Lexical Summary mosar or musar: Discipline, instruction, correction, chastening Original Word: מֹסָר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance instruction From yacar; admonition -- instruction. see HEBREW yacar NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originthe same as musar, q.v. Brown-Driver-Briggs [מֹסָר] see מוּסָר. above יָע see below יעה; יַעְבֵּץ see below עבץ. Topical Lexicon Canonical Setting The solitary occurrence of מֹסָר lies in Job 33:16. Elihu explains that while men sleep, “He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings” (Job 33:16). The term is thus framed as a divine intervention that both discloses God’s will and impresses it upon the conscience with binding force. Nature of the Warning 1. Urgent: The context shows immediacy—God does not merely suggest but confronts. Divine Communication through Dreams Throughout Scripture the night-vision is a frequent channel for decisive instruction (Genesis 20:3; 1 Kings 3:5; Matthew 2:13). Job 33 locates מֹסָר within this pattern, showing that even in an era before a completed canon God made His voice unmistakably clear. Theological Significance • Revelation: God stoops to speak; He does not leave humanity to speculation (Isaiah 55:8-11). Historical and Cultural Insights Ancient Near-Eastern cultures prized dreams as portals to the divine, yet Scripture uniquely roots such experiences in the covenant God’s moral purpose. Job, likely patriarchal in setting, demonstrates an awareness that true wisdom comes when God himself enforces instruction upon the heart, not merely through communal lore or human reasoning. Ministry and Pastoral Application • Vigilance: Believers are called to cultivate receptive hearts, sensitive to the Spirit’s convicting voice (Hebrews 3:7-8). Christological Trajectory In Jesus Christ the ultimate warning and invitation converge. He is the embodied Word who both exposes sin and provides rescue (John 3:19-21). The cross stands as history’s climactic מֹסָר: a solemn declaration of the cost of rebellion and the path of redemption (Hebrews 12:24-25). Related Biblical Themes • Chastening (Hebrews 12:5-11) Summary מֹסָר represents God’s personal, penetrating warning that arrests the sinner, safeguards the humble, and magnifies divine mercy. Though it appears only once, its theological ripples touch the whole canon, culminating in the gospel call that still rings with gracious urgency today. Forms and Transliterations וּבְמֹ֖סָרָ֣ם ובמסרם ū·ḇə·mō·sā·rām ūḇəmōsārām uveMosaRamLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 33:16 HEB: אֹ֣זֶן אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וּבְמֹ֖סָרָ֣ם יַחְתֹּֽם׃ KJV: of men, and sealeth their instruction, INT: the ears of men their instruction and seals 1 Occurrence |
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