This short entry is some background information for another entry upcoming.
- Please see that these passages are examples of being self-sacrificing or being self-serving. The message of the passage deals with the topic of “my brother’s keeper,” and the Hebrew words are an indicator.
Tanakh (17 results)
1. Bereshit 4:9 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַיֹּאמֶר י״י אֶל קַיִן אֵי הֶבֶל אָחִיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יָדַעְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי.
⦁ Genesis 4:9
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
2. Bereshit 37:11 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַיְקַנְאוּ בוֹ אֶחָיו וְאָבִיו שָׁמַר אֶת הַדָּבָר.
⦁ Genesis 37:10-11
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What (is) this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothersenvied him, but his father kept the matter (in mind).
- The fulfillment comes much later in Genesis, and the lengthy history of The sons of Israel give many examples on both sides, selfishness and self-sacrifice.
3. Bereshit 42:19 (Mikraot Gedolot)
אִם כֵּנִים אַתֶּם אֲחִיכֶם אֶחָד יֵאָסֵר בְּבֵית מִשְׁמַרְכֶם וְאַתֶּם לְכוּ הָבִיאוּ שֶׁבֶר רַעֲבוֹן בָּתֵּיכֶם.
⦁ Genesis 42:18-19
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.
4. Bemidbar 8:26 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְשֵׁרֵת אֶת אֶחָיו בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִשְׁמֹר מִשְׁמֶרֶת וַעֲבֹדָה לֹא יַעֲבֹד כָּכָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לַלְוִיִּם בְּמִשְׁמְרֹתָם.
⦁ Numbers 8:24-26
24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; 25 and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. 26 They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”
5. Devarim 2:4 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְאֶת הָעָם צַו לֵאמֹר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים בִּגְבוּל אֲחֵיכֶם בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר וְיִירְאוּ מִכֶּם וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד.
⦁ Deuteronomy 2:4-6
4 And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.
6. Devarim 33:9 (Mikraot Gedolot)
הָאֹמֵר לְאָבִיו וּלְאִמּוֹ לֹא רְאִיתִיו וְאֶת אֶחָיו לֹא הִכִּיר וְאֶת בָּנָו לֹא יָדָע כִּי שָׁמְרוּ אִמְרָתֶךָ וּבְרִיתְךָ יִנְצֹרוּ.
⦁ Deuteronomy 33:9
9 Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not seen them’;
Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
7. Yehoshua 22:3 (Mikraot Gedolot)
לֹא עֲזַבְתֶּם אֶת אֲחֵיכֶם זֶה יָמִים רַבִּים עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת מִשְׁמֶרֶת מִצְוַת י״י אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
⦁ Joshua 22:1-4
1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
8. Shemuel I 17:22 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַיִּטֹּשׁ דָּוִד אֶת הַכֵּלִים מֵעָלָיו עַל יַד שׁוֹמֵר הַכֵּלִים וַיָּרׇץ הַמַּעֲרָכָה וַיָּבֹא וַיִּשְׁאַל לְאֶחָיו לְשָׁלוֹם.
⦁ 1 Samuel 17:22-25
22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
9. Shemuel I 30:23 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ כֵן אֶחָי אֵת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן י״י לָנוּ וַיִּשְׁמֹר אֹתָנוּ וַיִּתֵּן אֶת הַגְּדוּד הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ בְּיָדֵנוּ.
⦁ 1 Samuel 30:23-25
23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
10. Amos 1:11 (Mikraot Gedolot)
כֹּה אָמַר י״י עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה פִּשְׁעֵי אֱדוֹם וְעַל אַרְבָּעָה לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ עַל רׇדְפוֹ בַחֶרֶב אָחִיו וְשִׁחֵת רַחֲמָיו וַיִּטְרֹףלָעַד אַפּוֹ וְעֶבְרָתוֹ שְׁמָרָה נֶצַח.
⦁ Amos 1:11-12
11 Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
12 But I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
11. Tehillim 119:17 (Mikraot Gedolot)
גְּמֹל עַל עַבְדְּךָ אֶחְיֶה וְאֶשְׁמְרָה דְבָרֶךָ.
⦁ Psalms 119:17
ג GIMEL
17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
(That) I may live and keep your word.
- David’s life is shown (not that he was without serious flaws, but he learned from his mistakes) as one of self-sacrifice. And each instance of his selfish actions is followed by actions of humbling and repentance.
12. Nechemyah 3:34 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַיֹּאמֶר לִפְנֵי אֶחָיו וְחֵיל שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיֹּאמֶר מָה הַיְּהוּדִים הָאֲמֵלָלִים עֹשִׂים הֲיַעַזְבוּ לָהֶם הֲיִזְבָּחוּ הַיְכַלּוּ בַיּוֹםהַיְחַיּוּ אֶת הָאֲבָנִים מֵעֲרֵמוֹת הֶעָפָר וְהֵמָּה שְׂרוּפוֹת.
⦁ Nehemiah 4:1-2
1 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—(stones) that are burned?”
13. Nechemyah 4:17 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְאֵין אֲנִי וְאַחַי וּנְעָרַי וְאַנְשֵׁי הַמִּשְׁמָר אֲשֶׁר אַחֲרַי אֵין אֲנַחְנוּ פֹשְׁטִים בְּגָדֵינוּ אִישׁ שִׁלְחוֹ הַמָּיִם.
⦁ Nehemiah 4:21-23
21 So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. 22 At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” 23(17H) So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
14. Divrei HaYamim I 7:34 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וּבְנֵי שָׁמֶר אֲחִי [וְרׇהְגָּה] (ורוהגה) [וְחֻבָּה] (יחבה) וַאֲרָם.
⦁ 1 Chronicles 7:34
34 The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. •••
1 Chronicles 7:40
40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.
15. Divrei HaYamim I 9:19 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְשַׁלּוּם בֶּן קוֹרֵא בֶּן אֶבְיָסָף בֶּן קֹרַח וְאֶחָיו לְבֵית אָבִיו הַקׇּרְחִים עַל מְלֶאכֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה שֹׁמְרֵי הַסִּפִּים לָאֹהֶלוַאֲבֹתֵיהֶם עַל מַחֲנֵה י״י שֹׁמְרֵי הַמָּבוֹא.
⦁ 1 Chronicles 9:19
19 Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the LORD.
16. Divrei HaYamim I 11:45 (Mikraot Gedolot)
יְדִיעֲאֵל בֶּן שִׁמְרִי וְיֹחָא אָחִיו הַתִּיצִי.
⦁ 1 Chronicles 11:44-12:2
44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
1 Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 2 armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.
17. Divrei HaYamim I 12:30 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וּמִן בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן אֲחֵי שָׁאוּל שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְעַד הֵנָּה מַרְבִּיתָם שֹׁמְרִים מִשְׁמֶרֶת בֵּית שָׁאוּל.
⦁ 1 Chronicles 12:28-29
28 Zadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains; 29(30H) of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul); ••• 1 Chronicles 12:38
38 All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king.
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