Musing - What does it mean to ‘keep’ the commandments?

Hebraic Musing - What does it mean to ‘keep’ the commandments?

Since I don’t have pockets to ‘keep’ them in, the word ‘keep’ must mean something else. Even if we substitute the word ‘obey’, there is still so much more to understand. [1]

God promises punishments … but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. Ex 20:6 & Dt 5:10 NIV    Most translations use the word ‘keep’, however the typically over-simplified NLT version uses the word ‘obey’ which is a somewhat better word-choice.

The word translated as ‘keep’ or ‘obey’ is the Hebrew word Shamar or rmv, Shin & Mem & Resh which symbolically means “Protect, Truth, Highest.   Strong’s definition[2] includes these statements:

1) to keep, to have charge of;  2) to keep, to guard, to keep watch and ward, to protect, to save life; watch, a watchman (participle); 3) to watch for, to wait for; 4) to watch, to observe; 5) to keep, to retain, to treasure up (in memory); 6) to keep (within bounds), to restrain; 7) to observe, to celebrate, to keep (sabbath or covenant or commands), to perform (a vow); 8) to keep, to preserve, to protect; 9) to keep, to reserve.

In the New Testament we find the same weak translation.  In Mt. 19:17 Jesus said “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”  The Greek translated as ‘obey’ is tereo (tay-reh'-o); from teros;  to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon); …which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus.[3]

Point to ponder

Should we be guarding, watching, observing, retaining in memory,
 observing, celebrating, protecting and treasuring
God’s commandments (His Words) to us?

Does this apply only to the Ten Commandments
or to the 613 Mitzvot?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                 February 17, 2015       

Author “Hebraic_Insights”;  “Biblical_Marriage” & “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
Weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”
Yosef1@cox.net   or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

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[1]  Inspired by Johanna Hocker’s message of Feb. 9, 2015

[2] OT:8104   The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.

[3] NT:5083  in Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.