What does שָׁבָה (šābāh) mean in the Bible?
שָׁבָה (šābāh): Forcible removal from homeland; denotes coercive displacement of entire populations, often divine judgment for covenant violation
Hebrew · H7617
שָׁבָה
To transport into captivity
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שָׁבָה H7617
Pronunciation šābāh
What does שָׁבָה (šābāh) mean in the Bible?
שָׁבָה (šābāh): Forcible removal from homeland; denotes coercive displacement of entire populations, often divine judgment for covenant violation
Full entry for שָׁבָה (H7617) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7617?
The BSB source-word alignment has 47 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of their captors (4), took them captive (3), and carried off (2), as captives (2), captives (2).
Where does שָׁבָה (šābāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 14:14. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Chronicles (12), 1 Kings (6), Jeremiah (6), 1 Samuel (3).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It of their captors 4× 1 Kings 8:47, 1 Kings 8:50, 2 Chronicles 30:9, Isaiah 14:2
took them captive 3× 1 Kings 8:48, 2 Chronicles 6:38, Jeremiah 41:10
and carried off 2× 2 Chronicles 14:15, 2 Chronicles 21:17
as captives 2× 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36
captives 2× 2 Chronicles 28:8, Isaiah 14:2
they were taken 2× 1 Kings 8:47, 2 Chronicles 6:37
who takes them 2× 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36
. . . 1× Psalms 68:18
also captured 1× 2 Chronicles 25:12
and captured 1× Numbers 21:1
and carried away 1× 2 Chronicles 28:17
and had taken 1× 2 Kings 5:2
and take [their gods] as captives 1× Jeremiah 43:12
and took 1× 2 Chronicles 28:5
and you take them 1× Deuteronomy 21:10
captured 1× Numbers 31:9
carried off 1× Obadiah 1:11
had been captured 1× Genesis 14:14
had been taken captive 1× 1 Samuel 30:5
had taken captive 1× Jeremiah 41:14
has been taken captive 1× Jeremiah 13:17
like captives 1× Genesis 31:26
our captors 1× Psalms 137:3
stolen 1× Exodus 22:10
taken captive 1× 1 Samuel 30:3
takes you captive 1× Numbers 24:22
their captors 1× Jeremiah 50:33
They carried off 1× Genesis 34:29
They had taken captive 1× 1 Samuel 30:2
they have been carried captive 1× Ezekiel 6:9
They seized 1× 1 Chronicles 5:21
to the captives 1× Isaiah 61:1
took captive 1× Jeremiah 41:10
who held them captive 1× Psalms 106:46
you have captured 1× 2 Kings 6:22
you took 1× 2 Chronicles 28:11
your captives 1× Judges 5:12
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 14:14 נִשְׁבָּ֖ה to had been captured Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 31:26 כִּשְׁבֻי֖וֹת to like captives Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine plural construct Genesis 34:29 שָׁב֖וּ to They carried off Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Exodus 22:10 נִשְׁבָּ֖ה to stolen Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 21:1 וַיִּ֥שְׁבְּ׀ to and captured Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 24:22 תִּשְׁבֶּֽךָּ׃ to takes you captive Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular | second person masculine singular Numbers 31:9 וַיִּשְׁבּ֧וּ to captured Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Deuteronomy 21:10 וְשָׁבִ֥יתָ to and you take them Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular Judges 5:12 וּֽשֲׁבֵ֥ה to your captives Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular 1 Samuel 30:2 וַיִּשְׁבּ֨וּ to They had taken captive Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 14:14
Aligned rows 47
Books represented 15
Genesis 3 Exodus 1 Numbers 3 Deuteronomy 1 Judges 1 1 Samuel 3 1 Kings 6 2 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 12 Psalms 3 Isaiah 3 Jeremiah 6 Ezekiel 1 Obadiah 1
Source forms
נִשְׁבָּ֖ה 3x niš·bāh Genesis 14:14, Exodus 22:10, Jeremiah 13:17
נִשְׁבּוּ־ 3x niš·bū- 1 Kings 8:47, 2 Chronicles 6:37, Ezekiel 6:9
שֹֽׁבֵיהֶם֙ 3x šō·ḇê·hem 1 Kings 8:46, 1 Kings 8:47, Jeremiah 50:33
וַיִּשְׁבּ֨וּ 2x way·yiš·bū 1 Samuel 30:2, 2 Chronicles 14:15
שָׁב֣וּ 2x šā·ḇū 1 Kings 8:48, 2 Chronicles 6:38
וַיִּ֥שְׁבְּ׀ 1x way·yišb Numbers 21:1
וַיִּ֣שְׁבְּ׀ 1x way·yišb Jeremiah 41:10
וַיִּשְׁבּ֧וּ 1x way·yiš·bū Numbers 31:9
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 9x Numbers 31:9, 1 Samuel 30:2, 2 Kings 5:2, 1 Chronicles 5:21
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural 7x 1 Kings 8:46, 1 Kings 8:47, 1 Kings 8:50, 2 Chronicles 6:36
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural 5x 1 Samuel 30:3, 1 Samuel 30:5, 1 Kings 8:47, 2 Chronicles 6:37
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural 4x Genesis 34:29, 1 Kings 8:48, 2 Chronicles 6:38, 2 Chronicles 25:12
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 3x Genesis 14:14, Exodus 22:10, Jeremiah 13:17
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural | third person masculine plural 2x 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Numbers 21:1, Jeremiah 41:10
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular 2x 2 Kings 6:22, Psalms 68:18
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Forcible removal from homeland; denotes coercive displacement of entire populations, often divine judgment for covenant violation
Strong's H7617
Lexical occurrences 47 verses Word forms 2 forms 18 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Jeremiah 41:4-10 Source Gloss
to transport into captivity
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Forcible removal from homeland; denotes coercive displacement of entire populations, often divine judgment for covenant violation
to transport into captivity BDB: take captive Usage: (bring away, carry, carry away, lead, lead away, take) captive(-s), drive (take) away.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 18
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 8×
Perfect 1Kgs 8:47 · 1Sam 30:3 · 1Sam 30:5 · 2Chr 6:37 · Ezek 6:9 · Exod 22:9 · Gen 14:14 · Jer 13:17 8×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 10×
Perfect 1Kgs 8:48 · 2Chr 6:38 · 2Chr 25:12 · Gen 34:29 · 2Kgs 6:22 · Ps 68:19 · 2Chr 28:11 · Jer 41:14 8×
Participle active Isa 14:2 1×
Infinitive construct Obad 1:11 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
forcibly removing people into captivity, transporting a group as prisoners
recovery or pursuit of those transported into captivity by force
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 47 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שָׁבָה is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain