Dictionary entry

Keeper; Keepers

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kep'-er, (mostly from shamar; phulax): The word is used of keepers of sheep, vineyards, doors, prisons (inGe 39:21ff, car; compareAc 5:23), etc. InEc 12:3, "The keepers of the house shall tremble," the allusion is to the decay of bodily powers, the "keepers" being specially the arms, which had become feeble through age.