Lexical Summary
mishmar: Guard, watch, custody, prison
Original Word:מִשְׁמָר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:mishmar
Pronunciation:mish-MAHR
Phonetic Spelling:(mish-mawr')
KJV: diligence, guard, office, prison, ward, watch
NASB:guard, confinement, custody, division, diligence, keeping watch, post
Word Origin:[fromH8104 (שָׁמַר - keep)]
1. a guard (the man, the post or the prison)
2. (figuratively) a deposit
3. (as observed, abstractly) a usage
4. (as observed, concretely) an example
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
diligence, guard, office, prison, ward, watch
Fromshamar; a guard (the man, the post or the prison); a deposit (fig.); also (as observed) a usage (abstr.), or an example (concr.) -- diligence, guard, office, prison, ward, watch.
see HEBREWshamar
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
shamarDefinitionplace of confinement, jail, prison, guard, watch, observance
NASB Translationconfinement (4), custody (2), diligence (1), division (2), guard (8), keeping watch (1), post (1), prison (1), prison* (1), services (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; — absolute
Genesis 42:17 +; construct
Genesis 40:3 +; suffix
Nehemiah 7:3, etc.; plural suffix -
Nehemiah 13:14; —
goal, prison,Genesis 40:3, compareGenesis 40:4 (absolute),Genesis 40:7;Genesis 41:10;Genesis 42:17 (absolute), +Genesis 42:30 (),Genesis 42:19 (all E);guard-house in campLeviticus 24:12 (H),Numbers 15:34 (P).
guard,Jeremiah 51:12;Nehemiah 4:3;Nehemiah 4:16,Nehemiah 4:17;guard&-postNehemiah 7:3; figurative of setting aguard,Job 7:12;band of (Levitical)guards or functionaries1 Chronicles 26:16;Nehemiah 12:24 (compare );act of guarding,Proverbs 4:23above all guarding watch thy heart. —Ezekiel 38:7 is doubtful, Hi Co Toy and othersreserve; Krae .
pluralobservances, services, of templeNehemiah 13:14.
Topical Lexicon
Definition and ScopeThe Hebrew noun מִשְׁמָר (mishmar, Strong 4929) gathers the ideas of guard, watch, custody, post, obligation, or charge. Whether referring to prison confinement, Levitical assignments, civic security, or the vigilant care of one’s own heart, the term always carries an atmosphere of responsibility before God for the safety and preservation of something valuable.
Securing Persons: Custody and Prison
The first six occurrences arise in the Joseph narrative. Twice Joseph himself is confined, and twice he becomes the attendant of fellow prisoners (Genesis 40:3-4, 7; 41:10). When Joseph later imprisons his brothers, he declares, “So he confined them in custody for three days” (Genesis 42:17). Yet even here the captivity is a means of testing and ultimately preserving the family line through which the Messiah will come.Leviticus 24:12 andNumbers 15:34 show Israel placing offenders in custody while seeking the Lord’s will, illustrating that justice in Israel was never to be arbitrary but always subject to divine revelation.
Preserving Covenant Community: Levitical Posts and Gates
After Israel settled in the land, mishmar described the assigned stations of the gatekeepers: “To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, together with the gate of Shalleketh on the ascending highway—watch corresponding to watch” (1 Chronicles 26:16). Every gate had its guard; the holy precincts could not be treated casually. Mishmar therefore embodies a theology of ordered service by which holiness is protected and worship made possible.
Safeguarding the Return: Nehemiah’s Wall Watch
Thirteen of the twenty-two occurrences come from the books of Nehemiah, where the post-exilic community must defend its fragile revival. “We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night against them” (Nehemiah 4:9). Nehemiah weaves prayer and practical vigilance into one fabric; the people do not choose between faith and preparation. Mishmar describes day-and-night rotations (Nehemiah 4:22-23), appointed sentries from among citizens (7:3), and Levitical choirs set “division corresponding to division” in praise (12:24-25). Spiritual worship, civic order, and armed defense all fall under one word of guardianship.
The Personal Watch: Wisdom Literature
Proverbs applies mishmar to the inner life: “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Here the arena shifts from external walls to the moral citadel of the soul. The term that kept Babylon at bay now stands over thoughts, affections, and motives. Job laments, “Am I the sea, or a monster of the deep, that You must set a guard over me?” (Job 7:12), revealing the felt pressure of divine surveillance in suffering. Both passages press the reader toward self-examination under God’s eye.
Prophetic Watchfulness: Nations and Eschatology
Jeremiah summons Babylon’s enemies: “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; strengthen the watch!” (Jeremiah 51:12). Ezekiel, prophesying Gog’s northern invasion, commands, “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts … and be a guard for them” (Ezekiel 38:7). In each case mishmar frames geopolitical events within God’s sovereign timetable. He appoints watches over empires just as He does over temple gates.
Theological Themes
1. Stewardship under divine authority: Whether imprisoning wrongdoers, protecting sanctuaries, or defending cities, mishmar implies accountability to the Lord.
2. Intercession joined to vigilance: Nehemiah’s pattern of prayer plus guard duty anticipates the New Testament call to “watch and pray.”
3. Holiness defended: Sacred space, Sabbath rest, and covenant law are preserved by faithful watchers.
4. The heart as sanctuary: Proverbs internalizes the concept, urging believers to police the inner life with the same seriousness shown at Jerusalem’s walls.
Ministry Application
• Church leadership bears a mishmar-like charge to “keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account” (Hebrews 13:17).
• Every believer must cultivate moral sentry duty, screening media, relationships, and desires by Scripture.
• Corporate worship requires thoughtful planning and protection against both doctrinal error and practical disorder.
• Intercessory prayer partners practical measures; locking a door without praying, or praying without locking, falls short of biblical balance.
• Mission and mercy ministries can reflect Joseph’s experience: custody that becomes custody-care, turning prisons into places of providence.
Thus מִשְׁמָר traces a line from dungeon to heart, from city walls to global destinies, calling God’s people in every age to faithful watchfulness until the true Guardian of Israel, who “neither slumbers nor sleeps,” brings His kingdom in full.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּמִשְׁמַ֗ר בְּמִשְׁמָֽר׃ בְּמִשְׁמָר֔וֹ בְמִשְׁמַ֛ר בַּמִּשְׁמָ֑ר במשמר במשמר׃ במשמרו הַמִּשְׁמָ֔ר הַמִּשְׁמָר֙ המשמר וּבְמִשְׁמָרָֽיו׃ ובמשמריו׃ לְמִשְׁמָֽר׃ למשמר׃ מִ֭שְׁמָר מִשְׁמַרְכֶ֑ם מִשְׁמָ֔ר מִשְׁמָ֖ר מִשְׁמָ֧ר מִשְׁמָֽר׃ משמר משמר׃ משמרכם bam·miš·mār bammishMar bammišmār bə·miš·mā·rōw bə·miš·mar bə·miš·mār ḇə·miš·mar bemishMar bemishmaRo bəmišmar bəmišmār ḇəmišmar bəmišmārōw ham·miš·mār hammishMar hammišmār lə·miš·mār lemishMar ləmišmār miš·mār miš·mar·ḵem mishMar mishmarChem Mishmor mišmār mišmarḵem ū·ḇə·miš·mā·rāw ūḇəmišmārāw uvemishmaRav vemishMar
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