tsa.phah describes keeping lookout, observing closely, or waiting attentively for what is coming.

The attested forms commonly identify a lookout who sees approaching people or danger and reports or warns. Elsewhere the verb describes close observation over persons, conduct, or nations, and it can express waiting in expectation for help, a response, or God.

1. Posted lookout who observes and reports · dominant

   Qal active participles designate observers positioned to see what approaches: in 2 Kings 9:17 the APB renders a watchman on the tower seeing Jehu's company, and in 2 Samuel 18:25 the observer calls out a report to the king. In Ezekiel 33:6 the watcher sees the sword coming and is responsible to sound the trumpet so that the people are warned.

   2 Kings 9:172 Samuel 18:25Ezekiel 33:6Ezekiel 33:7Isaiah 21:6Jeremiah 6:17
2. Close observation or oversight · common

   The forms can mark sustained observation rather than a reported lookout. In Proverbs 31:27 the APB renders a woman watching over her household's conduct; in Psalm 37:32 it renders the wicked watching the righteous while seeking to kill him. Proverbs 15:3 presents the LORD's eyes observing both the bad and the pleasant.

   Proverbs 31:27Psalm 37:32Proverbs 15:3Psalm 66:7Genesis 31:49Job 15:22
3. Waiting in expectation · occasional

   Piel forms express watching toward an anticipated outcome. In Habakkuk 2:1 the speaker stands at his post to see what he will be told, while in Micah 7:7 the APB renders the speaker watching for the LORD and waiting for the God of salvation. Lamentations 4:17 describes eyes failing while looking for help from a nation that does not save.

   Habakkuk 2:1Micah 7:7Lamentations 4:17Jeremiah 48:19Nahum 2:2

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB often presents participial forms as “watcher,” “watchman,” or “watchmen” in lookout scenes, and uses “watches” or “watch” for observation and expectation. Because its English is a translation of whole verses, these renderings only indicate the clauses' overall presentation.