שְׁבָט (she.vat)
she.vat
Shebat
N:N-M-TQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N-M-T
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun shebat refers primarily to a rod or staff, which is how it earned its place as the name for the eleventh month in the post-exilic Jewish calendar. This naming convention follows a pattern where months were identified by their Babylonian titles, reflecting the cultural context of the community after the return from exile.
In Scripture, this term appears only once, marking a specific date in Zechariah 1:7. The prophet records that he received a vision on the twenty-fourth day of this month during the second year of King Darius. By using shebat, the text anchors the prophetic message in a precise historical moment, connecting divine revelation to the lived timeline of the restored community.
The choice of "rod" for this month likely stems from its original Babylonian designation, though the Hebrew tradition retained the word as a fixed calendar marker rather than a description of agricultural activity. It serves as a reminder of how language and timekeeping evolved among the Jewish people as they navigated their new reality in the land.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shebat appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, anchoring a specific moment in Zechariah 1:7. It marks the eleventh month of the post-exilic calendar, a time when the Jewish people were rebuilding their lives and community after returning from exile. This single reference reminds us that God’s messages are not abstract ideas floating in space, but concrete words given at precise times in history.
For your faith today, this detail highlights the reliability of Scripture. The prophet recorded the exact date—twenty-fourth day of Shebat, second year of Darius—to show that divine revelation intersects with human history. You can trust that God speaks into your specific season, not just in general terms but with clear direction for your current circumstances.
Even though shebat itself is a calendar marker rather than a theological term, its presence shows how ordinary timekeeping becomes sacred when God uses it to deliver His word. This encourages you to see your own daily rhythms and seasons as potential moments for divine encounter.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Shebat1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שְׁבָ֔ט1×
Key Verses
-
Zechariah 1:7
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,
This verse uses shebat to anchor the prophetic vision in a precise historical date, showing that God's word comes at specific moments in human history.