📖 Biblical Definition
To guard, watch over, preserve, observe. The biblical use is bidirectional: God keeps His people (continuous preservation), and the believer keeps God's commandments (continuous obedience). Hebrew shamar (to keep, guard) and Greek tereo (to keep watch, preserve) cover the field. Adam was placed in Eden to dress it and to keep it (Gen 2:15) — the original creational vocation. The priestly blessing prays The LORD bless thee, and keep thee (Num 6:24). Christ prays in His high-priestly prayer keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me (John 17:11). The believer keeps God's commandments (John 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments) and is kept by God's power (1 Pet 1:5: kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation). Both directions are continuous: the believer's keeping flows from being kept; being kept produces the capacity to keep. The Christian life is keeping at every level — vows, hearts, commandments, brothers and sisters, the truth once delivered.
📜 KJV Continual Tense
In KJV: keepeth — sustained guarding, sustained obedience.
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John 14:21: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." Continuous-aspect Greek — the love is proven not by a moment of obedience but by a sustained guarding of His word.
1 John 5:18: "he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." The keeping is ongoing; the protection is ongoing.
Jude 1:21: "Keep yourselves in the love of God." The verb-aspect is the doctrine: persevere in the love that has loved you.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
To guard, watch, preserve; to observe (a commandment, vow, sabbath).
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To hold; to retain in one’s power or possession; to guard; to preserve from injury or loss; in Scripture especially to observe commandments, to guard one’s heart, to be kept by the power of God.
📖 Key Scripture
John 14:21 — "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father."
Proverbs 4:23 — "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
1 Peter 1:5 — "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Casualized to "hold onto" without the active guarding-and-watching force the biblical word carries.
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"Keep" in modern usage is passive (you keep your shoes in the closet). Scripture’s keeping is active vigilance — guarding the heart, keeping the commandment, being kept by power. The Hebrew shamar means "to watch over"; the Greek tēreō means "to guard."
Recover the active force: to keep is to stand watch. We keep the commandment because we are being kept by Christ.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek tēreō; Hebrew shamar.
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['Greek', 'G5083', 'tēreō', 'to keep, guard, watch']
['Hebrew', 'H8104', 'shamar', 'to keep, watch, preserve']
Usage
"To keep is to stand watch, not to passively hold."
"Keep the commandment because you are kept by Christ."
"Keep your heart with all diligence."