Lexicon
אַשְׁמוּרָה
ash.mu.rah
H0821
H:N-F Hebrew

watch

7
Occurrences
5
Books
Hebrew
Language

ash.mu.rah denotes a watch or night-time division, including named morning and middle watches.

The term most often marks a named division of the night or early morning in narrative and prayer; it can also portray such a division as a brief measure of time.

Senses in use

  1. Named divisions of night or morning · dominant

    The singular form identifies the morning watch in Exodus 14:24 and 1 Samuel 11:11, when the LORD looks upon the Egyptian camp and when Saul's forces enter the Ammonite camp. In Judges 7:19 it marks the beginning of the middle watch, while the plural forms frame night-time crying in Lamentations 2:19 and waiting to meditate in Psalm 119:148.

  2. A short night-time measure · occasional

    In Psalm 90:4 the singular absolute form occurs in the comparison of a thousand years with yesterday when it passes and a watch in the night. The clause uses the watch as a limited span within the night.

  3. Night watches in personal reflection · occasional

    Psalm 63:7 contains the plural absolute form in a verse of remembered help and singing under the shadow of God's wings; the supplied translation does not visibly isolate the term's contribution. The form is therefore best kept at the general level of night watches in this personal setting.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB explicitly uses “morning watch,” “middle watch,” “watches,” and “a watch in the night” in several verses. In Psalm 63:7, however, the translation does not visibly reflect the supplied plural form; Its wording cannot determine the term's precise rendering there.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture