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

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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