A stillness or absence of noise, often associated with the absence of life or people, but also associated with a sense of expectancy or reverence, especially in the presence of God. Scripture stresses that God is not silent, but has spoken his word to his creation. The silence of Jesus Christ before his accusers is seen as the fulfilment of OT prophecy.
The silence of God
His apparent silence in the face of sin
Psalm 50:21 See also Job 34:29; Isaiah 42:14, Isaiah 57:11
You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
God will not remain silent in the face of sin
Psalm 50:3 See also Isaiah 62:1, Isaiah 65:6–7
Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.
Prayers that God will not be silent
Psalm 28:1 See also Psalm 35:22, Psalm 39:12, Psalm 83:1, Psalm 109:1; Isaiah 64:12; Habakkuk 1:13
Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
God silences those who oppose him
1 Samuel 2:9 See also Psalm 8:2, Psalm 63:11, Psalm 107:42; Isaiah 25:5, Isaiah 47:5; Jeremiah 47:5, Jeremiah 48:2, Jeremiah 51:55MAT Jeremiah 22:34; Mark 3:4; Luke 20:26 Acts 4:14; Romans 3:19
He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
The silence of Jesus Christ
It was foretold in the OT
Isaiah 53:7 See also Acts 8:32
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
Its fulfilment in the NT
Matthew 26:63 parallel Mark 14:61 before the Sanhedrin; Matthew 27:14 parallels Mark 15:4–5, John 19:9 before Pilate; Luke 23:9 before Herod
Jesus Christ commands silence as a sign of his authority
Mark 1:25–26 parallel Luke 4:35 Jesus Christ silenced evil spirits; Mark 4:39 Jesus Christ silenced the storm.
There are times when it is appropriate for God's people to be silent
The silence of expecting God to act
Joshua 6:10 See also Genesis 24:21; Exodus 14:14–15; 2 Kings 2:3, 2 Kings 2:5; Revelation 8:1
But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
The silence anticipating the wisdom of another person
The silence of prudence
Proverbs 10:19; Ecclesiastes 3:7 See also 1 Samuel 10:27; Job 13:5, Job 33:31–33; Proverbs 11:12, Proverbs 17:28
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
The silence of suffering
Lamentations 3:28 See also Psalm 39:9
Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it upon him.
The silence of shame
The silence of anger
Psalm 4:4 The psalmist is warning against hasty action when angry.
Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah
The silence of amazement at God's actions
See also Luke 9:36; Acts 15:12
A tongues-speaker should be silent if no interpreter is present
1 Corinthians 14:28 silence in the church; 1 Corinthians 14:30 A prophet should be silent if another receives a revelation.
Christian women are sometimes exorted to be silent
1 Timothy 2:11–12 See also 1 Corinthians 14:34–35; 1 Peter 3:1–4
A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.
There are times when it is inappropriate for God's people to be silent
When there is good news to tell
When much depends upon a person's words
Esther 4:14 See also Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 20:9; Acts 18:9–10
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
When God should be praised
Psalm 30:11–12 See also Luke 19:37–40
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.
When sin is unconfessed
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
When God's people feel they have a genuine complaint
Psalm 39:1–2 See also Job 7:11, Job 23:16–17
For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.” I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.
When prayer is urgently required
God's people are sometimes brought to silence
Job 31:34 Job fearing the crowd; Ezekiel 3:26 Ezekiel as a judgment on Israel; Mark 9:34 the disciples when their pride was exposed; Luke 1:20 Zechariah because of his unbelief
Silencing the wicked
Believers pray that the wicked will be silenced
Psalm 31:17–18; 1 Peter 2:23 See also Psalm 143:12
O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol. May lying lips be silenced — lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
Believers so live that the wicked may be silenced
False teachers must be silenced
Titus 1:10–11 “the circumcision group” believed that in order to be saved it was necessary to be circumcised and keep the Jewish ceremonial law.
For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.
Death is compared to silence
See also Psalm 94:17, Psalm 115:17
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.