What does שָׁקַד (šāqad) mean in the Bible?
שָׁקַד (šāqad): Vigilant wakefulness—God watches over covenant promises; humans watch for judgment or deliverance.
Hebrew · H8245
שָׁקַד
To be alert , i.e. sleepless ; hence to be on the lookout (whether for good or ill)
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שָׁקַד H8245
Pronunciation šāqad
What does שָׁקַד (šāqad) mean in the Bible?
שָׁקַד (šāqad): Vigilant wakefulness—God watches over covenant promises; humans watch for judgment or deliverance.
Full entry for שָׁקַד (H8245) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H8245?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include am watching (1), and watch is kept (1), Guard them (1), I am watching (1), I lie awake (1).
Where does שָׁקַד (šāqad) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Ezra 8:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (5), Psalms (2), Daniel (1), Ezra (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It am watching 1× Jeremiah 1:12
and watch is kept 1× Job 21:32
Guard them 1× Ezra 8:29
I am watching 1× Jeremiah 44:27
I lie awake 1× Psalms 102:7
I watched 1× Jeremiah 31:28
I will watch 1× Jeremiah 31:28
in store 1× Daniel 9:14
stand guard 1× Psalms 127:1
watching 1× Proverbs 8:34
who look 1× Isaiah 29:20
will lie in wait 1× Jeremiah 5:6
Show sample aligned rows
Ezra 8:29 שִׁקְד֣וּ to Guard them Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural Job 21:32 יִשְׁקֽוֹד׃ to and watch is kept Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Psalms 102:7 שָׁקַ֥דְתִּי to I lie awake Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Psalms 127:1 שָׁקַ֬ד to stand guard Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Proverbs 8:34 לִשְׁקֹ֣ד to watching Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Isaiah 29:20 שֹׁ֥קְדֵי to who look Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct Jeremiah 1:12 שֹׁקֵ֥ד to am watching Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Jeremiah 5:6 שֹׁקֵד֙ to will lie in wait Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Jeremiah 31:28 שָׁקַ֣דְתִּי to I watched Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Jeremiah 31:28 אֶשְׁקֹ֧ד to I will watch Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Ezra 8:29
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 7
Ezra 1 Job 1 Psalms 2 Proverbs 1 Isaiah 1 Jeremiah 5 Daniel 1
Source forms
אֶשְׁקֹ֧ד 1x ’eš·qōḏ Jeremiah 31:28
וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ד 1x way·yiš·qōḏ Daniel 9:14
יִשְׁקֽוֹד׃ 1x yiš·qō·wḏ Job 21:32
לִשְׁקֹ֣ד 1x liš·qōḏ Proverbs 8:34
שָׁקַ֬ד 1x šā·qaḏ Psalms 127:1
שֹׁקֵ֥ד 1x šō·qêḏ Jeremiah 1:12
שֹׁקֵד֙ 1x šō·qêḏ Jeremiah 5:6
שֹׁקֵ֧ד 1x šō·qêḏ Jeremiah 44:27
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular 3x Jeremiah 1:12, Jeremiah 5:6, Jeremiah 44:27
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular 2x Psalms 102:7, Jeremiah 31:28
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 1x Daniel 9:14
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct 1x Proverbs 8:34
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural 1x Ezra 8:29
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular 1x Jeremiah 31:28
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 1x Job 21:32
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct 1x Isaiah 29:20
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Vigilant wakefulness—God watches over covenant promises; humans watch for judgment or deliverance.
Strong's H8245
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Word forms 1 form 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Jeremiah 1:11-19 Source Gloss
to be alert , i.e. sleepless ; hence to be on the lookout (whether for good or ill)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Vigilant wakefulness—God watches over covenant promises; humans watch for judgment or deliverance.
to be alert, i.e. sleepless; hence to be on the lookout (whether for good or ill) BDB: watch Usage: hasten, remain, wake, watch (for).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 10
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 10×
Participle active Isa 29:20 · Jer 1:12 · Jer 5:6 · Jer 44:27 4×
Perfect Jer 31:28 · Ps 102:8 · Ps 127:1 3×
Imperfect Jer 31:28 · Job 21:32 2×
Sequential imperfect Ezra 8:29 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God's vigilant oversight and readiness to perform his word
God's attentive supervision over both judgment and restoration
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שָׁקַד is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain