Lexical Summary
shibim: Seventy
Original Word:שִׁבְעִים
Part of Speech:Noun
Transliteration:shib`iym.
Pronunciation:shee-BEEM
Phonetic Spelling:(shib-eem')
KJV: seventy, threescore and ten (+ -teen)
NASB:seventy, 70, seventy-five, seventy-seven, seventy-sevenfold
Word Origin:[multiple ofH7651 (שֶׁבַע שִׁבעָה - seven)]
1. seventy
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
seventy, threescore and ten
Multiple ofsheba'; seventy -- seventy, threescore and ten (+ -teen).
see HEBREWsheba'
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
shebaDefinitionseventy (a card. number)
NASB Translation1,775* (2), 172* (1), 2,172* (1), 22,273* (1), 273* (1), 372* (2), 470,000* (1), 50,070* (1), 54,400* (1), 675* (1), 675,000* (1), 70 (4), 70,000* (4), 72* (1), 72,000* (1), 74* (2), 74,600* (2), 75,000* (1), 76,500* (1), 77* (1), 775* (1), 973* (2), seventy (53), seventy-five (2), seventy-seven (2), seventy-sevenfold (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
91 (irregular plural of Ges
§ 97f, R. 1); — not declined: —
seventy (often as round number, compare Kö
Hast DB NUMBER, 568 a):
Genesis 5:12 12t., manJudges 9:2;Numbers 11:25 7t., shekelNumbers 7:13 11t., other n. 5 t.
Judges 1:7, sonsJudges 8:30;Judges 9:24;2 Kings 10:1, brothersJudges 9:56, assesJudges 12:14, palmsExodus 15:27;Numbers 33:9, malesEzra 8:7,14.
() 2 Chronicles 29:32, plural nounDaniel 9:24.
predicateGenesis 46:27.
noun omittedExodus 24:1,9 (man),Numbers 7:85 (shekel), compareJudges 9:4.
= 70,0002 Samuel 24:15 6t.
+ other number:
+ unit + singular nounJudges 8:14; noun omitted 70 7(times)Genesis 4:24, compareEzra 2:40 =Nehemiah 7:43 so 2 70Numbers 31:38; plural noun + 70 7Ezra 8:35; 5years + 70 yearGenesis 12:4.
570x 1000 (man)Esther 9:16 compareNumbers 2:4;Numbers 3:43;Numbers 26:32; 270x 1000;Numbers 31:33 ( precedes); 70 man, 50 x 1000 man1 Samuel 6:19; 770year + 7 x 100 yearGenesis 5:31; noun omitted 370200Numbers 3:46.
70year + 5 yearsGenesis 25:7, and (noun omitted) 70 2Ezra 2:3,4 =Nehemiah 7:8,9;Nehemiah 11:19; 3Ezra 2:36;Nehemiah 7:39; 570Ezra 2:5).
Exodus 38:25 and (noun omitted)Exodus 38:38.
Topical Lexicon
Numeric symbolismSeventy (שִׁבְעִים) fuses the covenant number seven with the factor of completeness, ten. Every occurrence underscores a measured fullness under God’s sovereign design.
Nations and patriarchal origins
•Genesis 10 lists seventy descendants of Noah, a canonical census of the post-Flood world.
•Genesis 46:27: “All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.” The fledgling nation enters Egypt as a complete, representative body.
•Exodus 15:27 sets Israel between “twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees,” refreshing imagery for the tribes and the nations they will one day bless.
Covenantal leadership
•Exodus 24:1 cements a pattern when the Lord summons “seventy of the elders of Israel” up Sinai, binding the whole nation to the covenant.
•Numbers 11:16–25 expands the model: the Spirit that rests on Moses comes upon seventy elders so that “they shall bear the burden of the people with you.” A Spirit-endowed plurality safeguards faithful oversight.
• Failures involving groups of seventy—Gideon’s sons (Judges 8:30; 9:5) and Ahab’s progeny (2 Kings 10:1–7)—warn that leadership detached from covenant loyalty invites judgment.
Liturgical economy
The Feast of Tabernacles prescribes seventy bulls over the seven days (Numbers 29:12–34). Rabbinic and Christian interpreters see here intercession for the seventy Gentile nations, aligning Israel’s worship with a global horizon.
Chronological boundaries
•Psalm 90:10 assigns ordinary life a “seventy years” span, sharpening mortality’s edge.
•Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10 decree a seventy-year Babylonian exile, a calculated Sabbath for the land (2 Chronicles 36:21).
•Zechariah 1:12 references these “seventy years,” pleading for post-exilic compassion.
•Isaiah 23:15–17 extends the same period to Tyre’s silence, attesting that every nation’s destiny is clocked by the Lord.
Prophetic architecture
Daniel 9:24–27 unveils “seventy weeks” (sevens) that carry history from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the arrival of Messiah and ultimate righteousness. The multiplied sevens promise that sin, atonement, and kingdom consummation are all under timed restraint.
New Testament resonance
Luke 10:1 records that Jesus “appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of Him.” The number recalls Moses’ elders and gestures toward mission to the seventy nations, sealing continuity between Sinai and the Gospel mandate.
Theological and pastoral themes
1. Completeness under divine order: every “seventy” occurrence, whether people, years, or sacrifices, testifies that history is neither random nor chaotic.
2. Shared leadership: seventy elders and seventy disciples commend Spirit-filled plurality over solitary rule.
3. Measured discipline and mercy: exile length, Tyre’s silence, and Daniel’s weeks prove that divine judgment is finite and redemptive hope certain.
4. Universality of redemption: the seventy nations and the seventy bulls point to a salvation extending well beyond Israel, fulfilled in the universal mission of Christ’s church.
Thus שִׁבְעִים serves as a recurring emblem of completeness, representation, and the assured progress of God’s redemptive plan from Genesis to the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּשִׁבְעִ֣ים בשבעים וְהַשִּׁבְעִ֖ים וְשִׁבְעִ֔ים וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים וְשִׁבְעִ֛ים וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים וְשִׁבְעִ֥ים וְשִׁבְעִֽים׃ וְשִׁבְעִים֙ והשבעים ושבעים ושבעים׃ שִׁבְעִ֔ים שִׁבְעִ֜ים שִׁבְעִ֣ים שִׁבְעִ֣ים ׀ שִׁבְעִ֤ים שִׁבְעִ֥ים שִׁבְעִ֪ים שִׁבְעִֽים׃ שבעים שבעים׃ bə·šiḇ·‘îm beshivIm bəšiḇ‘îm shivIm šiḇ‘îm šiḇ·‘îm vehashshivIm veshivIm wə·haš·šiḇ·‘îm wə·šiḇ·‘îm wəhaššiḇ‘îm wəšiḇ‘îm
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