Watch

WATCH woch ('ashmurah, 'ashmoreth; phulake):

A division of the night. The night was originally divided into three watches (Judges 7:19), but later into four, as we find in the New Testament (Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48). We do not know the limits of the watches in the first division, but the middle watch probably began two hours before midnight and ended two hours after. The fourfold division was according to the Roman system, each of which was a fourth part of the night.

See TIME.

"Watch" is also the guard placed on watch (mishmar, Nehemiah 4:9; koustodia, from Latin custodia, Matthew 27:65,66; 28:11). It sometimes refers to the act of watching, as in 2 Kings 11:6,7 (mishmereth); Luke 2:8 (phulake).

"Watch" is also used figuratively, as in Psalms 141:3 for restraint:

"Set a watch, O Yahweh, before my mouth" (shomrah).

See WARD.

H. Porter

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Bibliography Information

Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'WATCH'".  "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia".  1915.