שָׁמַר shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard

pronounced shaw-mar' · Strong's H8104 · 469 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 4 stems: Qal (Pa'al), Niph'al, Hitpa'el, Pi'el

Translated in the KJV as beward, be circumspect, take heed, keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save.

a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.

shâmar in each stem

Qal (Pa'al) 428×

Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it

Participle (active) 107Imperfect (yiqtol) 88Infinitive construct 62Sequential perfect (weqatal) 57Perfect (qatal) 52Imperative 34Wayyiqtol 9Cohortative 8Infinitive absolute 5Jussive 3Participle (passive) 3

וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ Gen 2:15 Infinitive construct

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (KJV)

לִשְׁמֹ֕ר Gen 3:24 Infinitive construct

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (KJV)

הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר Gen 4:9 Participle (active), masculine singular

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? (KJV)

Niph'al 37×

Simple · passive — the plain action; the subject has it done to them

Imperative 24Sequential perfect (weqatal) 7Perfect (qatal) 4Imperfect (yiqtol) 2

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר Gen 24:6 Imperative, 2nd person masculine singular

And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. (KJV)

הִשָּׁ֧מֶר Gen 31:24 Imperative, 2nd person masculine singular

And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. (KJV)

הִשָּׁ֧מֶר Gen 31:29 Imperative, 2nd person masculine singular

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. (KJV)

Hitpa'el 3×

Intensive · reflexive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it to or for themselves

Wayyiqtol 2Imperfect (yiqtol) 1

וָאֶשְׁתַּמְּרָ֖ה 2Sam 22:24 Wayyiqtol, 1st person common singular

I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. (KJV)

וָ֝אֶשְׁתַּמֵּ֗ר Ps 18:24 Wayyiqtol, 1st person common singular

Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. (KJV)

וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּ֞ר Mic 6:16 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular

For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. (KJV)

Pi'el 1×

Intensive · active — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it

Participle (active) 1

מְשַׁמְּרִ֖ים Jonah 2:9 Participle (active), masculine plural

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

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In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. shâmar in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

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