Hebrew word · Strong's H7626

שֵׁבֶט

shêbeṭ · shay'-bet · noun · “tribe, rod, scepter”

In a sentence

Shevet means rod, staff, or scepter — and so also tribe, since each tribe of Israel had its rod. The “scepter shall not depart from Judah” pointed forward to Christ.

Shevet is a rod, staff, or scepter — a leader’s mark of authority. Because each tribe of Israel had its rod, the same word came to mean tribe.

Genesis 49:10 promised that “the scepter (shevet) shall not depart from Judah… until Shiloh comes.” The Bible reads this promise as pointing to Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the King whose reign never ends.

Strong's reference

Definition: a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan

KJV usage: [idiom] correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.” Psalms 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Revelation 5:5 “Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.””

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.