7870. shibah

Lexical Summary

shibah: Seven

Original Word: שִׁיבָה
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: shiybah
Pronunciation: shee-BAH
Phonetic Spelling: (shee-baw')
KJV: captivity
Word Origin: [by permutation from H7725 (שׁוּב - return)]

1. a return (of property)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

captivity

By permutation from shuwb; a return (of property) -- captivity.

see HEBREW shuwb

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
another reading for shebuth, q.v.

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. [שִׁיבָה] construct שִׁיבַת restoration (?) Psalm 126:1, but read שְׁבִית, see below שָׁבָה. — I. שַׁיבָה see ישׁב.

Topical Lexicon

Hebrew Term and Sense

שִׁיבָה (shibāh) is a feminine noun derived from the verb שׁוּב (shûb, “to turn back, return”). In its lone biblical occurrence (Psalm 126:1) it conveys the idea of a turning or restoration—specifically, the return of Zion’s captives and the reversal of their fortunes.

Biblical Setting

Psalm 126 is one of the fifteen “Songs of Ascents” sung by pilgrims traveling up to Jerusalem. Verse 1 recalls a historic moment when “the LORD restored the captives of Zion”. The memory is so vivid that the worshipers compare their joy to the wonder of a dream. Though the psalm does not specify which deliverance it commemorates, it naturally evokes the return from Babylonian exile recorded in Ezra 1:1 – 4 and Nehemiah 7:73.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Initiative in Restoration
• The verb belongs solely to the LORD: “When the LORD restored…” (Psalm 126:1). Salvation is not self-generated; God sovereignly reverses His people’s condition (compare Deuteronomy 30:3; Job 42:10).
2. Continuity of Covenant Mercy
• Zion’s deliverance fulfills covenant promises made through Moses and the prophets (Leviticus 26:44 – 45; Jeremiah 29:10 – 14). Shibāh thus underscores the reliability of God’s word across redemptive history.
3. Eschatological Foreshadowing
• The psalmist’s confidence that past restoration guarantees future blessing (Psalm 126:4 – 6) anticipates ultimate renewal in the Messiah, who proclaims “liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18).

Historical Links

• Post-exilic Context: Persian decrees allowed Judean exiles to return (Ezra 1:1 – 4). Psalm 126 turns that political act into a testimony of divine grace.
• Earlier Paradigms: Israel’s release from Egypt (Exodus 12 – 14) prefigures every later shibāh moment, establishing a pattern of deliverance that culminates in Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2:24).

Ministry and Worship Applications

1. Testimony and Praise
• Congregations may use Psalm 126 to recount corporate milestones—church plants, revival seasons, the opening of closed nations—that mirror Zion’s restored captivity.
2. Intercession for Renewal
• The prayer “Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev” (Psalm 126:4) supplies language for pleading over prodigals, persecuted believers, or unreached peoples.
3. Encouragement in Sowing and Reaping
• Verses 5 – 6 connect shibāh to patient faithfulness: tears sown in exile yield songs of harvest. Pastors can exhort discouraged laborers with this promise of divine turnaround.

Links to Related Themes

• שְׁבִי (shevī, captivity) and שׁוּב (shûb, return) share the same conceptual field, reinforcing the motif of reversal.
• New Testament resonance appears in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (“the old has passed away; behold, the new has come”) and Revelation 21:5 (“Behold, I make all things new”), where ultimate restoration is secured.

Homiletical Notes

• Emphasize God’s ability to “turn again” seemingly irreversible situations.
• Illustrate the awe (“like those who dream”) that accompanies genuine revival.
• Call hearers to expect future mercies on the basis of past faithfulness.

Conclusion

Although שִׁיבָה occurs only once, it encapsulates a central biblical truth: the LORD graciously turns captivity into freedom, mourning into joy, and exile into homecoming, assuring His people of both present help and future glory.

Forms and Transliterations

שִׁיבַ֣ת שיבת shiVat šî·ḇaṯ šîḇaṯ

Englishman's Concordance

Psalm 126:1
HEB: יְ֭הוָה אֶת־ שִׁיבַ֣ת צִיּ֑וֹן הָ֝יִ֗ינוּ
KJV: turned again the captivity of Zion,
INT: brought the LORD the captivity of Zion become

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 7870
1 Occurrence

šî·ḇaṯ — 1 Occ.