Definition

to watch, i.e. be on guard (literally of figuratively); by implication, to preserve, obey, avoid

Etymology

probably from G5443 (φυλή) through the idea of isolation;

Where the KJV renders it

• beward
• keep (self)
• observe
• save

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.