Lexical Summary
shebii or shebiith: Seventh
Original Word:שְׁבִיעִי
Part of Speech:Adjective
Transliteration:shbiy`iy
Pronunciation:sheb-ee' or sheb-ee-eeth'
Phonetic Spelling:(sheb-ee-ee')
KJV: seventh (time)
NASB:seventh, fourth, seventh year
Word Origin:[ordinal fromH7657 (שִׁבעִים - seventy)]
1. seventh
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
seventh time
Or shbi iy {sheb-ee-ee'}; ordinal fromshib'iym.; seventh -- seventh (time).
see HEBREWshib'iym.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
shebaDefinitionseventh (an ord. number)
NASB Translationfourth (1), seventh (96), seventh year (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
97 ; —Genesis 2:2 +,Exodus 12:15 +;Joshua 6:16 +,Exodus 23:11 +,Exodus 21:2 -1 Kings 18:44; 2Chronicles 23:1; —fifth, especially P; always with article:
Genesis 2:3 47t.; month ()Genesis 8:4 23t. + (noun omitted)Ezekiel 45:25 3t.; lot ()Joshua 19:40 #NAME?1 Chronicles 24:10;1 Chronicles 25:14; noun omitted also1 Chronicles 2:15;1 Chronicles 26:3,5 (son),1 Chronicles 12:11 (man),1 Chronicles 27:10 (captain).
,2 Kings 11:4 7t. + (noun omitted)Exodus 21:2;Exodus 23:11, also (Ges§ 134p)Ezra 7:8 sabbathLeviticus 23:16; time ()Joshua 6:16 #NAME?1 Kings 18:44.
Topical Lexicon
General Meaning and Contexts of Useשְׁבִיעִי designates whatever is “seventh” in a series—day, month, year, person, ritual act, trumpet blast, or military circuit. Its nearly one hundred appearances trace a coherent biblical rhythm of completion and rest that runs from Creation to post-exilic worship.
Occurrences and Distribution
Pentateuch (about two-thirds), Historical Books, Ezra–Nehemiah, Chronicles, Prophets, and a few poetic texts. The highest concentrations are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, where the covenant calendar is defined; later books employ the term when Israel actually keeps—or neglects—those divine appointments.
The Seventh Day: Sabbath Principle
Genesis 2:2–3 introduces the pattern: “On the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested…”. The Decalogue universalizes that pattern (Exodus 20:10–11;Deuteronomy 5:14), and weekly observance becomes a visible covenant sign (Exodus 31:13–17). The manna narrative (Exodus 16:26–30) ties Sabbath to trust: bread gathered on the sixth day suffices for the seventh. The seventh day also closes many purification rites (Leviticus 13:5; 14:9;Numbers 19:12). Each reference reinforces the Creator’s claim over human time and the call to cease labor for worship.
The Seventh Month: Sacred Assemblies and National Memory
The seventh month (Tishri) gathers three climactic festivals:
• Feast of Trumpets, “a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts” (Leviticus 23:24).
• Day of Atonement, the annual cleansing of sanctuary and people (Leviticus 23:27).
• Feast of Tabernacles, a week-long celebration of covenant joy and remembrance of wilderness dependence (Leviticus 23:34–43).
Historic events converge in that month: the ark rested “on the seventeenth day of the seventh month” (Genesis 8:4); Ezra’s returnees re-established worship “in the seventh month” (Ezra 3:1–6); Nehemiah’s reform began “on the first day of the seventh month” (Nehemiah 8:2); Haggai’s second oracle came “on the twenty-first day of the seventh month” (Haggai 2:1). The calendar therefore links creation rest, covenant renewal, and eschatological hope in one annual crescendo.
The Seventh Year: Sabbatical Rest and Social Equity
“During the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath rest” (Leviticus 25:4). The command teaches stewardship of creation, faith in God’s provision (Leviticus 25:20–22), and compassion: debts are cancelled and slaves released (Deuteronomy 15:1–12). Israel’s seventy Sabbath-year violations led to exile until “the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths” (2 Chronicles 36:21; cf.Jeremiah 34:14–17). The pattern reappears when Jesus cites “the favorable year of the LORD” (Luke 4:19), anticipating the ultimate release He secures.
Seventh in Warfare and Judgment
At Jericho “on the seventh day they rose at daybreak and marched around the city seven times” before the walls fell (Joshua 6:15–20). The word marks decisive endings—Naaman is healed “after the seventh time” he dipped (2 Kings 5:14); Jehoiada’s coup succeeded “in the seventh year” (2 Kings 11:4–12). The recurring motif is that God’s purposes reach completion on His ordained seventh.
Seventh in Ritual and Personal Narratives
• Samson’s riddle is solved on “the seventh day” (Judges 14:17).
• Job’s friends sit in silence “for seven days” before speaking, then sacrificial atonement is offered “after Job had prayed for his friends” on the seventh (Job 2:13; 42:9).
• Cleansing rites for lepers, Nazirites, or those defiled by death climax on day seven (Leviticus 14;Numbers 6; 19). The pattern underscores full restoration.
Symbolism and Theology
Seven embodies completion, covenant faithfulness, and divine sovereignty. שְׁבִיעִי marks the point where God’s work is finished and His blessing declared—whether at Creation, in agricultural cycles, or in redemptive acts.Hebrews 4 links Sabbath rest to the salvation finished in Christ, while Revelation’s seventh seals, trumpets, and bowls complete God’s eschatological plan, echoing the same motif.
Ministry and Devotional Implications
1. Worship: Regular, unhurried Sabbaths cultivate dependence on grace rather than toil.
2. Stewardship: Sabbatical years challenge believers to trust God with resources and to practice mercy toward the vulnerable.
3. Hope: God’s faithfulness to complete His purposes in every “seventh” sustains confidence that “He who began a good work…will perfect it” (Philippians 1:6).
4. Teaching: Tracing שְׁבִיעִי across Scripture provides a framework for biblical theology that integrates creation, covenant, and consummation.
Thus שְׁבִיעִי is more than a numeral; it is a theological signpost pointing to God’s finished work and promised rest.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּשְּׁבִיעִ֕י בַּשְּׁבִעִ֔ית בשביעי בשבעית הַ֠שְּׁבִיעִי הַ֠שְּׁבִיעִית הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ית הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖ית הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ית הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת הַשְּׁבִיעִ֛י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜֔י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י הַשְּׁבִיעִ֨י הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֒ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֮ הַשְּׁבִעִ֔י הַשְּׁבִעִ֜ית הַשְּׁבִעִ֣י הַשְּׁבִעִֽי׃ השביעי השביעי׃ השביעית השביעת השבעי השבעי׃ השבעית וְהַשְּׁבִיעִ֞ת וּבַ֨שְּׁבִעִ֔ת וּבַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י ובשביעי ובשבעת והשביעת baš·šə·ḇî·‘î baš·šə·ḇi·‘îṯ bashsheviI bashsheviIt baššəḇî‘î baššəḇi‘îṯ haš·šə·ḇi·‘î haš·šə·ḇî·‘î haš·šə·ḇi·‘îṯ haš·šə·ḇî·‘iṯ haš·šə·ḇî·‘îṯ hashsheviI hashsheviIt haššəḇi‘î haššəḇî‘î haššəḇi‘îṯ haššəḇî‘iṯ haššəḇî‘îṯ ū·ḇaš·šə·ḇî·‘î ū·ḇaš·šə·ḇi·‘iṯ ūḇaššəḇî‘î ūḇaššəḇi‘iṯ uvashsheviI uVashsheviIt vehashsheviIt wə·haš·šə·ḇî·‘iṯ wəhaššəḇî‘iṯ
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
