Magor Missabib
“Terror from around about, or terror on every side”
Summary
Magor-missabib ('terror on every side') was the symbolic name God directed Jeremiah to give to Pashur the priest after Pashur had beaten and imprisoned the prophet.
☩The Naming
Pashur son of Immer was the chief officer in the temple who had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks for prophesying Jerusalem's destruction. When Jeremiah was released, God instructed him to rename Pashur 'Magor-missabib'—meaning 'terror on every side'—because Pashur himself would become a source of terror to his own friends and would witness their destruction by Babylon's sword. The ironic prophecy declared that Pashur, whose name meant 'freedom on every side,' would instead experience terror on every side.
☩A Recurring Phrase
The phrase 'terror on every side' (magor missabib) appears several times in Jeremiah's prophecies, expressing the overwhelming nature of coming judgment. It occurs also in Psalm 31:13 to describe the psalmist's distress when surrounded by enemies who conspire against his life.
Related Verses1 mention
Jeremiah· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Magor-missabib," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Magormissabib," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Magor Missabib," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).