Hebrew word · Strong's H8104

שָׁמַר

shâmar · shaw-mar' · verb · “to keep, guard, watch”

In a sentence

Shamar means to keep, guard, watch over, or preserve. It describes both our calling to keep God’s commands and God’s tender keeping of his people.

Shamar is a word of careful watching and protecting — Adam was to “keep” the garden, and Israel to “keep” God’s commandments. It implies attentive, faithful guarding, not casual storage.

Wonderfully, it is also what God does for us: “The LORD will keep (shamar) your going out and your coming in.” The priestly blessing “the LORD… keep you” entrusts us to a God who watches over his own.

Strong's reference

Definition: properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.

KJV usage: 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).

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Psalms 121:7 “The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.” Numbers 6:24 “‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;” Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.