What does σιωπάω (siōpáō) mean in the Bible?
σιωπάω (siōpáō): Enforced silence, often involuntary or divinely imposed, contrasting with voluntary quietness
Greek · G4623
σιωπάω
Be quiet
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
σιωπάω G4623
Pronunciation siōpáō
What does σιωπάω (siōpáō) mean in the Bible?
σιωπάω (siōpáō): Enforced silence, often involuntary or divinely imposed, contrasting with voluntary quietness
Full entry for σιωπάω (G4623) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4623?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include be silent (2), they were silent (2), [Jesus] remained silent (1), remain silent (1), remained silent (1).
Where does σιωπάω (siōpáō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 20:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (5), Luke (2), Matthew (2), Acts (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It be silent 2× Mark 10:48, Acts 18:9
they were silent 2× Mark 3:4, Mark 9:34
[Jesus] remained silent 1× Mark 14:61
remain silent 1× Luke 19:40
remained silent 1× Matthew 26:63
Silence 1× Mark 4:39
silent 1× Luke 1:20
to be silent 1× Matthew 20:31
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 20:31 σιωπήσωσιν to to be silent Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 26:63 ἐσιώπα to remained silent Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 3:4 ἐσιώπων to they were silent Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 4:39 Σιώπα to Silence Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Mark 9:34 ἐσιώπων to they were silent Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 10:48 σιωπήσῃ to be silent Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 14:61 ἐσιώπα to [Jesus] remained silent Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 1:20 σιωπῶν to silent Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 19:40 σιωπήσουσιν to remain silent Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Acts 18:9 σιωπήσῃς to be silent Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 20:31
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 4
Matthew 2 Mark 5 Luke 2 Acts 1
Source forms
ἐσιώπα 2x esiōpa Matthew 26:63, Mark 14:61
ἐσιώπων 2x esiōpōn Mark 3:4, Mark 9:34
Σιώπα 1x Siōpa Mark 4:39
σιωπήσῃ 1x siōpēsē Mark 10:48
σιωπήσῃς 1x siōpēsēs Acts 18:9
σιωπήσουσιν 1x siōpēsousin Luke 19:40
σιωπήσωσιν 1x siōpēsōsin Matthew 20:31
σιωπῶν 1x siōpōn Luke 1:20
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Mark 3:4, Mark 9:34
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 26:63, Mark 14:61
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Acts 18:9
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Matthew 20:31
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Mark 10:48
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Luke 19:40
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Mark 4:39
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 1:20
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Enforced silence, often involuntary or divinely imposed, contrasting with voluntary quietness
Strong's G4623
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 4 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
be quiet
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Enforced silence, often involuntary or divinely imposed, contrasting with voluntary quietness
(σιωπή, silence) [in LXX for חָשָׁה, חָרַשׁ hi., etc. ;] to be silent or still, keep silence: Mat.20:31 26:63, Mrk.3:4 9:34 10:48 14:61, Luk.19:4, Act.18:9; of one dumb, Luk.1:20 (cf. 4Ma.10:18); addressed rhetorically to the sea, σιώπα, Mrk.4:39.
Synonymsἡσυχάζω, σιγάω (which see)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 20:31 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
σιωπήσωσιν. siwphswsin
I keep silence
Read verse Matthew 26:63 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐσιώπα. esiwpa
I keep silence
Read verse Mark 3:4 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐσιώπων. esiwpwn
I keep silence
Read verse Mark 4:39 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
Σιώπα, siwpa
I keep silence
Read verse Mark 9:34 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐσιώπων· esiwpwn
I keep silence
Read verse Mark 10:48 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
σιωπήσῃ· siwphsh
I keep silence
Read verse Mark 14:61 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐσιώπα, esiwpa
I keep silence
Read verse Luke 1:20 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
σιωπῶν siwpwn
I keep silence
Read verse Luke 18:39 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
σιωπήσῃ· siwphsh
I keep silence
Read verse Luke 19:40 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
σιωπήσωσιν, siwphswsin
I keep silence
Read verse Acts 18:9 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
σιωπήσῃς· siwphshv
I keep silence
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 10 Tenses Imperfect, Aorist, Present, Future Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Imperfect Active Matt 26:63 · Mark 14:61 · Mark 3:4 · Mark 9:34 4×
Future Active Luke 19:40 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 3×
Aorist Active Matt 20:31 · Mark 10:48 · Acts 18:9 3×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Active Mark 4:39 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Luke 1:20 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 4 aorist 3 present 2 future 1
Voice
active 10
Mood
indicative 5 subjunctive 3 participle 1 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 20:31 σιωπήσωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 26:63 ἐσιώπα imperfect active indicative background Mark 3:4 ἐσιώπων imperfect active indicative background Mark 4:39 Σιώπα present active imperative imperative Mark 9:34 ἐσιώπων imperfect active indicative background Mark 10:48 σιωπήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 14:61 ἐσιώπα imperfect active indicative background Luke 1:20 σιωπῶν present active participle participle Luke 19:40 σιωπήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Acts 18:9 σιωπήσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 19:28–44 σιωπήσωσιν siōpáō
Be silent
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σιωπάω is built from this root:
σιγή G4602
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain