Word Studies - "Quietness"

Paul urged the Thessalonians to "aspire to lead a quiet life..." (1 Thessalonians 4:12). The quietness of which he wrote was not a dull existence with speech only in hushed tones, but rather refers to a life characterized by minding one's own business, working with his own hands. The Greek word for "quiet" found here, "hesuchadzo," is a word that seems to imply a condition of submissiveness, acting in one's proper realm, not going outside the bounds of one's recognized position or role.

The noun and adjective forms of "hesuchadzo" appear in 1 Timothy 2:11, 12. "Let a woman learn in silence with all subjection. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." It is notable that Paul uses a different word for silence here than that found in 1 Corinthians 14:34, "Let your women keep silent [Greek, 'sigao'] in the churches..." There he forbade a woman to become a speaker in the assembly, even though she may have had a spiritual gift. Her speaking is proscribed by revealed law.

The passage in 1 Timothy 2, however, emphasizes the woman's own recognition of her place in the scheme of things: She adorns herself in a manner that befits a woman professing godliness (verses 9, 10); she sees that Adam was created before Eve, and that Eve was deceived (13, 14); she knows that God has placed her in the role of childbearing (15). This leads to a quietness of obedient submission. It is not just a "silence" imposed upon the woman at the assembly, it is the "quietness" of spirit described by Peter in 1 Peter 3:3, 4: "Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,which is very precious in the sight of God."

The difference between these two words for silence seems to be well-illustrated in Luke's account of Paul's arrest in Jerusalem after his third journey. A violent mob was shouting, "Away with him!" as Paul asked the commander to allow him to speak to the people. There was "great silence" after Paul motioned with his hand. (Acts 21:40). This is from the Greek "sige," the noun form of the word found in 1 Corinthians 14:34. The people were quiet because of Paul's nonverbal request, but Luke tells us that "they kept all the more silent" upon hearing the apostle speak in the Hebrew language. (Acts 22:2). Here Luke changes to the other word, "hesuchia," apparently because the quietness this time grew out of greater respect for Paul when they heard that he spoke the revered language of their forefathers.

Luke applied this word to himself and those with him in Acts 21:14. On the approach to Jerusalem, Paul was being warned of the trouble that awaited him there. His travelling companions and the brethren at Caesarea pleaded with him not to go, but Paul insisted that he would continue even in the face of death "for the name of the Lord Jesus." Luke wrote, "So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased [Greek, 'hesuchadzo'], saying, 'The will of the Lord be done.'" Note that when they saw that their pleading was contrary to the Lord's will, Paul's friends knew that they were out of place, and they stopped, even though they did not actually become silent. A similar use is found in Acts 11:18, where we find that Jewish believers, having learned of God's signs indicating His acceptance of Gentiles into Christ, "became silent," even though the sentence goes on to say that they spoke something!