מִשְׁמֶ֫רֶת78 H4931
Guard, watch, charge, duty; an obligation or post of responsibility, especially Levitical service; also custody, safekeeping, and divine ordinance.
Mishmeret is the noun of obligation derived from shamar ('to keep, guard'), and it carries that verb's full range into institutional form. At its core stands the Levitical charge — the sacred duty of guarding and maintaining the tabernacle, its furnishings, and its boundaries. Numbers 3-4 and 18 use mishmeret dozens of times to define what the Levitical clans must protect, carry, and serve, and this cultic-custodial sense dominates the word's profile. But the range extends outward: God entrusts his mishmeret to Abraham (Gen 26:5) as divine commandment; the manna is placed in mishmeret for safekeeping (Exod 16:32-34); watchmen stand at their mishmeret posts (Isa 21:8; Hab 2:1); and the temple singers rotate in their mishmeret shifts (1 Chr 25:8; Neh 12:9). Spanish guarda/encargo and German Dienst/Auftrag each capture a slice, but no single word spans from 'guard post' to 'divine ordinance' — a range that reveals how deeply Israel understood religious duty as sacred watchfulness.
4. watch, shift, rotation — Watch, shift, rotation of duty — 5 occurrences describing the temporal organization of service. The Levitical gatekeepers serve by mishmeret rotations (1 Chr 9:23; 25:8; 26:12), and Nehemiah organizes the post-exilic temple personnel into mishmeret divisions (Neh 12:9; 13:30). Spanish turnos ('shifts') and por turnos ('in rotation') capture the scheduling dimension precisely. This sense extends the root meaning of 'guarding' into administrative structure — not what is guarded, but when and by whom the guarding occurs. 5×
AR["حِرَاسَاتٌ","حِرَاسَاتٍ","حِرَاسَةً","لِلحِراساتِ","لِلْحِرَاسَات"]·ben["-পাহারাদলে","দায়িত্বের","পালা","পাহারাগুলিতে-জন্য","পাহারাদলগুলি"]·DE["Dienst","Dienstordnungen","[למשמרות]","[משמרות]","zu-Dienstordnungen"]·EN["duties","for-watches","watch","watches"]·FR["fonction"]·heb["ל-משמרת","משמרת"]·HI["-के-पहरेदारों","अपनी-पारियों-में","कर्तव्य","जिम्मेदारियाँ","जिम्मेदारी-की"]·ID["tugas","tugas-tugas","tugas-tugas-jaga","untuk-penjagaan","untuk-tugas-tugas-jaga"]·IT["funzione"]·jav["giliran-jagi","jaga-jaga","kangge-penjagian","kanggé-jaga"]·KO["경비-임무들","반차들을","에-반차들로","에게-보초들-로","직무"]·PT["em-guardas","guarda","guardas","para-guardas"]·RU["для-стражи","стражами","стражи"]·ES["en-guardias","por-turnos","turno","turnos"]·SW["kwa-ulinzi","kwa-zamu","zamu"]·TR["görev","nöbetler","nöbetler-için","nöbetlerde","nöbetleri"]·urd["نگہبانی","نگہبانیاں","پہرے","پہرے-میں","پہرے-کے-لیے"]
▼ 5 more senses below
Senses
1. charge, assigned duty — Assigned charge, sacred duty — the dominant sense at 54 occurrences, overwhelmingly in the Levitical legislation of Numbers and Chronicles. The Levites are charged with mishmeret ha-mishkan, the 'charge of the tabernacle' (Num 1:53; 3:7-8, 25, 28, 31, 32, 36, 38), covering everything from the curtains and frames to the altar vessels. Each clan — Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites — receives its specific mishmeret. Spanish encargo de ('charge of') and French charge de match the obligation semantics precisely. The word implies both privilege and accountability: to hold a mishmeret is to be entrusted with something worth guarding. 54×
AR["حِراسَةَ","حِرَاسَة","حِرَاسَةَ","مَسْؤُولِيَّةَ","مَسْؤُولِيَّةُ","مَسْؤُولِيَّةِ"]·ben["দায়িত্ব","পালনের","পাহারা"]·DE["Auftrag-von","Dienst"]·EN["charge-of","guard-of"]·FR["charge-de","fonction"]·heb["משמרת"]·HI["आज्ञा","जिम्मेदारी","पहरा","पहरे-की","पहरे-के","रक्षा","रखवाली"]·ID["-tugas","kewajiban","penjagaan","tanggung-jawab","tugas","tugas-jaga"]·IT["charge-di","funzione","incarico-di"]·jav["jaga","jaga-jaga","jagian","jagianipun","kawajiban","kuwajiban","kuwajibanipun","panjaginipun","penjagaan"]·KO["경비-의","임무-의","임무를","직무","직무-의","직무의","직분"]·PT["guarda-de"]·RU["стража","стражи","стражу"]·ES["encargo-de","guarda-de","guardia-de"]·SW["kumweka","ulinzi","ulinzi-wa","wa-wajibu","wajibu","wajibu-wa"]·TR["görevi","görevini","görevinin","nöbetinin"]·urd["حفاظت","خدمت","مسکن","نگرانی","نگرانی-کی","نگہبانی","پہرے","پہرےداری"]
2. custody, safekeeping — Custody, safekeeping, protective storage — 9 occurrences where something precious is placed under watch. The Passover lamb is kept le-mishmeret ('in safekeeping') until the fourteenth day (Exod 12:6); the pot of manna is laid up le-mishmeret ('for keeping') before the testimony (Exod 16:23, 32-34); David's concubines are placed in bet mishmeret ('a house of confinement,' 2 Sam 20:3). Spanish custodia/guarda and the English distinction between 'custody' and 'duty' both confirm this as a separate sense from institutional obligation. The emphasis is on protective enclosure — keeping something safe from harm or contamination. 9×
AR["حِرَاسَةٍ","لِ-لْحِفْظِ","لِلْحِفْظِ","مَحْرُوسٌ"]·ben["পাহারার","রক্ষণের-জন্য","সংরক্ষণে","সুরক্ষিত"]·DE["confinement","fuer-keeping","safekeeping"]·EN["confinement","for-keeping","safekeeping"]·FR["confinement","pour-gardant","safekeeping"]·heb["ל-משמרת","משמרת"]·HI["पहरे-के","रकश-मेइन","रखने-के-लिए","रखवाली-में","सुरक्षा-के-लिए"]·ID["penjagaan","sebagai-simpanan","untuk-disimpan","untuk-penjagaan"]·IT["confinement","per-keeping","safekeeping"]·jav["dhateng-pangreksan","dhateng-simpenan","jagaan","kajagi","kanggé-panyimpenan"]·KO["간수함을-위해","감시의","보관-으로","보호를","에-대한-보관"]·PT["para-guarda","para-guarda.","sob-guarda","vigilância"]·RU["для-хранения","заточения","на-страже","на-хранение"]·ES["bajo-guarda","custodia","para-guarda","para-guardia"]·SW["kuhifadhiwa","kwa-kuhifadhi","kwa-kulindwa","kwa-uhifadhi","ulinzi"]·TR["koruma-altında","koruma-için","korumak-için","korunanın","muhafaza-için"]·urd["حفاظت-میں","حفاظت-کے-لیے","نظربندی-کے"]
3. commandment, ordinance — Commandment, divine ordinance — 6 occurrences where mishmeret refers to God's broader moral or covenantal requirements, not specifically Levitical service. The foundational passage is Gen 26:5: Abraham kept God's mishmeret, mitzvot, chuqqot, and torot — a comprehensive enumeration of divine instruction. Lev 18:30 and 22:9 use the term for God's charge to maintain holiness, and Deut 11:1 pairs it with chuqqah and mishpat. Spanish ordenanza and German Auftrag ('commission') capture the authoritative quality. Unlike sense 1's institutional specificity, this sense operates at the level of personal covenant obligation between God and the individual or nation. 6×
AR["أَمَانَتَهُ","حِفظي","حِفْظِي","شَرِيعَتِي","فَرَائِضَهُ","وَصِيَّتِي"]·ben["আমার-আদেশ","আমার-দায়িত্ব","তাঁর-আদেশ","তাঁর-দায়িত্ব"]·DE["Auftrag-mein","[משמרתו]","[משמרתי]","mein-Auftrag","meine-Anordnung","sein-Auftrag"]·EN["His-charge","charge-my","his-charge","my-charge"]·FR["charge-mon","garde","mon-charge","responsabilité-mon","son-charge"]·heb["משמרת-י","משמרתו","משמרתי"]·HI["आज्ञा-उसकी","उसकी-आज्ञा","मेरी-आज्ञा","मेरी-रखवाली"]·ID["kewajiban-Ku","kewajiban-Nya","tugas-Nya"]·IT["charge-mio","incarico-mio","mio-incarico","servizio","suo-incarico"]·jav["kawajiban-Kawula","kuwajiban-Nipun","pangwasa-Kawula","panjagan-Kawula","prentah-prentah-Kawula","prentèné"]·KO["그의-직분을","나의-명령","나의-명령을","나의-직무를","명령-그의"]·PT["guarda-minha","minha-guarda","sua-guarda","sua-ordem"]·RU["охрану-Мою","повеление-Его","поручение-Моё","стражу-Его","стражу-Мою"]·ES["encargo-suyo","mi-ordenanza","ordenanza","su-ordenanza"]·SW["amri-yangu","maagizo-yake","maagizo-yangu"]·TR["buyruğunu","görevimi","görevimi-","görevini","sorumluluğumu"]·urd["اُس-کی-فرض","اُس-کی-فرض-کی","فرائض-میرے","میری-ذمہ-داری","میرے-حکم"]
5. guard post, watch station — Guard post, watch station — 3 occurrences where mishmeret denotes the physical location of watchfulness. Isaiah 21:8 places the watchman at his mishmeret (parallel to mitspeh, 'lookout point'); Habakkuk 2:1 declares 'I will stand on my mishmeret and station myself on the rampart.' In 1 Chr 9:27 the gatekeepers lodge around the temple because the mishmeret belongs to them. Spanish guardia/mi guardia and the spatial context confirm a concrete, locative sense — not the obligation of watching, but the place where one watches. Habakkuk's prophetic appropriation is especially powerful: the prophet transforms a military post into a station of spiritual vigilance. 3×
AR["حِرَاسَة","حِرَاسَتِي","مَرقَبَتي"]·ben["আমার-প্রহরার-জায়গায়","আমি","পাহারা"]·DE["Dienst","[משמרתי]"]·EN["my-guard-post","my-watch","watch"]·FR["[משמרתי]","fonction","garde"]·heb["משמרת","משמרתי"]·HI["पहरा","मेरी-चौकी"]·ID["penjagaan","penjagaanku"]·IT["[משמרתי]","funzione","servizio"]·jav["jaga","papan-jagi-kawula","pos-jaga-kawula"]·KO["나-의-파수하는-곳","나의-보초에","보초"]·PT["guarda","minha-guarda","minha-vigília"]·RU["стража","страже-моей"]·ES["guardia","mi-guardia"]·SW["ulinzi","ulinzi-wangu"]·TR["nobetimin","nöbet","nöbet-yerim-benim"]·urd["اپنی-چوکی","اپنی-چوکیداری","پہرہ"]
6. sense 6 — Guards (plural, persons serving as watchmen) — 1 occurrence at Neh 7:3 where Nehemiah stations mishmeret ('guards') at Jerusalem's gates from among the city's inhabitants. Spanish guardias de confirms the personal, agentive reading. This represents a metonymic extension from the abstract duty (sense 1) or the physical post (sense 5) to the concrete persons who perform the guarding. Its rarity as a standalone sense — most other guard-person references use the participle shomer — suggests it may be a contextual shorthand rather than a fully lexicalized meaning. 1×
AR["حُرّاساً"]·ben["পাহারাদলগুলি"]·DE["[משמרות]"]·EN["guards"]·FR["fonction"]·heb["משמרת"]·HI["पहरेदार"]·ID["penjaga-penjaga"]·IT["funzione"]·jav["penjagi-penjagi"]·KO["파수꾼들을"]·PT["guardas-de"]·RU["стражи"]·ES["guardias-de"]·SW["walinzi"]·TR["nöbetler"]·urd["پہرے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מִשְׁמֶ֫רֶת78 n.f. guard, watch, also charge, function;—מ׳ abs. 2 S 20:3 +, cstr. 2 K 11:5 +; abs. מִשְׁמָ֑רֶת Ex 16:34; sf. מִשְׁמַרְתִּי Gn 26:5 +, etc.; pl. מִשְׁמָרוֹת 1 Ch 9:23 +; cstr. מִשְׁמְרוֹת Ne 7:3; sf. -רוֹתָם 2 Ch 7:6 +, -תֵיהֶם 2 Ch 31:17;— †1. guard, watch: בֵּית מ׳ 2 S 20:3 = house of detention, confinement; מ׳ אַתָּה עִמָּדִי 1 S 22:23 i.e. protected, secure; c. שָׁמַר keep the…