Watches

Watches were the divisions of the night assigned to sentinels on guard duty. The Hebrews originally divided the night into three watches — the beginning, the middle, and the morning watch (Judges 7:19; Exodus 14:24; Lamentations 2:19) — each corresponding to roughly four hours. After contact with the Romans, four watches came into use, as reflected in the New Testament: the evening watch, midnight, cockcrow, and morning (Mark 13:35; Matthew 14:25). Watchmen were stationed on city walls (2 Samuel 18:24; 2 Kings 9:17–20) and in watchtowers in vineyards and fields (Isaiah 21:8; Matthew 21:33) to give warning of approaching enemies or travellers. Metaphorically, the psalmists and prophets use the night watch as an image of eager expectation: "My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning" (Psalm 130:6). Jesus's parables of the watching servants (Luke 12:37–38; Mark 13:34–37) use the watch system to call disciples to vigilance in expectation of his return.