StrongerBible

marah

מָרָה

HebrewH4784“rebel, disobey, ...”

Appears 45 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Num 20:10Num 20:24Num 27:14Deu 1:26Deu 1:43Deu 9:7Deu 9:23Deu 9:24Deu 21:18Deu 21:20Deu 31:27Jos 1:181Sa 12:141Sa 12:151Sa 30:61Ki 13:211Ki 13:262Ki 14:26Neh 9:26Job 17:2Psa 5:10(11)Psa 78:8Psa 78:17Psa 78:40Psa 78:56Psa 105:28Psa 106:7Psa 106:33Psa 106:43Psa 107:11Isa 1:20Isa 3:8Isa 50:5Isa 63:10Jer 4:17Jer 5:23Lam 1:18Lam 1:20 (2×)Lam 3:42Ezk 5:6Ezk 20:8Ezk 20:13Ezk 20:21Hos 13:16(14:1)
Root family
Word studyma-RAHverb

What marah means

to rebel: to defiantly refuse to obey a rightful authority, above all God himself.

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This verb names open defiance against someone a person is bound to obey. It is not a quiet failure or an honest mistake; it is a deliberate refusal to listen and submit. The same word can describe a child who will not heed a parent or a people who will not heed a leader, but its center of gravity is the relationship between God and his people.

By far the most common picture is Israel defying the LORD. The verb is repeatedly paired with refusing to listen to his voice, and its usual object is his "mouth," a way of saying his spoken command. To rebel, then, is to hear a clear word from God and set oneself against it. The retellings of the wilderness years return to this charge again and again: the people rebelled at the sea, in the desert, and at the waters of Meribah, and a psalm and a sermon alike sum up a whole generation as stubborn and rebellious.

The word carries real heat. It is close to the language of treason against a king, now aimed at God, and it stands beside grieving his Spirit and provoking him to anger. When the people confess it, as in Lamentations, it is an admission of guilt, not a complaint. This is why it sits so naturally next to words for sin and transgression: rebellion is not one failing among many but the posture behind them, a will turned against the one it owes obedience to.

Nuances

1ato rebel against God: to defy the LORD by refusing to obey his spoken command, his word, or his Spirit.
Num 20:10Num 20:24Num 27:14Deu 1:26Deu 1:43Deu 9:7Deu 9:23Deu 9:24Deu 31:271Sa 12:141Sa 12:151Ki 13:21
1bto rebel against human authority: to defy a parent or a leader by refusing to obey.
Deu 21:18Deu 21:20Jos 1:18

Uncategorized

Awaiting AI sense categorization.

3 verses
1Sa 30:62Ki 14:26Job 17:2

What scholars say about marah

The standard lexica (BDB, HALOT, DCH) treat מרה as a single verb meaning "to be contentious, rebellious, refractory," appearing chiefly in the qal and hiphil with no clear difference of meaning between the two stems. Its characteristic syntax is rebellion against the "mouth" (peh) of the LORD, that is, his spoken command, frequently in tandem with negated שמע ("not listen to his voice"). TLOT and NIDOTTE (s.v. מרה) note its concentration in the Deuteronomistic and Priestly retellings of the wilderness murmurings and in the prophets' indictment of covenant defiance, where it stands alongside מרד "revolt," פשע "transgress," and the stock pairing with the participle of סרר ("stubborn and rebellious," Deuteronomy 21:18-20; Psalm 78:8; Jeremiah 5:23). The participle ממרים ("rebellious ones") characterizes the wilderness generation in Deuteronomy 9:7, 24; 31:27. A recognized text-critical question attaches to 2 Kings 14:26 (ומרה מאד) and 1 Samuel 30:6 (כי מרה נפש), where many read the root מרר "to be bitter" rather than מרה "to rebel"; the ancient versions and modern lexica divide, and these are left unclassified here. The cognate evidence (Akkadian, Ugaritic) supports the sense of opposition and disobedience.

Where scholars disagree about marah

Whether a small number of forms spelled like this verb belong to it or to the look-alike root meaning "to be bitter."

  • majorityAt 2 Kings 14:26 and 1 Samuel 30:6 the form belongs to the root for bitterness, so the sense is grief or affliction, not rebellion.; HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner-Stamm), s.v. מרר; BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. מרר
  • minorityThese forms are parsed instead under the verb for rebellion, as reflected in some grammatical taggings of the text.; DCH (Clines, ed.), s.v. מרה

Sources

  • BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. מָרָהlexicon
  • HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner-Stamm), s.v. מרהlexicon
  • DCH (Clines, ed.), s.v. מרהlexicon
  • R. Knierim, 'מרה mrh to be obstinate,' in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (Hendrickson, 1997), 2:687-688dictionary
  • Robert B. Chisholm, 'מרה,' in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (Zondervan, 1997), 2:1101-1102dictionary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of מָרָה

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיַּמְרוּ

Neh 9:26, Psa 78:56, Psa 106:7, Ezk 20:8, Ezk 20:13, Ezk 20:21

qal participle m s absolute

מֹרֶה, וּמוֹרֶה

Deu 21:20, 2Ki 14:26, Psa 78:8, Deu 21:18, Jer 5:23

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 2mp

וַתַּמְרוּ

Deu 1:26, Deu 1:43, Deu 9:23

hiphil infinitive-construct construct

מְרוֹת, הַמְּרוֹתָ

Psa 78:17, Isa 3:8, Job 17:2

hiphil participle m p absolute

מַמְרִים

Deu 9:7, Deu 9:24, Deu 31:27

qal perfect 1cs

מָרִיתִי

Isa 50:5, Lam 1:18, Lam 1:20

qal perfect 3cp

מָרוּ

Psa 5:10, Psa 105:28, Isa 63:10

qal perfect 3fs

מָרָה, מָרְתָה, מָרָתָה

1Sa 30:6, Hos 13:16, Jer 4:17

hiphil imperfect 3mp

יַמְרוּ

Psa 78:40, Psa 106:43

hiphil perfect 3cp

הִמְרוּ

Psa 106:33, Psa 107:11

qal consecutive-perfect 2mp

וּמְרִיתֶם

1Sa 12:15, Isa 1:20

qal perfect 2mp

מְרִיתֶם

Num 20:24, Num 27:14

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3fs

וַתֶּמֶר

Ezk 5:6

hiphil imperfect 2mp

תַמְרוּ

1Sa 12:14

hiphil imperfect 3ms

יַמְרֶה

Jos 1:18

qal infinitive-absolute absolute

מָרוֹ

Lam 1:20

qal participle m p absolute

מֹּרִים

Num 20:10

qal perfect 1cp

מָרִינוּ

Lam 3:42

qal perfect 2ms

מָרִיתָ

1Ki 13:21

qal perfect 3ms

מָרָה

1Ki 13:26