07/01/2026
שִׁבְרוּ (shivru) – buy
The English translation of the Hebrew word שִׁבְרוּ is to buy. In Hebrew, however, the word is used specifically in the context of purchasing food and produce. This is intriguing, since the root ש־ב־ר primarily means to break. At first glance, the connection between breaking and buying food seems unclear.
Yet the link becomes obvious when we think about hunger. Food breaks hunger. The English word breakfast expresses the same idea—it is the meal that breaks the fast of the night.
At the beginning of Genesis chapter 42, Jacob hears that there is שֶׁבֶר (shever) in Egypt, commonly translated as grain. He sends his sons there to buy food in order to break the hunger they are experiencing in Canaan. In biblical Hebrew, שֶׁבֶר refers to food that is purchased with money—produce acquired to relieve scarcity.
This meaning appears again in verse 6, where Joseph is described as מַשְׁבִּיר (mashbir). Joseph oversees the selling of food to the population, effectively “breaking” their hunger. His title reflects not only his authority, but also the deeper linguistic idea that provision is an act of breaking deprivation.
In Modern Hebrew, this meaning has largely disappeared. Today, the root ש־ב־ר usually refers to physical breaking, such as fractures. Still, traces remain in expressions like לִשְׁבּוֹר אֶת הַצוֹם (lishbor et hatzom)—to break the fast.
There is also a historical explanation for the connection between breaking and payment. In the ancient world, debts were written on pieces of pottery. When a debt was settled, the pottery shard was returned and broken, symbolizing that the obligation no longer existed. Payment involved an actual act of breaking.
As writing moved from pottery to paper, the physical act disappeared, but the language remained. Even today, a coupon is called a שׁוֹבֵר (shover). When it is used, it is torn or detached, canceling its value- much like breaking the ancient record of debt.
