שָׁבַע
𐤔𐤁𐤏
shâbaʻ
H7650 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To swear, take an oath, or make a solemn declaration, especially invoking the sanctity of the act and often involving God as witness or guarantor. The verb carries the sense of making a binding promise or affirmation, frequently in legal, covenantal, diplomatic, or cultic contexts. In some usages, the action includes calling a curse upon oneself if the oath is violated.
Semantic Range
to swear (an oath), to make a solemn declaration, to cause to swear, to adjure, to bind by an oath; (reflexive) to swear oneself, to take an oath; (causative) to cause someone else to swear
Root / Etymology
The verb derives from the root שׁבע (sh-b-ʻ), which also gives rise to the numeral 'seven' (שֶׁבַע, shevaʻ). The relationship between 'seven' and oath-taking suggests a conceptual link in ancient Near Eastern culture, where seven represented completeness or fulfillment, and oaths may have included rituals involving the number seven (such as seven sacrifices, repetitions, or acts), though direct evidence for such practices is limited. Thus, while the root for 'seven' provides the basic stem, the verb's primary lexical meaning is 'to swear an oath,' not 'to seven oneself.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
In biblical usage, שָׁבַע functions as the primary Hebrew verb for swearing an oath. It appears throughout the Hebrew Bible in contexts involving formal agreements, covenant ratification, and judicial proceedings. The invoking of an oath could bind individuals, groups, or even nations. Oaths could be positive (to do something) or negative (not to do something), and were seen as religiously binding. The semantic link to the number seven is more etymological than practical by the biblical period; while some ancient treaties outside the Bible feature the number seven in swearing rituals, Hebrew narratives rarely describe such specifics. The Strong's gloss 'to seven oneself' is interpretive and not supported by the majority of actual biblical occurrences. English translations often reduce the richness of the term by rendering it simply as 'to swear' or 'to take an oath,' omitting the cultural weight of oaths in ancient Israelite society. The term is distinct from כָּרַת בְּרִית ('to cut a covenant'), though the two frequently appear together, as covenant-making commonly entailed a formal oath. The mistaken gloss 'feed to the full' is due to confusion with שָׂבַע (sava‘, 'to be satisfied, to be full'), which is a separate root.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from שֶׁבַע; to seven oneself, i.e. swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times); adjure, charge (by an oath, with an oath), feed to the full (by mistake for שָׂבַע), take an oath, [idiom] straitly, (cause to, make to) swear.
Bantu Hebrew
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שׁבע (sh-b-ʿ) — to swear, to take an oath, to bind oneself by oath
Word Forms
47 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7650-19 |
נִֽשְׁבַּֽע | nisheba | HVNp3ms |
he swore | he bound himself by oath | 45 |
H7650-23 |
נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי | nishebaeti | HVNp1cs |
I swore | I swore an oath | 27 |
H7650-36 |
וַ/יִּשָּׁ֣בַֽע | vayishava | HC/VNw3ms |
and swore | and he swore himself by oath | 20 |
H7650-21 |
נִשְׁבַּ֣עְתָּ | nishebaeta | HVNp2ms |
you swore | you bound yourself by oath | 8 |
H7650-06 |
הִשָּׁ֨בְעָ/ה | hishaveah | HVNv2ms/Sh |
swear | Swear an oath! | 5 |
H7650-37 |
וַ/יִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ | vayishaveu | HC/VNw3mp |
and they swore | and they swore themselves | 5 |
H7650-25 |
נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ | nishebeu | HVNp3cp |
had sworn | they swore an oath | 5 |
H7650-02 |
הַ/נִּ֨שְׁבָּ֔ע | hanisheba | HTd/VNrmsa |
of the one who swears | the oath-swearing one | 4 |
H7650-34 |
וַ/יַּשְׁבַּ֣ע | vayasheba | HC/Vhw3ms |
and Joshua swore | and he caused to swear | 4 |
H7650-20 |
נִשְׁבַּ֣עְנוּ | nishebaenu | HVNp1cp |
have sworn | we have sworn an oath | 4 |
Occurrences in Scripture
186 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7650-06 |
Genesis 21:23 | הִשָּׁ֨בְעָ/ה | hishaveah | HVNv2ms/Sh |
swear | Swear an oath! |
H7650-15 |
Genesis 21:24 | אִשָּׁבֵֽעַ | ishavea | HVNi1cs |
will swear | I will swear an oath |
H7650-25 |
Genesis 21:31 | נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ | nishebeu | HVNp3cp |
they swore | they swore an oath |
H7650-23 |
Genesis 22:16 | נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי | nishebaeti | HVNp1cs |
I have sworn | I swore an oath |
H7650-38 |
Genesis 24:3 | וְ/אַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲ/ךָ֔ | veashebiakha | HC/Vhi1cs/Sp2ms |
and I will make you swear | I will cause you to swear |
H7650-19 |
Genesis 24:7 | נִֽשְׁבַּֽע | nisheba | HVNp3ms |
swore | he bound himself by oath |
H7650-36 |
Genesis 24:9 | וַ/יִּשָּׁ֣בַֽע | vayishava | HC/VNw3ms |
and swore | and he swore himself by oath |
H7650-35 |
Genesis 24:37 | וַ/יַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥/נִי | vayashebieni | HC/Vhw3ms/Sp1cs |
made me swear | he made me swear |
H7650-06 |
Genesis 25:33 | הִשָּׁ֤בְעָ/ה | hishaveah | HVNv2ms/Sh |
swear | Swear an oath! |
H7650-36 |
Genesis 25:33 | וַ/יִּשָּׁבַ֖ע | vayishava | HC/VNw3ms |
and he swore | and he swore himself by oath |