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seb
שב
'seb' appears to be a nuanced word with a range of meaning around the idea of “resting” or “staying put”. It is in this context that it became the root word of the term “Sabbath”. However, things are not as straightforward as they appear.
Under the guise of several differing strong number the traditional interpretation has been stretched somewhat into a series of very similar but slightly different meanings: “abide”1), “remain”2), “stop”3), and “broken”4).
By application of affixes, this set is extended to include: “ripen”5), “consider”6), “scheme”7), “oath”8). The logic here is quite feasible. The act of abiding allows time for consideration, consideration becomes, scheming, often blossoming into an oath. A parallel etymological path brings us the the meaning “head of grain”9) (after having ripened) and probably also “staff or scepter”10) (as in a ripened stick of wood).
Inexplicably though, in a few11) instances, quite the opposite meaning has become the common interpretation - with the ostensible meaning of “hurry”12). This particular interpretation is highly dubious.
The idea of “Sabbath” stems from a novel interpretation beginning only in the book of Exodus and in the context of the Mosaic law. This also ties in with the number seven, another variant meaning of the same word 'seb' (seby, sebiyit)
Lex table has: Hebrew Strong Number Transliteration Pronunciation Meaning InstanceCount שב 2363 seb sheb hurry 19 השב 2803 heseb hesheb consider 120 שב 3427 seb sheb abide 1036 שבת 4284 sebet shebet schemes 56 עשב 6212 yeseb yesheb ripe 33 שבעה 7621 sebeyeh shebeyeh oath 30 שבט 7626 sebef sebet staff 181 שביעית 7637 sebiyit shebiyit seventh 98 שבל 7641 sebel 998 shebel head of grain 6 שבעה 7650 sebeyeh shebeyeh oath 183 שבע 7651 seby sheby seven 402 שבר 7665 seber sheber broken 151 שבת 7673 sebet shebet halt 75 שבת 7676 sebet shebet Sabbath 114 שב 7725 seb sheb remained (returned/stayed) 1066