Keepers and Watchers - Jeremiah 4:16,17

Keepers and Watchers - Jeremiah 4:16,17
A visitor to the site recently asked about the correlation between the Hebrew words "notzerim", "netzarim" and "shomerim".

An edited version of the original question:

Several of the Tan"kh Nevi'im use the term(s) Notzer/Notzerim in a context which clearly shows these words to have been, at least in their day, in which they were writing, to have been synonymous with Shomer/Shomrim, and this, long before either Mainstream Rabbinical Orthodox Judaism, or the Judaism of Nesarim ever began to use these same terms, ie., Notzer/Notzerim to refer to the post 135 C.E. pagan, Helenist-Roman, idol worshipping Christians.

How did it come about that this term, which was once used as the synonym of Shomeir/Shomrim became for whatever reason to refer to the post 135 C.E. false Christians, thus taking on an entirely different context and connotation from its original use by the Nevi'im, and how does one reconcile this with the context/connotation in which the Nevi'im originally used this word?

It is puzzling to me, that a term which the Nevi'im used to designate those who would become the true guardians of the city of Jerusalem, as opposed to the self-appointed, Miso-Judaic traitor group Neturei Karta [Guardians of the City] who appear to be supporters of the Islamic Jihad, as well as holocaust deniers, with the use of this term centuries later, as the designation of the post 135 C.E. Helenist-Roman Gentile dog idolaters, who called themselves Christians, and whom we designate as false Christians, because they do not Walk in Torah as sealed in the blood of Mashiach as we walk in it, but rather choose instead to walk contrary to it?

We can take one example from the Book of Jeremiah. The term "notzerim" is used in Jeremiah 4:16. A translation of the passage from HPeshittaCoJ Mss 92:

"Make (this) reminder to the gentiles: Look! Speak against Jerusalem, watchmen are coming from a distant land and (they) will make their voice stand against the cities of Judah."

The term "notzerim" in this particular verse indicates "watchmen", "people lying in wait", "hidden watchers". Others have translated this term as "keepers" (i.e., KJV). Defining "notzerim" as "keepers" is not consistent with our most ancient manuscripts or Tradition. The term "netzerim" (nesarim) means "keepers" in one sense, but the term "notzerim" is defined differently.

Verse 17 gives us additional clarification on who these "watchmen" are.

"Likened unto circling a field, they are against her all around because she has rebelled against Me says YHWH."

The corrupted Massorectic text uses the word "k'shamrei" (yrmsk). Other editions of the Massorectic text use the Hebrew term "k'shomrei" (yrmsk). Our Scriptures uses the Hebrew word "k'shumrei" (yrmwsk), defined as "circling" (as in the act of surrounding an object).

The word "netzarim" (nesarim) is used in the our Scriptures concerning the "branch", "keepers", and designating all true Torah Observant individuals. On the other hand, the term "notzerim" (or "nosrim") is used in the opposite. The vowel pointing is different in this case when comparing the texts of the Nesarim and the corrupted Masoretic text.

The term "Shomer" (plural: "Shomerim") simply means "guardian(s)" and is also used in modern Hebrew to denote "orthodoxy" as in "shomrei yerushalayim" (orthodox of Jerusalem). On the other hand the term "shumrei" indicates a group of people (or other things) surrounding an object or city.

The true guardians of Jerusalem, and thus guardians and observant ones of the true Faith, are never referred to as "notzerim" in any of the Scriptures, rather the word "netzarim" (nesarim) is used.

Why the corruption of the Masoretic text to read other than the original is beyond the scope of this rather brief article on the subject, however it could be chalked up as a "scribal error".

For additional information on the word "nesarim" see the article: "Nesarim - Keepers of the Way"

- Rabbi Yisrael ben David

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