שָׁמַר
to keep
also: guard, observe, give heed fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘keep’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be on one’s guard’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem. Here: ‘pl.’
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H8104 appears in the Book of Proverbs — 29 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Proverbs
- Proverbs 2:8 יִשְׁמֹֽר Qal impf 3ms That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints.
- Proverbs 2:11 תִּשְׁמֹ֥ר Qal impf 3fs Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,
- Proverbs 2:20 תִּשְׁמֹֽר Qal impf 2ms That you may walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous.
- Proverbs 3:26 וְ/שָׁמַ֖ר conj + Qal wpf 3ms For Yahweh will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being taken.
- Proverbs 4:4 שְׁמֹ֖ר Qal impv 2ms He taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
- Proverbs 4:6 וְ/תִשְׁמְרֶ֑/ךָּ conj + Qal impf 3fs + sfx pers 2ms Don't forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
- Proverbs 4:21 שָׁ֝מְרֵ֗/ם Qal impv 2ms + sfx pers 3mp Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.
- Proverbs 5:2 לִ/שְׁמֹ֥ר prep + Qal inf.cs That you may maintain discretion, That your lips may preserve knowledge.
- Proverbs 6:22 תִּשְׁמֹ֣ר Qal impf 3fs When you walk, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you. When you awake, it will talk with you.
- Proverbs 6:24 לִ֭/שְׁמָרְ/ךָ prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 2ms To keep you from the immoral woman, From the flattery of the wayward wife's tongue.
- Proverbs 7:1 שְׁמֹ֣ר Qal impv 2ms My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.
- Proverbs 7:2 שְׁמֹ֣ר Qal impv 2ms Keep my commandments and live; Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
- Proverbs 7:5 לִ֭/שְׁמָרְ/ךָ prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 2ms That they may keep you from the strange woman, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
- Proverbs 8:32 יִשְׁמֹֽרוּ Qal impf 3mp "Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, For blessed are those who keep my ways.
- Proverbs 8:34 לִ֝/שְׁמֹ֗ר prep + Qal inf.cs Blessed is the man who hears me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my door posts.
- Proverbs 10:17 שׁוֹמֵ֣ר Qal ptcp.act ms He is in the way of life who heeds correction, But he who forsakes reproof leads others astray.
- Proverbs 13:3 שֹׁמֵ֣ר Qal ptcp.act ms He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
- Proverbs 13:18 וְ/שׁוֹמֵ֖ר conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Poverty and shame come to him who refuses discipline, But he who heeds correction shall be honored.
- Proverbs 14:3 תִּשְׁמוּרֵֽ/ם Qal impf 3fs + sfx pers 3mp The fool's talk brings a rod to his back, But the lips of the wise protect them.
- Proverbs 15:5 וְ/שֹׁמֵ֖ר conj + Qal ptcp.act ms A fool despises his father's correction, But he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
- Proverbs 16:17 שֹׁמֵ֥ר Qal ptcp.act ms The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
- Proverbs 19:8 שֹׁמֵ֥ר Qal ptcp.act ms He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good.
- Proverbs 19:16 שֹׁמֵ֣ר שֹׁמֵ֣ר Qal ptcp.act ms cs Qal ptcp.act ms cs He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.
- Proverbs 21:23 שֹׁמֵ֣ר שֹׁמֵ֖ר Qal ptcp.act ms Qal ptcp.act ms Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
- Proverbs 22:5 שׁוֹמֵ֥ר Qal ptcp.act ms cs Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: Whoever guards his soul stays from them.
- Proverbs 22:18 תִשְׁמְרֵ֣/ם Qal impf 2ms + sfx pers 3mp For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, If all of them are ready on your lips.
- Proverbs 27:18 וְ/שֹׁמֵ֖ר conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.
- Proverbs 28:4 וְ/שֹׁמְרֵ֥י conj + Qal ptcp.act mp cs Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; But those who keep the law contend with them.
- Proverbs 29:18 וְ/שֹׁמֵ֖ר conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But one who keeps the law is blessed.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
שמר — transliterated shâmar — is a Hebrew verb carrying the sense “to keep.” As a verb its force shifts by stem, across 4 stems (Qal, Niphal, and more). With 440 verses in 31 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. Debuting at Genesis 2:15, it then recurs through the corpus. Sharing its root, it stands alongside אשמרה, משמר and שמיר. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H8104 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 440
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 440 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #106
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 106 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 440 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 67 verses 15%
- Deuteronomy 65 verses 15%
- Proverbs 29 verses 7%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 440 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 161 verses · 37%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 140 verses · 32%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 139 verses · 32%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Keep 94×, Kept 19×, Take heed 16×
- American Standard Version: Keep 74×, Observe 18×, Kept 17×
- Berean Standard Bible: Keep 76×, Be careful 26×, Kept 16×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Keep 96×, You shall keep 40×, Keeping 18×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H8104 across 468 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 136 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H8104 across 468 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 135 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H8104 across 462 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 161 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 6 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H8104 across 528 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 151 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
21 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 21 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. שׁ׳ Gn 37:11 +, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִשְׁמֹר 1 S 2:9 +, יִשְׁמָר־ Je 5:24 +, sf. 3 ms. יִשְׁמְרֶנּוּ Ex 21:29, 36; 3 fs. sf. תִּשְׁמוּרֵ֑ם Pr 14:3 (read תִּשְׁמְרוּם, v. Ges§ 47 g Toy), etc.; Imv. ms. שְׁמֹר Jb 2:6 +, שָׁמְרָה 1 Ch 29:18 +; mpl. שִׁמְרוּ Jos 6:18 +, etc.; Inf. abs. שָׁמוֹר Dt 5:12 +; cstr. שְׁמֹר Gn 3:24 +, sf. שָׁמְרָהּ 2:15, etc.; Pt. act. שֹׁמֵר 1 S 1:12 +, etc.; pass. שָׁמוּר Ec 5:12 (1 S 9:24 v. infr.), etc.;—[Synon. I. נָצַר, נָטַר, q.v.]: e.g. Genesis 37:11
- 1.
- a. keep, have charge of, garden Gn 2:15 (J), ark 1 S 7:1, property in trust Ex 22:6, 9 (E), cf. 1 S 25:21; tend flock Gn 30:31 (E), cf. Zc 3:7 Nu 3:8 (P); so perhaps (obj. om.) Ho 12:13 (where שׁ׳ chosen for parallelism Now Marti al.); Pt. הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹ֑כִי Gn 4:9 (J), שׁ׳ of sheep 1 S 17:20, שׁ׳ הַכֵּלִים v 22, שׁ׳ הַבְּגָדִים 2 K 22:14 2 Ch 34:22, שׁ׳ הַנָּשִׁים Est 2:3, 8, 15, cf. v 14, etc. e.g. Genesis 2:15
- b. keep, guard, captives Jos 10:18 (J), 1 K 20:39, דֶּרֶךְ Gn 3:24 (J); keep watch and ward, אֶל pers. over whom 1 S 26:15 (ψ 59:10 v. 3 end), עַל pers. v 16 Pr 6:22; בַּנַּעַר 2 S 18:12 have a care of (read לִי for מִי 𝔊), cf. 2 K 9:14; in hostile sense, אֶל הָעִיר (in siege) 2 S 11:16, עַל חַטָּאתִי Jb 14:16 (but read תַּעֲבֹר c. 𝔊 Ew Di Du al. [not Hi Bu]); abs. c. מֵעַל Ec 5:7 watcheth above, etc. (v. p. 759 a d); keep one’s mouth, be prudent of speech †Pr 21:23, cf. Mi 7:5; keep = protect, save, one’s life, נֶפֶשׁ †Pr 13:3; 16:17; 19:16; 22:5, another’s Jb 2:6; in Pr, acc. pers., subj. wisdom, 4:6 she shall preserve thee, cf. (+ מִן of evil) 6:24; 7:5; especially Pt. watch, watchman, of city Is 21:11(×2), 12; 62:5 (fig.), Ct 3:3; 5:7(×2) ψ 127:1; שׁ׳ הַסַּף (in temple) Je 35:4 + (v. סַף), הַשּׁ׳ פֶּתַח בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ 1 K 14:27 = 2 Ch 12:10, שׁ׳ הַשְּׁעָרִים Ne 13:22, שֹׁמְרֵי הַבַּיִת (fig.) Ec 12:3; שׁ׳ הַבַּיִת keep the house (of David’s concubines) †2 S 15:16; 16:21; 20:3; שֹׁמֵר הַכֵּלִים 1 S 17:22, שׁ׳ הַבְּגָדִים 2 K 22:14, שׁ׳ הַפַּרְדֵּס Ne 2:8, שׁ׳ הַנָּשִׁים Est 2:3, 14, 15, שֹׁמְרִים abs. Ju 7:19 Je 51:12. e.g. Joshua 10:18
- c. hence watch for, wait for, acc. pers. 1 S 19:11 (to kill him), cf. ψ 59:1 (title; acc. הַבַּיִת); c. עֲקֵבַי ψ 56:7 = dog my steps, 71:10 Je 20:10; = watch (suspiciously) Jb 10:14; 13:27; 33:11; abs. הַשֹּׁמְרִים Ju 1:24; wait for, נֶשֶׁף Jb 24:15, לַבֹּקֶר ψ 130:6(×2). e.g. 1 Samuel 19:11
- d. watch, observe, acc. rei 1 S 1:12 Ec 11:4 Jb 39:1 Je 8:7 (of birds), with intelligence Is 42:20 ψ 107:43; acc. pers. 37:37 (‖ ראה), Zc 11:11; acc. of sin ψ 31:7; 130:3; acc. rei, for the purpose of avoiding, 17:4. e.g. 1 Samuel 1:12
- 2.
- a. keep, retain, of storing up (food) Gn 41:35 (E); abs. Ec 3:6 (opp. הִשְׁלִיךְ); treasure up (in memory) Gn 37:11 (E), cf. Mal 2:7 1 Ch 29:18 Pr 4:21 (בְּתוֹךְ לְבָבֶ֑ךָ), 22:18 (בְּבִטְנֶ֑ךָ); retain wrath Am 1:11 (read שָׁמַר לָנֶצַח We Now GASm Marti; v. also נָטַר 1) + (anger om.) Je 3:5 (‖ נטר). e.g. Genesis 41:35
- b. keep within bounds, restrain, obj. שׁוֹר Ex 21:29, 36 (E); c. acc. hand, מִן of evil Is 56:2; fig. keep thy foot, c. cl. temp. Ec. 4:17; אֶשׁ׳־לְפִי מַחְסוֹם ψ (39:2 𝔊 Du al. אָשִׂימָה); appar. reflex. (= Niph.), †Jos 6:18 (+ מִן־הַחֵרֶם), poss. sc. נַפְשְׁכֶם Di. e.g. Exodus 21:29
- 3.
- a. observe, celebrate, acc. of festival, etc., Ex 23:15 (E), 34:18 (J), 12:17, of day v 17 (P), of month Dt 16:1. e.g. Exodus 23:15
- b. keep sabbath †Dt 5:12 Lv 19:3, 30; 26:2 (all H), Ex 31:13, 14, 16 (P), Is 56:4, also (+ מֵחַלְּלוֹ) v 2, 6. e.g. Deuteronomy 5:12
- c. of other obligations: keep covenant Ez 17:14, especially covenant of י׳ Dt 29:8; 1 K 11:11 + 5 times, שְׁבֻעַת י׳ 1 K 2:43, perform vow Dt 23:24; keep commands Je 35:18; Ez 20:18; especially מִצְוֹת, חֻקִּים, עֲבֹדָה, etc., of י׳ (sometimes ‖ נצר), Ex 20:6 = Dt 5:10; Am 2:4; 1 K 2:3 ψ 119:8, 17, 34 + very often (c. 120 times); שׁ׳ דֶּרֶךְ י׳ Gn 18:19 (J) + 4 times, דַּרְכֵי י׳ 2 S 22:22 = ψ 18:22, ד׳ י׳ om. Ju 2:22b; שׁ׳ אָרְחוֹת צַדִּיקִים Pr 2:20 (‖ תֵּלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ טוֹבִים), שׁ׳ דְּרָכַי (ways of wisdom) 8:32 (ψ 17:4 v. 1 d); keep, discharge an office, כְּהֻנָּה Nu 3:10; 18:7 (both P), abs. 2 Ch 5:11; a function or duty, especially שׁ׳ מִשְׁמֶרֶת Lv 8:35; Nu 1:53 + c. 32 times (v. מ׳ infr.); acc. of obligation often om., especially D (and RD) keep and do Dt 4:6; 7:12 + 8 times; to do 5:1, 29 + 16 times D + 3 times, etc. e.g. Ezekiel 17:14
- d. observe = follow dictates of (prudence, justice, kindness, wisdom) Ho 12:7 (חֶסֶד וּמִשְׁפָּט), Is 56:1; Pr 4:4; 5:2; 7:1, 2; bad sense, observe vanities ψ 31:7.—Doubtful are: לִשְׁמֹר abs. Ho 4:10, very strange (conj. in We Now Marti); שָׁמוּר 1 S 9:24, HPS אֵחַרְנוּ, cf. Now BuComm.; ψ 59:10 read עֻוִּי אֵלֶיךָ אֲוַמֵּ֑רָה (as v 18, 𝔖 Che Bae). e.g. Hosea 12:7
- 4. sometimes י׳ subj.:
- a. keep, preserve, protect, acc. pers., + ב of way, etc., Gn 28:15, 20 (J), Ex 23:20 (E; of מַלְאָךְ), ψ 91:11 (מ׳), Jos 24:17 (E); acc. pers. (or נפשׁ) only: 1 S 30:23; Je 31:9; Nu 6:24 (P), Jb 29:2 ψ 16:1 + 10 times ψψ; + מִן ψ 121:7 + 2 times; acc. רַגְלַי 1 S 2:9, cf. Pr 3:26 (מִן); Pt. שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ ψ 121:3, 5, cf. v 4, etc.; acc. of city 127:1. e.g. Genesis 28:15
- b. c. acc. בְּרִית, ל pers. Dt 7:12, + חֶסֶד v 7 + 5 times, הַשּׁ׳ אֱמֶת לְעוֹלָם ψ 146:6; הַשְּׁבֻעָה Dt 7:8, etc.; pass. of covenant (י׳ agent) עֲרוּכָה בַכֹּל וּשְׁמֻרָה 2 S 23:5 (legal terminology, Dr). e.g. Deuteronomy 7:12
- 5. keep, reserve, weeks of harvest Je 5:24 (ל pers.). e.g. Jeremiah 5:24
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נִשְׁמַר 2 S 20:10, etc.; Impf. 3 fs. תִּשָּׁמֵר Ju 13:13; 2 mpl. תִּשָּׁמִ֑רוּ Ex 23:13; Imv. ms. הִשָּׁמֵר Is 7:4 (לְךָ) הִשָּׁ֫מֶר Gn 24:6 +; fs. הִשָּֽׁמְרִי Ju 13:4, etc.;— e.g. 2 Samuel 20:10
- 1. be on one’s guard, c. בַּחֶרֶב 2 S 20:10 by reason of the sword, i.e. against it; c. ב temp. 1 S 19:2, שָׁם 2 K 6:10; take heed Ex 23:13 (E) Dt 2:4; c. מִן pers. Ex 23:21 (E), Je 9:3; מִן rei Ju 13:13; Dt 23:10; מִן inf. take care not to, etc. Gn 31:29 (E), 2 K 6:9; inf. without מִן Ex 19:12 (J), but read prob. מֵעֲלוֹת; sq. פֶּן lest Gn 24:6 (J) + 11 times (especially Dt); c. (וְ)אַל juss. Ex 10:28 (J), Ju 13:4; Jb 36:21, c. Imv. coörd. Is 7:4.—Very often Imv. (24 times), especially in phr. הִשָּׁמֶר־לְךָ (12 times), הִשָּׁמְרוּ לִכֶם (3 times); + לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם Dt 4:15; Jos 23:11 (RD; + inf.); + בְּנַפ׳ Je 17:21 appar. ב pret. on peril of your life (cf. ב III. 3 a), so perhaps also בְּרוּחֲכֶם Mal 2:15, 16 (We Now). e.g. 2 Samuel 20:10
- 2. keep oneself, refrain, abstain, מֵאִשָּׁה 1 S 21:5. e.g. 1 Samuel 21:5
- 3. be kept, guarded, Ho 12:14 (cf. שׁ׳ of Jacob v 13); be preserved (by י׳) ψ 37:28 (לִעוֹלָם), but read prob. נִשְׁמָ֑דוּ (לְעוֹלָם) עַוָּלִים Hup-Ri (Now) Che Bae Du Dr. e.g. Hosea 12:14
Piel
- Pt. pl. מְשַׁמְּרִים הַבְלֵי־שָׁוְא Jon 2:9 those paying regard to false vanities (cf. Qal ψ 31:7). e.g. Jonah 2:9
Hithpael
- Impf. 1 s. וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר מֵעֲוֹנִי ψ 18:24 I kept myself from, etc. = 2 S 22:24 (vb. cohort.); 3 ms. וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּר חֻקּוֹת עָמְרִי Mi 6:16, but read וְתִשְׁמֹר thou keepest, observest, We Now GASm. e.g. Psalms 18:24
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
vb. keep, watch, preserve (NH id.; Ph. שמר in n.pr. and (Pun.) = watchman; TelAm. šimiru is perhaps overseer (Canaanism), WklNo. 80, 1, 23; Mand. סמירא preserved NöM 46; cf. Arabic سَمَرَ converse by night, stay awake (v. LagBN 105); BaNB 175 f.; ES 43 infers from ܬܶܡܪܳܐ eyelid (cf. [שְׁמֻרָה] infr.), and Arabicثَمَلَ support, aid, protect (l = r), that two √ √ are combined in Heb.; but proof insuff.);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
שָׁמַר
- (b. h.) [to be still,] to watch, guard, wait; to observe; to keep. Snh. 63ᵇ לא … שְׁמוֹר לי וכ׳ one should not say to his neighbor, wait for me at such and such an idolatrous statue (or temple). B. Mets. 58ᵃ השוכר … לִשְׁמוֹר את וכ׳ if one hires a workingman to guard a cow, a child &c. Sabb. 118ᵇ אלמלי שָׁמְרוּ ישראל וכ׳ if Israel had observed the first Sabbath &c.; a v. fr.—Part. pass. שָׁמוּר; f. שְׁמוּרָה &c. Ib. XXII, 4 נותנין … בשביל שיהא ש׳ you may put a dish into the well that it be kept (cool); a. e.
- 1. same. Ib. 118ᵇ אילמלי מְשַׁמְּרִין ישראל וכ׳ if Israel would observe two Sabbaths as they ought do, they would at once be redeemed. Keth. 62ᵇ ענייה זו לשוא שִׁימְּרָה the poor woman has in vain waited (for her husband). Ab. Zar. IV, 11 אין … יושב ומְשַׁמֵּר וכ׳ the watchman (guarding wine against idolatrous defilement) need not sit and watch &c. Y. Kidd. I, 58ᵈ top המקום משמר וכ׳ God has watched, and such a case has never occurred. Y. M. Kat. III, 82ᶜ שי׳ הקב"ה … שבעה the Lord observed the seven days of mourning for his world (before the flood, ref. to Gen. VII, 10); a. fr. e.g. Genesis 7:10
- 2. (denom. of שְׁמָרִים) to clear wine from lees, filter, strain (v. מְשַׁמֶּרֶת). Sabb. 138ᵃ שי׳ חייב וכ׳ if one filtered wine (on the Sabbath), he is bound to bring a sin-offering; Y. ib. XX, 17ᶜ; VII, 10ᵇ, a. e. המשמר חייב שום בורר he who filters is guilty &c., v. בָּרַר. Ib. המשמר יין למטן וכ׳ when one filters, the wine goes down, and the lees remain above (in the filter); a. fr.—Bab. ib. 146ᵇ מקום העשוי לְשַׁמֵּר a place in the keg where a hole has been made for the purpose of letting the wine off, clear of lees (and has been closed again; Ar. s. v. חזק; Rashi: where the hole has been closed in order to preserve the flavor).—Part. pass. מְשׁוּמָּר a) guarded. Pes. 109ᵇ (ref. to שמרים, Ex. XII, 42) ליל המש׳ ובא מן המזיקין a night which is for all time guarded against dangers (v. מַזִּיק); R. Hash. 11ᵇ.—b) kept, preserved, designated. Ib. ליל המש׳ ובא מששת וכ׳ a night which has been designated for redemption since the six days of creation. Snh. 99ᵃ; Ber. 34ᵇ יין המש׳ וכ׳, v. עֵנָב; a. e. e.g. Exodus 12:42
- 1. to be on one’s guard, be observant. Mekh. Bo, s. 14 (ref. to שמרים, v. supra) מגיד … צריכין להִשְׁתַּמֵּר בו this intimates that all Israelites must be careful in it (to observe its ceremonies); Yalk. Ex. 210; Tanḥ. Bo 9.
- 2. to be guarded. B. Mets. 11ᵃ המִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת, v. חָצֵר. Erub. 54ᵇ אם ראשון … מִשְׁתַּמֵּר וכ׳ if the fowler breaks the wings of each bird as he catches it, it is kept (from flying off) &c. Men. 99ᵇ כל המשמר … נשמתוֹ משתמרת who guards the Law (takes care not to forget it), his soul is guarded; a. e.
- same, to be on one’s guard. Ib. כל מקום שנאמר הִשָּׁמֶר פן ואל וכ׳ wherever the Scripture has the words, ‘be on thy guard, lest’, or ‘be on thy guard that not’, it is a prohibitive law; ib. השמר ופן וכ׳ ‘be on thy guard’ and ‘lest’ make two prohibitions. Ib. 36ᵇ השמר דלאו לאו hishshamer followed by a negative is a prohibitory law; השמר דעשה עשה hishshamer connected with a positive order, is a positive command (v. עָשָׂה).—[Tanḥ. Vayḥi 13 ומשמירין, v. שָׁפַר.]
שְׁמַר
- Ithpa. אִשְׁתַּמַּר, v. סְמַר II. Targ. Is. VII, 4 some ed.
שֶׁמֶר
- (preced.) sediment, lees. Sabb. 146ᵇ שניקבה למטה מן הש׳ when the jug has a hole below the line of the lees. B. Bath. 96ᵇ שִׁמְרֵי יין wine lees. Ib. ש׳ … טעם יין lees which have a taste (or flavor) of wine. B. Mets. IV, 11 אין מערבין שמרי … שְׁמָרָיו you dare not mix wine lees (left of one jug) with wine, but you may give the purchaser the lees belonging to the wine sold; a. fr.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 298 distinct written forms H8104 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 238 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H8104, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- אשמרה ʼashmurâh H821 watch
- משמר mishmâr H4929 guard
- שמיר shâmîyr H8068 thorn
- שמר shemer H8105 dregs
- שמר shimmur H8107 night watch
- שמרה shomrâh H8108 watch
- שמרה shᵉmurâh H8109 eyelid
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- ישמרי Yishmᵉray H3461 Ishmerai
- שומר Shôwmêr H7763 Shomer
- שמרון Shômᵉrôwn H8111 Samaria
- שמריה Shᵉmaryâh H8114 Shemariah
- שמרת Shimrâth H8119 Shimrath
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 13 — not the complete family. 5 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 386 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 440 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:15
- Exodus 10:28
- Leviticus 8:35
- Numbers 1:53
- Deuteronomy 2:4
- Joshua 1:7
- Judges 1:24
- 1 Samuel 1:12
- 2 Samuel 11:16
- 1 Kings 2:3
- 2 Kings 6:9
- 1 Chronicles 9:19
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
