Hebrew word · H8245

שָׁקַד

shakad

to watch

To be awake, stay sleepless, keep vigil. Hence to watch over something attentively, sometimes eagerly, sometimes in a threatening way. It is used of watchmen, of people lying awake, and of God watching over his word or over disaster.

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to wake, watch, awake, be alert

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to keep watch of, be wakeful over

1a2) to be wakeful, wake (as mourner or sufferer)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 8:34

Range of meaning

To be awake, stay sleepless, keep vigil. Hence to watch over something attentively, sometimes eagerly, sometimes in a threatening way. It is used of watchmen, of people lying awake, and of God watching over his word or over disaster.

Against the English

'Watching' (KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT) is accurate, but it does not carry the sense of wakefulness. This is not casually looking; it is staying alert when others sleep.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 127:1, 'the watchman stays awake in vain'. Psalm 102:7, 'I lie awake'. Jeremiah 1:11–12 makes a pun: the almond tree (shaqed, the 'wakeful' tree that blossoms first in late winter) stands for God, who is 'watching' (shoqed) over his word. Ezra 8:29 pairs the same two verbs as this verse, 'guard and keep' (shiqdu ushimru), for men guarding temple treasure on a journey.

From the study of Psalm 127:1

Range of meaning

To be awake, keep vigil, be watchful and alert, and from there to watch over something with intent.

Against the English

BSB and NIV ("stand guard") make it a general guard duty. KJV ("waketh"), ESV and NASB ("stays/keeps awake") and YLT ("waked") keep the literal picture of staying awake through the night.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 1:11–12 has the wordplay of almond tree (shaqed) and YHWH "watching (shoqed) over my word to perform it." Jer 31:28 is a close parallel: "as I watched over them to pluck up … so I will watch over them to build (livnot) and to plant." There the same two ideas, watching and building, belong to YHWH. Ps 102:7 (Heb 102:8): "I lie awake." Prov 8:34: "watching daily at my gates."

From the study of Jeremiah 31:28

Range of meaning

To be awake or sleepless, to keep watch, to be alert and intent on something. It is used of a watchman on guard, a lover lying awake (Ps 102:7, 'I lie awake'), a predator waiting in ambush (Jer 5:6, the leopard 'watching' the cities), and the wise person 'watching daily at my gates' (Prov 8:34). The core idea is wakeful readiness to act, and it can be either hostile or kindly.

Against the English

English 'watch over' usually means caring protection, as in a shepherd watching over sheep. The Hebrew is closer to 'be on the alert' or 'stay awake to make sure it happens.' In the first half of this verse God is 'watching' in order to uproot and destroy, so 'watch over' alone can mislead.

How it drifted

In modern English 'watch over' has narrowed almost entirely to protective care, partly through devotional language such as 'God is watching over you.' The Hebrew verb describes alertness that does not choose sides.

Used elsewhere in the period

The key parallel is in Jeremiah itself. At his call (Jer 1:11–12) Jeremiah sees a branch of an almond tree, shaqed, so named because it is the 'wakeful' tree that blossoms first in late winter. God answers with a pun: 'I am watching (shoqed) over my word to perform it.' The same verb comes back in Jer 44:27, 'I am watching over them for harm and not for good,' and Dan 9:14 uses it of God 'keeping the calamity ready.' The Greek Septuagint renders it here with grēgoreō, 'to stay awake.'

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 8:29 שִׁקְד֣וּ watch

    Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.”

Job · 1

  1. Job 21:32 יִשְׁקֽוֹד׃ someone will keep watch

    He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 102:7 שָׁקַ֥דְתִּי I am wakeful

    I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop.

  2. Psalm 127:1 שָׁקַ֬ד he has kept awake

    A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

    Here: "He has stayed awake." The picture is the night watch, alert and without sleep. It prepares for verse 2, where YHWH gives sleep.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 8:34 לִשְׁקֹ֣ד by keeping watch

    Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.

    Here: 'By staying awake, keeping vigil'. This is the word for a sleepless watchman. The infinitive explains what the listening looks like: alert, wakeful waiting.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 29:20 שֹׁ֥קְדֵי [those who] lie in wait

    For the ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who look for evil will be cut down—

    Here: Literally 'those who keep awake for' something: alert and watchful, like a leopard watching a town (Jeremiah 5:6). These people stay alert for every chance to do harm.

Jeremiah · 5

  1. Jeremiah 1:12 שֹׁקֵ֥ד [am] watching

    “You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.”

    Here: An ongoing verb form: 'one who is keeping watch'. It means being awake and alert, like a watchman who does not sleep. It is the pun at the centre of the verse. The almond (shaqed) is the 'wakeful tree', and Yahweh is the wakeful one (shoqed).

  2. Jeremiah 5:6 שֹׁקֵד֙ [will be] watching

    Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.

    Here: 'Keeping watch', an ongoing state: the leopard stays awake and waits. This is the same word God uses in Jeremiah's call (1:12, 'I am watching over my word to perform it'), so the leopard's watch is God's watch carried out.

  3. Jeremiah 31:28 שָׁקַ֣דְתִּי אֶשְׁקֹ֧ד I kept watch, I will keep watch

    Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.

    Here: 'I have been wide awake, alert.' The verb pictures sleepless, intent watching so that something gets done. Here it is God's alert attention as he carried out the judgment. The form looks back on that judgment as complete, or nearly so.

  4. Jeremiah 44:27 שֹׁקֵ֧ד [am] watching

    I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.

    Here: "Keeping vigil," awake and alert, waiting for the moment to act. This is the very word God used at Jeremiah's call (1:12, the almond-tree wordplay). The participle pictures watching that goes on and does not stop.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 9:14 וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ד and he kept watch

    Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.