Word

שֵׁבֶט

shêbeṭ · H7626 · Hebrew · 190 occurrences

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A word for 3 things

Rod, club, shepherd’s staffAnimal husbandry107 verses
Spear, lanceWarfare68 verses
ScepterRoyalty24 verses

Meanings

stick, rod, staff, scepter

Stick usually made of wood; attribute of a shepherd or a ruler, but also used for other purposes, such as beating, walking, fighting, etc.; associated with shepherding, authority, punishment

Examples
Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Leviticus 27:32 ‘For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.
Judges 5:14 “From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.
short spear

A relatively short, straight rod, usually made of wood, with a sharp metal head or point; used for piercing by thrusting

Examples
2 Samuel 18:14 Then Joab said, “I will not waste time here with you.” So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak.
rod > people

Literally: stick, rod; hence: a group that oppresses other people

Examples
Isaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,
scepter > ruler

Literally: staff; hence: a person with the authority represented by a scepter

Examples
Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not now; I look at him, but not near; A star shall appear from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall smash the forehead of Moab, And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
authority, rule

Literally: staff; hence: state of authority over someone else symbolized by a scepter

Examples
Psalm 2:9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
Psalm 45:6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever; The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
Psalm 125:3 For the scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the land of the righteous, So that the righteous will not extend their hands to do wrong.
rod > punishment, oppression

Literally: stick, rod; hence: process of causing systematic suffering to someone else as if one were beating someone else with a rod

Examples
2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind,
Job 9:34 “Let Him remove His rod from me, And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.
tribe

Group of clans united by a common leader

Examples
Genesis 49:16 “Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.
Genesis 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.
Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

How it’s used In 9 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

139 occurrences in 35 groups

יִשְׂרָאֵלIsrael 47
מְנַשֶּׁהManasseh 19
כֶםyour 10
הוּhis 6
בֵּןson 5
בִּנְיָמִיןBenjamin 5
Other words · 25 groups that occur once or twice (30) 30

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

24 occurrences in 12 groups

אֶחָדone 9
שְׁנַיִםtwo 6
Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11

Named alongside itApposition

15 occurrences in 12 groups

מַטֶּהtribe, staff, rod 3
Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12

What it doesIt is the subject

23 occurrences in 19 groups

הָיָהto be, to become 3
Other words · 18 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20

What is done to itIt is the object

20 occurrences in 15 groups

נָתַןto give, to put, to set 3
Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17

What it is said to bePredicate

6 occurrences in 5 groups

גֵּוback 2
יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1
יֵשׁthere is, there are 1
שֵׁבֶטtribe, rod 1
הֶםthem 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

4 occurrences in 4 groups

יִשְׂרָאֵלIsrael 1
אֵלֶּהthese 1
עֶבֶדservant, slave 1
שֵׁבֶטtribe, rod 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

82 occurrences in 9 groups

בin/on/with 51
לto/for 45
מִןfrom 34
תַּחַתunder, below, instead of 4
עַלon, upon, over, against 3
Other words · 4 groups that occur once or twice (7) 7

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

41 occurrences in 12 groups

חֵצִיhalf 22
מִסְפָּרnumber 3
רֹאשׁhead, top, chief 3
שַׂרcommander, chief, official 3
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 1 word

מַטֶּה maṭṭeh · H4294 · branch, staff, rod: Both denote physical implements such as a rod or staff, used for authority or discipline, and both extend metonymically to "tribe."

In the other Testament 2 words

φυλή phylḗ · G5443 · tribe, nation, people: φυλή (phylḗ, G5443) translates שֵׁבֶט (shêbeṭ, H7626) specifically in its 'tribe' sense, not its other senses (rod, staff, sceptre, correction implement); the Hebrew term's semantic range includes both the tribal organizational unit and the physical rod/staff object, while the Greek term denotes only the genealogical descent group.
ῥάβδος rhábdos · G4464 · stick, rod, rule: Greek ῥάβδος denotes the same core semantic range as Hebrew שֵׁבֶט across rod/staff/scepter senses, serving as the standard LXX rendering for this Hebrew term's concrete-object referents.

Semantic domains 7 entries

Tools001003001001017: Exodus 21:20 describes striking "his male or female slave with a rod," directly attesting the physical implement this word denotes.
Weapons001003001001020: The same rod used to strike a slave in Exodus 21:20 attests this word's weapon-like use as a striking implement.
People001001003: Genesis 49:16 says "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel," directly attesting this word's use for a tribe as a body of people.
Leaders001001003005: Genesis 49:10 declares, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet," directly attesting this word's use as a symbol of rulership.
Control002003002007: Genesis 49:10's "scepter" and "ruler's staff" likewise attest the governing authority and control this word can symbolize.
Chastise002003002005: Exodus 21:20's rod used to strike and "punish" a slave directly attests the corporal chastisement this word can denote.
Groups001001003004: Genesis 49:28 and Exodus 24:4 both speak of "the twelve tribes of Israel," directly attesting this word's use for a tribal group.

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

שֵׁבֶטshêbeṭ · H7626שַׁרְבִיט sharbîyṭ · H8275 · scepter · 4×שְׁבַט shᵉbaṭ · H7625 · tribe · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7626. shebet שֵׁ֫בֶט189 noun masculineNum 24:17 (feminineEze 21:15, Eze 21:18 but…

H7626. shebet
שֵׁ֫בֶט189 noun masculineNum 24:17 (feminineEze 21:15, Eze 21:18 but corrupt):
1 rod, staff, club, sceptre.
2 tribe; — ׳שׁ absolute Gen 49:10+, construct 1Sa 10:20 +; שָׁ֑טֶ Deu 1:23 +; sf שִׁבְטוֺ Jdg 21:24+, etc.; plural שְׁבָטִים 1Ki 11:31 +, construct שִׁבְטֵי Gen 49:16 +, sf שְׁבָטֶיךָ Deu 12:14 +, etc.; —
1.a. rod, staff (evidently common article), for smiting (especiallyבַשּׁ ׳הִכָּה) Exo 21:20 (E), Micah 4:14; Isa 10:15 (in simile; || מַטֶּה), Pro 10:13 +; ׳שׁ מוּסָר compare Pro 29:15; for beating (חָבַט) cummin Isa 28:27 (|| מַטֶּה); as (inferior) weapon (opposed to חֲנִית) 2Sa 23:21= 1Ch 11:3 (compareמַקֵּל 1Sa 17:40, 1Sa 17:43); figurative of ׳יs chastisement: national Isa 10:24; Isa 30:31 (both || מַטֶּה), Isa 14:29, ׳שׁ אַמִּי Isa 10:5 ׳שׁ עֶבְרָתוֺ Lam 3:1; individual Job 9:34; Job 21:9 (׳שׁ אֱלוֺהַּ), Job 37:13, 2Sa 7:14 (׳שׁ אֲנָשִׁים, i.e. not in-human), Psa 89:33 (both || נְגָעִים).
b. shaft, i.e. spear, dart, 2Sa 18:14, but < read ᵐ5 שְׁלָחִים βέλη Th We Kit HPS Bu.
c. shepherd's implement, club, Psa 23:4 (|| מִשְׁעֶנֶת), בְשׁ ׳רְעֵה Mic 7:14 (both figurative of ׳י); used in mustering or counting sheep Eze 20:37 (figurative), Lev 27:32 (compare Jer 33:13), see MackieHast. DB RoD
d. truncheon, sceptre, mark of authority, ׳שׁ סֹפֵר Jdg 5:14, ׳שׁ משְׁלִים Isa 14:5 (|| מַטֶּה), Gen 49:10 (poem in J; (|| מְהֹקֵק), Zec 10:11 (Psa 45:7 (twice in verse); Eze 19:11, Eze 19:14 (made from a branch, מַטֶּה); a ruler is שׁ ׳תּוֺמֵךְ Amo 1:5, Amo 1:8; as symbol of conquest Num 24:17 (JE); ׳שׁ בַּרְזֶל Psa 2:9 (of Messianic king);׳שׁ הָרֶשַׁע Psa 125:3; ׳שׁ עֶבְרָתוֺ Pro 22:8 (si vera lectio, compare Frankenb. Toy). — see מִשְׁעֶנֶת מַקֵּל, מַטֶּה,.
2 145:tribe (synonymמַטֶּה, q. v.
3, p. 641:b), especially
a. of (12) tribes of Israel, Gen 49:16, Gen 49:28 (poem in J), Deu 33:5 (poem), Exo 24:4 (E), + often [J E 13 t., D 28 t. (מַטֶּה J E D), P 9 t. (compare GrayNum 4:18; ׳מ150t. + in P); Judges 15 t. (never ׳מ), Samuel 14 t. (never ׳מ), Kings 13 t,. (׳מ2t.), Chronicles 15 t. (׳מ23t.), Psalms, 7 t. (never ׳מ), prophets 16 t. (׳מ Hab 3:9, very dubious)]; Jdg 20:12; 1Sa 9:21 read שֵׁבֶט (or שִׁבְטִי Ges§ 90 I, We Sta§ 343 e Dr, for שִׁבְטֵי), Vrss (GFMJu); שִׁבְטֵייָֿהּ Psa 122:4; נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ שִׁבְטֵי Isa 63:17.
b. singular of people (of Judah, late) Psa 74:2, but Jer 10:16 = Jer 51:19 strike out ׳שׁ ׳נ Gf Gie Du.
c. of subdivision of tribe, ׳שׁ וגו ׳מִשְׁמְּחוֺת Num 4:18 (P). — 2Sa 7:7 read שֹׁפְטֵי (compare 2Sa 7:11, || 1Ch 17:6, Ew Th We Dr HPS Bu and others)

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

People1 occurrence Groups144 occurrences Leaders1 occurrence Tools22 occurrences Weapons3 occurrences Chastise12 occurrences Control6 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0