What is the meaning of the Words בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ in Deuteronomy 6:4-9?

Question

A very well known prayer for jewish people is the Shemah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) which is found in the book called Sidur, and during the reading of it, I came with two words whose meanings I still don't have a full comprehension, even though, I've searched it during months. Specifically, the words are בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ and are found in the next excerpt (verse 7 of chapter 6):

וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃

And also, in english, it says:

Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.

In addition I'd like to know the etymology of the word, the derivatives of it (as verbs, for example) to understand it more.

Answer 1

Shekav שְׁכַב "Lay"

ו-ב-שכבך "AND-WHEN-YOU LAY" [DOWN] means : When you lay [backward], before sleeping.

Qamer קַמֵּר "Curve"

ו-ב-קומך "AND-WHEN-YOU RISE" [UP] means: When you curve [forward], after sleeping.

Answer 2

In order to understand the meaning of a Hebrew word, it is important to identify its word root. Prefixes and suffixes can be confusing until the root is known, so the first step is to find the root letters. Most Hebrew words will have three root letters. There are some with only two that have a third implied root letter (which is not always clear), and there is the famous tetragrammaton, YHVH, the name for God, which has four letters. Note that prefixes and suffixes, even if they would be words in their own right in English, such as pronouns, conjunctions, or prepositions, are not generally counted as separate words in Hebrew, and do not follow the three-root-letter rule.

So let's break down those words:

The First Word

בְּ + שִׁבְתְּ + ךָ֤ <-- בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤

This word has three parts (remember to read it right to left). It is a preposition (בְּ) + verb/root word (שִׁבְתְּ) + pronoun/pronominal suffix (ךָ֤).

In English, the Hebrew preposition would become an adverb or a subordinating conjunction, as it means "when."

The verb is in the infinitive construct form of the simple Qal. It can mean to sit, to stay, to remain, to dwell, etc.

The pronominal suffix is that of the second-person masculine singular, i.e. "you."

The translation would be something like "when you sit/stay."

The Second Word

בְּ + בֵיתֶ֙ + ךָ֙ <-- בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙

Again, this word has three parts, and the prefix and the suffix match the first word. But the central root word this time is the word for "house." So the translation might be something like "when in your house."

Putting the two words together, there is some poetic repetition of terms: "when you sit/stay when/in your house." Hebrew words can sometimes mean more than one thing depending on context, and this is inclusive of prepositions, as in this case, where it can mean either "in" or "when" as translated to English.

Answer 3

Traditionally the Jews quote the Shema twice a day and thus interpret this to mean evening and morning.

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day. (Gen. 1:5, JPS Tanakh)

The belief in the one and only God, the God of Israel, who is also God over all creation, was the greatest single factor that bound all Jews, scattered throughout many lands, together. Each pious Jews confessed this belief in the morning and in the evening in the Shema ( ̆sma˓): -- Du Toit, A. B. (1998). "Life in obedience to the Torah: Jewish belief, worship, and everyday religion in the first century AD." In A. B. du Toit (Ed.), The New Testament Milieu (Vol. 2). Halfway House: Orion Publishers.

And so did R. Meir say, “Whoever lives in the land of Israel, recites the Shema morning and evening, and speaks the holy language, lo, such a one is destined for the world to come.” -- Neusner, J., Avery-Peck, A. J., & Green, W. S. (Eds.). (2000). In The encyclopedia of Judaism (Vol. 1, p. 464). Leiden; Boston; Köln: Brill.

The problem you may have understanding the words is that the families before modern times did not normally have separate bedrooms. Bedrooms, kitchen, and living room we all one room. This meant parents could also teach their children when the room was dark while laying down ready to go to sleep; of course, that meant by memory. Tents were similar

These two clauses apear to be a synonymous parallel. Thus the meaning is where they overlap. At least that's the translation from the Jewish Publication Society.

when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (JPS)

בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֨ךָ֙a‬ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣b‬ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖c‬ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: SESB Version. (2003). (electronic ed., Dt 6:7). Stuttgart: German Bible Society.

Figure 1. image from Bailey, K. E. (2008). Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (p. 29). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

Figure 2. Senses of ישׁב in MT (generated with Logos Bible Software)

Figure 3. Senses of בַּיִת in MT

Figure 4. Senses of הלך in MT

Figure 5. Senses of דֶּרֶך in MT

Figure 6. Senses of שׁכב in MT

Figure 7. Senses of קום in MT