Original Word: מְשׁוּבָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mshuwbah
Pronunciation: meh-shoo-BAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mesh-oo-baw')
KJV: backsliding, turning away
NASB: faithless, apostasies, apostasy, faithlessness, turning, waywardness
Word Origin: [from H7725 (שׁוּב - return)]

1. apostasy

backsliding, turning away

Or mshubah {mesh-oo-baw'}; from shuwb; apostasy -- backsliding, turning away.

see HEBREW shuwb

Word Origin
from shub
Definition
turning back, apostasy
NASB Translation
apostasies (3), apostasy (2), faithless (4), faithlessness (1), turning (1), waywardness (1).

[מְשׁוּבָה], מְשֻׁבָה noun feminine turning back, apostasy; — absolute מְשֻׁבָה Jeremiah 3:6 +; construct מְשׁוּבַת Proverbs 1:32; suffix מְשׁוּבָתָם Hosea 14:5; plural suffix מְשׁוּבֹתֵיכֶם Jeremiah 3:22, etc.; — backturning, apostasy, of Israel, Hosea 14:5, מְשׁוּבָתִי Hosea 11:7 apostasy from me (si vera lectio); of Judah Jeremiah 2:19; Jeremiah 3:22; Jeremiah 5:6; Jeremiah 8:5; Jeremiah 14:7 (all plural) + Ezekiel 37:33 (read מְשׁוּבֹתֵיהֶם for ׳מוֺשְׁ, ᵐ5 Comm.); נִצַחַת ׳מ Jeremiah 8:5 enduring, perpetual apostasy; also as noun concrete, apposition of following word, ׳מְשֻׁבָה יִשׂ Jeremiah 3:6,8,11,12 apostate one, Israel. Of individual, מְשׁוּבַת מְּתָיִם Proverbs 1:32.

Overview

מְשׁוּבָה (meshubah) describes a moral and spiritual “turning back,” most often rendered in English as backsliding, apostasy, or faithlessness. It portrays the heart that abandons covenant loyalty, substitutes idolatry or complacency for true worship, and thus reverses the direction God intends for His people.

Range of Usage

Twelve Old-Testament occurrences cluster in the Wisdom and Prophetic writings:

• Wisdom setting: Proverbs 1:32.
• Prophetic settings: Jeremiah 2:19; 3:6, 3:8, 3:11, 3:12, 3:22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7.
• Northern-kingdom prophecy: Hosea 11:7; 14:4.

In Proverbs the word exposes the personal ruin that flows from ignoring divine wisdom. In Jeremiah and Hosea it exposes national covenant breach, yet always within calls to repent and promises of restoration.

Literary Patterns and Imagery

1. Marital unfaithfulness. Jeremiah repeatedly presents Judah and Israel as an adulterous wife (Jeremiah 3:6–11). Meshubah captures the betrayal that breaks the intimate covenant bond.
2. Stubborn reflex. Hosea 11:7 pictures the people as reflexively “bent on turning” away, as though backsliding were gravitational.
3. Self-destruction. Proverbs 1:32 links backsliding with the “complacency of fools,” stressing that apostasy is suicide, not liberation.
4. Spiritual disease. Jeremiah 14:7 confesses, “our apostasies are many,” treating backsliding as an inner condition needing divine healing (cf. Hosea 14:4).

Theological and Historical Context

Under Josiah’s reforms Jeremiah confronted Judah’s outwardly orthodox but inwardly divided worship. Despite temple attendance, the nation’s heart retreated to idolatrous altars on “every high hill and under every green tree” (Jeremiah 3:6). Jeremiah applies meshubah to both the northern kingdom (already exiled) and the southern kingdom (soon to be judged), proving that geography or heritage cannot shield a faithless people. Hosea, a century earlier, addressed Israel in Samaria with the same charge; thus the term bridges the history of both kingdoms, underscoring a consistent divine standard.

Divine Indictment and Discipline

Backsliding invites self-inflicted consequences and divine chastening:
• “Your own wickedness will discipline you, and your own apostasies will reprimand you” (Jeremiah 2:19).
• Predatory images—lion, wolf, leopard—symbolize the instruments of judgment (Jeremiah 5:6).

The prophets present calamity not as arbitrary but as covenantally just, aimed at exposing sin and driving the people back to God.

Call to Return and Promise of Healing

Meshubah never has the final word. The same passages that denounce faithlessness extend mercy:
• “Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD, for I am your Master… I will bring you to Zion” (Jeremiah 3:14).
• “I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them” (Hosea 14:4).

Covenant faithfulness on God’s side guarantees hope for genuine penitence. The divine initiative “heal… love… turn away anger” assures restoration is rooted in grace, not human merit.

Practical and Pastoral Implications

1. Diagnosis before cure. True ministry must name backsliding for what it is—spiritual treason—before prescribing comfort.
2. Discipline as mercy. Faithful preaching interprets hardship as redemptive discipline, echoing Jeremiah 2:19.
3. Persistent invitation. God commands His servants to extend the call “Return, faithless Israel” even when relapse seems chronic (Jeremiah 3:12).
4. Assurance of restoration. Hosea 14:4 provides a gospel pattern: God heals, loves freely, and removes wrath. This fuels counseling, evangelism, and corporate revival.
5. Guarding against complacency. Proverbs 1:32 warns that backsliding may masquerade as comfort. Vigilant obedience and continual repentance protect against subtle decline.

Summary

מְשׁוּבָה exposes the peril of reversing spiritual direction, yet simultaneously magnifies God’s steadfast commitment to reclaim His people. Scripture weds indictment to invitation: the gravity of apostasy heightens the glory of divine healing, offering every generation both a solemn warning and a living hope.

וּמְשֻֽׁבוֹתַ֙יִךְ֙ ומשבותיך לִמְשֽׁוּבָתִ֑י למשובתי מְשֻׁבָ֣ה מְשֻׁבָ֤ה מְשׁ֣וּבָתָ֔ם מְשׁוּבַ֣ת מְשׁוּבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם מְשׁוּבֹותֵיהֶֽם מְשׁוּבֹתֵ֖ינוּ משבה משובותיהם משובת משובתיכם משובתינו משובתם lim·šū·ḇā·ṯî limshuvaTi limšūḇāṯî mə·šū·ḇā·ṯām mə·šu·ḇāh mə·šū·ḇaṯ mə·šū·ḇō·ṯê·ḵem mə·šū·ḇō·ṯê·nū mə·šū·ḇō·w·ṯê·hem meshuVah meshuVat meShuvaTam meshuvoteiChem meshuvoteiHem meshuvoTeinu məšuḇāh məšūḇaṯ məšūḇāṯām məšūḇōṯêḵem məšūḇōṯênū məšūḇōwṯêhem ū·mə·šu·ḇō·w·ṯa·yiḵ umeshuvoTayich ūməšuḇōwṯayiḵInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts