τηρέω

τηρέω impf. ἐτήρουν, 3 pl. ἐτήρουν and ἐτήρουσαν AcPl Ha 8, 11 and 13; fut. τηρήσω; 1 aor. ἐτήρησα; pf. τετήρηκα, 3 pl. τετήρηκαν J 17:6 (B-D-F §83, 1; W-S. §13, 15; Mlt. 52f; Mlt-H. 221). Pass.: impf. ἐτηρούμην; 1 aor. ἐτηρήθην; pf. τετήρημαι (Pind., Thu.+)

① to retain in custody, keep watch over, guard τινά, τὶ someone, someth. a prisoner (Thu. 4, 30, 4) Mt 27:36, 54; Ac 16:23; a building (s. PPetr II, 37, 1, 19 [III B.C.] τηρεῖν τὸ χῶμα; PFlor 388, 32; 1 Macc 4:61; 6:50) Hs 9, 6, 2; 9, 7, 3. Pass. (Jos., Ant. 14, 366) Πέτρος ἐτηρεῖτο ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ Ac 12:5. Cp. 24:23; 25:4, 21b. τηρεῖν τὴν φυλακὴν guard the jail 12:6. ὅπου οἰ κεκλεισμένοι τηροῦνται AcPl Ha 3, 20. Abs. (keep) watch (PSI 165, 4; 168, 9; 1 Esdr 4:11; 2 Esdr 8:29) MPol 17:2. οἱ τηροῦντες the guards (SSol 3:3) Mt 28:4.

② to cause a state, condition, or activity to continue, keep, hold, reserve, preserve someone or someth. (Aristoph., Pax 201; τὴν ἁρμονίαν τ. τοῦ πατρός Iren. 2, 33, 5 [Harv. I 380, 13])

ⓐ for a definite purpose or a suitable time (Jos., Ant. 1, 97) τετήρηκας τὸν καλὸν οἶνον ἕως ἄρτι J 2:10 (POxy 1757, 23 τήρησόν μοι αὐτά, ἕως ἀναβῶ). Cp. 12:7 (WKühne, StKr 98/99, 1926, 476f; s. CBarrett, The Gospel According to St. John ’60, 346 on the problem of interp.). τηρηθῆναι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ διάγνωσιν Ac 25:21a. κληρονομίαν τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς (εἰς 4g) 1 Pt 1:4.—2 Pt 2:4 (cp. TestReub 5:5 εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον τετήρηται), 9, 17; 3:7 (cp. Jos., Ant. 1, 97 τηρεῖσθαι κατακλυσμῷ); Jd 6b, 13; MPol 2:3; 11:2; 15:1.

ⓑ keep, etc., unharmed or undisturbed (Polyb. 6, 56, 13 one’s word; Herodian 7, 9, 3) ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν με τηρηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου J 14:21 P⁷⁵. τὴν σφραγῖδα 2 Cl 7:6. τὴν ἐκκλησίαν 14:3a (opp. φθείρειν). τὴν σάρκα 14:3b. τηρεῖ ἑαυτόν 1J 5:18 v.l. τηρεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον keep his virgin inviolate as such 1 Cor 7:37 (Heraclit. Sto. 19 p. 30, 3; Achilles Tat. 8, 18, 2 παρθένον τὴν κόρην τετήρηκα. SBelkin, JBL 54, ’35, 52 takes τηρ. here to mean support one’s fiancıe, without having marital relations.—On this subj. s. the lit. s.v. γαμίζω 1).—W. a second acc. (of the predicate, to denote the condition that is to remain unharmed; cp. M. Ant. 6, 30 τήρησαι σεαυτὸν ἁπλοῦν; BGU 1141, 25 [13 B.C.] ἄμεμπτον ἐμαυτὸν ἐτήρησα; Wsd 10:5; Just., D. 88, 5 ἀτιμωρήτους αὐτοὺς τηρῆσαι) τὴν ἐντολὴν ἄσπιλον 1 Ti 6:14. τὸ βάπτισμα ἁγνόν 2 Cl 6:9. τὴν σφραγῖδα ὑγιῆ Hs 8, 6, 3. τὴν σάρκα ἁγνήν 2 Cl 8:4, 6. τὴν σάρκα ὡς ναὸν θεοῦ IPhld 7:2. σεαυτὸν ἁγνόν 1 Ti 5:22.—2 Cor 11:9; Js 1:27. Pass. ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα τηρηθείη 1 Th 5:23. τηρεῖν τινα ἔν τινι keep someone (unharmed) by or through someth. J 17:11f. ἑαυτοὺς ἐν ἀγάπῃ θεοῦ τηρήσατε keep yourselves from harm by making it possible for God to show his love for you in the future also Jd 21. τοῖς Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς to those who have been called and who have been kept unharmed for Christ, or, in case the ἐν before θεῷ is to be repeated, through Christ Jd 1.

ⓒ of holding on to someth. so as not to give it up or lose it (Diod S 17, 43, 9 τὰ ὅπλα, the shields; τὴν ἀρετήν Did., Gen. 87, 4. Cp. τ. τὰ μυστήρια … καὶ ἐξειπεῖν μηδενί Hippol., Ref. 5, 27, 2) τὴν ἁγνείαν Hm 4, 4, 3. τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος Eph 4:3. τὴν πίστιν 2 Ti 4:7 (cp. Diod S 19, 42, 5 τηρεῖν τὴν πίστιν; IBM III, 587b, 5 ὅτι τὴν πίστιν ἐτήρησα; Jos., Bell. 2, 121, Ant. 15, 134). τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ Rv 16:15 (or else he will have to go naked). αὐτόν (=τὸν θεόν) 1J 5:18. W. a neg.: fail to hold fast = lose through carelessness or give up through frivolity or a deficient understanding of the value of what one has τὶ someth. τὸ μικρόν 2 Cl 8:5 (a dominical saying whose literary source is unknown). τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν (s. ἀρχή 7) Jd 6a.

ⓓ of being protective (Pind. et al.; En 100:5) keep τινὰ ἔκ τινος someone from someone or someth. J 17:15; Rv 3:10b (cp. Pr 7:5 τηρεῖν τινα ἀπό τινος).

③ to persist in obedience, keep, observe, fulfill, pay attention to, esp. of law and teaching (LXX) τὶ someth. (Polyb. 1, 83, 5 legal customs; Herodian 6, 6, 1; Just., A I, 49, 3 τὰ παλαιὰ ἔθη) Mt 23:3; Ac 21:25 v.l.; Hs 5, 3, 9. τὸν νόμον (Achilles Tat. 8, 13, 4; Tob 14:9; TestDan 5:1.—τ. νόμους Jos., C. Ap. 2, 273; Orig., C. Cels. 8, 10, 11; Theoph. Ant. 2, 16 [p. 140, 15]) 15:5; Js 2:10; Hs 8, 3, 3–5. τὰ νόμιμα τοῦ θεοῦ Hv 1, 3, 4 (τηρ. τὰ νόμιμα as Jos., Ant. 8, 395; 9, 222). δικαιώματα κυρίου B 10:11. τὰ πρὸς τὸν κύριον AcPl Ha 8, 11; 13. πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν Mt 28:20. τὰς ἐντολάς (CB I/2, 566f, nos. 467–69, side A of an altar [313/14 A.D.] τηρῶν ἐντολὰς ἀθανάτων, i.e. θεῶν; Sir 29:1; Jos., Ant. 8, 120; Just., D. 10, 3; Iren. 1, 10, 1 [Harv. I 91, 14]) 19:17; J 14:15, 21; 15:10ab; 1J 2:3f; 3:22, 24; 5:3; Rv 12:17; 14:12; Hm 7:5; 12, 3, 4; 12, 6, 3; Hs 5, 1, 5; 5, 3, 2; 6, 1, 4; 8, 7, 6; 10, 3, 4 (Oxy 404, 17 restoration on basis of Lat. and Ethiopic versions); cp. 5, 3, 3. Pass. 5, 3, 5a. τὸ σάββατον observe the Sabbath J 9:16. τὴν νηστείαν keep the fast Hs 5, 3, 5b v.l.; cp. 5, 3, 9. τὴν παράδοσιν (Jos., Vi. 361b) Mk 7:9 v.l. τὸν λόγον J 8:51f, 55; 14:23; 15:20ab; 17:6; 1J 2:5; Rv 3:8. τὸν λόγον τῆς ὑπομονῆς μου vs. 10a. τοὺς λόγους (1 Km 15:11) J 14:24. ἃ παρελάβαμεν AcPlCor 1:5. τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας Rv 22:7, τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου vs. 9. τὰ ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ γεγραμμένα 1:3. ὁ τηρῶν τὰ ἔργα μου the one who takes my deeds to heart Rv 2:26. Abs., but w. the obj. easily supplied fr. the context τήρει pay attention to it 3:3 (cp. Philo, Leg. All. 3, 184).—DELG. M-M. TW. Sv.