שָׁבַר
sha.var
to break
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Shavar (שָׁבַר): Breaking in Ancient Hebrew The Hebrew verb *shavar* appears 147 times throughout the biblical text, making it a relatively common word denoting the physical act of breaking. The term captures a fundamental human experience—the fracturing or destruction of solid objects—expressed with straightforward directness in the language of ancient Israel. The frequency of this word across the biblical corpus suggests that breaking held both practical and symbolic importance in Hebrew thought. With 147 occurrences, *shavar* was important enough to be a standard part of everyday vocabulary, yet not so common as to be merely incidental. This moderate frequency indicates the concept occupied a meaningful space in biblical narratives and instruction, appearing regularly enough to shape how ancient readers understood both physical damage and, potentially, metaphorical forms of destruction or harm. Without access to the specific contexts of individual occurrences in the provided data, we can note that a word this frequently used likely carried applications beyond simple material breakage—biblical language typically allows core physical terms to extend into figurative domains. The 147 attestations provide sufficient evidence that *shavar* was a versatile, foundational verb in biblical Hebrew vocabulary.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
147 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works.” The ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
2 Chronicles 23:17All the people went to the house of Baal, broke it down, broke his altars and his images in pieces, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
2 Chronicles 31:1Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and broke down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, also in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
2 Chronicles 34:4They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images in pieces, made dust of them, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
Job 24:20The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.
Job 29:17I broke the jaws of the unrighteous and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
Job 31:22then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
Job 38:10marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
Job 38:15From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
Psalms 3:7Arise, Yahweh! Save me, my God! For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
Psalms 10:15Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
Psalms 29:5Yahweh’s voice breaks the cedars. Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Psalms 29:5Yahweh’s voice breaks the cedars. Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Psalms 34:18Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Psalms 34:20He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.
Psalms 37:15Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
Psalms 37:17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
Psalms 46:9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.
Psalms 48:7With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
Psalms 51:17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
Psalms 51:17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
Psalms 69:20Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none.
Psalms 74:13You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
Psalms 76:3There he broke the flaming arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war.
Psalms 104:11They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Psalms 105:16He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
Psalms 105:33He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
Psalms 107:16For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.
Psalms 124:7Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Psalms 147:3He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
Proverbs 6:15Therefore his calamity will come suddenly. He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
Isaiah 14:29Don’t rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent’s root an adder will emerge, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent.
Proverbs 25:15By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.
Proverbs 29:1He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.
Ecclesiastes 12:6before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,
Isaiah 8:15Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
Isaiah 14:5Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
Isaiah 14:25that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains. Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave their shoulders.
Isaiah 21:9Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.
Isaiah 24:10The confused city is broken down. Every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
Isaiah 27:11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
Isaiah 28:13Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken.
Isaiah 30:14He will break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing, so that there won’t be found among the broken pieces a piece good enough to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
Isaiah 38:13I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me.
Isaiah 42:3He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
Isaiah 45:2“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron.
Isaiah 61:1The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound,
Isaiah 66:9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to be delivered?” says Yahweh. “Shall I who cause to give birth shut the womb?” says your God.
Jeremiah 2:13“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves: broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
Jeremiah 2:20“For long ago I broke off your yoke, and burst your bonds. You said, ‘I will not serve;’ for on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed yourself, playing the prostitute.