WATCHMAN נֹצֵ֥ר, careful watcher; צֹּפֶה׃֙, outlooker; שֹׁמֵ֥ר, one who guards; מְצַפֶּ֔ה, watchman. One whose duty it is to guard or watch a city or a harvest field, esp. at night.

Watchmen were stationed on city walls (2 Sam 18:25; 2 Kings 9:18; Ps 127:1; Isa 62:6), on watch towers (2 Kings 9:17; 17:9; 18:8), or on hilltops (Jer 31:6). In times of danger they were on the alert for hostile action against a city, and it was their duty to give word to the king of any suspicious person approaching the city wall (2 Sam 18:24-27; 2 Kings 9:17-20). Such watchmen who were on duty at night naturally looked forward eagerly to the breaking of day (Isa 21:11). In the Song of Solomon 3:3 and 5:7 reference is made to watchmen that go about the city, possibly suggesting some kind of city police.

Watchmen kept watch over fields and vineyards during the time of harvest. Sometimes whole families would act as watchmen; to protect themselves from the heat, they frequently erected simple booths, and to facilitate observation they built watchtowers (2 Kings 17:9; 2 Chron 20:24; Job 27:18).

Prophets in the OT are described as being watchmen of God, announcing to the people of Israel impending doom from Jehovah or bringing good news to them (Isa 21:6; 52:8; 62:6; Jer 6:17; Ezek 3:17). The solemn responsibility of the prophets of Israel to the nation is described in Ezekiel 33:2-6. False prophets are blind watchmen (Isa 56:10).

The word is not found in the NT.