8109. shemurah
Lexical Summary
shemurah: Vigil, watch, observance

Original Word: שְׁמֻרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: shmurah
Pronunciation: shem-oo-raw'
Phonetic Spelling: (shem-oo-raw')
KJV: waking
Word Origin: [feminine of passive participle of H8104 (שָׁמַר - keep)]

1. something guarded, i.e. an eye-lid

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
waking

Feminine of passive participle of shamar; something guarded, i.e. An eye-lid -- waking.

see HEBREW shamar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from shamar
Definition
eyelid
NASB Translation
eyelids* (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[שְׁמֻרָה] noun feminine eye-lid (from its guarding the eye); — plural construct שְׁמֻרוֺת עֵינָ֑י Psalm 77:5.

Topical Lexicon
Root and Conceptual Background

Shmurah emerges from the root shamar, “to guard, keep, preserve.” As a noun it denotes a vigil or watch—especially the measured span of guarded time during the night. Scripture uses the idea of “keeping” both for physical security (watchmen on city walls) and for spiritual attentiveness (waiting on the LORD), making shmurah a term that carries both practical and devotional weight.

Occurrence and Literary Context

Shmurah appears once, in Psalm 77:4. The psalmist laments, “You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak” (Psalm 77:4). Literally, “You have seized the watches of my eyes,” picturing the eyelids standing sentry through the night. Within the psalm’s movement from distress to remembrance of God’s mighty deeds (Psalm 77:11-15), the sleepless watch becomes an arena for meditation on covenant faithfulness.

The Ancient Practice of Night Watches

Pre-exilic Israel divided the night into three watches (Judges 7:19); after exile, a four-watch system prevailed (Matthew 14:25). During each segment sentries stayed alert against threat and signaled the coming dawn. Shmurah fits this cultural backdrop: an assigned period demanding disciplined vigilance, whether on a city wall or in the secret place of prayer.

Theological Themes of Vigilance and Distress

1. God-ordained Sleeplessness. The psalm attributes the wakeful state to the Lord, who can govern even the eyelids to draw His servant into deeper dependence (cf. Genesis 15:12; Daniel 2:1).
2. Watchfulness as Prayer. Night vigils in Scripture often coincide with heartfelt petition (Psalm 63:6; Lamentations 2:19). Psalm 77 exemplifies turning anguish into intercession.
3. Covenant Security. Human watchfulness reflects, though faintly, the unceasing vigilance of the One who “will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).

Prophetic and Christological Echoes

The cognate shemurim surfaces in Exodus 12:42, “It was a night of vigil unto the LORD”, binding the Passover redemption to watchful anticipation. In the Gethsemane narrative the disciples fail to keep watch with Christ (Mark 14:37-38), underscoring human frailty and the need for the perfect Watchman who fulfilled redemption through His own vigil unto death.

Application for Worship and Ministry

• Personal Lament. Shmurah encourages believers to interpret sleepless nights as invitations to recall God’s past works and to seek fresh assurance.
• Corporate Vigil. All-night prayer gatherings, Passover celebrations, and Holy Week services echo the biblical pattern of communal watchfulness.
• Ongoing Alertness. Leaders and congregations are called to “devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2), maintaining a spiritual shmurah against temptation, doctrinal error, and apathy as they await the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Related Biblical Imagery and Further Study

Compare shemirah (guarding, Psalm 16:1), shemurim (vigil, Exodus 12:42), and the New Testament gregoreo, “to keep awake” (1 Peter 5:8). Together these terms weave a consistent scriptural call: remain alert, for the Keeper of Israel is faithfully watching, and His people are to mirror His vigilance until the dawning of the consummated kingdom.

Forms and Transliterations
שְׁמֻר֣וֹת שמרות šə·mu·rō·wṯ šəmurōwṯ shemuRot
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Englishman's Concordance
Psalm 77:4
HEB: אָ֭חַזְתָּ שְׁמֻר֣וֹת עֵינָ֑י נִ֝פְעַ֗מְתִּי
KJV: mine eyes waking: I am so troubled
INT: have held waking eyes troubled

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 8109
1 Occurrence


šə·mu·rō·wṯ — 1 Occ.

8108
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