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Root ש־ב־ע: seven, oath & fullness

Roots Atlas 45 · שֹׁרֶשׁ ש ב ע · the seven root
ש ב ע
sh · b · '
everything to do with the number seven, oaths, and being full
10 words · 1 root · 2 verb-voices

This root carries two threads that braid together in Hebrew. One is the number seven, and from seven comes the week (שָׁבוּעַ), since a week is seven days, and the oath (שְׁבוּעָה), because in the Bible to swear was to "seven oneself". The other thread is satiety, being full of food (שָׂבֵעַ). Notice the spelling: the satiety branch starts with שׂ (sin), the seven/oath branch with שׁ (shin). Same three letters, two cousins. Every entry is verified against pealim, niqqud included.

The verb across the binyanim (voices)

The same root runs through the verb system. Each binyan is a voice: it bends the one idea into active, passive, causative or reciprocal. Tap to hear.

Pa'al
לִשְׂבֹּעַlisboa
simple active, the plain action
to be satiated, to be full (of food)
Hif'il
לְהַשְׂבִּיעַlehasbia
causative, make someone do it
to satiate, to satisfy (cause to be full)

Only the satiety branch (שׂ, sin) produces live verbs: pa'al is being full yourself, hif'il is the causative, filling someone up. The seven/oath branch (שׁ, shin) shows up almost entirely as nouns, adjectives, and the numeral, not as verbs in everyday Hebrew. Other binyanim are not lexicalized for this root.

Words born from the root

Same root letters, different noun moulds (mishkalim). The mould tells you the function: who does it, the act of doing it, or the thing produced.

① The number: seven and what counts in sevens

שִׁבְעָה
shiva
seven (counting masculine nouns)
שְׁבִיעִי
shvi'i
seventh
קְטִיעִי

② The week: time counted in sevens

שָׁבוּעַ
shavua
a week (= seven days)
קָטוּל
שְׁבוּעַיִם
shvu'ayim
two weeks, a fortnight
שְׁבוּעִי
shvu'i
weekly
קְטוּלִי

③ The oath: to "seven oneself"

שְׁבוּעָה
shvu'a
an oath, a vow, a sworn promise
קְטוּלָה

④ The fullness: sated with food

שָׂבֵעַ
save'a
satiated, full (of food)
קָטֵל
שְׂבִיעָה
svi'a
satiation, the feeling of fullness
קְטִילָה

Decode it yourself

Strip the prefixes, suffixes and vowels. Three consonants remain, and the meaning lives there.