International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Hiss

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Hiss


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his (שׁרק, shāraḳ): “To hiss” has two applications: (1) to call, (2) to express contempt or scorn.

(1) It is the translation of shāraḳ, a mimetic word meaning to hiss or whistle, to call (bees, etc.), (a) , “I will hiss unto them from the ends of the earth,” the Revised Version (British and American) “hiss for them (margin “him”) from the end of the earth”; , “Yahweh will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria”; namely, Egyptians whose land was noted for flies () and Assyrians whose country was pre-eminently one of bees. Dangerous enemies are compared to bees in ; (Skinner's Isaiah): , “I will hiss for them, and gather them” (His own people, who will come at His call).

(2) More often, to hiss is to express contempt or derision (; ; , etc.). In this sense we have also frequently a hissing (; ; , ; ; ; , sherēḳāh); , sherı̄ḳōth or sherūḳōth; Ecclesiasticus 22:1, “Every one will hiss him (the slothful man) out in his disgrace” (eksurı́ssō, “to hiss out”); The Wisdom of Solomon 17:9, “hissing of serpents” (surigmós).