שֵׁ֫מֶץ (she.mets)
she.mets
whisper
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun shemets carries a dual sense of a faint sound and a small amount. It literally describes a whisper or murmur, but in Scripture it often functions as a quantifier meaning "a little" or "a bit." This word appears only twice in the Bible, both within the Book of Job, where it helps convey the fragility of human existence.
In Job 15:21, the speaker uses shemets to describe how terror lurks near the wicked person, suggesting that danger is always close at hand, like a faint noise. Later, in Job 30:29, Job laments his suffering by saying he has no peace, not even a little (shemets). Here, the word emphasizes the total absence of comfort or respite.
Its rarity makes its usage significant. By limiting the word to these two contexts, the text highlights moments of intense emotional or spiritual distress. Translators often render it as "a little" when referring to quantity, but keep "whisper" or "murmur" when referring to sound, depending on the surrounding imagery.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When life feels overwhelming, it is easy to believe that God’s presence has vanished entirely. The word shemets reminds us that even a faint whisper or a tiny fragment of comfort matters. In Job 26:14, the text notes that we hear only a small whisper of God’s power, yet this glimpse is enough to point toward His greatness.
This rare Hebrew term appears in moments of deep distress, highlighting how fragile human understanding can be. Yet, even in those quiet spaces where peace seems absent, the mere hint of divine reality remains. You do not need to hear a loud voice to know that God is near; sometimes, a gentle murmur is all we need to steady our hearts.
Let this truth encourage you when silence feels heavy. The same God who speaks in whispers also holds all power. His presence does not depend on your ability to grasp it fully, but on His faithful commitment to you.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- a whisper of1×
- a whisper1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שֵּׁ֣מֶץ1×
- שֵׁ֣מֶץ1×
Key Verses
-
Job 4:12
“Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it.
This verse uses the word to describe a secret whisper received by the ear, setting a tone of mysterious divine communication during a time of fear.
-
Job 26:14
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Here the term quantifies how little we hear of God's ways compared to His thunder, emphasizing human limitation against divine majesty.