Hebrew word · H7659

שִׁבְעָתַיִם

shiv'atayim

sevenfold

Sevenfold, seven times over. It is used both for an exact multiple and for 'completely, to the full' (Gen 4:15, 24; 2 Sam 21:9; Ps 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) sevenfold, seven times

1a) sevenfold, seven times as much

1b) seven times

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 30:26

Range of meaning

Sevenfold, seven times over. It is used both for an exact multiple and for 'completely, to the full' (Gen 4:15, 24; 2 Sam 21:9; Ps 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31).

Against the English

BSB and WEB 'seven times brighter' and KJV 'sevenfold' are accurate. The risk is reading it as an exact physical measurement, when seven in Hebrew carries the sense of completeness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 12:6 says God's words are silver refined 'sevenfold', meaning perfectly pure. Psalm 79:12 asks God to repay the neighbours 'sevenfold', meaning in full. The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah squared the number further, to 343 times (7 × 49), and rabbinic tradition followed it.

From the study of Proverbs 6:31

Range of meaning

A 'dual' (twofold) form built on the word for seven, used as a multiplier: 'sevenfold, seven times over'. It is nearly always rhetorical and stands for completeness, intensity, or the maximum.

Against the English

All the major versions say 'sevenfold' or 'seven times'. NLT spells it out as seven times 'what he stole', which treats the figure as exact arithmetic.

How it drifted

Modern readers usually take numbers in law-like sentences literally. They assume Israelite law fixed theft at seven times the value, but no surviving biblical law does.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 4:15, 24 (Cain avenged sevenfold, Lamech seventy-sevenfold); Psalm 12:6 (Heb 12:7), silver refined 'seven times'; Psalm 79:12, repay 'sevenfold into their bosom'; Isaiah 30:26, sunlight 'sevenfold'. Torah restitution rates: double (Exod 22:4, 7, 9), fivefold for an ox and fourfold for a sheep slaughtered or sold (Exod 22:1 [Heb 21:37]), restitution plus one-fifth (Lev 6:5). The Code of Hammurabi §8 sets thirtyfold for temple or palace property and tenfold for a commoner's, with death if the thief cannot pay. Ancient Near Eastern penalties could be very high.

From the study of Psalm 12:6

Range of meaning

Sevenfold, seven times over. It works as an idiom for full or complete measure, and does not count a series of events.

Against the English

'Seven times' is a fair literal rendering, but English readers may take it as a count. NLT's 'seven times over' keeps the idiom better.

How it drifted

The literal 'seven times' has invited readings that count seven historical stages (see popular_drift).

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 4:15, 24 (vengeance sevenfold); Isaiah 30:26 (the sun's light sevenfold); Psalm 79:12 (repay sevenfold); Proverbs 6:31 (the thief repays sevenfold). The Aramaic counterpart in Daniel 3:19 has the furnace heated 'seven times' hotter, meaning as hot as it could go.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 4:15 שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם sevenfold

    “Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.

  2. Genesis 4:24 שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם sevenfold

    If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 12:6 שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃ sevenfold

    The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.

    Here: 'Sevenfold'. Seven is the Hebrew number of completeness. The silver has been refined over and over until nothing impure is left. The phrase is about how thorough the refining is, not about counting seven events.

  2. Psalm 79:12 שִׁ֭בְעָתַיִם sevenfold

    Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.

    Here: Literally 'seven' in a form meaning 'seven times over.' Seven was the number of completeness, so this asks for a full, final settling of the account, heightened beyond a bare one-for-one.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 6:31 שִׁבְעָתָ֑יִם sevenfold

    Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.

    Here: 'Sevenfold.' No Torah law sets this rate (theft is repaid double, or four- or fivefold for slaughtered livestock), so the number works as an image of full, complete, crushing repayment. Seven is the biblical number for completeness.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 30:26 שִׁבְעָתַ֔יִם sevenfold

    The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.

    Here: "Sevenfold", the number seven with a 'times' ending. In Hebrew this often means 'to the full, completely' (compare Gen 4:24; Ps 12:6; Ps 79:12) as well as a literal seven times.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.