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שֶׁבַע

𐤔𐤁𐤏

shebaʻ

H7651 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root שבע to be full, to be complete, to swear (an oath)

Definition

The cardinal number seven; represents the quantity '7' in counting, ordering, or grouping. May be used of days, years, objects, people, or events. Also functions adverbially to mean 'seven times' or in construct forms to indicate date, sequence, or grouping by sevens. On rare occasions, may be used idiomatically for a set, group, or span characterized by seven, and in poetic language, may denote completeness or totality through the symbolism of the number seven.

Semantic Range

the number seven, seven times (adverbial), a group of seven, week (by extension), sevenfold, the seventh (ordinal), completeness or totality (symbolic/poetic)

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root שבע (ש-ב-ע), which fundamentally means 'to be full, satisfied, complete.' The noun שֶׁבַע is a concrete formation from this root, indicating the instance or sum of seven, possibly reflecting a sense of fullness or completeness associated with the number. The precise morphological relationship is the development from the root's notion of fullness or completeness into the abstract concept of 'seven.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

שֶׁבַע is the standard cardinal number for 'seven' throughout the Hebrew Bible, used in narrative, legal, and poetic texts. The number seven held special significance in ancient Israelite culture—often associated with ritual purity, oath-making (since the root שבע also means 'to swear'), cycles of time (as in the Sabbath and weeks), and a conceptual sense of wholeness or completion. Its masculine form is שִׁבְעָה. The use of seven in time periods (e.g., seven days, seven weeks, seven years) became foundational for calendrical and ritual observance. In later biblical usage and translations, the symbolism of seven sometimes informed interpretations related to perfection or divine order, but the primary lexical sense retained numerical function. Constructs such as שִׁבְעָה יָמִים ('seven days') or שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים ('seven times') are common. While later English translations sometimes render it symbolically, the ancient user's sense would have been primarily numerical, though informed by its cultural resonance. Comparisons with related numerals show that שֶׁבַע is morphologically unique in encoding a concept of completeness in both numeric and semantic domains.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (masculine) (שִׁבְעָה); from שָׁבַע; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number; ([phrase] by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare שִׁבְעָנָה.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שבע (š-b-ʿ) — fullness, completeness, oath-taking

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
H7637 שְׁבִיעִי in the seventh

Word Forms

21 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7651-09 שֶׁ֣בַע sheva HAcfsa seven seven 126
H7651-12 שִׁבְעַ֥ת shiveat HAcmsc seven seven (of) 107
H7651-11 שִׁבְעָ֥ה shiveah HAcmsa seven seven 58
H7651-20 וְ/שִׁבְעָֽה veshiveah HC/Acmsa and seven and seven 30
H7651-15 וּ/שְׁבַ֥ע usheva HC/Acfsa and seven and seven 19
H7651-21 וְ/שִׁבְעַ֥ת veshiveat HC/Acmsc and seven and seven 9
H7651-02 בְּ/שִׁבְעָֽה beshiveah HR/Acmsa on the seventh in seven 7
H7651-18 וָ/שֶׁ֔בַע vasheva HC/Acfsa and-seven and seven 7
H7651-07 לְ/שִׁבְעַ֣ת leshiveat HR/Acmsc for the seven to seven of 6
H7651-19 וְ/שֶׁ֣בַע vesheva HC/Acfsa and seven and seven 6

Occurrences in Scripture

394 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7651-20 Genesis 4:24 וְ/שִׁבְעָֽה veshiveah HC/Acmsa and seven and seven
H7651-09 Genesis 5:7 שֶׁ֣בַע sheva HAcfsa seven seven
H7651-09 Genesis 5:25 שֶׁ֧בַע sheva HAcfsa seven seven
H7651-15 Genesis 5:26 וּ/שְׁבַ֥ע usheva HC/Acfsa and seven and seven
H7651-09 Genesis 5:31 שֶׁ֤בַע sheva HAcfsa seven seven
H7651-15 Genesis 5:31 וּ/שְׁבַ֥ע usheva HC/Acfsa and seven and seven
H7651-11 Genesis 7:2 שִׁבְעָ֥ה shiveah HAcmsa seven seven
H7651-11 Genesis 7:2 שִׁבְעָ֖ה shiveah-2 HAcmsa seven seven
H7651-11 Genesis 7:3 שִׁבְעָ֥ה shiveah HAcmsa seven seven
H7651-11 Genesis 7:3 שִׁבְעָ֖ה shiveah-2 HAcmsa seven seven
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