Original Word: מִשְׁבָּר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mishbar
Pronunciation: mish-BAHR
Phonetic Spelling: (mish-bawr')
KJV: billow, wave
NASB: breakers, waves
Word Origin: [from H7665 (שָׁבַר - broken)]

1. a breaker (of the sea)

billow, wave

From shabar; a breaker (of the sea) -- billow, wave.

see HEBREW shabar

Word Origin
from shabar
Definition
a breaker (of the sea)
NASB Translation
breakers (3), waves (2).

[מִשְׁבָּר] noun [masculine] breaker, of sea; — plural construct מִשְׁבְּרֵייָֿם Psalm 93:4 ("" קֹלוֺת מַיִם רַבִּים; in compare of ׳יs majesty); figurative of calamities, מִשְׁבְּרֵימָֿוֶת 2 Samuel 22:5 (חֶבְלֵימָֿוֶת in "" Psalm 18:5); as sent by ׳י, מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ Psalm 88:8, וְגַלֶּיךָ ׳מ Psalm 42:8; Jonah 2:4. — Job 41:17 see שֶׁבֶר. above

Definition and Imagery

The term מִשְׁבָּר describes the heavy surf that shatters on rocks or shorelines. In Hebrew thought these “breakers” are a vivid emblem of forces that batter, overwhelm, and threaten to undo life, yet remain ultimately subject to the voice of the covenant God.

Occurrences in Scripture

• 2 Samuel 22:5 recounts David’s deliverance: “The waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.”
• Psalms 42:7 places the worshiper in profound lament: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.”
• Psalms 88:7 speaks from the brink of despair: “Your wrath weighs heavily upon me; You have overwhelmed me with all Your waves.”
• Psalms 93:4 turns the image toward praise: “Above the roar of many waters—the mighty breakers of the sea—the LORD on high is majestic.”
• Jonah 2:3 records the prophet’s prayer: “You cast me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.”

Literary Function

1. Poetic Intensity: In Psalms, breakers create an experiential metaphor that moves lament to trust. They portray both God’s discipline and His sovereignty.
2. Narrative Crisis: In Jonah the breakers depict divine pursuit and corrective grace, making the prophet’s deliverance unmistakably God-wrought.
3. Royal Hymnody: David’s song (2 Samuel 22) links military peril with chaotic waters, announcing that the same God who stilled the Red Sea can still every threat to the anointed king.

Ancient Near Eastern Background

Surging seas symbolized chaos in surrounding cultures. Scripture appropriates the image yet never concedes sovereignty to the waters. Unlike the pagan gods who struggle against primordial seas, the LORD sits “majestic” above them (Psalms 93:4), confirming a worldview in which chaos is real but not ultimate.

Theological Themes

• Sovereign Kingship: Breakers amplify the transcendence of God, whose throne is higher than untamed nature.
• Judgment and Discipline: The Psalmist’s sense of drowning under “Your waves” (Psalms 88:7) frames suffering as personal visitation from the righteous Judge.
• Deliverance and Hope: David sings on the far side of rescue; Jonah prays from within the fish yet anticipates salvation. Both affirm that what overwhelms the saint cannot outmatch the Savior.

Foreshadowing of Messianic Victory

When Jesus rebukes wind and sea (Mark 4:39), He demonstrates concretely what the Psalms proclaim poetically—Yahweh’s royal authority embodied in the Son. The calming of the storm, His walking on waves, and His baptismal descent into Jordan all echo the breaker motif, revealing Him as the greater David and the true Jonah who passes through overwhelming waters for His people.

Pastoral Applications

1. Honest Lament: Believers may name anguish without fear of reproach; Scripture gives language for seasons when “all Your breakers and waves” roll over a soul.
2. Assurance of Sovereignty: Chaos is never autonomous; every surge is on a leash held by the King on high.
3. Hope of Deliverance: The God who heard David and Jonah still draws near; thus intercession gains courage even while the tide rises.
4. Gospel Comfort: Union with Christ means the breakers that once threatened judgment have already spent their full force on the cross, leaving only sanctifying waves that drive the church toward holiness.

Homiletical Notes

• Contrast Psalms 88:7’s despair with Psalms 93:4’s triumph to show the believer’s journey from night to dawn.
• Link Jonah 2:3 to Romans 6:4, portraying baptism as passing through death-dealing waters into resurrection life.
• Use 2 Samuel 22:5–17 to highlight that divine rescue often arrives not by removal of waves but by God’s personal descent into the storm.

Summary

מִשְׁבָּר calls attention to the most violent edges of the sea and to the equally violent upheavals of human experience. Scripture turns that image into a canvas for God’s majesty, judgment, and saving power, culminating in Jesus Christ, who commands the breakers and carries His people safely to shore.

מִ֝שְׁבָּרֶ֗יךָ מִשְׁבְּרֵי־ מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ משברי־ משבריך miš·bā·re·ḵā miš·bə·rê- mišbāreḵā mišbərê- mishbaReicha mishbereiInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts