– From the Latin silere , to be silent, not to utter a word, in religion it means absence of noise, external and internal, to be able to pray and meditate better:
Mt 14:23 : Having done this, he went up to the mountain to pray in solitude. And when night came, he was there alone.
Mk 1:35 : Having risen long before daybreak, he left and went to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
Mk 6:46 : And when the people were dismissed, he withdrew to the mountain to pray.
Mk 14:32 : Jesus said to his disciples: “Sit here while I go to pray”.
Lc 2,19.51 : Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.
Lk 22:41 : Then he withdrew from them, a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed.
– Jesus also advises him to avoid ostentation:
Mt 6,5-6 : When you pray, do not do like the hypocrites, who like to pray standing in the synagogues.
– It is a condition for listening to the Word of God:
1Kings 19:12 : When the earthquake had passed, […] there was the murmur of a light breeze.
Zep 1,7 : Silence before the Lord Yahweh! Because the day of the Lord is at hand.
Rev 8:1 : When he finally opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
– In the AT, silence on God’s part was interpreted as a sign of disgrace:
Job 9:3 : God does not hold back his fury; before him lie prostrate the attendants of Rahab.
Job 23,8-9 : But if I go to the East, he is not there; to the West, I will not find it.
Job 30:20 : I call to you and you do not answer me. I stand before you, and you do not look at me.
Ps 27,1 : O my support, do not be deaf to my voice; lest it happen that you are not listening to me.
Ps 34:22 : You too, Lord, have seen! Do not be silent. Lord, do not depart from me.
Ps 38 :5 : Make known to me, O Lord, my end and the number of my days, that I may see how short I am.
Ps 82,2 : Lord, do not be silent, do not remain deaf or insensitive, O God.
Ps 93,17 : If the Lord did not help me, my soul would soon dwell in the region of silence.
Ps 108,1 : O God of my praise, do not be insensitive.
Is 64,11 : Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors celebrated your praises.
Lam 2,9-10 : There are no more oracles. Even prophets no longer receive visions from the Lord.
Ez 3,26 : I will bind your tongue to your palate, so that your muteness prevents you from rebuking them.
Am 8,12 : They will wander […]; they will run everywhere seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.
Hab 1:13 : Your eyes are too pure to see evil, you cannot look on suffering.
