Break (To) - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Strong's Number: H7665
Original Word: shabar
Usage Notes: "to break, shatter, smash, crush." This word is frequently used in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, and is common throughout out Hebrew. It is found almost 150 times in the Hebrew Bible. The first biblical occurrence of shabar is in Gen. 19:9, which tells how the men of Sodom threatened to "break" Lot's door to take his house guests.
The common word for "breaking" things, shabar describes the breaking of earthen vessels (Judg. 7:20; Jer. 19:10), of bows (Hos. 1:5), of swords (Hos. 2:18), of bones (Exod. 12:46), and of yokes or bonds (Jer. 28:10, 12-13). Sometimes it is used figuratively to describe a "shattered" heart or emotion (Psa. 69:20; Ezek. 6:9). In its intensive sense, shabar connotes "shattering" something, such as the tablest of the Law (Exod. 32:19) or idol images (2 Kings 11:18), or the "shattering" of trees by hail (Exod. 9:25).