שֶׁבֶר
sheber · H7667 · Hebrew · 44 occurrences
Meanings
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breaking, breach
Causative action or process by which humans or deities cause an object to be broken into two or more pieces; sometimes use figuratively to denote the sudden end of a certain condition or situation
ExamplesPsalm 60:2 You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its cracks, for it sways.
Isaiah 30:13 Therefore this wrongdoing will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
Isaiah 30:14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a shard will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
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injury, fracture
Literally: to break; hence: causative action or process by which humans, deities, animals, or circumstances cause (other) humans or animals to be severely injured
ExamplesLeviticus 21:19 or someone who has a broken foot or broken hand,
Leviticus 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be inflicted on him.
Isaiah 30:26 And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted.
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Literally: breaking of (someone's) spirit; hence: causative process by which deities or circumstances cause humans to suffer profound grief (to break (someone's) spirit > to cause profound grief)
ExamplesProverbs 15:4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.
Isaiah 65:14 “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out from a painful heart, And you will wail from a broken spirit.
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interpretation
Literally: breaking; hence: action by which humans explain the meaning of an event that is hard to interpret, such as a dream
ExamplesJudges 7:15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has handed over to you the camp of Midian!”
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crashing sound
Literally: (sound of) breaking; hence: process by which a loud sound is heard, which is experienced as similar to the sound of something breaking
ExamplesJob 41:25 “When he rises up, the mighty are afraid; Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
Zephaniah 1:10 “And on that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.
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disaster, destruction
Literally: breaking; hence: causative action by which humans, deities, or circumstances take away peace from a community by causing destruction, death, and suffering
ExamplesProverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 17:19 One who loves wrongdoing loves strife; One who makes his doorway high seeks destruction.
Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of a person is haughty, But humility goes before honor.
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
21 occurrences in 12 groups
- בַּתdaughter 5
- ךְyour 3
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
7 occurrences in 1 groups
- גָּדוֹלgreat, large 7
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מַכָּהstroke 1
What it doesIt is the subject
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 2
- קָרָאto call, to cry out 1
- בּוֹאto come, to go in, to bring 1
What is done to itIt is the object
8 occurrences in 5 groups
- רָפָאto heal 3
- בּוֹאto come, to go in, to bring 2
- בָּקַשׁto seek, to search, to look for 1
- חָבַשׁto bind up, to saddle 1
- שָׁמַעto hear, to listen, to obey 1
What it is said to bePredicate
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- גָּדוֹלgreat, large 1
- מְסִלָּהhighway 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
3 occurrences in 4 groups
- חַטָּאsinner, sinful 1
- סֶלֶףperverseness 1
- אָנַשׁincurable (wound 1
- פָּשַׁעto rebel 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
14 occurrences in 6 groups
- עַלon, upon, over, against 13
- מִןfrom 4
- בin/on/with 2
- כlike/as 2
- לto/for 2
- תַּחַתunder, below, instead of 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 2
- זַעַקcry 1
- צַעֲקָהoutcry 1
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.
Contrasting words 1 word
- רָפָא râphâʼ · H7495 · to heal, to be healed
- The direct lexical opposite of שֶׁבֶר, denoting the healing or repair of what has been broken or destroyed.
In the other Testament 2 words
- σύντριμμα sýntrimma · G4938 · ruin, destruction
- Greek σύντριμμα is the standard Septuagint rendering of Hebrew שֶׁבֶר in contexts of physical breaking, fracture, or destruction, and the two share the core semantic field of violent rupture or shattering.
- ταλαιπωρία talaipōría · G5004 · hardship, wretchedness
- Greek ταλαιπωρία emphasizes the experiential dimension of suffering and wretchedness as a state of misery, whereas Hebrew שֶׁבֶר primarily denotes the physical fact of breaking, breach, or destruction that causes affliction.
Semantic domains 7 entries
- Impact002001001024
- Leviticus 21:19 names "a broken foot or broken hand," and Leviticus 24:20 prescribes "fracture for fracture," both directly attesting the breaking injury this word denotes.
- Grieve002001002013
- This word's gloss also covers "affliction" and "vexation," a sense of distress the sampled citations (which show literal physical fractures) do not themselves directly illustrate.
- Know002004002007
- Judges 7:15 has Gideon hear "the account of the dream and its interpretation," directly attesting this word's sense of an interpretation that brings understanding.
- Sounds002004001009007
- This word's gloss also covers "crashing," a loud breaking noise the sampled citations do not themselves directly illustrate.
- Unsafe002003003022
- This word's "breach, destruction, hurt" senses describe a dangerous, damaging event, a shade the sampled citations (chiefly showing legal fracture penalties) do not themselves fully illustrate.
- Crops001003001003002
- שֶׁבֶר (sheber, H7667) is a noun meaning "fracture, brokenness, destruction," as in occurrences glossed "the fracture"/"the brokenness." This sense does not independently attest the "Crops" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with שֶׁבֶר (sheber, H7668) and שֶׁבֶר (Sheber, H7669) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Names of People003001007
- שֶׁבֶר (sheber, H7667) is a noun meaning "fracture, brokenness, destruction," as in occurrences glossed "the fracture"/"the brokenness." This sense does not independently attest the "Names of People" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with שֶׁבֶר (sheber, H7668) and שֶׁבֶר (Sheber, H7669) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
Word family 7 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7667. sheber I. שֵׁ֫בֶר שֶׁ֫בֶר, noun masculineJer 4:5 breaking, fracture, crushing,…
I. שֵׁ֫בֶר שֶׁ֫בֶר, noun masculineJer 4:5 breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash; — absolute שֶׁבֶר Isa 51:19 +, שָׁ֑בֶר Lam 3:47; Pro 17:19, construct שֶׁבֶר Isa 1:28 +, שֵׁבֶר Amo 6:6 +; suffix שִׁבְרִי Jer 10:19, etc.; plural שְׁבָרִים Jos 7:5; Job 41:17 (dubious, see below), suffix שְׁבָרֶיהָ Psa 60:4; —
1 breaking of pottery Isa 30:14, fracture of member, limb Lev 21:19; Lev 24:20 (H), especially figurative of people personified ׳שׁ יוֺסֵף Amo 6:6, compare Isa 30:26 (|| מַכָּתוֺ מַחַץ), Jer 8:21; Jer 10:19; Jer 14:17; Jer 30:12 (|| מַכָּה), Jer 30:15 (|| מַכְאֹב), Lam 2:11; Lam 3:48; Lam 4:10, also (with רפה רפא, heal) Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11; Lam 2:13; Psa 60:4, compare Nah 3:19; of sinners Isa 1:28; shattering, crushing, of wall (in figurative) Isa 30:13; ׳שׁ גָּדוֺל || (רָעָהׅ Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1, ׳עַלשֿׁ׳שׁ Jer 4:20; וָשׁ ׳שֹׁד Isa 59:7; Isa 60:18; Jer 48:3, compare Isa 51:19; וְהַשּׁ ׳הַשֵּׁאת Lam 3:47; שׁ ׳זַעֲקַת Isa 15:5, compare Jer 48:5; of individual Pro 16:18; Pro 17:19; Pro 18:12; figurative, ׳שׁ רוּחַ crushing of spirit, compare Pro 15:4; so (רוּחַ omitted) מִשְּׁבָרִים Job 41:17 from terror, Di De, compare Bi, but dubious; Buhl Bu conjectures יָם מִשְׁבְּרֵי, Gie גִּבֹּרִים מִשִּׁנָּיו, Du מִשְׁמָרִים.
2 crashing, Zep 1:10 (|| יְלָלָה צְעָקָה, קוֺל), Jer 50:22 (|| מִלְחָמָה), Jer 51:54 (|| זְעָקָה קוֺל).
3 breaking of a dream, i.e. its interpretation (solution of mystery) Jdg 7:15 (compare GFM).
4 הַשְּׁבָרִים Jos 7:5, perhaps (Di Benn Steuern) the quarries as proper name, of a location, ᵑ9 Sabarim (> הִשָּֽׁבְרָם ᵑ7 ᵑ6 ᵐ5). — שִׁבְרִי Eze 32:9, read ᵐ5 שִׁבְיְךָ Co Sta Berthol Krae (not Toy).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 7 entries
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
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