Original Word: מוֹסֵר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mowcer
Pronunciation: mo-sare' or mo-say-raw' or mo-say-rote'
Phonetic Spelling: (mo-sare')
KJV: band, bond
NASB: bonds, fetters, bands, bond, chains, shackles
Word Origin: [from H3256 (יָסַר - chasten)]

1. (properly) chastisement
2. (by implication) a halter
3. (figuratively) restraint

band, bond

Also (in plural) feminine mowcerah {mo-say-raw'}; or mocrah {mo-ser-aw'}; from yacar; properly, chastisement, i.e. (by implication) a halter; figuratively, restraint -- band, bond.

see HEBREW yacar

Word Origin
from asar
Definition
a band, bond
NASB Translation
bands (1), bond (1), bonds (6), chains (1), fetters (2), shackles (1).

מוֺסֵרָה proper name, of a location station of Israel in wilderness, where Aaron died (this was Mt. Hor according to Numbers 20:22f. Numbers 33:37f.) Deuteronomy 10:6; locality unknown. Another form is

Meaning and Imagery

The word מוֹסֵר describes the physical bonds—ropes, cords, shackles, or fetters—by which an animal or a person is restrained. Scripture extends that literal picture into the realm of spiritual, political, and moral captivity. Thus מוֹסֵר becomes a vivid metaphor for anything that enslaves: foreign domination, idolatry, personal sin, or even the self-chosen yoke of rebellion against the Lord.

Distribution in Scripture

מוֹסֵר appears eleven times, concentrated in poetic and prophetic literature:

• Wisdom Poetry: Job 39:5
• Psalms: Psalm 2:3; 107:14; 116:16
• Major Prophets: Isaiah 28:22; 52:2; Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5; 27:2; 30:8
• Minor Prophets: Nahum 1:13

The term thus spans pre-exilic, exilic, and post-exilic settings, underscoring its thematic importance in the account of Israel’s bondage and liberation.

Bondage and Divine Liberation

1. Personal Deliverance

Psalm 107:14 celebrates the Lord’s rescue of individuals from literal imprisonment: “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.” The same note of gratitude is sounded in Psalm 116:16: “You have loosed my bonds.”

2. National Redemption

Jeremiah 30:8 foretells a day when foreign tyranny will end: “I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their chains, and strangers will no longer enslave them.” Nahum 1:13 applies similar imagery to Assyria’s impending fall.

3. Eschatological Hope

Isaiah 52:2 calls Zion to rise from the dust and “loose yourself from the bonds on your neck,” pointing beyond Babylonian captivity to the ultimate freedom secured in the Servant’s work (Isaiah 53).

Bonds of Rebellion

Not all chains are imposed from outside. Psalm 2:3 records humanity’s defiant cry against the Lord’s anointed: “Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.” Jeremiah picks up the thought; leaders “had broken the yoke and torn off the bonds” (Jeremiah 5:5), refusing the gracious constraints of covenant faithfulness. Thus מוֹסֵר can depict godly boundaries that sinners resent and discard, exchanging the easy yoke of obedience for the brutal slavery of sin.

Prophetic Symbolism

The Lord commands Jeremiah, “Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck” (Jeremiah 27:2). The prophet’s enacted sermon dramatizes Judah’s coming subjection to Babylon. When later promises speak of the same bonds being shattered, the audience sees that only God can remove what God himself has imposed for discipline.

Historical Backdrop

In the ancient Near East, wooden yokes and leather or rope ligatures were everyday tools for agriculture, transport, and imprisonment. Breaking such restraints signaled either escape or a formal act of liberation by a higher authority. Israel’s collective memory of the exodus, when the Lord “broke the bars of their yoke” (Leviticus 26:13), provides the background against which later references to מוֹסֵר are heard.

Intercanonical Connections

The Old Testament motif of shattered bonds prepares the way for New Testament fulfillment. Jesus announces, “He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18), echoing Isaiah’s vision. Paul declares that believers are no longer “slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6) and warns against submitting again to a “yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). The physical chains of מוֹסֵר, once emblematic of oppression, become an emblem of the freedom purchased by Christ.

Pastoral and Ministry Application

• Proclamation of Freedom: Preaching that highlights God’s power to break every yoke invites hearers to trust Him for deliverance from addiction, fear, and guilt.
• Call to Submission: Where Scripture presents divine “bonds” as protective, pastors must warn against the folly of casting them off. Obedience is not bondage but life-giving liberty.
• Hope in Discipline: Jeremiah’s yoke demonstrates that even painful restraints are instruments of redemptive purpose. God chastens to restore, not to ruin.
• Worship and Thanksgiving: Like the psalmist, believers should publicly testify, “You have loosed my bonds,” fostering a culture of gratitude for both temporal and eternal rescue.

Conclusion

מוֹסֵר gathers into a single image the human condition apart from God and the gracious intervention that sets captives free. Whether applied to a stubborn donkey, an exiled nation, or a soul ensnared by sin, the breaking of these bonds magnifies the Lord’s sovereignty, mercy, and unfailing commitment to redeem His people.

וּמֹסְר֥וֹת וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם וּמוֹסְרֹתַ֖יִךְ וּמוֹסְרוֹתֶ֖יךָ ומוסרותיהם ומוסרותיך ומוסרתיך ומסרות לְמוֹסֵרָֽי׃ למוסרי׃ מֽוֹסְרֵיכֶ֑ם מֽוֹסְרוֹתֵ֑ימוֹ מוֹסְרֵ֣י מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ מוֹסֵר֖וֹת מוֹסֵרֽוֹת׃ מוסרות מוסרות׃ מוסרותימו מוסרי מוסריכם מוסרתיך lə·mō·w·sê·rāy lemoseRai ləmōwsêrāy mō·w·sê·rō·wṯ mō·ws·rê mō·ws·rê·ḵem mō·ws·rō·ṯa·yiḵ mō·ws·rō·w·ṯê·mōw moseRot mosRei mosreiChem mosroTayich mosroTeimov mōwsêrōwṯ mōwsrê mōwsrêḵem mōwsrōṯayiḵ mōwsrōwṯêmōw ū·mō·sə·rō·wṯ ū·mō·ws·rō·ṯa·yiḵ ū·mō·ws·rō·w·ṯê·hem ū·mō·ws·rō·w·ṯe·ḵā umoseRot ūmōsərōwṯ umosroTayich umosroTeicha umosRoteiHem ūmōwsrōṯayiḵ ūmōwsrōwṯêhem ūmōwsrōwṯeḵāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts