Hebrew word · Strong's H7503

רָפָה

râphâh · raw-faw' · verb · “to be still, slacken”

In a sentence

Raphah means to be still, slack, or to let go. “Be still and know that I am God” is the famous English of this verb — a call to release striving and trust.

Raphah is to slacken — to drop one’s hands, to let go, to be still. Its imperative in Psalm 46:10 has become one of the Bible’s most quoted lines: “Be still (harpu), and know that I am God.”

The stillness is not passivity but trust — the deliberate release of anxious striving in light of who God is. Be still because he reigns.

Strong's reference

Definition: to slacken (in many applications, literal or figurative)

KJV usage: abate, cease, consume, draw (toward evening), fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (go, down), (be) slack, stay, be still, be slothful, (be) weak(-en). See H7495 (רָפָא).

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Psalms 46:10 ““Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”” Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.””

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.