שְׁבִי
𐤔𐤁𐤉
shᵉbîy
H7628 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
State or condition of being taken captive, especially as prisoners of war; the act of taking or being in exile following defeat. The term can denote both the event of capture/exile and those experiencing it (captives). In some cases, it extends to the objects or persons taken as 'booty' in warfare. As an abstract noun, it refers to the concept of exile or captivity; as a concrete noun, it often denotes actual captives or prisoners.
Semantic Range
captivity, exile, the state of being captive, the event of capture, captives, prisoners, those taken in war, booty (when referring to persons or things captured); sometimes metaphorical for national suffering or alienation
Root / Etymology
From the root שׁבה (sh-b-h), meaning 'to capture, take captive, deport.' The noun שְׁבִי is a nominal formation (usually regarded as a masculine noun, occasionally with collective or abstract sense) referring to the state, process, or outcome of being taken captive or exiled. Distinct from the derived noun שְׁבוּת (shevut), which can also mean captivity or fortune/return from captivity.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שְׁבִי first appears in contexts relating to warfare in early and monarchic Israelite texts, chiefly describing the fate of combatants and populations captured by an opposing force. In these uses, it frequently has a collective or abstract sense: the captivity or the captives. In exilic and post-exilic literature, especially in prophetic and psalmic texts, שְׁבִי becomes a metaphor for the larger national experience of exile, reflecting both historical deportations (such as by the Neo-Assyrian or Babylonian empires) and the hope for restoration. The English 'captivity' or 'exile' adequately translates the word's basic sense, but in some passages, 'booty' or 'prisoners' is more specifically intended. Medieval and later Jewish exegesis sometimes contrasted שְׁבִי (focus on people) with שְׁלוּלָה (shalalah, 'spoil/booty' focused on property). The translation 'Jewish exile' or 'Jewish captives' is anachronistic for pre-exilic contexts, as the people referenced are Israelites or Judahites, and not all later 'captives/exiles' are Judeans. The nuance between individual, collective, and abstract usages should be considered carefully in context.
Translation Consistency
'Captivity' is the most frequent and natural English rendering (37 of 48 occurrences) and covers the primary semantic range: the state/event of being taken, exile, and the condition of prisoners. It is broad enough to render both abstract and concrete uses (e.g., 'in captivity' or 'those in captivity') while keeping a single consistent base word for all forms. Rare concrete senses referring to persons or booty can be handled idiomatically (e.g., 'captives' as 'those in captivity') without changing the core term.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שְׁבוּ; exiled; captured; as noun, exile (abstractly or concretely and collectively); by extension, booty; captive(-ity), prisoners, [idiom] take away, that was taken.
Bantu Hebrew
| Language | Bantu Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shona | Shavi | captured by a spirit |
Root Family
שבה (Shovay) — to take captive, to seize, to carry away
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H7617 | שָׁבָה | like captured women |
| H7618 | שְׁבוּ | sparkling gemstone |
| H7622 | שְׁבוּת | captivity of |
| H7630 | שֹׁבַי | Captive-One |
| H7633 | שִׁבְיָה | in the captivity |
Word Forms
15 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7628-01 |
בַּ/שְּׁבִ֖י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity | 11 |
H7628-09 |
שֶֽׁבִי | shevi | HNcbsa |
captives | Take captive! | captivity! | 9 |
H7628-04 |
הַ/שְּׁבִ֔י | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
the captivity | the captivity | the captivity | 6 |
H7628-05 |
לַ/שְּׁבִ֖י | lashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
to captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity | 5 |
H7628-15 |
בַ/שְּׁבִי֙ | vashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in captivity | in captivity | 4 |
H7628-06 |
מֵ/הַ/שְּׁבִ֣י | mehashevi | HR/Td/Ncbsa |
from the captivity | from the captivity | from the captivity | 2 |
H7628-07 |
מִ/שְּׁבִ֣י | mishevi | HR/Ncbsc |
from the captivity | from captivity | from captivity | 2 |
H7628-12 |
שִׁבְיָ֑/ם | shiveyam | HNcbsc/Sp3mp |
of their captivity | their captivity | their captivity | 2 |
H7628-02 |
בַּ/שְּׁבִ֔ית | bashevit | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | captivity | into captivity | 1 |
H7628-03 |
בִּ/שְׁבִ֥י | bishevi | HR/Ncbsa |
by-captivity | in captivity | by captivity | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
48 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7628-04 |
Exodus 12:29 | הַ/שְּׁבִ֔י | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
of the captive | the captivity | the captive |
H7628-09 |
Numbers 21:1 | שֶֽׁבִי | shevi | HNcbsa |
prisoners | Take captive! | captivity! |
H7628-02 |
Numbers 21:29 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֔ית | bashevit | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | captivity | into captivity |
H7628-04 |
Numbers 31:12 | הַ/שְּׁבִ֧י | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
the captives | the captivity | the captives |
H7628-14 |
Numbers 31:19 | וּ/שְׁבִי/כֶֽם | ushevikhem | HC/Ncbsc/Sp2mp |
and your captives | and your captivity | and your captives |
H7628-04 |
Numbers 31:26 | הַ/שְּׁבִ֔י | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
of the captives | the captivity | the captivity |
H7628-13 |
Deuteronomy 21:10 | שִׁבְיֽ/וֹ | shiveyo | HNcbsc/Sp3ms |
his captives | his captivity | his captives |
H7628-01 |
Deuteronomy 28:41 | בַּ/שֶּֽׁבִי | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into-captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-08 |
Judges 5:12 | שֶׁבְיְ/ךָ֖ | sheveyekha | HNcbsc/Sp2ms |
your captives | your captivity | your captives |
H7628-09 |
Isaiah 20:4 | שְׁבִ֨י | shevi | HNcbsc |
captives | Take captive! | captives |
H7628-01 |
Isaiah 46:2 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֥י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-09 |
Isaiah 49:24 | שְׁבִ֥י | shevi | HNcbsa |
the captive | Take captive! | the captive |
H7628-09 |
Isaiah 49:25 | שְׁבִ֤י | shevi | HNcbsc |
captives | Take captive! | captivity! |
H7628-11 |
Isaiah 52:2 | שְׁבִיָּ֖ה | sheviyah | HAafsa |
O captive | captive woman | captive woman |
H7628-05 |
Jeremiah 15:2 | לַ/שְּׁבִ֖י | lashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
to captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity |
H7628-05 |
Jeremiah 15:2 | לַ/שֶּֽׁבִי | lashevi-2 | HRd/Ncbsa |
to captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity |
H7628-01 |
Jeremiah 20:6 | בַּ/שֶּׁ֑בִי | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-01 |
Jeremiah 22:22 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֣י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-12 |
Jeremiah 30:10 | שִׁבְיָ֑/ם | shiveyam | HNcbsc/Sp3mp |
their-captivity | their captivity | their captivity |
H7628-01 |
Jeremiah 30:16 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֣י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-05 |
Jeremiah 43:11 | לַ/שְּׁבִי֙ | lashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
for-captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity |
H7628-05 |
Jeremiah 43:11 | לַ/שֶּׁ֔בִי | lashevi-2 | HRd/Ncbsa |
to-captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity |
H7628-12 |
Jeremiah 46:27 | שִׁבְיָ֑/ם | shiveyam | HNcbsc/Sp3mp |
of their captivity | their captivity | their captivity |
H7628-01 |
Jeremiah 48:46 | בַּ/שֶּׁ֔בִי | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
captive | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-15 |
Ezekiel 12:11 | בַ/שְּׁבִ֖י | vashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in captivity | in captivity |
H7628-10 |
Ezekiel 16:53 | שְׁבִיתַ֖יִ/ךְ | shevitayikhe | HNcbpc/Sp2fs |
your captivities | your captivities | your captivities |
H7628-01 |
Ezekiel 30:17 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֥י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-01 |
Ezekiel 30:18 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֥י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-09 |
Amos 4:10 | שְׁבִ֣י | shevi | HNcbsc |
captivity | Take captive! | captivity! |
H7628-15 |
Amos 9:4 | בַ/שְּׁבִי֙ | vashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in captivity | in captivity |
H7628-15 |
Nahum 3:10 | בַ/שֶּׁ֔בִי | vashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into captivity | in captivity | in captivity |
H7628-09 |
Habakkuk 1:9 | שֶֽׁבִי | shevi | HNcbsa |
captives | Take captive! | captives |
H7628-09 |
Psalms 68:19 | שֶּׁ֗בִי | shevi | HNcbsa |
captives | Take captive! | captivity! |
H7628-05 |
Psalms 78:61 | לַ/שְּׁבִ֣י | lashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
to captivity | to the captivity | to the captivity |
H7628-09 |
Lamentations 1:5 | שְׁבִ֖י | shevi | HNcbsa |
into captivity | Take captive! | into captivity |
H7628-15 |
Lamentations 1:18 | בַ/שֶּֽׁבִי | vashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
into-captivity | in captivity | in captivity |
H7628-01 |
Daniel 11:8 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֖י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
in the captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-03 |
Daniel 11:33 | בִּ/שְׁבִ֥י | bishevi | HR/Ncbsa |
by-captivity | in captivity | by captivity |
H7628-07 |
Ezra 2:1 | מִ/שְּׁבִ֣י | mishevi | HR/Ncbsc |
from the captivity | from captivity | from captivity |
H7628-06 |
Ezra 3:8 | מֵ/הַ/שְּׁבִ֣י | mehashevi | HR/Td/Ncbsa |
from-the-captivity | from the captivity | from the captivity |
H7628-06 |
Ezra 8:35 | מֵֽ/הַ/שְּׁבִ֨י | mehashevi | HR/Td/Ncbsa |
from the captivity | from the captivity | from the captivity |
H7628-01 |
Ezra 9:7 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֧י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |
H7628-04 |
Nehemiah 1:2 | הַ/שֶּׁ֖בִי | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
the captivity | the captivity | the captivity |
H7628-04 |
Nehemiah 1:3 | הַ/שְּׁבִי֙ | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
the captivity | the captivity | the captivity |
H7628-07 |
Nehemiah 7:6 | מִ/שְּׁבִ֣י | mishevi | HR/Ncbsc |
from the captivity | from captivity | from captivity |
H7628-04 |
Nehemiah 8:17 | הַ/שְּׁבִ֥י | hashevi | HTd/Ncbsa |
the captivity | the captivity | the captivity |
H7628-09 |
2 Chronicles 28:17 | שֶֽׁבִי | shevi | HNcbsa |
captives | Take captive! | captivity! |
H7628-01 |
2 Chronicles 29:9 | בַּ/שְּׁבִ֖י | bashevi | HRd/Ncbsa |
in captivity | in the captivity | in the captivity |