Lexical Summary shemurah: Vigil, watch, observance Original Word: שְׁמֻרָה 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 Originfrom 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). 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. 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 shemuRotLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman'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 |
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