Bible Dictionary
CHATTER
To chatter means to peep, twitter, or chirp like a small bird. Isaiah uses the word to describe Hezekiah’s distressed utterance.
Definition
To chatter means to peep, twitter, or chirp like a small bird. The word describes a light or distressed utterance resembling the sounds of birds.
Biblical Usage
In Isaiah 38:14, Hezekiah compares his distressed speech to the sounds of a swallow or crane and says that he chattered.
Historical Background
The term is based on the characteristic peeping, twittering, or chirping of small birds.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>chat'-er (tsaphaph): This word, which means to "peep," "twitter" or "chirp," as small birds do, is translated "chatter" only in Isa 38:14, "Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter."</p><p>See CHIRP.</p>