Lexical Summary shebuth or shebith: Captivity, Exile, Captives Original Word: שְׁבוּת Strong's Exhaustive Concordance captivity Or shbiyth {sheb-eeth'}; from shabah; exile, concretely, prisoners; figuratively, a former state of prosperity -- captive(-ity). see HEBREW shabah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom shabah Definition captivity, captives NASB Translation captive (3), captivity (9), fortune (1), fortunes (18), own captivity (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs שְׁבִית,שְׁבוּת noun feminine id. (√ שׁבה ᵐ5 Thes SS Preusschen: ZAWxv (1895),1 ff. KraeEz 10:53; > √ שׁוב EwJBW V(1852-3),216 F., §165B Ol§ 412,417 Bö§ 464 KueTtijdschr.vii.519 ff. OortIb.xiv. 157 SchwZAWviii(1888),200 and others; Köii.1. 166 f.474;ii.2,§329 i thinks derivatives of שׁבה and שׁוב are confused, compare Ew§ 166b); — absolute שְׁבִית Numbers 21:29; construct שְׁבוּת Hosea 6:11 +, sf שְׁבוּתְךָ Deuteronomy 30:3 שְׁבִיתְהֶן Ezekiel 16:53a (see below), שְׁבוּתֵיכֶם Zephaniah 3:20 (read ת־ְכֶם Now GASm), etc. [ᵑ0 has שְׁבוּת, etc. 16 t., +Kt (שְׁבִית Qr) Zephaniah 2:7; Psalm 85:2; Psalm 126:4+ Ezekiel 16:53a (Gi, but Baer שְׁבִיתְהֶן Kt and Qr, see his note), +Qr (Kt שׁבית) Jeremiah 29:14; Jeremiah 49:39; Ezekiel 16:53b,c + v:d (but < read וְשַׁבְתִּ֫י for וּשְׁב֯יו Vrss Comm.), Lamentations 2:14; Job 42:10; שְׁבִית Kt and Qr Numbers 21:29, שְׁבִיתַתִךְ Ezekiel 16:53 (but Co Krae שְׁבוּתֵךְ); שְׁכִית probably earlier Ew§ 186b and elsewhere Psalm 126:1 read probably שְׁבִית for שִׁיבַת; — 1 in clause נָתַן בַּשְּׁבִית Numbers 21:29 (JE) give his daughters into captivity (or as captives, "" מְּלֵיטִם of sons, compare Jeremiah 48:46; compare (perhaps) Lamentations 1:7 (see [ מִשְׁבָּת] below שׁבת). 2 in phrase restore the captivity of, accusative after שׁוּב, הֵשִׁיב, ׳י subject [verb Qal Deuteronomy 30:3+ 15 t.,+Ezekiel 16:53d Psalm 126:1 (see below); Hiph`il Jeremiah 32:41+ 5t., + Qal Kt, Hiph`il Qr, Jeremiah 33:26 2t.]: , a. of Israel (or Judah) Hosea 6:(ᵐ5. joins to Hosea 7:1, so, as gloss, We Now), Zephaniah 2:7; Zephaniah 3:20; Deuteronomy 30:3; Jeremiah 29:14; Jeremiah 30:3,18 (אָהֳלֵי יַעֲקֹב ׳שׁ), Jeremiah 31:23; Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:7 (twice in verse); Jeremiah 33:11 (הָאָרֶץ ׳שׁ), Jeremiah 33:26; Lamentations 2:14 (subject prophet), Ezekiel 16:53a,c,d (on text see above), Ezekiel 39:25; Amos 9:14; Joel 4:1; Psalm 14:7 = Psalm 53:7; Psalm 85:2; Psalm 126:1 (see above), Psalm 53:4. b. of other nations Jeremiah 48:47 (compare Jeremiah 48:46), Jeremiah 49:6,39; Ezekiel 29:14 (compare Ezekiel 29:13). c. apparently in more Gen, sense,restore fortunes of Sodom Ezekiel 16:53 (Krae, compare following). d. restore fortunes of individuals, Job 42:10. Topical Lexicon Definition and Scope שְׁבוּת (Strong 7622) designates a state of forced exile or imprisonment and, by extension, the “fortunes” of a person or nation that have been lost. In almost every occurrence it appears in the idiom “restore the captivity/fortunes,” highlighting both loss and God-given recovery. Captivity as Consequence of Covenant Unfaithfulness The Torah establishes the pattern: unrepentant sin leads to dispersion, yet God’s covenant mercy guarantees eventual return. Deuteronomy 30:3 anticipates the Babylonian exile centuries in advance: “Then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you.” The term therefore carries moral weight; it is never mere politics but the outworking of divine justice. Divine Commitment to Restore Fortunes The prophets repeatedly echo the Deuteronomic promise, often using the exact construction הֵשִׁיב שְׁבוּת (“I will restore the captivity/fortunes”): • “For behold, the days are coming … when I will restore My people Israel and Judah from captivity” (Jeremiah 30:3). In these texts the divine initiative is unmistakable; no human strategy effects the reversal. Personal Restoration: The Example of Job Job 42:10 applies the word to an individual: “After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled all that Job had previously owned.” Here captivity is not geographic but experiential—suffering, loss, and isolation. The same God who regathers nations also heals the broken life. Restoration Promises in the Prophetic Books Jeremiah employs the term more than any other writer, layering promise upon promise during the darkest days of siege and exile (Jeremiah 29:14; 30:18; 31:23; 32:44; 33:7, 11, 26). Ezekiel broadens the perspective to include surrounding nations (Ezekiel 29:14). Amos, Hosea, and Zephaniah assure post-exilic hope: Such texts bind national renewal to the vindication of God’s glory before the nations. Eschatological and Messianic Overtones Later prophets fold שְׁבוּת into end-time expectation: restored fortunes will accompany the universal acknowledgment of the LORD and the reign of His anointed King (compare Ezekiel 37; Zechariah 8–14). The New Testament alludes to this trajectory when Peter speaks of “the restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21), rooting ultimate hope in the risen Messiah. Corporate and Individual Dimensions While most occurrences are corporate, the Job narrative and Davidic psalms (Psalms 14:7; 53:6) prove that God’s restorative heart extends to individual believers. Corporate Israel and the solitary sufferer meet at the same point of grace. Ministry Implications 1. Preaching: שְׁבוּת encourages proclaiming both the seriousness of sin and the certainty of redemption. Summary שְׁבוּת charts a thematic arc from judgment to jubilation. It reveals a God who disciplines yet never abandons, who scatters yet surely gathers, and who delights to turn exile into exultation. Its thirty or so occurrences form a chorus: “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Psalm 126:3). Forms and Transliterations וּשְׁב֥וּת ושבות שְׁב֣וּת שְׁב֥וּת שְׁב֨וּת שְׁבִ֣יתְהֶ֔ן שְׁבוּת֙ שְׁבוּתְךָ֖ שְׁבוּתֵיכֶ֛ם שְׁבוּתָ֑ם שְׁבוּתָ֖ם שְׁבוּת־ שְׁב֣וּת שְׁב֤וּת שְׁב֥וּת שְׁבִ֣ית שְׁבִיתֵ֑נוּ שְׁבִיתָֽם׃ שְׁבוּתְכֶ֗ם שְׁבוּתֵ֑ךְ שבות שבות־ שבותיכם שבותך שבותכם שבותם שבית שביתהן שביתם׃ שביתנו šə·ḇî·ṯām šə·ḇî·ṯə·hen šə·ḇî·ṯê·nū šə·ḇîṯ šə·ḇū·ṯām šə·ḇū·ṯə·ḵā šə·ḇū·ṯê·ḵem šə·ḇū·ṯə·ḵem šə·ḇū·ṯêḵ šə·ḇūṯ šə·ḇūṯ- šəḇîṯ šəḇîṯām šəḇîṯəhen šəḇîṯênū šəḇūṯ šəḇūṯ- šəḇūṯām šəḇūṯêḵ šəḇūṯəḵā šəḇūṯêḵem šəḇūṯəḵem sheVit sheviTam sheViteHen sheviTenu sheVut shevuTam shevuTech shevuteCha shevuteChem shevuteiChem ū·šə·ḇūṯ ūšəḇūṯ usheVutLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Deuteronomy 30:3 HEB: אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ אֶת־ שְׁבוּתְךָ֖ וְרִחֲמֶ֑ךָ וְשָׁ֗ב NAS: will restore you from captivity, and have compassion KJV: will turn thy captivity, and have compassion INT: the LORD your God captivity and have again Job 42:10 Psalm 14:7 Psalm 53:6 Psalm 85:1 Psalm 126:4 Jeremiah 29:14 Jeremiah 30:3 Jeremiah 30:18 Jeremiah 31:23 Jeremiah 32:44 Jeremiah 33:7 Jeremiah 33:7 Jeremiah 33:11 Jeremiah 33:26 Jeremiah 48:47 Jeremiah 49:6 Jeremiah 49:39 Lamentations 2:14 Ezekiel 16:53 Ezekiel 16:53 Ezekiel 16:53 Ezekiel 16:53 Ezekiel 29:14 Ezekiel 39:25 30 Occurrences |
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