New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis | NIDOTTE (5 vols.) by Willem A.

Michael Kinch

I am taking a Mobile Ed course on Ruth.  One of the resources that it uses is 

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis | NIDOTTE (5 vols.) by Willem A. VanGemeren.  Do you recommend this resource? Has it typically been on sale?  Thanks!

Jack Caviness

Michael Kinch said:

Do you recommend this resource?

That depends on how you will use the resource. If only for that one course, I would not recommend it. If for general OT study—with attention to the Hebrew—I would recommend it, but HALOT, TWOT, and BDB are more important {Maybe even Lexham Theological Wordbook LTW].

Michael Kinch said:

Has it typically been on sale?

Since I purchased the resource almost 4 years ago, I haven't paid attention to the times it may have been on sale—sorry [:$]

Lonnie Spencer

Michael Kinch said:

I am taking a Mobile Ed course on Ruth.  One of the resources that it uses is 

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis | NIDOTTE (5 vols.) by Willem A. VanGemeren.  Do you recommend this resource? Has it typically been on sale?  Thanks!

I have NIDOTTE and refer to it seldomly. I prefer to use TWOT. TWOT is also a fourth of the price of NIDOTTE.  HALOT & BDB  are lexicons and not a word dictionary like NIDOTTE or TWOT.  So you will not be getting any detailed discussion on the Hebrew word from HALOT or BDB

Mike W

I can’t say how often it goes on sale but I got both the OT/ NT Set at a very good price last July.  I wouldn’t hurt to talk to a sales person to see if you can get a better price than the one currently listed.  Like the previous poster said, don’t get it just for one use.  I’m retired so I use Logos for personal study only.  I also have this in another software program that was designed specifically for tablets and it is pretty much my go to hebrew dictionary (I use an iPad for almost everything these days). I find it to be fairly thorough and easy to read. HALOT and BDB are more scholarly and I find them to be a little more difficult to read. I like TDOT but it I currently very expensive (I was lucky enough to get it on prepub).  I do find  the NIDOTTE very useful forpersonal studies (I don’t think that it would be much use in seminary but it is easy to read).  The New Testament set covers the history of a word in Classical Greek as well as New Testament usage.  

DAL

I got both for around $130 on sale.  Both are excellent dictionaries to have.  The OT has a table of contents arranged with the Hebrew Alphabet, but it also has a topical dictionary, index of semantic fields, index of Hebrew words and phrases, scripture index, subject index and numbering system indexing.  In my opinion, even if for now you only use it with that course, you could still benefit from it when doing searches or starting to look up hebrew words more.  You should wait for a sale, though, but the problem is you don’t know when a sale is coming on that one.
 Great theological dictionary 👍😁👌

DAL

David Thomas

Michael Kinch said:

I am taking a Mobile Ed course on Ruth.  One of the resources that it uses is 

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis | NIDOTTE (5 vols.) by Willem A. VanGemeren.  Do you recommend this resource? Has it typically been on sale?  Thanks!

I was introduced to NIDOTTE when using Ruth as a sample text in my Hebrew Exegesis class. We found there is significance to understanding the flow of Ruth in the flow of Hebrew History. She Returned to her land from Moab. שׁוב appears 15 times in these 4 chapters it might be significant.

Here is HALOT on that word:

: MHeb. qal to turn around, repent, hif. to bring back, refresh, refute (Dalman Wb. 416b); according to Ahwiya Lešonenu 39 (1974/75) 21-36 in a few instances שוב has the meaning “rest”, probably a variant of ישב; In DSS (Kuhn Konkordanz 217f) the qal and hif. occur often; for the hof. see Dam. 6:6f: to be reduced (Lohse Texte 77), to be changed (Maier Texte 1: 54), sbj. *תִּפְאַרְתָּם their glory, see Lohse Texte 76; for an overall view see Fabry Die Wurzel šûb (mentioned by Holladay in VT 29 (1979) 367-369); JArm., Samaritan תות pe. af.; Lachish 5:6 hšb (hif.) he has brought back (Donner-Röllig Inschriften 2: 195; Jean-Hoftijzer Dictionnaire 293; Hoftijzer-Jongeling Dictionary 1115 s.v. šwb hiph. 2, your servant has returned the letters to my lord); for Moabite see Mesha 8f: cj. wyšbh read wyšb bh “and he dwelled in there” :: hif. of šwb, “he restored it”, on which see Gibson Textbook 1: 79: this reading is also possible for the word as it occurs at the end of line 8 and the beginning of line 9; but for the instances of wyšb bh in lines 9, 10, 19 and 31 it is an unlikely interpretation; see also Donner-Röllig Inschriften 3: 10b; Jean-Hoftijzer Dictionnaire 293; see also Hoftijzer-Jongeling Dictionary 1114 s.v. šwb for a full bibliography on the problem in Moabite; and see p. 1115, s.v. hiph. 1, he restored it; Old Sinaitic ṯb (Albright Proto-Sin. 44); Amorite šb G-theme impf. and impv. in personal names (Huffmon Names 266); OArm. šwb: 1) pe. to turn back (Donner-Röllig Inschriften text 224:25); 2) haf: a) pf. to re-establish (Donner-Röllig Inschriften text 224:20, 24, on which see under שְׁבוּת, שְׁבִית); b) impf. to bring back (Donner-Röllig Inschriften text 224:6, 20); see Jean-Hoftijzer Dictionnaire 293l; Hoftijzer-Jongeling Dictionary 1114-1115; also Degen Gramm. §61; Ug. ṯb (Gordon Textbook §19:2661; Aistleitner Wb. 2828; Gibson Myths2 160a; Fisher Parallels 1: p. 376f no. 596, 597) to turn back, turn round, repeat, answer (very often parallel with ʿny, see Fisher Parallels 1: p. 300 no. 438), to give attention, Š-theme (often linked with the verb rgm) to bring back information; on (t)ṯṯb as a form of the Š-theme see Gordon Textbook §9:50 (p. 88); for personal names with ṯb see Gröndahl Personennamen 200. The meaning of the name is either “the deity (who has been angered) has turned (towards me)”, so Rainey UF 3 (1971) 164; or “the deceased has returned”, as in ṯbʿm “the father’s brother has returned”, on which cf. Stamm Fschr. 70.

The root šwb is preserved in Akk. only in rather different or specific meanings: šâbu(m) to sway, become dizzy (AHw. 1120b; CAD Š/1, 17, šâbu A). In Akk. what is used essentially as a corresponding verb for West Semitic ṯ/šwb is târu(m) to turn around etc. (AHw. 1332ff).
OSArb. ṯwb to turn back (Conti Rossini Chrest. 258f); II-form to cause to turn back, repay (cf. Beeston Sabaic Dictionary 151); yṯb to turn around (Müller Wurzeln 35); for personal names with the root ṯwb in Sabaic, Qatabanian, Lihyanic and Minaean see Ryckmans Noms Propres 1: 215; see further Müller Wurzeln 35: there are also occurrences in Safaitic and Lihyanic, as well as in Thamudic; the root ṯ/šwb is not attested in Ethiopic, which has instead ʿōda to turn, turn right round, go around something (Dillmann Lex. 999); Arb. ṯāba(w) see Lane Lex. 361ff; Müller Wurzeln 35; Wehr-Cowan Dict. 108; according to Lane in the I-form it means “he returned to a place to which he had come before”; see further Müller, and also Wehr: to return, come back; II-form: to reestablish, install, reward; IV-form: to repay, recompense; X-form: to require a result, demand a reward (for the X-form Lane has “he restored to himself, he repossessed himself of property”; Egyptian wšb (Erman-G. Wb. 1: 371) to answer.
Bibliography: Eichrodt Theologie 2/3: 324-329; TWNT 4: 976-985, especially 980ff; W.L. Holladay The root šūbh in the Old Testament, where on pp. 9-12 the evidence mentioned above from the cognate languages is discussed; THAT 2: 884-891; on the Vrss. see Holladay loc. cit. 16-50; see pp. 20-33, where it is shown that the Sept. most often uses a form derived from στρέφω, especially ἐπιστρέφω, ἀναστρέφω, ἀποστρέφω.
qal (683 times): pf. שָׁב, (וְ)שָֽׁבָה, 3rd. fem. sg. וְשָׁבָה and וְשָׁבַת Ezk 46:17 (Bauer-L. Heb. 405; Bergsträsser Heb. Gr. 2: §4a), שַׁבְתָּ/תִּי, (וְ)שָׁבוּ, וָשָֽׁבוּ Zech 10:9, שַׁבְתֶּם, שַׁבְנוּ; impf. יָשׁוּב/יָשֻׁב, יָשֹׁב, יָשָׁב־, וַיָּֽשָׁב, וַיָּשֹֽׁב; וַיָּשָׁוב: K וַיָּֽשׁוֹב Q וַיָּשָׁב Ezk 18:28 (Bauer-L. Heb. 405), תָּשׁוּב, תָּשָׁב־, תָּשֹׁב, וַתָּֽשָׁב, תָּשׁוּב, תָּשׁוֹב, תָּשׁוּבִי, אָשׁוּב, וָאָשׁוּב, וָאָשֻׁב, אָשׁוּבָה, (וַ)יָּשׁוּבוּ/שֻׁבוּ, יְשׁוּבוּן, יְשֻׁבוּן, תָּשׁוּבוּ, תָּשֻׁבוּ, תְּשׁוּבוּן, תְּשֻׁבוּן, תְּשׁוּבֻן, (וַ)תָּשֹׁבְנָ/נָה [*תֵּישַׁבְנָה Ezk 35:9, תָּשׁוֹבְנָה Q, → ישׁב qal], תְּשֻׁבֶינָה, נָשׁוּב, וַנָּשׁוּב K, וַנָּשָׁב Q Neh 4:9, נָשׁוּבָה, נָשֻׁבָה; impv. שׁוּב, שֻׁב, שֽׁוּבָה, שֻֽׁבָה, שׁוּבָֽה, שֽׁוּבִי, שֻֽׁבִי, שׁוּבִֽי, שֽׁוּבוּ, שֽׁבוּ, שֹׁבְנָה, sf. שׁוּבֵנוּ Ps 85:5 see below 7bα; inf. שׁוֹב, cstr. שׁוּב, sf. שׁוּבִי, שֻׁבִי, שׁוּבֵנִי Ezk 47:7 (Bauer-L. Heb. 251h; 405, see also Zimmerli Ezechiel 1188), שׁוּבְכָ/בֶֽךָ, שׁוּבוֹ, שֻׁבוֹ, שׁוּבְכֶם; pt. שָׁב, fem. שָׁבָֽה, pl. שָׁבִים, cstr. שָׁבֵי, sf. שָׁבֶיהָ, passive pl. cstr. שׁוּבֵי Mi 2:8.
—General remarks: The basic meaning of שׁוב is defined by Holladay loc. cit. 53 as a word which is used of someone who has shifted direction in a particular way and then shifted back from it in the opposite way. As long as there is no contrary factor the assumption is that such persons or people will turn back and reach the original point from which they departed. For what follows see especially KBL; see also Gesenius-Buhl Handw.; cf. Holladay loc. cit. 59ff.
—1. a) to turn back, return Gn 14:7 Jos 2:22 Ju 14:8 2K 9:18, with מֵאַחֲרֵי: α) from following 1S 24:2 2S 2:26, 30; β) to turn away from someone Jr 32:40 (sbj. יהוה), Ru 1:16; with מִן (local), Ju 3:19 2K 2:25 Ru 1:22; with מֵעַל away from, the flood waters receded from the land Gn 8:3; a person (Hezekiah) requests another (the King of Assyria) to withdraw from him 2K 18:14; with אֶל, towards a person Gn 8:9, 12 (the dove returning to Noah) 22:19 etc; towards a place Gn 8:9 (the dove returning to the ark) 28:21 37:29 etc.; equivalent to לְ of the place Gn 18:33 32:1 Dt 3:20 1S 26:25; with acc. of place 2S 20:22 2K 2:25 Is 52:8 Hos 9:3; with adverbial acc. (R. Meyer Gramm. §45.3c) Gn 50:14 Ex 4:20; שָׁב לְדַרְכּוֹ שֵׂעִֽירָה Esau returned on his way to Seir Gn 33:16; with עַל, a dog that returns עַל־קֵאוֹ to its vomit Pr 26:11; עַל־סְבִיבֹתָיו the wind (sbj. הָרוּחַ) returns to where it revolves Qoh 1:6 (→ סָבִיב 2d); round and round goes the wind and on its circuits the wind returns (NRSV); round and round it goes and returns full circle (REB); Mi 5:2 עַל equivalent to אֶל (BHS); with אַחֲרֵי to turn to follow someone Ru 1:15; with מִן and inf. שָׁב מֵהַכּוֹת after he had returned from conquering Gn 14:17 1S 18:6; with לְ and inf. שׁוב לָלֶכֶת they turned around and went 1K 12:24, NRSV: they went home again; with לְ of the person שָׁב שָׂדֶה לְ a field reverts to the possession of the previous owner Lv 27:24; cf. Dt 28:31 Ezk 46:17.
—b) with אָחוֹר; α) to retreat (of one’s enemies) Ps 9:4 56:10; β) to withdraw in shame Lam 1:8; with אֲחֹרַנִּית to turn back the angle of a shadow 2K 20:10; with acc. of place, to go in another direction (of the boundary line of tribal territory) Jos 19:12, 27, 29, 34, on which see Bächli ZDPV 89 (1973) 7; with לְ to pay attention to (NRSV: to heed) reproof Pr 1:23 (with תּוֹכַחַת); abs. to turn to, meaning to be devoted to Song 7:1 (4 times).
—c) עֹבֵר וָשָׁב coming and going (NRSV: return) to Mount Seir Ezk 35:7, cf. Ex 32:27 Zech 7:14 9:8; a raven יָצֹא וָשׁוֹב flying back and forth Gn 8:7; sbj. הַמַּיִם the waters of the flood, הָלוֹךְ וָשׁוֹב with וַיָּשֻׁבוּ gradually receding Gn 8:3; תָּשׁוּב חֵמָה anger abates Gn 27:44.
—2. used in a theological sense: to turn back to God (Yahweh) be devoted to God (Yahweh), see THAT 2: 888-890 (with bibliography): a) with אֶל 1K 8:33, 48 2K 23:25 Jr 3:7 4:1 etc. with עַל (equivalent to אֶל) 2C 30:9, with עַד Hos 14:2 Am 4:6, 8, 11, Is 9:12 922 Jb 22:23 Dt 4:30 30:2; Lam 3:40, on which see also Wolff Jl.-Am. 260 (on Am 4:6), and on Hos see J. Jeremias in Wolff Fschr. 217ff, especially 228; with sf. שָׁבֶיהָ her conversion (referring to Zion), literally her turning around (to Yahweh) Is 1:27, on which see Wildberger Jes. 55, 56; abs. to reconsider the situation, be converted Jr 3:12, on which see Thiel Die deuteronomische Redaktion von Jeremiah 87 with note 27; Jr 3:14, 22 2C 6:24.
—b) said of Yahweh: to become devoted to once more, with אֶל Zech 1:3 8:3; with לְ Zech 1:16 and בְרַחֲמִים with compassion (NRSV).
—3. שׁוּב מִן to turn away from, abandon: a decision Jr 4:28 Ps 132:11, דֶּרֶךְ a course of action 1K 13:33; cf. Ezk 3:22 33:9, 11, 11 etc., חָרוֹן a prayer for Yahweh to cease being angry Ex 32:12, שָׁבֵי פֶשַׁע those converted from doing wrong Is 59:20; abs. to desist, not to proceed with an action Ju 11:35 Jb 6:29.
—4. a) with בְּ: שָׁבוּ דָמִים בְּ blood guilt reverts to 1K 2:33; let the guilt of their blood recoil on Joab (REB); so shall their blood come back on the head of Joab (NRSV); גְּמֻלְךָ יָשׁוּב בְרֹאשֶׁךָ the consequences of an action rebound (REB: recoil) Ob 15, on which see Seybold VT 22 (1972) 112-117; NRSV: your deeds shall return on your own head; יָשׁוּב עֲמָלוֹ בְרֹאשׁוֹ the mischief of a warrior comes back against him Ps 7:17.
—b) שָׁב לְקַדְמָתוֹ to regain one’s previous position Ezk 16:55; שָׁב ךְּ to become like Ex 4:7, equivalent to שָׁב עַד Mi 1:7; שָׁב מִשְׁפָּטוֹ עַד the just will regain his right (pr. צֶדֶק rd. צַדִּיק, see BHS) Ps 94:15; שָׁב לְ Lebanon shall change into an orchard (NRSV: fruitful field; REB: garden land; NEB: grassland) Is 29:17; שָׁב דָּבָר with negative, an incontrovertable message Is 45:23, cf. Akk. târu to make a revision of the terms of a decree, see AHw. 1333 s.v. 4; NRSV: a word that shall not return; REB: a promise that will not be broken; שָׁב רֵיקָם a message without repercussion Is 55:11, NRSV, REB: my word shall not return to me empty (NEB: fruitless).
—5. שָׁב followed by a second verb: to do again, be again (Joüon Gramm. §177b; in Akk. the vb. târu, see AHw. 1333b s.v. 6, is used in a correspondingly similar way), אָשׁוּבָה אֶרְעֶה I will feed your flock again (Jacob speaking to Laban) Gn 30:31; שֻׁבוּ שִׁבְרוּ buy some more grain! (Jacob requesting a second expedition to Egypt) Gn 43:2; וַיַּחְפֹּר וַיָּשָׁב he dug out again (Isaac reopening the wells that had been stopped up by the Philistines) Gn 26:18; וַיָּשָׁב וַיָּלֶן he spent another night (the Levite in Bethlehem) Ju 19:7; שׁוב with לְ and inf. Hos 11:9, on which see Wolff Hos.2 247. 261f; Ps 104:9 Jb 7:7.
—6. שׁוב used transitively (corresponding to hif.): a) this usage seems to be certainly attested in the expression שׁוּב שְׁבוּת to make a turning, on which see under שְׁבוּת, שְׁבִית.
—b) other instances involve some kind of question, on which see Holladay loc. cit. 114f: α) the most certain occurrence is שׁוּבֵנוּ restore us again! Ps 85:5; β) less certain are Nu 10:36 Is 52:8 63:17; in the last of these occurrences שׁוב may be followed by an acc. of place and simply mean to turn around; however NRSV explicitly sustains the sense of the preposition לְמַעַן for both dependent phrases; REB obtains the same effect simply by punctuation.
—7. cj. Nah 2:3 pr. שָׁב prop. שַׁב → I שׁבב; Ps 7:8 pr. שֽׁוּבָה prop. שֵֽׁבָה (BHS); Ps 23:6 pr. וְשַׁבְתִּי prop. with Vrss. and Ps 27:4 וְשִׁבְתִּי (cf. BHK und BHS) :: TOB: MT, which in fact is probably to be maintained; Ps 25:3 pr. יֵבֹשׁוּ prop. יָשׁוּבוּ (BHS) → רֵיקָם; Ps 40:16 pr. יָשֹׁמּוּ prop. יָשׁוּבוּ (→ שׁמם qal 5c); Ps 85:4 pr. הֱשִׁיבוֹתָ מֵחֲרוֹן אַפֶּֽךָ prop.: a) הֱשִׁי׳ חֲרוֹן אַפֶּךָ; b) with two mss. הִשְׁבַּתָּ; c) שַׁבְתָּ מֵחֲרוֹן אַפֶּֽךָ; on these three cj. (a-c) see BHS and Kraus Ps. 753; Ps 85:9 pr. וְאַל־יָשׁוּבוּ לְכִסְלָה but let them not turn back to folly (NRSV), prop. אַל יֵשְׁבוּ בְלִי כִ׳ they should not live without confidence, see BHS, and Kraus loc. cit. 753f; Ru 2:23 pr. וַתֵּשֶׁב אֶת־חֲמוֹתָהּ prop. with mss., Vulg. וַתָּשָׁב אֶל חֲ׳ :: MT, as e.g. ZüB; Rudolph Rt.-HL.-Kl. 1-3: 50, 51; TOB; see further Holladay loc. cit. 84ff.
—8. particular instances: שׁוּבֵי מִלְחָמָה Mi 2:8 passive participle qal in an active sense, on which see Rudolph Mi.-Nah.-Hab.-Zef. 58, who refers to König Gramm. §235d; see also Wolff Mi. 41: שובי is to be understood as a passive participle qal in a construct phrase, which on this occasion is a substitute for the preposition מִן; compare Joüon Gramm. §121n. The translation can be either “those who have returned from the battle” (so e.g. Rudolph loc. cit. 56; TOB; REB: men returning from the battle), or “those who have had nothing to do with the war” (Gesenius-Buhl Handw.), or alternatively “those who have an aversion to conflict” (so e.g. ZüB; Wolff loc. cit. 38; see also Rudolph loc. cit. 58); NRSV: those with no thought of war.
pil: pf. שׁוֹבְבָה, שֹׁבַבְתִּי, sf. וְשֹׁ(וֹ)בַבְתִּיךָ, שׁוֹבְבוּם Q Jr 50:6, K → שׁוֹבָבִים; impf. יְ/תְּשׁוֹבֵב; inf. cstr. שׁוֹבֵב, sf. שׁוֹבְבִי; pt. מְשׁוֹבֵב.
—1. a) to bring back, lead back: with מִן Ezk 39:27; with אֶל Is 49:5 Jr 50:19; שׁוֹבֵב נֶפֶשׁ to refresh, restore the soul Ps 23:3, literally “to bring back liveliness, vitality” (Kraus Ps. 338) equivalent to הֵשִׁיב נֶפֶשׁ → שׁוּב hif. 8 b; b) שֹׁבֵב לָשָֽׁבֶת to repair, restore what has been demolished Is 58:12, (→ *נְתִיצָה REB: houses in ruins :: NRSV: restorer of streets, following MT).
—2. to turn around Ezk 38:4 39:2.
—3. to lead away, lead astray Is 47:10 Jr 50:6.
—4. to pay back, requite (cf. hif. 4 b) Mi 2:4: לְשׁוֹבֵב in retaliation, as a repayment, on which see Rudolph Mi.-Nah.-Hab.-Zef. 52, 55; so also Wolff Mi. 40, 45, but he also considers the possibilty of translating the MT לִי לְשׁוֹבֵב as “from me, the apostate, or the rebel”.
—5. the translation of Ps 60:3 is uncertain, but possibilities include: a) cf. Sept. οᾑκτίρησας ἡμᾶς; Vulg. iuxta Hebr. convertisti nos; Vulg. iuxta Sept. et miseratus nobis; not represented in Pesh: restore us again!, so Kraus Ps. 585, 588; TOB.
—b) you have made us shrink back (from God’s anger), so ZüB, Kellermann VT 28 (1978) 57, 58; somewhat differently Dahood Ps. 2:75, 77: you turned away from us.
—c) choosing between these two alternatives is difficult; KBL opts for the first (a), but also mentions the second (b) as possible. †
po: pt. fem. מְשׁוֹבֶבֶת: to be restored again (אֶרֶץ) Ezk 38:7; cj. Jr 8:5 pr. שׁוֹבְבָה prop. שֹׁבַב: to err, be mistaken, so Rudolph Jer.3 58, literally “this people has been seduced”, cf. pil. 3. †
hif. (360 times): pf. הֵשִׁיב, הֱשִׁיבוֹתָ, וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָֽ (Gesenius-Kautzsch Gramm. §72w; Bergsträsser Heb. Gr. 2: §28k), וַהֲשִׁ(י)בֹ(וֹ)תִי, הֵשִׁיבוּ, הֲשֵׁ(י)בֹתֶם, הֱשִׁיבֹנוּ, sf. (וֶ)הֱשִׁיבַנִי, וֶהֱשִׁיבְךָ, וַהֲשִׁיבְךָ, וַהֲשֵׁבֹתוֹ, וַהֲשֵׁ(י)בֹ(וֹ)תָם, וַהֲשִׁ(י)בֹתִיךָ, וַהֲשִׁ(י)בֹ(וֹ)תִים, וְהוֹשְׁבוֹתִים Zech 10:6 (Bauer-L. Heb. 405): there is confusion of two readings: a) וְהוֹשַׁבְתִּים (from יָשַׁב); b) וַהֲשִׁיבוֹתִים (which is to be preferred to a), see also BHS; impf. יָשִׁיב, יָשֵׁב Da 11:18, 19 (see Gesenius-Kautzsch Gramm. §109k; Bergsträsser Heb. Gr. 2 §101); וַיָּֽשֶׁב, תָּשֵׁב, תָּשֶׁב 1K 2:20, תָּשִׁבִי, (וָ)אָשִׁיב, (וָ)אָשִׁיבָה, וָאָשֵׁב Jos 14:7 (Gesenius-Kautzsch Gramm. §72aa; Bergsträsser Heb. Gr. 2 §5d), (וַ)יָּשִׁ(י)בוּ, תָּשֵׁבְנָּה, תָּשִׁיבוּ, וַתָּשִׁבוּ, נָשִׁיב, וַנָּשֶׁב, sf. יְשִׁ(י)בֵנִי, יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ, יְשִׁיבֵהוּ, יְשִׁ(י)בֶהָ, יְשִׁיבֶנָּה, יְשִׁיבֵם, תְּשִׁ(י)בֵנִי, תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ, תְּשִׁיבֵם, אֲשִׁיבְכָ/בֶֽךָ, אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ/נָּה, יְשִׁיבוּנִי, וַיְשִׁיבֻהוּֽ, וִישִׁיבֻּֽהוּ, וִישִׁבוּם

Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000).

Here is NIDOTTE on that Word

שׁוּב (šûb I), q. (683×) repent, turn; return, go back; go back and forth; revert; turn back, change one’s mind; withdraw; polel, bring back, restore; hi. (350×) bring back, lead back, transport, restore; withdraw (#8740); nom/adj. מְשׁוּבָה (mešûbâ), (act of) faithlessness, apostasy (#5412); שְׁבוּת (šebût), fortunes (#8654); שׁוֹבָב (šôbāb I), faithless, rebellious (#8743); שׁוֹבֵב (šôbēb), backsliding, back turning (#8745); שׁוּבָה (šûbâ), returning (#8746); תְּשׁוּבָה (tešûbâ), return (#9588).

ANE The vb. is well attested; Ugar. ṯb (cf. KBL 4:1326): return, turn oneself, answer; Akk. šâbu(m), waver, sway; Old Arab. ṯwb, return; Arab. ṯāba, return, come again. The root is lacking in Eth.

OT The root שׁוּב occurs in various verbal forms in the OT with relative frequency (c. 1050×), with a concentration in Jeremiah (111×). The related nom. and adj. occur infrequently. The vb. in its various forms is marked by a combination of characteristics—a high frequency, a rich variety of meanings, some ambiguity about direction (e.g., “turn back from” s.o. or s.t., “turn to” s.o. or s.t.). The vb. functions in a physical sense (a person makes an about turn); it also functions in a religious sense (people turn away from or to Yahweh).
Two synonyms, שׁוּר (#6073) and פָּנָה (#7155), also function with the meanings of a physical turning and also signify metaphorically turning away from God (apostasy) or turning to God (repentance). As to physical movement, שׁוּב means to turn around, שׁוּר means to turn aside or depart, and פָּנָה means to turn or face in one of several directions (Exod 2:12; cf. turn towards, Deut 2:3; turn from, Gen 18:22; turn back). Walking or journeying are often the context for שׁוּב and סוּר; פָּנָה by contrast describes people (and things) changing positions or attitudes (Ps 86:16). In a religious sense שׁוּב is the most common term for both turning decisively to God (or idols) or turning away from him (them). The term סוּר describes defection, a shift in loyalties and allegiance, mostly in the sense of religious apostasy (Exod 32:8). פָּנָה is only infrequently employed to describe a shift in one’s spiritual position (e.g., Deut 31:18; Isa 53:6; Jer 2:27).
1. שׁוּב is basically a vb. of motion, with the meanings return, turn back, go back, come back, often in reference to physical motion of returning to a point of departure (e.g., a person Gen 15:16; God, 18:10; a bird, 8:9; waters, Josh 4:18); of changing directions (Gen 14:7; cf. the synonym פָּנָה); of backward motion, often under pressure of battle (1 Kgs 22:33; Ps 6:10 [11]); of motion back and forth (e.g., raven, Gen 8:7); or of recurrent motion (Gen 43:10). Sometimes שׁוּב is used with another vb. giving a sense of doing something again (Gen 26:18; 2 Kgs 13:25) or doing something greater or more and more (Ezek 8:6, 17). The vb. figures in discussion about death and life: return to the ground (Gen 3:19); return from death to life (2 Sam 12:23); and return to dust (Eccl 12:7).
2. Other contexts for the root שׁוּב, mostly nontheological, deal with relationships and positions. So, for example, the question is raised whether a divorced woman would return to her husband in the sense of reestablishing a broken relationship (Jer 3:1). In the citizenship context, a people who have become disaffected can return (שׁוּב) in a loyal relationship to the king (1 Kgs 12:27). Jephthah declares he cannot go back (שׁוּב) on a vow (Judg 11:35). Sometimes the term שׁוּב is used as describing a change of mind (Job 6:29).
3. A common use of שׁוּב occurs in the context of moral and spiritual lapses, departure (turning away) from Yahweh or turning to God. Turning from God is apostasy (מְשׁוּבָה). The noms. מְשׁוּבָה (#5412) and שׁוֹבָב describe the conditions of being turned away from God in faithlessness and rebellion (Jer 2:19; 3:22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7; Hos 11:7; 14:4 [5]; שׁוֹבָב, Isa 57:17; Jer 3:14, 22). Jeremiah charges that God’s people have turned away from God (Jer 34:16; 8:5). People turn (שׁוּב) to evildoing (11:10). Israel refuses to turn from its evil ways (15:7); “they refuse to return [to God]” (8:5). Part of Amos’s indictment is that despite God’s chastisement, Israel did not return to God (Amos 4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11).
4. God through his prophets appeals to wayward ones to return to him. The imperatives are numerous, sometimes by way of warning, and at other times by way of appeal: “Turn from your evil ways” (2 Kgs 17:13). In times of revival, kings proclaimed, “Return (שׁוּב) to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return (שׁוּב) to you who are left” (2 Chron 30:6). God calls, “Return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isa 44:22). Hosea calls, “Return (שׁוּב), O Israel, to the LORD your God (14:1 [2]).” A sustained appeal for return (שׁוּב) is given in Jer 3:11–4:2. A wordplay makes the appeal memorable: “Return (שׁוּב) turnable (מְשׁוּבָה) Israel” (3:12); lit. “Return (שׁוּב) ever-turning (שׁוֹבָבִים) people” (3:14, 22). Ezekiel reiterates the appeal: “Repent (שׁוּב)! Turn (hi. of שׁוּב) from your idols” (14:6). The appeal to turn from idols is amplified by Joel’s appeal for people to turn (שׁוּב) to Yahweh “your God” (Joel 2:12–13; cf. Mal 3:7; Jer 4:1). But not all prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Amos) appeal for repentance. Is it because the time for repentance is past?
5. The word שׁוּב is a central word for the concept of repent. The imagery is one of a person doing a turnabout. Critical in this turnabout, if it is to be repentance, is the direction toward which one turns, namely, to Yahweh. The moves in this turning process are delineated clearly in Jer 3:22–4:2, a veritable liturgy of repentance: acknowledging God’s lordship (3:22); admitting wrongdoing (3:23), including the verbal confession, “We [I] have sinned” (3:25); addressing the shame (3:25); and affirming and adhering to new conduct (4:1–2). For a comparable prescription of the components of repentance cf. Hosea Hos 14:1–3 [2–4].
A scenario of Ephraim’s (Israel’s) repenting (שׁוּב) is given in Jer 31:18–20, another passage in which the prophet engages in wordplay. The disciplined party pleads that God will restore (שׁוּב) him so that he may return (שׁוּב). Following the straying (שׁוּב), states Ephraim, he has repented (נָחַם) (31:19).
The personal relationship of God and people is underscored by the use of נָחַם, a synonym for שׁוּב. The ni. form of the vb., be sorry, change one’s mind, nuances the emotional dimension of remorse in making a change. The vb. נָחַם is used of God, e.g., repenting, being grieved in having made Saul king (1 Sam 15:11). God is a responding God, who takes account of a people’s changing stance, alters his course of action, and relents (נָחַם) accordingly (Jer 18:8, 10; cf. 26:3, 13, 19; Amos 7:3; Jon 3:10). God’s change in plan is not fickleness but represents integrity of a person and a consistency of enunciated principle. The root נָחַם (#5714), while used frequently with God, is used sparingly of persons (Exod 13:17; Job 42:6; Jer 8:6; 31:19).
6. Not only do persons turn (שׁוּב); God also turns (שׁוּב). That action whereby God receives to himself the repentant person is also described by the word שׁוּב. Now God is the subject. He promises to turn (שׁוּב) to the one seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. His response to someone’s plea for restoration is to turn (שׁוּב) away his anger (Hos 14:4 [5]). In the vignette of Ephraim’s “turning” God declares: “My heart yearns (הָמָה) for him; I have great compassion (רָחַם) for him” (Jer 31:20). Through the prophet Hosea God announces to a potentially repentant people, “I will heal their waywardness/apostasy (מְשׁוּבָתָם)” (Hos 14:4 [5]). Holladay has described as the “covenantal use of שׁוּב” those situations that involve the relationship of God and people (see secs. 3–6).
7. A frequent use of שׁוּב, often theological, deals with God’s turning, or not turning, from his anger (2 Kgs 23:26). A critical expression לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ, not (re)turn it, occurs in Amos (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). Customary translations regard the “it” to be punishment (cf. RSV) in the sense of revoking or turning away punishment. Other translations draw on more recent research and translate “not return wrath.” A spate of passages present a picture of Yahweh sending forth his anger as an arrow; Yahweh may or may not recall his wrath before it reaches its target (Isa 5:25; Jer 2:35; 4:8; Hos 14:4 [5]; Jon 3:9). The high frequency and idiomatic use of anger with שׁוּב is strong reason to interpret the “it” in the Amos passages as anger. In similar passages modern translations resort to an Eng. idiom, e.g., “anger burns” for “anger turns (returns)” (Isa 5:25).
The reason for God’s release of wrath against the nations arises out of sin and wrongdoing. The six accusatory speeches in Amos against nations identify sins that violate humanitarian rights: atrocity (Amos 1:3); slavery (1:5); treaty breaking (1:9); unrelenting hostility (1:10); avarice, atrocity (1:11); and insult (2:1). God’s shaft of wrath will not be recalled from Judah or Israel because they have rebelled against Yahweh, are idolatrous (2:3), practice injustice and adultery, and fail to extend help to the needy (2:6–8; cf. Isa 5:21–25).
Some prophetic passages identify other evils as reasons why God’s anger will not return or will be turned aside: pride (Isa 9:8–12 [7–11], evil ways and violence (Jon 3:7–9), and misuse of prophetic role (Jer 23:16–22). Jeremiah sees himself as a mediator pleading before God to avert wrath (18:20). Rehoboam’s self-humiliation did avert God’s anger (2 Chron 12:12). (Anger)
8. The use of the term שׁוּב with land is common, especially in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. These prophets speak of Israel’s return to the land, sometimes in the same oracle as they announce exile from the land (Jer 16:13, 15; cf. 12:11–15; 24:1–10). More freestanding announcements about the return to the land are also found (Jer 31:16; cf. Ezek 11:17; 20:34, 41–42; 34:13; 36:24; 37:21; 39:27–28). Several motivations for the return to the land are offered: (a) Yahweh is compassionate and will deal favorably with his people by restoring them to the land of Israel (cf. Jer 29:10–11; 31:16, 20); (b) God acts to return his people because his reputation is at stake (Ezek 36:22–24, Heb. root בֹּא); and (c) return to the land represents a return to the place of blessing (Jer 31:10–14).
Biblical writers other than the exilic prophets spoke of the promise of return. The threat for disobedience in Deuteronomy is of exile; at the same time restoration to the land is envisioned (Deut 30:1–6). Isaiah in the eighth century spoke of a return to the land (Isa 14:1–2).
9. A striking cognate use of the word שׁוּב is with a nom., שְׁבוּת, sometimes שְׁבִית (25×). It was earlier thought that the nom. part of the expression derived from שָׁבָה, captivity, and so earlier Eng. versions translated “return from captivity” (e.g., Jer 32:44). The meaning of שׁוּב שְׁבוּת, while it may include the notion of a release from captivity, is broader. שְׁבֻת is cognate of שׁוּב, with the meaning “turn the turning,” or more idiomatically, “restore the fortunes of” or “bring about a restoration” (cf. Job 42:10, where “restore the captivity” was problematic, KJV; see NRSV). So, with this understanding of the expression, the opening statements in Jeremiah’s Book of Consolation are not redundant. God will “restore the fortunes” of his people—a general statement (Jer 30:3 NRSV) that could refer to an overall spiritual covenantal restoration of the people to himself (elaborated in Jer 31). Specifically, however, there will be a restoration physically of his people to the land of Israel (30:3). (For the hapleg. שְׁבִית, captivity, in Num 21:29, see #8669.)
The cognate phrase might be designated a “restoration formula.” Not only will God act to reverse the fortunes of his people, but the restoration of other peoples will also take place: Elam (Jer 49:39), Moab (48:47), Sodom (Ezek 16:53), and Ammon (Jer 49:6).

See Turning, apostasy, returning, faithlessness, repentance

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABD 5:671–72; TDNT 1:357–59; 4:984–99; 7:23–26; THAT 2:884–90; TWOT 2:909–10; W. L. Holladay, The Root Šubh in the Old Testament, 1958; I. Willi-Plein, “ŠWB ŠBWT—eine Wiedererwägung,” ZAH 4, 1991, 55–71; T. M. Raitt, A Theology of Exile, 1977, 35–49.

J. A. Thompson / Elmer A. Martens

Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).

Here is TWOT on that word:

2340 שׁוּב (šûb) (re)turn.

Derivatives

2340a שׁוּבָה (šûbâ) retirement, withdrawal (Isa 30:15).
2340b שִׁיבָה (šîbâ) restoration (Ps 126:1).
2340c שׁוֹבָב (šôbāb) backsliding.
2340d שׁוֹבֵב (šôbēb) backsliding.
2340e מְשׁוּבָה (mĕšûbâ) backsliding.
2340f תְּשׁוּבָה (tĕšûbâ) answer.

We have cited simply the basic meaning of šûb but as we shall see the verb branches into not a few different nuances. It is the twelfth most frequently used verb in the OT, appearing just over 1050 times. With very few exceptions šûb is restricted to the Qal and Hiphil stems. It appears most often in Jeremiah (111 times) followed by Psalms (seventy-one times), Genesis (sixty-eight times), Ezekiel (sixty-two times), I Kings (sixty-two times), II Chronicles (sixtyone times), II Kings (fifty-five times), Isaiah (fifty-one times).
The Bible is rich in idioms describing man’s responsibility in the process of repentance. Such phrases would include the following: “incline your heart unto the Lord your God” (Josh 24:23): “circumcise yourselves to the Lord” (Jer 4:4); “wash your heart from wickedness” (Jer 4:14); “break up your fallow ground” (Hos 10:12) and so forth. All these expressions of man’s penitential activity, however, are subsumed and summarized by this one verb šûb. For better than any other verb it combines in itself the two requisites of repentance: to turn from evil and to turn to the good.
In the Qal stem it has been suggested that there are ten different meanings for šûb with subdivisions within each, plus a few uses difficult to pinpoint (Holladay, p. 59ff.). Of these two or three merit special observance. To begin with, the basic meaning of šûb “to (re)turn” implying physical motion or movement appears over 270 times. A few times God is the subject, “At the appointed time I will return to you (Sarah),” (Gen 18:14). Most often the subject is a person: “I (Abraham) and the lad (Isaac) will go yonder and worship, and return to you” (Gen 22:5). In the Hiphil there are eighty-seven occurrences of šûb in the sense of “bring back, carry back.”
Second, often (over 120 times) šûb acts as a sort of an auxiliary verb whose function is to repeat the action of the second verb: “and ‘again’ Isaac dug the wells (wayyāšōb yiṣḥāq wayyaḥpōr,” Gen 26:18).
The third important use of šûb in the Qal, and theologically the most crucial, is in passages dealing with the covenant community’s return to God (in the sense of repentance), or turning away from evil (in the sense of renouncing and disowning sin), or turning away from God (in the sense of becoming apostate). In such contexts šûb in the Qal is used 129 times. By contrast, in the Hiphil šûb is used only eleven times when discussing the divine-human relationship. “turn back (Qal imperative) and ‘let yourself be turned from your idols’ (Hiphil) from your idols” (Ezk 14:6).
Taking all stems into consideration, Holladay (p. 117) concludes that there are a total of 164 uses of šûb in a covenantal context. The majority of them, as one might expect, are to be found in the classical/literary prophets 113 times, with Jeremiah leading the way (forty-eight times). By way of contrast with Jeremiah, the covenantal usage of šûb is found only six times in the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah (maybe only five if we read 30:15 not, “in returning (to God) and rest shall you be saved,” but “in sitting still yāšab, i.e. abstention from foreign alliances, resting shall you be saved”). In the remaining twenty-seven chapters it is found only four times: 44:22; 55:7; 57:17; 59:20. Thus, we encounter the interesting phenomenon of two prophets back to back in the canon, the first virtually silent on the subject and the second quite vocal. Perhaps the paucity of references in Isaiah is the prophet’s way of saying the die has already been cast. Quite poignantly God says to Isaiah, “Make the heart of this people fat … lest they be converted (šûb) and healed.” A point of no return has been reached. God has foreseen the stubbornness of his people and has incorporated it into his plan. The prophet, therefore, is not to be frustrated (Mt 13:13ff.).
It should be noted that in a number of places šûb means “to return from exile.” In the Qal: naturally in Ezr and Neh (Ezr 2:1; Neh 7:6); also Isa 10:22; Jer 22:10; Zech 10:9, inter alia; in the Hiphil: I Kgs 8:34; Jer 12:15, inter alia. The association between the ideas of a return from exile and a return to the covenant should be obvious. A return from exile was reclamation as much as a return from any form of sin. That God should permit either return is corroborative of his covenantal faithfulness.
To be sure, there is no systematic spelling out of the doctrine of repentance in the OT. It is illustrated (Ps 51) more than anything else. Yet the fact that people are called “to turn” either “to” or “away from” implies that sin is not an ineradicable stain, but by turning, a God-given power, a sinner can redirect his destiny. There are two sides in understanding conversion, the free sovereign act of God’s mercy and man’s going beyond contrition and sorrow to a conscious decision of turning to God. The latter includes repudiation of all sin and affirmation of God’s total will for one’s life.

שִׁיבָה (šîbâ). Restoration, returning. Used only in Ps 126:1, “When the Lord returns ‘the returning’ of Zion.”
An older view is that šîbat of Ps 126:1 should be read šĕbît (BDB p. 986) and the phrase should be translated “turned again the captivity” (so AV). This has therefore been called a post-exilic Ps! Dahood (Psalms III, AB, p. 218) agrees with the view adopted here that šîbâ is in fact from šûb. He offers the translation “restore the fortunes of” citing the Sefire inscription in support. He treats the word šĕbût of vs. 4 also as from šûb, offering a similar translation. This view, now widely adopted, makes it unnecessary to see in this phrase a mark of exilic literature (see šābâ).

שׁוֹבָב (šôbāb). Backsliding, apostate. Appears three times, Jer 3:14, 22 and Isa 57:17, where KJV translates “frowardly,” and JB “like a thief.”

שׁוֹבֵב (šôbēb). Backsliding, Jer 31:22; 49:4 and a somewhat problematic usage in Mic 2:4 where the versions differ considerably from each other, and several emend (JB).

מְשׁוּבָה (mĕšûbâ). Backsliding, disloyalty, faithlessness. This noun appears twelve times, nine of which are in Jeremiah (3:6, 8, 11, etc.). Twice it appears in Hosea: 11:7 (where “backsliding” has become a way of life) and 14:4 [H 5] which indicates that Israel may still be cured from such a lamentable condition. Only in Prov 1:32 is mĕšûbâ applied to an individual, “The ‘turning away/error’ of the simple shall slay them.”

תְּשׁוּבָה (tĕšûbâ). Answer, (re-)turn. Appears eight times, five times in reference to the spring as the “turn” of the year (II Sam 11:1; I Kgs 20:22, 26; I Chr 20:1; II Chr 36:10); once “return” to a place (I Sam 7:17), and twice in the sense of “answer, retort” (Job 21:34; 34:36).

Bibliography: Dahood, M., “Some Ambiguous Texts in Isaias,” CBQ 20:41–43. Gordis, R., “Some Hitherto Unrecognized Meanings of the Verb Shub,” JBL 52: 153–62. Holladay, W., The Root Subh in the Old Testament, Leiden: Brill, 1958. Levine, B., “Notes on a Hebrew Ostracon from Arad,” IEQ 19:49–51. Milgrom, J., “Did Isaiah Prophesy During the Reign of Uzziah?” VT 14:164–82, esp. pp. 169–72. TDNT, IV, pp. 984–99; VII, pp. 723–26. THAT, II, pp. 884–90.
V.P.H.

שׁוֹבֵה (šôbēh)שׁוֹבָב (šôbāb). See nos. 2340c, d.

R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999).

You can determine how NIDOTTE compares to HALOT or TWOT.