To swear
שָׁבַעStrong’s H7650shava (sha-va)
Appears in 175 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Shava is the Hebrew word usually translated “swore”, “swore an oath” and “swear”. It appears in 175 verses of the Old Testament.
“And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”
Meaning
- To swear, adjure(Qal) sworn (participle) · (Niphal) · (Hiphil)
How it's translated
- he swore 26
- i swore 15
- and he swore an oath 14
- i swear 8
- he had sworn 7
- and he swore 6
- swear 5
- you swore 5
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Deuteronomy 33
- Genesis 17
- Joshua 15
- Jeremiah 13
- Psalms 12
- 1 Samuel 11
27 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Zechariah 5:3In contextThen said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
- Zechariah 5:4In contextI will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
- Genesis 21:23Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
- Genesis 21:24And Abraham said, I will swear.
- Genesis 21:31Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
- Genesis 22:16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
All 175 verses, by book
Hebrew dictionary
שָׁבַע shava · to swear
1) to swear, adjure 1a) (Qal) sworn (participle) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to swear, take an oath 1b2) to swear (of Jehovah by Himself) 1b3) to curse 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to cause to take an oath 1c2) to adjure
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “swear” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SWEAR, verb intransitive
preterit tense swore. [Eng. veer; Latin assevero.]
- To affirm or utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed.“Ye shall not swear by my name falsely” Leviticus 19:12“But I say unto you, swear not at all” Matthew 5:34
- To promise upon oath.“Jacob said, swear to me this day; and he swore to him” Genesis 25:33
- To give evidence an oath; as, to swear to the truth of a statement.
- To be profane; to practice profaneness.
All definitions and other forms of “swear”
SWEAR, verb transitive
To utter or affirm with a solemn appeal to God for the truth of the declaration; as, to swear on oath. [This seems to have been the primitive use of swear; that is, to affirm.]
- To put to an oath; to cause to take an oath; as, to swear witnesses in court; to swear a jury; the witness has been sworn; the judges are sworn into office.
- To declare or charge upon oath; as, to swear treason against a man.
- To obtest by an oath.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.