diff --git a/src/core.js b/src/core.js
index 62141b986..969c7eeba 100644
--- a/src/core.js
+++ b/src/core.js
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ jQuery.extend({
 	},
 
 	error: function( msg ) {
-		throw msg;
+		throw new Error( msg );
 	},
 
 	parseJSON: function( data ) {
diff --git a/test/unit/core.js b/test/unit/core.js
index dc909546b..24da8db6c 100644
--- a/test/unit/core.js
+++ b/test/unit/core.js
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ test("jQuery.parseXML", 4, function(){
 		xml = jQuery.parseXML( "<p>Not a <<b>well-formed</b> xml string</p>" );
 		ok( false, "invalid xml not detected" );
 	} catch( e ) {
-		strictEqual( e, "Invalid XML: <p>Not a <<b>well-formed</b> xml string</p>", "invalid xml detected" );
+		strictEqual( e.message, "Invalid XML: <p>Not a <<b>well-formed</b> xml string</p>", "invalid xml detected" );
 	}
 });