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מׇרָּה

𐤌𐤓𐤄

morrâh

H4787 noun

SILEX Entry

Root מרר to be bitter, to provoke, to cause pain

Definition

Bitterness, state of being bitter, event or experience characterized by sharpness, pain, or distress, often with an internal emphasis on emotional or psychological suffering. In some contexts, denotes an action or state arousing hostility or provoking anger. The term primarily conveys the sense of a deeply felt negative experience, whether physical, emotional, or relational.

Semantic Range

bitterness (emotion), bitterness (taste), anguish, distress, provocation, sorrow, painful experience

Root / Etymology

From the root מרר (מרה), meaning 'to be bitter.' The noun מׇרָּה derives from this root and denotes 'bitterness,' either literally (in taste) or metaphorically (in emotion or experience). The form with dagesh (understood as intensive or variant vocalization) differentiates it from the more common מָרָה (with different vocalization and sometimes different sense).

Historical & Contextual Notes

מׇרָּה appears infrequently in the Hebrew Bible and is closely related to the more common noun מָרוֹר (Exod 12:8) and adjectival forms such as מַר (bitter). It typically describes deep sorrow, distress, or provocation—an experience that is 'bitter' to endure. In narratives, it can refer to both physical bitterness (such as taste) and figurative bitterness (as in spirit or emotion, e.g., anguish or provocation). The nuance may overlap with other Hebrew words for anger (e.g., כַּעַס), but מׇרָּה specifically emphasizes the poignant sense of affliction or emotional pain. Standard English translations often render it as 'bitterness,' 'anguish,' or 'trouble,' but these do not always capture the depth of emotional suffering implied in the Hebrew. Over time and across texts, the sense of internal emotional pain or provocation remains predominant. In post-biblical Hebrew, the term continues to express bitterness in both literal and extended senses.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

lemma מָרָה missing dagesh, corrected to מׇרָּה; a form of מֹרָה; trouble; bitterness.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מרר (m-r-r) — to be bitter, to cause pain, to provoke

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4472 מַמְרֹר bitternesses
H4751 מַר in bitterness
H4752 מַר like a drop
H4753 מֹר the myrrh resin
H4755 מָרָא Bitter-One

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4787-01 מָרַּ֣ת marat HNcfsc bitterness bitterness of bitterness of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4787-01 Proverbs 14:10 מָרַּ֣ת marat HNcfsc bitterness bitterness of bitterness of
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