שׇׁבְיָה
𐤔𐤁𐤉𐤄
Shveyah
H7634 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper name designating an individual Israelite; feminine formation likely signifying 'Yahweh has taken captive' or 'Yahweh is captivation.' Used only as a personal name, not as a common noun or adjective. There is no evidence the name functioned outside this onomastic context in Biblical Hebrew.
Semantic Range
personal name (Israelite), possible lexical sense 'Yahweh has taken captive,' theophoric name indicating divine involvement in captivity or liberation
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root שבּי (ש-ב-י), primarily meaning 'to take captive.' The theophoric ending -יה (Yah) indicates an association with the divine name YHWH, resulting in a name possibly meaning 'Yahweh has taken captive' or 'Yahweh is captivation.' The exact nuance of the name is debated; the form is a feminine noun but applied to a masculine individual, a pattern occasionally seen in Hebrew names.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שׇׁבְיָה occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible (1 Chronicles 8:10), where it designates an individual in the genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin. The name uses a grammatical feminine form though applied to a man, a feature that appears in several biblical personal names and does not necessarily indicate the sex of the person in onomastic contexts. The root ש-ב-י relates broadly to the concept of capture or captivity, but in this name the link to the theophoric element underscores a theological association rather than a literal status (i.e., not indicating that the individual was a captive). English translations traditionally render the name as 'Shobiah' or similar, without providing an interpretation, and sometimes confusion arises with similar names due to close spelling variants in the text. No evidence suggests that the name functions with the meaning 'captivation' outside the sphere of personal names.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine of the same as שֹׁבִי; captivation; Shobjah, an Israelite; Shachia (from the margin).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שבי (š-b-y) — to take captive, to carry away, to transport
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7634-01 |
שָֽׂכְיָ֖ה | sakheyah | HNp |
Sachia | Yah Has Taken Captive | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7634-01 |
1 Chronicles 8:10 | שָֽׂכְיָ֖ה | sakheyah | HNp |
Sachia | Yah Has Taken Captive |