שָׁמַר
sha.marto keep: obeyHow to read Hebrew
hebrewOld TestamentVerb469 occurrences31 books440 verses
Definition
a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.
Traditional renderings: beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).
Traditional renderings: beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).
In the Greek Old Testament
How the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders שָׁמַר:
- φυλάσσωphulassō“to keep/guard: observe”81%
- προσέχωprosechō“to watch out”5%
- διαφυλάσσωdiaphulassō“to protect”4%
- τηρέωtēreō“to keep: observe”3%
- διατηρέωdiatēreō“to keep”2%
Usage patterns
Occurrences
469 total
- Genesis 2:15וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃ · and keep itThen the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
- Genesis 3:24לִשְׁמֹ֕ר · to guardSo He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Genesis 4:9הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר · keeperAnd the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Genesis 17:9תִשְׁמֹ֑ר · must keepGod also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you.
- Genesis 17:10תִּשְׁמְר֗וּ · you are to keepThis is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.
- Genesis 18:19וְשָֽׁמְרוּ֙ · to keepFor I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
- Genesis 24:6הִשָּׁ֣מֶר · Make sureAbraham replied, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.
- Genesis 26:5וַיִּשְׁמֹר֙ · and kept…because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
- Genesis 28:15וּשְׁמַרְתִּ֙יךָ֙ · and I will watch over youLook, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
- Genesis 28:20וּשְׁמָרַ֙נִי֙ · and watch over meThen Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
- Genesis 30:31אֶשְׁמֹֽר׃ · and keeping“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.
- Genesis 31:24הִשָּׁ֧מֶר · Be carefulBut that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Genesis 31:29הִשָּׁ֧מֶר · Be carefulI have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
- Genesis 37:11שָׁמַ֥ר · kept in mindAnd his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Genesis 41:35וְשָׁמָֽרוּ׃ · to be preservedUnder the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.
- Exodus 10:28הִשָּׁ֣מֶר · Make sure“Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
- Exodus 12:17וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֮ · So you are to keep; וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֞ם · You must keepSo you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- Exodus 12:24וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם · And you are to keepAnd you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.
- Exodus 12:25וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם · you are to keepWhen you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service.
- Exodus 13:10וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֛ · Therefore you shall keepTherefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.
- Exodus 15:26וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֖ · and keep…saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
- Exodus 16:28לִשְׁמֹ֥ר · to keepThen the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?
- Exodus 19:5וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם · and keepNow if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Exodus 19:12הִשָּׁמְר֥וּ · Be carefulAnd you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
- Exodus 20:6וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י · and keep…but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- Exodus 21:29יִשְׁמְרֶ֔נּוּ · restrain itBut if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.
- Exodus 21:36יִשְׁמְרֶ֖נּוּ · to restrain itBut if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.
- Exodus 22:7לִשְׁמֹ֔ר · for safekeepingIf a man gives his neighbor money or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.
- Exodus 22:10לִשְׁמֹ֑ר · to be cared forIf a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to be cared for by his neighbor, but it dies or is injured or stolen while no one is watching,
- Exodus 23:13תִּשָּׁמֵ֑רוּ · Pay close attentionPay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Exodus 23:15תִּשְׁמֹר֒ · You are to keepYou are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
- Exodus 23:20לִשְׁמָרְךָ֖ · to protect youBehold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Exodus 23:21הִשָּׁ֧מֶר · Pay attentionPay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.
- Exodus 31:13תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ · you must keep“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
- Exodus 31:14וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ · KeepKeep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people.
- Exodus 31:16וְשָׁמְר֥וּ · must keepThe Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come.
- Exodus 34:11שְׁמָ֨ר־ · ObserveObserve what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Exodus 34:12הִשָּׁ֣מֶר · Be carefulBe careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst.
- Exodus 34:18תִּשְׁמֹר֒ · You are to keepYou are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
- Leviticus 8:35וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֛ם · and keepYou must remain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and keep the LORD’s charge so that you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded.”
- Leviticus 18:4תִּשְׁמְר֖וּ · and keepYou are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 18:5וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤ם · KeepKeep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 18:26וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם · are to keepBut you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.
- Leviticus 18:30וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם · You must keepYou must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”
- Leviticus 19:3תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ · and you must keepEach of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 19:19תִּשְׁמֹרוּ֒ · You are to keepYou are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of two kinds of material.
- Leviticus 19:30תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ · You must keepYou must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 19:37וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤ם · You must keepYou must keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and follow them. I am the LORD.”
- Leviticus 20:8וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ · And you shall keepAnd you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.