Bible Dictionary
BRIM
Brim means the edge, border, or outermost part of something, such as the brink of a river or the rim of a vessel. In John 2:7, filling the jars to the brim means filling them completely.
Definition
Brim is the edge, border, lip, brink, or outermost part of something. It may describe the brink of a river, the rim of a vessel, or the upper limit to which a container is filled.
Biblical Usage
In John 2:7, filling the water jars to the brim means filling them completely to the top. Elsewhere the word describes an edge, shore, or vessel’s lip.
Historical Background
The Hebrew terms mean extremity, border, edge, side, shore, or lip. The Greek wording in John emphasizes the completeness of the filling.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>qatseh or qetseh = "an extremity" (in a variety of applications and idioms), "border," "edge," "side," "shore" (Jos 3:15 the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "brink"); also saphah or sepheth = "edge," "lip" (1Ki 7:23,24,26; 2Ch 4:2,5). In Joh 2:7, the adverb ano, is used to emphasize the verb egemisan = "to fill," thus giving the idea of "filling to the top."</p>