A place with bitter water on the Exodus route
Marah
Named in 3 verses across 2 books, first in Exodus 15:23.
מָרָהMarah
About Marah Written by AI
Marah was a location on the route of the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt. It was the first camp after crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:22-23; Numbers 33:8). The name Marah means "bitter" because the water there was undrinkable due to its bitterness. The Israelites grumbled against Moses, but the Lord showed him a tree which, when cast into the water, made it sweet (Exodus 15:24-25). God then tested the Israelites, promising to protect them from diseases if they obeyed His commands (Exodus 15:25-26). After Marah, the Israelites traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees (Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:9).
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
Bitterness, a fountain at the sixth station of the Israelites (Ex. 15:23, 24; Num. 33:8) whose waters were so bitter that they could not drink them. On this account they murmured against Moses, who, under divine direction, cast into the fountain “a certain tree” which took away its bitterness, so that the people drank of it. This was probably the ‘Ain Hawarah, where there are still several springs of water that are very “bitter,” distant some 47 miles from ‘Ayun Mousa.
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
29.350, 32.933 See it on a map
Where the Bible names it
- Exodus 15:23
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)
- Numbers 33:8
They set out from Pi-hahiroth and crossed through the sea, into the wilderness, and they journeyed three days into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
- Numbers 33:9
They set out from Marah and came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.