H8324 H8324
an (insidious) watcher, enemy; one who lies in wait with hostile intent
This noun, always appearing in the Psalms with a first-person suffix ('my watchers/enemies'), denotes adversaries who observe and stalk with malicious purpose. Unlike the more common 'oyev' (enemy), this term carries the nuance of surveillance and lurking hostility — enemies who watch for an opportunity to strike. The multilingual evidence is unanimous: English 'my enemies/foes,' Spanish 'mis enemigos,' French 'ennemi,' and German 'mein Feinde' all render it as personal adversaries. The Psalmic context consistently places these watchers in opposition to the righteous sufferer.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A hostile watcher or lurking enemy, one who observes with malicious intent. All five occurrences are Psalmic, always with the first-person suffix: the psalmist prays for guidance because of 'my watchers' (Ps 5:8; 27:11), appeals for vindication against them (Ps 54:5; 59:10), and laments their relentless pursuit (Ps 56:2). Cross-lingual glosses — English 'my enemies,' Spanish 'mis enemigos,' French 'ennemi' — confirm the adversarial sense. The participial form emphasizes ongoing, insidious observation rather than open combat. 5×
AR["أَعدائي", "أَعْدَائِي", "إلى-أَعدائي", "عَلى-أَعدائي", "مُرَاقِبِيَّ"]·ben["আমার-শত্রুদের", "আমার-শত্রুদের-উপরে", "আমার-শত্রুরা", "প্রতি-শত্রুদের-আমার"]·DE["auf-mein-Feinde", "mein-Feinde", "zu-mein-Feinde"]·EN["my-enemies", "on-my-enemies", "to-my-foes"]·FR["dans-ennemi", "ennemi", "à-ennemi"]·heb["ב-שוררי-", "ל-שוררי-", "שוררי", "שוררי-", "שוררי-י"]·HI["मेरे-शत्रु", "मेरे-शत्रुओं", "मेरे-शत्रुओं-पर", "शत्रुओं-मेरे"]·ID["musuhku"]·IT["il-nemico"]·jav["kula", "mengsah-kula", "nglawan", "papan-dhuwur"]·KO["나-의-원수-들-에게", "나-의-원수-들-을", "나-의-적-들-이", "나-의-적들", "지켜보는-자들-을"]·PT["aos-meus-inimigos", "dos-meus-inimigos", "meus-adversarios", "meus-inimigos"]·RU["врагам-моим", "враги-мои", "врагов-моих", "над-врагами-моими"]·ES["a-mis-enemigos", "en-mis-enemigos", "mis-enemigos"]·SW["adui-zangu", "kwa-adui-zangu", "wanaoninyang'anya"]·TR["düşmanlarım", "düşmanlarıma-", "düşmanlarımı", "gözetleyenlerimin"]·urd["بَ-دُشمَنوں-میرے", "دُشمَن-میرے", "لَ-دُشمنوں-میرے", "میرے-دشمنوں-کی", "میرے-دشمنوں-کے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [שׁוֹרֵר] n.m. (insidious) watcher, (proposes Pōʿl. Pt., מְ׳ om., Ges§ 52 s);—pl. sf. שׁוֹרְרַי ψ 56:3, שׁוֹרְרָ֑י 5:9; 27:11, שֹׁרְרָ֑י 54:7; 59:11; 92:12 v. foregoing.