea stilled (Ps 107:30), and here.
- Against the English
"Ceaseth" (KJV, YLT), "ceases" (BSB), "dies down" (WEB, NIV), "quiets down" (NASB). "Dies down" and "quiets down" best keep the gradual settling of the Hebrew. "Ceases" can sound abrupt.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Jonah 1:11: "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down (yishtoq) for us?" Ps 107:30: "they were glad that the waters grew quiet."
Similar words
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 107:30 יִשְׁתֹּ֑קוּ they were quiet
They rejoiced in the silence, and He guided them to the harbor they desired.
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 26:20 יִשְׁתֹּ֥ק it becomes quiet
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
Here: "Grows quiet, settles down." Elsewhere the word is used for a storm-tossed sea going calm (Jonah 1:11–12; Ps 107:30). The quarrel is pictured as noise and turmoil that dies down by itself.
Jonah · 2
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Jonah 1:11 וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק so it may be calm
Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”
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Jonah 1:12 וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק so it may be calm
“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.