Strong's Greek: 3287 -- (Not Used)zzz

Lexical Summary

(Not Used): (Not Used)

(Not Used)
Part of Speech:
Transliteration: (Not Used)
(Not Used)

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 3287 designates a term that never appears in the extant text of the Greek New Testament, yet it belongs to the same semantic field as several words that are found in Scripture. Because its lexical relatives do occur, the concept behind 3287 can be traced from the Septuagint through later Christian writing and doctrine. The word’s family is associated with readiness, vigilance, and the strategic positioning of God’s people for action in keeping with His revealed will.

Old Testament and Septuagint Connections

In the Greek Old Testament this vocabulary group is clustered in passages that describe the watchful stance of the faithful:
• Psalm 130:6 – “My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning—more than watchmen wait for the morning.”
• Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts…”

The Septuagint employs cognate forms to render Hebrew ideas of guarding, scouting, or stationing oneself at an appointed place. The emphasis is not merely on physical vigilance but on spiritual attentiveness to the Lord’s timing and message (Isaiah 62:6-7).

Thematic Continuity in the New Testament

Although Strong’s 3287 never surfaces in the canonical Greek text, parallel expressions of spiritual alertness pervade the New Testament. Jesus exhorts, “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching when he returns” (Luke 12:37). Paul urges believers to “stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Peter echoes the watchman motif: “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8). These passages reinforce the same disposition conveyed by the wider word-group to which 3287 belongs.

Historical and Cultural Setting

Outside the Bible, Greek military manuals use the family of 3287 for sentries who held strategic vantage points on city walls. Early Christian apologists adopted the imagery to describe bishops and teachers safeguarding apostolic doctrine amid rising heresies. By the second century, the verb and its derivatives had become stock vocabulary for pastoral vigilance in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Alexandria.

Doctrinal Significance

1. Providence and Human Responsibility – The watchman theme balances divine sovereignty (“unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain,” Psalm 127:1) with human accountability to remain alert in faith.
2. Eschatological Readiness – Related New Testament texts tie vigilance to the second coming of Christ (Matthew 24:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:6).
3. Pastoral Oversight – Elders are to guard sound teaching (Titus 1:9) and protect the flock from error (Acts 20:28-31). Though Strong’s 3287 itself is absent, its conceptual kin undergird the elder’s charge.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Personal Devotion: Believers cultivate a disciplined watchfulness through prayer and Scripture meditation (Colossians 4:2).
• Corporate Worship: Congregations are reminded of their communal role as a “city on a hill” whose lights must not dim through complacency (Matthew 5:14-16).
• Missional Engagement: As ancient sentries scanned the horizon, so the church scans culture with gospel discernment, answering emerging challenges “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

Intercanonical Harmony

The continuity between Old Covenant watchmen and New Covenant disciples illustrates the unity of Scripture. The same Spirit who stirred Nehemiah’s guards (Nehemiah 4:9) empowers believers today to “keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 21).

Homiletical and Devotional Insights

• Sermons can trace the biblical motif of the watchtower from Isaiah’s prophetic calls to Christ’s parables of the returning master, challenging congregations to spiritual alertness.
• Devotional writings often draw on nocturnal imagery—a solitary sentinel scanning the darkness—to illustrate persevering faith amid trial (Psalm 119:148).

Related Terms

Cognates used in the New Testament include verbs translated “watch,” “be alert,” or “be on guard” (e.g., grēgoreō, phylassō). Their shared conceptual core with 3287 reinforces the believer’s posture of readiness.

Conclusion

Though Strong’s Greek 3287 never appears in the New Testament text, its semantic network threads through Scripture, uniting prophetic vigilance, apostolic exhortation, and ongoing pastoral care. The church that heeds this call to watchfulness remains the community that both anticipates Christ’s return and faithfully discharges its commission in the present age.

Links

Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts