מָגוֹר מִסָּבִיב
Magor-mis-Sabib, a symbolic name of Pashur
Definition
Magor-mis-Sabib is a symbolic name given by the prophet Jeremiah to Pashur, a priest who opposed Jeremiah's message. The name means 'terror on every side' or 'fear all around,' vividly portraying the divine judgment that would fall upon Pashur and Judah. This name serves as a prophetic oracle of doom, indicating that Pashur and his associates would experience overwhelming fear and destruction from their enemies. The sole biblical occurrence is in Jeremiah 20:3, where it functions as a direct pronouncement of coming calamity.
Biblical Usage
This proper noun is used only once in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 20:3. It is employed in a prophetic context as a symbolic renaming, a common prophetic act (e.g., Isaiah 8:1-4, Hosea 1:4-9) to convey a message. Jeremiah uses it to declare God's judgment against Pashur for imprisoning him and opposing his prophecies. The usage is entirely oracular, transforming a personal name into a vehicle for divine proclamation.
Etymology
The name is a compound phrase derived from the Hebrew root מָגוֹר (māgôr, H4032), meaning 'fear' or 'terror,' and סָבִיב (sābîb, H5439), meaning 'around' or 'on every side,' with the preposition מִ (mi-) inserted. It literally translates to 'terror from all around.' This construction emphasizes totality and inescapability, a common Hebrew idiom for comprehensive calamity (seen in Psalms 31:13, Jeremiah 6:25).
Semantic Range
This name is theologically significant as a concrete example of prophetic symbolic action and the reality of God's judgment against false religious leaders. It underscores that opposing God's word invites catastrophic consequences. Understanding the Hebrew enriches reading by revealing the name as a direct, ominous wordplay—Pashur's new identity itself becomes the message of his fate, highlighting the power and precision of God's spoken word through his prophets.
In ancient Israelite culture, bestowing a new name was an act of authority that signified a change in destiny or character (e.g., Abram to Abraham). For a priest like Pashur to be publicly renamed by a prophet was a profound humiliation and a powerful, public indictment. The phrase 'terror on every side' was a recognized idiom for the panic of siege warfare (Jeremiah 6:25), making the judgment vividly understandable to the original audience.
פַּחַד (pachad, H6343) — a more general term for 'dread' or 'terror,' whereas מָגוֹר implies a more specific, object-oriented fear. אֵימָה (êmâh, H367) — 'terror' or 'dread,' often associated with the awe-inspiring presence of God, not necessarily surrounding calamity.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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