H7651 H7651
Seven — the cardinal number, used independently or in compounds; rarely as a multiplicative 'seven times.'
The cardinal number seven carries deep significance across the biblical text, appearing in genealogies, ritual prescriptions, narrative cycles, and symbolic contexts. From the seven days of creation to the seven-fold sprinkling of blood in Levitical ritual, sheva pervades Scripture's structure. Translations uniformly render it with their numeral — English 'seven,' Spanish siete, French sept, German sieben — showing no ambiguity in the core counting sense. A single occurrence at Psalm 119:164 ('Seven times a day I praise you') uses the number adverbially to express frequency, where French rassasier in the gloss data hints at the completeness implied by sevenfold repetition.
1. seven (cardinal number) — The cardinal number seven (393x), used across all grammatical forms — masculine, feminine, construct, absolute, with prefixed prepositions, and in compound numbers like seventeen or twenty-seven. Translations are perfectly uniform: English 'seven,' Spanish siete, French sept, German sieben. This sense covers genealogical ages (Gen 5:7, 25, 31), ritual stipulations (seven days, seven lambs), and narrative counts (Gen 7:2, seven pairs of clean animals). 393×
AR["سَبْعًا","سَبْعَ","سَبْعَةً","سَبْعَةٍ","سَبْعَةَ","سَبْعَةِ","سَبْعُ"]·ben["সাত","সাতটি"]·DE["die-sieben","sieben","sieben-","von-sieben"]·EN["seven","seven-of"]·FR["sept","sept-de"]·heb["שבעה"]·HI["सअत","सात","सात-"]·ID["tujuh","tujuh-"]·IT["sette","sette-di"]·jav["kaping-pitu","pitu","pitung"]·KO["일곱","일곱의"]·PT["sete","sete-","setenta"]·RU["по-семь","семи","семь"]·ES["siete","siete-de"]·SW["konde","mara","miaka-mia-mbili-na-saba","miaka-saba","miaka-sabini-na-saba","miaka-themanini-na-saba","saba","siku-saba-za","ya-siku-saba"]·TR["yedi"]·urd["سات"]
Gen 5:7, Gen 5:25, Gen 5:31, Gen 7:2, Gen 7:2, Gen 7:3, Gen 7:3, Gen 7:4, Gen 8:10, Gen 8:12, Gen 11:21, Gen 21:28 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. seven times (multiplicative) — Seven used as a multiplicative adverb meaning 'seven times' (1x at Ps 119:164). The psalmist declares, 'Seven times a day I praise you because of your righteous judgments.' Here sheva functions adverbially to express repeated action, and the number carries connotations of fullness and completeness that pervade its symbolic use throughout Scripture. The French gloss rassasier ('to satisfy fully') interestingly evokes this sense of completeness. 1×
AR["سَبْعَ"]·ben["সাত"]·DE["sieben"]·EN["seven-times"]·FR["rassasier"]·heb["שבע"]·HI["सात"]·ID["Tujuh"]·IT["sette"]·jav["Kaping-pitu"]·KO["일곱-번"]·PT["Sete-vezes"]·RU["Семь-раз"]·ES["Siete"]·SW["mara-saba"]·TR["yedi"]·urd["سات-بار"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)H7970 1. thirty (cardinal number) (168×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה, n.m. et f. seven (NH id., MI16 שבעת; Assyrian sibi, sibittu (DlGr. § 65, 6; s = שׁ), Arabic سَبْعٌ, سَبْعَةٌ Sab. סבע HomChr 47, 124, Ethiopic ሰብዑ: ሰብዐቱ: Ph. (Pun.) שבע, Nab. שבע, שבעה, Palm. שבעא, שבעה; Aramaic שִׁבְעָא,שְׁבַע, ܫܒܰܥ, ܫܰܒܥܳܐ; on etym. cf. LagBN 37 f.);—m. (c. n.f.) abs. שֶׁבַע Gn 41:2 + 115 times; cstr. שְׁבַע 5:26 + 47 times, especially P (15 times) and Chr…