"to be on watch, keep watch, Lk. 2:8; to have in keeping, Acts 20:20; to have in custody, Acts 28:16; to keep under restraint, confine, Lk. 8:29; Acts 12:4; 23:35; to guard, defend, Lk. 11:21; to keep safe, preserve, Jn. 12:25; 17:12; 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Pet. 2:5; Jude 24; to keep in ..."
Definition and meaning
to be on watch, keep watch, Lk. 2:8; to have in keeping, Acts 20:20; to have in custody, Acts 28:16; to keep under restraint, confine, Lk. 8:29; Acts 12:4; 23:35; to guard, defend, Lk. 11:21; to keep safe, preserve, Jn. 12:25; 17:12; 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Pet. 2:5; Jude 24; to keep in abstinence, Acts 21:25; 1 Jn. 5:21; to observe a matter of injunction or duty, Mk. 10:20; Lk. 11:28; Acts 7:53; 16:4; 21:24; mid. to be on one’s guard, beware, Lk. 12:15; 2 Tim. 4:15; 2 Pet. 3:17
In the original Greek the word is written: φυλάσσω
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of phylasso (G5442) across the King James Bible.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
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Common questions
Strong's G5442 (phylasso) is a Greek word that means: to be on watch, keep watch, Lk. 2:8; to have in keeping, Acts 20:20; to have in custody, Acts 28:16; to keep under restraint, confine, Lk. 8:29; Acts 12:4; 23:35; to guard, defend, Lk. 11:21; to keep ... It appears 30 times in the King James Bible.
The word phylasso (G5442) appears 30 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G5442 is phylasso, a Greek word defined as: to be on watch, keep watch, Lk. 2:8; to have in keeping, Acts 20:20; to have in custody, Acts 28:16; to keep under restraint, confine, Lk. 8:29; Acts . James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
phylasso is a Greek word found in the New Testament.