H7673 — שָׁבַת (shâbath)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7673
Original: שָׁבַת
Transliteration: shâbath
Pronunciation: shaw-bath
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; parent of H7676 שַׁבָּת (shabbâth) and H7674 שֶׁבֶת (shebeth)
Occurrences: 67 unique verses (112 tokens) in OT
Books: 19
First Occurrence: Gen 2:2 — "and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to repose, i.e. desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causative, figurative or specific):—(cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	40	cause to cease, make to stop (causative)
Qal	27	cease, rest, desist (simple/intransitive)
Niphal	4	be caused to cease, be made to rest (passive)

Tallied from BHSA/Text-Fabric morphological data (ETCBC/bhsa)

Hiphil sub-forms: Perfect 28, Imperfect 5, Wayyiqtol 2, Participle 2, Infinitive construct 2, Imperative 1
Qal sub-forms: Perfect 12, Imperfect 11, Wayyiqtol 4
Niphal sub-forms: Perfect 4

The dominant Hiphil stem (56%) shows the word is used most often in prophetic judgment: God causing things to cease. The Qal covers the creation narrative and Sabbath-keeping contexts.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
(to) cease / ceased / ceaseth / shall cease	~39	~58%
rest / rested / thou shalt rest	~8	~12%
cause to cease (various phrasing)	~8	~12%
put away / took away / put down	2	3%
keep (sabbath) / celebrate	2	3%
rid / fail / lacking / still / left	~8	~12%

Note: KJV renders with many periphrastic phrases capturing causative nuance (e.g., "I will cause to cease", "will make to cease").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hosea	3	1.5
Lamentations	2	1.3
Ezekiel	13	1.0
Leviticus	6	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Isaiah	8	0.6
Daniel	2	0.6
Nehemiah	2	0.5
Exodus	6	0.5
Jeremiah	6	0.4
Joshua	2	0.3
2 Kings	2	0.3
Genesis	3	0.2
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
Psalms	4	0.2
Proverbs	2	0.2
Job	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
Ruth	1	—

Patterns: Heaviest concentration in the prophets (Ezekiel 13×, Isaiah 8×, Jeremiah 6×), consistent with the Hiphil-dominant profile — prophetic oracles of judgment. Sabbath law passages concentrate in Exodus and Leviticus. The poetic books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job) use it sparingly and mostly in general cessation sense.

Semantic Categories¶

1. God's Primal Rest at Creation¶

The Qal verb describes God ceasing from creative work on the seventh day — the archetype of all Sabbath rest.

Gen 2:2 — "and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made"
Gen 2:3 — "because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made"
Exo 31:17 — "for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed"

2. Sabbath Keeping — Sacred Weekly and Annual Cessation¶

The Qal or reflexive use commands Israel to cease labor on the seventh day and sacred occasions.

Exo 16:30 — "So the people rested on the seventh day"
Exo 23:12 — "on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest"
Exo 34:21 — "on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest"
Lev 23:32 — "ye shall afflict your souls: ... from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath"

3. Land Sabbath — The Earth's Rest and Its Consequences¶

Leviticus legislates a Sabbath for the land; Chronicles records its fulfillment in the Babylonian exile.

Lev 25:2 — "then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD"
Lev 26:34–35 — "Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths ... as long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths"
2 Chr 36:21 — "until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath"

4. General Cessation of Activity¶

Qal uses where an activity, phenomenon, or circumstance simply stops — not specifically a Sabbath or judgment context.

Gen 8:22 — "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest … shall not cease"
Josh 5:12 — "the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land"
Job 32:1 — "So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes"
Prov 22:10 — "Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease"

5. Prophetic Judgment: God Causes to Cease (Hiphil)¶

The dominant use in the prophets — God issues oracles in which he announces that he will cause specific things (joy, worship, wickedness, nations) to cease as an act of judgment.

Eze 26:13 — "I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard"
Jer 7:34 — "Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah … the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness"
Hos 2:11 — "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths"
Isa 13:11 — "I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease"

6. Daniel's Prophecy — Cessation of Sacrifice (Hiphil)¶

Two occurrences in Daniel use the Hiphil in eschatological/prophetic passages.

Dan 9:27 — "he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease"
Dan 11:18 — "a prince for his own behalf shall cause his reproach to cease"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֶרֶץ (ʼerets)	H776	20x (30%)	"the land shall cease / enjoy her sabbaths"
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	16x (24%)	"on the seventh day he rested"
יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh)	H3068	12x (18%)	prophetic "thus saith the LORD … I will cause to cease"
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl)	H3478	12x (18%)	Sabbath covenant and judgment oracles to Israel
שְׁבִיעִי (shᵉbîyʻîy)	H7637	7x (10%)	"the seventh day/year" (Sabbath and Sabbatical Year)
שַׁבָּת (shabbâth)	H7676	6x (9%)	verb + noun: "she kept sabbath" / "her sabbaths"
שָׁמֵם (shâmêm)	H8074	6x (9%)	desolation oracles: cease + be desolate together

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7674 שֶׁבֶת (shebeth) — noun: "cessation, rest, interruption" (derived from H7673)
H7676 שַׁבָּת (shabbâth) — noun: "the Sabbath; intermission" (primary derived noun; the weekly Sabbath institution)
H7677 שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbâthôwn) — noun: "rest, a sabbath observance" (intensive/extended form)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H7673.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H7673.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חָדַל (châdal)	H2308	both: "cease"	châdal = cease from weariness or giving up; shabath = cease by completing, resting, or halting by decree
נוּחַ (nûwach)	H5117	both: "rest"	nûwach = settle down, find a resting place; shabath = desist from activity/exertion
דָּמָה (dâmâh)	H1820	both: "cease"	dâmâh = be silent, be still (cessation of sound/noise); shabath = cessation of action/labor
שֶׁבֶת (shebeth)	H7674	both: "cease"	shebeth is the abstract noun form of H7673; not a competing verb

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002003003010] End — the core cessation/completion field: shâbath marks an action or process coming to an end.
[002003003012] Non-Engage — the Sabbath/rest nuance: refraining from labor, activity, or participation.
[002002002006] Non-Exist — a secondary causative field that fits Hiphil uses where something is made to cease or disappear.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
καταπαύω (katapaúō)	G2664	14	6.43	primary — "settle down, cause to rest"; used for God resting at creation and land sabbath
καταλύω (katalýō)	G2647	7	5.92	"loosen down, dissolve" — used in judgment/cessation contexts
παύω (paúō)	G3973	7	5.38	"stop, pause" — general cessation
σάββατον (sábbaton)	G4521	6	4.50	direct transliteration for Sabbath-keeping contexts
ἕβδομος (hébdomos)	G1442	7	4.47	"seventh" — co-occurrence in seventh-day passages

Note: LXX bridge co-occurrence (14x for primary) is below the 20x threshold for auto-trace. The TR-shabbath-sabbaton.md traces the noun H7676 → G4521; shabath the verb links to G2664 katapaúō.