The Hebrew adjective shobav describes one who has turned back or turned away — a backslider or apostate who has strayed from God. It appears prominently in Jeremiah 3, where God repeatedly calls out to 'backsliding Israel' and 'faithless Judah,' inviting them to return despite their apostasy.
The word shobav appears almost exclusively in Jeremiah's oracle of restoration (Jeremiah 3-4) and is central to his theology of return. Despite Israel's repeated backsliding, God refuses to give up on His people: 'Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD' (Jeremiah 3:14). This is one of the most tender passages of divine pursuit in the Bible — God calling the shobav back to Himself with compassion rather than condemnation. The concept underlies the New Testament parable of the Prodigal Son: the backslider is never beyond the reach of the Father's call and the Father's embrace.