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שְׁבִיעִי

𐤔𐤁𐤉𐤏𐤉

shᵉbîyʻîy

H7637 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root שׁבע to swear, to bind with an oath, (primary semantic field: to be seven, related to the number seven)

Definition

Ordinal adjective meaning 'seventh,' designating the position of a person, object, or occasion as number seven in a series or cycle; frequently used to denote the seventh item, unit, day of a period (especially the seventh day), or year in recurring cycles. Its lexical value is primarily numeric but may carry culturally specific significance related to completeness, sanctity, and ritual observance, especially in calendrical, liturgical, and agricultural contexts.

Semantic Range

seventh (ordinal number), seventh day, seventh year, seventh in a sequence or listing, seventh month, seventh occurrence

Root / Etymology

From the root שׁבע (ש-ב-ע), meaning 'seven.' The form שְׁבִיעִי is an ordinal derivative, constructed by adding the adjectival/ordinal masculine singular ending -ִי (as opposed to the cardinal שֶׁבַע, 'seven'). This root is common Semitic, cognate with Akkadian sebû, Ugaritic sb′, and Arabic sabʽa, all meaning 'seven.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

שְׁבִיעִי is most commonly used in the Hebrew Bible to mark the seventh member in counting stages (e.g., seventh son, seventh time, seventh day). Most notably, it appears with the definite article to refer to the 'seventh day,' the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת), as seen in Genesis 2:2–3 and throughout the Torah's legal and narrative materials. It is also used for cyclical periods such as the 'seventh year' (שְׁנַת הַשְּׁבִיעִי), known as the sabbatical year or 'year of release' (Leviticus 25:4; Deuteronomy 15:1–2), and the 'seventh month,' marking pivotal times in the Israelite festival calendar. The ordinal is strictly quantitative but is frequently embedded in religious or ritual settings that associate the number seven with completion, blessing, or sanctification. The term is distinct from related ordinals (e.g., שֵׁנִי 'second,' שְׁלִישִׁי 'third'), reflecting no qualitative difference other than its placement in the series. Later Jewish and Christian traditions translated or interpreted the term with varying nuance, such as tying 'seventh day' to concepts of Sabbath observance. However, the lexical meaning remains fixed as the simple ordinal 'seventh.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or שְׁבִעִי; ordinal from שִׁבְעִים; seventh; seventh (time).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שבע (š-b-ʿ) — seven, oath-binding, fullness associated with seven

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1339 בַּת־שֶׁבַע seven
H3090 יְהוֹשַׁבְעַת YHWH-has-sworn
H7620 שָׁבוּעַ in your seven-cycles
H7621 שְׁבוּעָה by oath-of
H7648 שֹׂבַע to fullness

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7637-03 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh 81
H7637-04 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔ת hasheviit HTd/Aofsa the seventh the seventh 11
H7637-01 בַּ/שְּׁבִיעִ֡י bashevii HRd/Aomsa in the seventh month in the seventh 2
H7637-06 וּ/בַ֨/שְּׁבִעִ֔ת uvasheviit HC/Rd/Aofsa and in the seventh and in the seventh 1
H7637-02 בַּ/שְּׁבִעִ֔ית basheviit HRd/Aofsa at the seventh time in the seventh 1
H7637-07 וְ/הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֞ת vehasheviit HC/Td/Aofsa but the seventh and the seventh 1
H7637-05 וּ/בַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֗י uvashevii HC/Rd/Aomsa and in the seventh and in the seventh 1

Occurrences in Scripture

98 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7637-03 Genesis 2:2 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Genesis 2:2 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii-2 HTd/Aomsa seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Genesis 2:3 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Genesis 8:4 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 12:15 הַ/שְּׁבִעִֽי hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 12:16 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the-seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 13:6 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 16:26 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֛י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 16:27 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִ֔י hashevii HTd/Aomsa the seventh the seventh
H7637-03 Exodus 16:29 הַ/שְּׁבִיעִֽי hashevii HTd/Aomsa the-seventh the seventh
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