שבי
captivity
‘captivity’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H7628 appears in the Book of Nehemiah — 4 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Nehemiah
- Nehemiah 1:2 הַ/שֶּׁ֖בִי ptcl def.art + n c bs that Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 1:3 הַ/שְּׁבִי֙ ptcl def.art + n c bs They said to me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates of it are burned with fire.
- Nehemiah 7:6 מִ/שְּׁבִ֣י prep + n c bs cs These are the children of the province, who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, everyone to his city;
- Nehemiah 8:17 הַ/שְּׁבִ֥י ptcl def.art + n c bs All the assembly of those who were come again out of the captivity made booths, and lived in the booths; for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the children of Israel had not done so. There was very great gladness.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
שבי (shᵉbîy) is a Hebrew word most often rendered “captivity.” It first appears in Exodus 12:29. It turns up in 46 verses across 16 books, a moderately common footprint. It is not a single-sense word — see its full sense range. From the same root come שבו and שביה. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7628 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 46
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 46 distinct verses.
- 16 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 16 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #767
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 767 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 46 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 46 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 22 verses · 48%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 16 verses · 35%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 8 verses · 17%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Captivity 30×, Captives 5×, Captive 4×
- American Standard Version: Captivity 26×, Captives 7×, Captive 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: Captivity 20×, Captives 8×, Exile 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Captivity 23×, Captives 6×, Captive 4×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7628 across 49 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 10 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H7628 across 50 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 10 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H7628 across 49 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 9 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7628 across 42 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 3 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. = state of captivity, הָלַךְ בַּשְּׁ׳ Am 9:4; Dt 28:41; Na 3:10; Je 20:6; 22:22; 30:16 Ez 12:11 (+ בַּגּוֹלָה), 30:17, 18; Is 46:2; La 1:18, = הָלַךְ שְׁבִי v 5; בַּשְּׁבִי יָבִא Dn 11:8; נָתַן בַּשְּׁ׳ Ezr 9:7, נָתַן לַשְּׁ׳ ψ 78:61, לֻקַּח בַּשֶּׁ֑בִי Je 48:46; וַאֲשֶׁר לַשְּׁבִי לַשֶּׁ֑בִי Je 15:2; 43:11, וְנָשֵׁינוּ בַּשְּׁ׳ 2 Ch 29:9; בִּשְׁבִי instr. of judgment Dn 11:33; אֶרֶץ שׁ׳ Je 30:10; 46:27;16 2 Ch 6:37, 38; phr. of deliverance (only Ezr Ne): נִשְׁאֲרוּ מִן־הַשְּׁ׳ Ne 1:2, cf. v 3, הַשָּׁבִים מִן־הַשְּׁ׳ 8:17, הָעֹלִים מִשְּׁבִי הַגּוֹלָה Ezr 2:1 = Ne 7:6, הַבָּאִים מֵהַשְּׁ׳ Ezr 3:8; 8:35. e.g. Amos 9:4
- 2. act of capture, עִם שׁ׳ סוּסֵיכֶם Am 4:10 שִׂמְלַת שִׁבְיָהּ Dt 21:13 i.e. garb in which she was captured (> others captivity in both: Am 4:10 = your captive horses; Dt 21:13 her captive’s garb). e.g. Amos 4:10
- 3. = captives (coll.): Ex 12:29 (J), Nu 31:12, 19, 26 (man and beast), Is 20:4 (‖ גָּלוּת), 49:24, 25 Hb 1:9 + Ez 32:9 𝔊 al. (v. שֶׁבֶר ad fin.); appar. fs. Is 52:2 (but v. שָׁבִי); object of שָׁבָה (q.v.) Ju 5:12 (> שֹׁבֶיךָ 𝔖 JDMich We Bu Now), Nu 21:1 (JE), Dt 21:10 ψ 68:19; 2 Ch 28:17. e.g. Exodus 12:29
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.m. Is 49:24 captivity, captives (coll.);—שׁ׳ abs. Ex 12:29 +, cstr. Ezr 2:1 +; שֶׁ֑בִי Nu 21:1 +; sf. שֶׁבְיְךָ Ju 5:12, שִׁבְיוֹ Dt 21:10, שְׁבִיכֶם Nu 31:19, etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from שבו (shᵉbûw) (H7618) — agate.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
בֵּי
- 1. (= (= בְּ־ I) in, with, at. Targ. Y. Num. XXII, 28 בי ההיא שעתא at that time. Targ. Cant. I, 9; 13; 14 (ed. Vien. בההיא).
- 2. (= בין) between, among. Sot. 10ᵃ; Meg. 12ᵃ; v. בּוּצִינָא.—Sabb. 109ᵇ בי מיללי (Ms. במ׳) between the embers; a. fr.—בי שמשי (= h. בין השמשות) during sunset. Ber. 43ᵇ קדושא דבי ש׳ the Kiddush said on Friday night. Keth. 103ᵃ כל בי ש׳ every Friday night.
- 3. (= בְּ II) son of; v. בְּרַבִּי. Y. Ber. IV, 7ᶜ bot.; a. fr.
- 4. (= בֵּית) house of, school of; home, place of &c. Targ. Job VII, 9; a. e.—… תנא דבי ר׳ (sub. תני) a student of the school of R. … taught. Ḥull. 42ᵃ; a. fr.—Ab. Zar. 6ᵇ בדבי ר׳ או׳ (Ms. M. ב"ר) in (the Boraitha) of the school of R. O.—Yeb. 21ᵇ דבי אימא רבתי one of the family of the grandmother (whether mother’s or father’s mother). Ib. דבי אבא רבה of the grandfather’s family; דבי דודי one of the uncle’s relation.—דבי רב the Boraitha of Be Rab (Sifra). Ḥull. 66ᵃ (v. Rashi a. l.); a. fr.—בי רבנן college. Ber. 17ᵃ; a. fr. [For other compounds with בי, v. respective determinants.]
פַּגֵּי
- pr. n. pl., v. פָּאגֵי
שַׁב ²
- (preced.)
- 1. = h. שָׁבוּעַ. week. Targ. II Esth. III, 7; a. fr.—Sabb. 156ᵃ האי מאן דבחד בש׳ a person born on the first day of the week; בתרי בש׳ on Monday &c. Bets. 16ᵃ מחד שֵׁבָּיךְ לשבתך from thy first day of the week begin to set aside good things for thy Sabbath; a. fr.
- 2. the seventh day, the Sabbath; day of rest. Targ. Y. Deut. V, 14 שב ונייח a day of rest and repose; Targ. Y. Ex. XX, 10 שבא ונ׳. Targ. Y. Lev. XXIII, 32 שבא ונייחא; Targ. O. ש׳ שבתא (h. text שבת שבתון); a. fr.—Y. Taan. I, 64ᵃ בשׁוּבָּה וכ׳, v. נְיָיח. Y. Sot. I, 16ᵈ bot. כל לילי ש׳ every Sabbath night. Y. Ab. Zar. V, 44ᵈ bot. ערובת ש׳ Sabbath eve; בפוקי ש׳ at the exit of the Sabbath; a. fr.—Y. Taan. IV, 69ᵃ bot. כל ארובת שובאי (corr. acc.).—Pl. שַׁבִּין, שַׁבַּיָּא, שַׁבֵּי. Targ. Is. I, 13 (ed. Wil. שַׁבְּאִין). Targ. I Chr. XXIII, 31; a. fr.—Sabb. 119ᵃ יוסף מוקיר שבי Joseph, the honorer of the Sabbaths; a. e.
שבי
- (b. h.) to capture, carry off.—Part. pass. שָׁבוּי; f. שְׁבוּיָה; pl. שְׁבוּיִים, שְׁבוּיִם, שְׁבוּיִין; שְׁבוּיוֹת. Keth. I, 2 הגיורת והש׳ וכ׳ a proselyte, a captive, and a slave, converted, redeemed, or freed at an age of less than three years and one day. Ib. 4. B. Bath. 8ᵃ bot.; Ḥull. 7ᵃ, a. e. פדיון ש׳, v. פִּדְיוֹן. Shek. II, 5 מותר שבויים לש׳ what is left over from a fund collected for the ransom of captives, must be reserved for the ransom of other captives; מותר שבוי לאותו ש׳ what is left over from a collection for a certain captive, belongs to that captive. Y. ib. II, 47ᵃ top אין פודין ש׳ בש׳ you dare not redeem a captive by surrendering another captive. Keth. 51ᵇ בש׳ הקלו with regard to a woman redeemed from captivity the practice is more lenient (allowing her husband to live with her again). Ib. שְׁבוּיֵי מלכות הרי הן כש׳ women forced by (Roman) officials come under the law of redeemed captives (are permitted to live with their husbands). Gitt. IV, 6, v. פָּדָה; a. fr.
- to be captured. B. Mets. 39ᵃ שבוי שנ׳ מורידין וכ׳ if a person has been captured (banished), we appoint a relative to manage his property. Snh. 104ᵃ שני בני אדם שנִשְׁבּוּ וכ׳ two persons were captured on Mount Carmel. Lam. R. to I, 16 מעשה במרים … שנִשְׁבֵּית וכ׳ it came to pass that Miriam … was carried off (by the Romans), herself and her seven sons. Keth. II, 5 נִשְׁבֵּתִי וטהורה אני I was a captive (among gentiles), but I remained pure; ib. 23ᵃ נִשְׁבֵּיתִי; a. fr.
שְׁבֵי
- Targ. Num. XXI, 1. Targ. I Chr V, 21. Targ. Ps. CVI, 46. Targ. II Chr. VI, 36. Targ. Is. XIV, 2; a. fr.—Part. pass. שָׁבֵי, pl. שָׁבָן, שְׁבָן. Targ. O. Deut. XXXII, 42 שָׁ׳ Ms. I (ed. Berl. שְׁ׳; oth. ed. שִׁבְיָן; Y. שִׁיבִין; v. שִׁבְיָא).—Ber. 56ᵃ דאתו רומאי ושָׁבוּ לך that the Romans came and made thee captive, v. שְׁחַר IV. e.g. 1 Chronicles 5:21
- to be taken captive, be carried off. Targ. Gen. XIV, 14. Targ. I Sam. XXX, 3; a. fr.—B. Mets. 39ᵇ אִשְׁתַּבָּאִי איהי וכ׳ she was captured and one of her daughters. Keth. 23ᵃ אִישְׁתַּבְּיָין בנתיה וכ׳ the daughters of Mar Samuel were captured. Keth. IV, 8 אם תִּשְׁתַּבָּאִי וכ׳, v. פְּרַק; a. e.
שְׁבִי
- preced.) captivity, prison. Hor. III, 7 האשה … מבית הש׳ a woman has the precedence of a man with regard to clothes and to relief from prison.
שְׁבִי ²
- , captivity; (collect. noun) captives. Targ. O. Ex. XII, 29. Targ. Is. XX, 4. Targ. O. Deut. XXI, 10. Ib. 11 (ed. Vien. שִׁבְיָה). Targ. Is. LII, 2 שְׁבִיָא ed. Wil. (ed. Lag. a. oth. שְׁבוּיֵי or שְׁבוֹיֵי); a. fr.—Pl. שִׁבְיָין, שִׁבְיָן. Targ. O. Deut. XXXII, 42, v. שְׁבֵי.—V. שִׁבְיְיתָא.
שָׁבֵי
- (preced.) captor, marauder.—Pl. שָׁבְיָין. Targ. II Chr. VI, 36 שָׁבֵיהוֹן. Targ. Is. XIV, 2 (ed. Wil. שׁוֹבֵיהוֹן).—Y. Ter. VIII, 46ᵃ ש׳ עלון לקרתא וכ׳ marauders invaded a town, and one of them &c.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 39 distinct written forms H7628 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7628, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 39 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 46 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Exodus 12:29
- Numbers 21:1
- Deuteronomy 21:10
- Judges 5:12
- 2 Chronicles 28:17
- Ezra 2:1
- Psalms 68:18
- Isaiah 20:4
- Jeremiah 15:2
- Lamentations 1:5
- Ezekiel 12:11
- Daniel 11:8
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
