TR: shaba → omnyo (Swear / Take an Oath)

The Chain

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)           Greek NT
───────────            ───────────────           ────────
שָׁבַע (shaba)     →   ὀμνύω (omnyo)         →   ὀμνύω (omnyo)
H7650, 175v in OT       143x as translation       21v in NT
"to swear"               of shaba                  "to swear"

OT Usage (Hebrew)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H7650	שָׁבַע (shaba)	175v	to swear, take an oath
H7621	שְׁבוּעָה (shebuah)	30v	oath, sworn obligation
H7620	שָׁבוּעַ (shabuwa)	19v	week, period of seven (from same root)

The root sh-b-a connects to the number seven (sheba, H7651), suggesting the ancient practice of binding oneself by seven things or witnesses.

Key OT passages: - Gen 21:23 — "Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me" (first interpersonal oath in Scripture) - Deu 1:8 — "the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Deuteronomic land-oath formula) - Psa 110:4 — "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (quoted in Heb 7:21)

Library: H7650-shaba.md

LXX Bridge

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
shaba (H7650)	ὀμνύω (G3660)	143x	34.74	Primary equivalent — near one-to-one
shaba (H7650)	ὁρκίζω (G3726)	18x	20.34	When emphasis is on putting someone under oath
shaba (H7650)	ὅρκος (G3727)	12x	13.84	Noun substitution in LXX rendering

The reverse direction (what Hebrew words omnyo translates):

Greek	Hebrew Source	Co-occurrence	PMI Score
omnyo (G3660)	shaba (H7650)	143x	34.74
omnyo (G3660)	shebuah (H7621)	8x	11.94

Semantic continuity in translation: The LXX maintains very tight correspondence. Of H7650's 175 OT verses, 143 (82%) are rendered by G3660 omnyo — one of the strongest verb-to-verb bridges in the LXX. The semantic range is preserved without significant narrowing or broadening.

NT Usage (Greek)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G3660	ὀμνύω (omnyo)	21v	to swear, take an oath
G3727	ὅρκος (horkos)	10v	oath (the noun)
G3728	ὁρκωμοσία (horkomosia)	3v	oath-taking, asseveration

Key NT passages: - Mat 5:34 — "But I say unto you, Swear not at all" (Jesus' teaching on oaths) - Heb 6:13 — "when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself" - Heb 7:21 — "The Lord sware and will not repent" (quoting Psa 110:4)

Library: G3660-omnyo.md

Direct OT → NT Quotations

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Heb 3:11	Psa 95:11	shaba → omnyo	"So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest"
Heb 4:3	Psa 95:11	shaba → omnyo	Same quotation repeated
Heb 7:21	Psa 110:4	shaba → omnyo	"The Lord sware and will not repent" — Melchizedek priesthood
Act 2:30	Psa 132:11	shaba → omnyo	"God had sworn with an oath" — Davidic promise
Luk 1:73	Gen 22:16–18	shaba → omnyo	"The oath which he sware to our father Abraham"

Five of the 21 NT uses of omnyo are direct quotations of or allusions to OT passages where H7650 shaba appears. The Hebrews author is particularly dependent on this chain, building theology of divine oath-keeping from the Psalms.

Continuity and Shifts

What stays the same across testaments: - The core meaning "to take a solemn oath" is identical in both testaments - God swearing to the patriarchs (land, seed, blessing) is the dominant theological use in both OT and NT - The formula pattern "swear by [something greater]" persists from Genesis through Hebrews - Divine oaths are irrevocable in both testaments

What shifts: - The NT introduces explicit prohibition of casual human oath-taking (Mat 5:34, Jas 5:12) — no such blanket prohibition exists in the OT, where human oath-taking is regulated rather than forbidden - Hebrews develops a contrast between the Aaronic priesthood (established without an oath) and the Melchizedek priesthood (established by divine oath, Heb 7:20–21) — a theological argument that depends entirely on the LXX rendering of Psa 110:4 - The negative use (God's oath of wrath/exclusion in Heb 3–4 from Psa 95) receives extended theological treatment absent in the OT context

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Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup, --lexicon) Last updated: 2026-05-12