Original Word: מַעֲבָר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ma`abar
Pronunciation: mah-ah-VAHR
Phonetic Spelling: (mah-ab-awr')
KJV: ford, place wherepass, passage
Word Origin: [from H5674 (עָבַר - To pass over)]

1. a crossing-place (of a river, a ford
2. of a mountain, a pass)
3. abstractly, a transit, i.e. (figuratively) overwhelming

ford, place where

Or feminine mapabarah {mah-ab-aw-raw'}; from abar; a crossing-place (of a river, a ford; of a mountain, a pass); abstractly, a transit, i.e. (figuratively) overwhelming -- ford, place where...pass, passage.

see HEBREW abar

[מַעֲבָר] noun [masculine] ford, pass, passing; — only construct:

1 מַעֲבַר יַבֹּק Genesis 32:23 (J) the ford of (the) Jabbok.

2 pass, מַעֲבַר מִכְמָשׂ 1 Samuel 13:23 the pass of M.

3 passing, sweep, כָּלמַֿעֲבַר מַטֶּה Isaiah 30:32 every sweep of the rod (עָבַר 4c).

מַעְבָּרָה

noun feminine ford, pass, passage; — absolute ׳מ Isaiah 10:29; plural מַעְבָּרוֺת Isaiah 16:2; Jeremiah 51:32, מַעְבְּרוֺת absolute Joshua 2:7; 1 Samuel 14:4; construct Judges 3:28 2t.; —

1 ford, only plural Joshua 2:7 (JE), Judges 3:28; Judges 12:5,6; Isaiah 16:2; so also 1 Samuel 13:7 (for ᵑ0 עָֽבְרוּ) We Dr Kit Löhr; + מַעְבֶּרֶת 1 Kings 7:46 2Chronicles 4:17, see סֻכּוֺת

2 pass (wady, ravine), 1 Samuel 14:4; Isaiah 10:29.

3 passage in defensive works of Babylonian Jeremiah 51:32.

Geographical and Strategic Importance

The term מַעֲבָר consistently denotes a natural crossing-point—typically a ford through a river or a narrow mountain pass. In a land dissected by the Jordan Rift Valley, wadis, and limestone ridges, such places determined trade routes, tribal boundaries, and military tactics. Whoever controlled a maʿabar effectively controlled movement, taxation, and defense in the region.

Patriarchal Prelude: Jacob at the Jabbok

Genesis 32:22 records Jacob’s nighttime crossing of the Jabbok: “He arose that night, took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok”. The ford becomes the threshold between Jacob’s old identity and his new name, Israel. The solitary struggle that follows (Genesis 32:24-30) forever links maʿabar with divine encounter and transformation.

Conquest and Settlement

Joshua 2:7 locates a maʿabar at the Jordan opposite Jericho. As Rahab’s protectors flee, the verse observes that the king’s men “pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan.” These fords later serve as the entry point for Israel’s miraculous passage (Joshua 3) and symbolize God’s covenant faithfulness in granting the land.

Deliverance in the Era of the Judges

1. Judges 3:28. Ehud rallies Ephraim, seizes “the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab,” and prevents Moabite escape. The captured maʿabar marks the turning of oppression into deliverance.
2. Judges 12:5-6. Jephthah’s men hold the same fords against Ephraim. The “Shibboleth/Sibboleth” test underscores that a crossing can become a place of judgment, separating covenant faithfulness from presumption.

Royal Warfare: Saul, Jonathan, and the Philistines

1 Samuel twice employs the word in the Michmash narrative:
• 1 Samuel 13:23—Philistine forces occupy “the pass of Michmash.”
• 1 Samuel 14:4—Jonathan notes two cliffs “on each side of the pass” as he advances in faith. The tactical value of maʿabar is clear; yet the text emphasizes that victory comes “for the LORD saved Israel that day” (1 Samuel 14:23).

Prophetic Imagery of Judgment and Flight

• Isaiah 10:29 pictures an Assyrian column pushing through “the pass” on its way to Jerusalem, heightening the city’s peril before divine intervention.
• Isaiah 16:2 compares Moab’s refugees at “the fords of Arnon” to fluttering birds—portraying helplessness when judgment falls.
• Isaiah 30:32 links every “crossing-stroke” of God’s punitive rod with music celebrating His supremacy; the maʿabar becomes a metaphor for repeated blows against Assyria.
• Jeremiah 51:32 forecasts Babylon’s demise: “The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified.” The very crossings that once guaranteed commercial might now signal irreversible defeat.

Theology of Transition

Throughout Scripture, maʿabar scenes feature three intertwined themes:

1. Divine Sovereignty. God orders history at liminal spaces—Jacob’s ford, Israel’s Jordan crossing, Jonathan’s pass.
2. Faith’s Testing. Jacob wrestles, the spies trust Rahab, Jonathan ventures against odds. Movement across the ford demands reliance on the LORD rather than human strength.
3. Covenant Separation. The Shibboleth incident and prophetic oracles reveal that crossing can divide the faithful from the faithless.

Ministry Reflections

• Personal crossroads. Believers encounter spiritual fords where obedience requires leaving the familiar, as Jacob did.
• Corporate mission. Churches, like Ehud’s forces, must “seize the fords” that hinder the advance of the gospel—cultural barriers, unreached people groups, or ideological strongholds.
• Eschatological assurance. Just as Babylon’s seized fords sealed its fate, every earthly power opposing God will find its crossings cut off when Christ returns.

Summary

Maʿabar marks the points where God’s people move from promise to fulfillment, from danger to deliverance, or from discipline to doom. Each occurrence invites readers to discern where the LORD is calling them to step out, trusting Him to open—or close—the way according to His perfect will.

הַֽמַּעְבְּר֑וֹת הַֽמַּעְבְּר֗וֹת המעברות וְהַמַּעְבָּר֣וֹת והמעברות מַֽעֲבַר֙ מַעְבְּר֣וֹת מַעְבְּר֤וֹת מַעְבְּר֥וֹת מַעְבָּרָ֔ה מַעְבָּרֹ֖ת מַעֲבַ֖ר מַעֲבַ֥ר מעבר מעברה מעברות מעברת ham·ma‘·bə·rō·wṯ hamma‘bərōwṯ hammabeRot ma‘·bā·rāh ma‘·bā·rōṯ ma‘·bə·rō·wṯ ma‘ăḇar ma‘bārāh ma‘bārōṯ ma‘bərōwṯ ma·‘ă·ḇar maaVar mabaRah mabaRot mabeRot vehammabaRot wə·ham·ma‘·bā·rō·wṯ wəhamma‘bārōwṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts