Immer

Biblical Record

Immer is not a figure whose life is recorded at length. In Scripture the name appears chiefly as that of the ancestor of a priestly family and as the name by which that family was known.

• Priestly course: 1 Chronicles 24 recounts how, in the time of David, the priests were divided into twenty-four courses (divisions that took turns serving in the temple), and it lists the sixteenth course as Immer (1 Chronicles 24:14).
• Father of Pashur: Jeremiah 20:1 introduces Pashur, the chief governor of the temple (the official responsible for order in the temple), as "the son of Immer the priest." After hearing Jeremiah's prophecy, Pashur struck him and put him in the stocks (a wooden frame that held the feet fast) (Jeremiah 20:2).
• List of returned exiles: The list of those who returned from the Babylonian exile includes 1,052 "children of Immer" (Ezra 2:37; Nehemiah 7:40).
• Ezra's reforms: The list of priests who had married foreign women includes Hanani and Zebadiah of the sons of Immer (Ezra 10:20).
• Rebuilding the wall: Zadok the son of Immer repaired the section of the wall opposite his own house (Nehemiah 3:29).
• Genealogy of priests living in Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 9:12 and Nehemiah 11:13 record Immer as a distant ancestor of Maasiai (Amashai), a priest who lived in Jerusalem. The two lists are commonly regarded as preserving the same line of descent.

By contrast, in the phrase "they which went up from ... Immer" in Ezra 2:59 and Nehemiah 7:61, Immer is understood not as a person but as a place in Babylonia. This place name is distinguished from the priestly family of Immer.

Significance Within the Bible

The name Immer shows that a single priestly family continued from the monarchy through the exile and into the period of the return. After the exile, the family is recorded as taking part both in the worship of the temple in Jerusalem and in the rebuilding of the wall. The New Testament does not mention Immer. However, the statement in Luke 1:5 that Zacharias belonged to "the course of Abia" is often discussed in this connection as evidence that the system of priestly courses described in 1 Chronicles 24 continued into the New Testament era.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Meaning of "son of Immer": In Hebrew, "son" can denote not only a biological son but also a descendant or a member of a family. Interpreters are therefore divided over whether Pashur and Zadok were Immer's actual sons or simply members of the family of Immer. Given the span of time between the Immer of David's day and the era of Jeremiah, many take it as a family name.
• Origin of the system of courses: 1 Chronicles records that David established the system of twenty-four courses. Conservative interpreters accept this record as it stands, while some critical scholars hold that the system was organized after the exile.
• Distinguishing other men named Pashur: Scripture includes other individuals of the same name, such as "Pashur the son of Melchiah" (Jeremiah 21:1). These are therefore read as distinct from Pashur the son of Immer.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Immer are rare. The name is usually mentioned as that of the father of Pashur, Jeremiah's persecutor, when Jeremiah 20 is preached or studied. Both the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render the name as "Immer" (임멜).