Magor-missabib is a name found in the King James Bible.
Who This Was
Magor-missabib is not a personal name in the ordinary sense but a symbolic name given by the prophet Jeremiah to Pashhur, a priest and official in Jerusalem. The source note explains that the name means “terror on every side.” This renaming took place during the turbulent final years of the kingdom of Judah, when Jeremiah was declaring God’s judgment against the nation and its leaders for their rebellion and false confidence.
The setting is one of conflict between Jeremiah and Pashhur. Pashhur, who served as a chief officer in the house of the LORD, had beaten Jeremiah and placed him in stocks at the Benjamin Gate. When Jeremiah was released, he did not soften his message. Instead, he pronounced a word from the LORD upon Pashhur, giving him this name as a sign of what was coming. The name was not a mere insult; it was a prophetic declaration that terror would surround Pashhur and those he loved. He would see the destruction of his own city and people, and he would go into captivity in Babylon, where he would die and be buried.
Scripture presents Magor-missabib as a warning embodied in a man. Pashhur opposed God’s prophet and tried to silence the word of judgment, but the word only became more pointed. The name given to him stood as a public testimony that the terror he tried to dismiss would in fact come upon him. Though the name itself appears zero times in the King James text as a standalone entry, the narrative of Pashhur and the symbolic name Magor-missabib is recorded in Jeremiah 20, where the prophet’s obedience to God cost him greatly and where God’s word proved unbreakable.
The Name
The name Magor-missabib is Hebrew, and its meaning is well established: “terror on every side.” It is a compound expression that Jeremiah used repeatedly as a signature phrase for the dread that would fall upon Judah and its leaders because of their refusal to heed God’s warnings. The name was not given to Pashhur as a curse from Jeremiah’s own wounded pride but as a divinely appointed sign. It carried the weight of prophetic certainty: what God had spoken through Jeremiah would come to pass, and Pashhur himself would become a living example of that terror.
A Closing Thought
Magor-missabib reminds us that opposing God’s word does not make it less true. Pashhur tried to silence Jeremiah, but the prophet’s message only grew sharper, and the name given to Pashhur became a lasting witness. There is a sober lesson here: we may resist correction, but we cannot escape the consequences of ignoring God. Yet even this hard account invites us to humility. Better to tremble at God’s word now than to know terror on every side later. May we receive truth while it can still lead us to repentance and peace.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 0