מְרוֹחַ
𐤌𐤓𐤅𐤇
mᵉrôwach
H4790 adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
Designating a person, particularly a male, as bruised or crushed—often with the implication of emasculation or severe impairment, especially of the genital organs. The term refers to being physically wounded, battered, or deprived of function, with reference in biblical legal context to persons excluded from full Israelite communal participation because of such injury.
Semantic Range
bruised, crushed (especially of testicles); emasculated; broken (of genital organs); physically wounded (in a contextually specific legal sense)
Root / Etymology
From the root מָרַח (marach), meaning 'to rub' or 'spread.' The noun form מְרוֹחַ likely adopts the passive connotation of 'one rubbed' or 'smeared,' but in later usage specifically develops the sense of 'bruised' or 'crushed,' with reference to injury to the genital organs. The root's original sense is broader, but its appearance in this formation is distinctive and contextually narrow.
Historical & Contextual Notes
מְרוֹחַ occurs in a legal context primarily in Deuteronomy 23:2 (English 23:1), describing a male 'crushed of testicles'—i.e., one who is emasculated or made infertile through injury. This status serves as grounds for exclusion from the Israelite assembly, according to Deuteronomic law, which established physical wholeness as a criterion for full participation. Related terms include פְּצוּעַ־דַּכָּא (pətsuʿaʿ dākāʾ, 'one with a crushed or mutilated organ'), often paired with מְרוֹחַ in legal prohibitions. English translations such as 'emasculated' or 'bruised' are attempts to capture the narrow forensic and legal meaning of the word, but may not fully express its implication of ritual and communal exclusion or its association with injury specific to male genitalia. In post-exilic and Hellenistic periods, the issue of physical wholeness remained significant for priestly and communal status, but the term itself appears primarily in early legal texts rather than in later narratives or prophecy. The use of the word does not correspond to later English terms such as 'eunuch' or 'castrate,' both because of differing medical and social contexts, and because מְרוֹחַ specificially conveys the idea of forced injury, not voluntary or institutional emasculation.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from מָרַח; bruised, i.e. emasculated; broken.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
מרח (m-r-ḥ) — rub, smear, spread; by extension bruise, crush
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4799 | מָרַח | and they will smear |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4790-01 |
מְר֥וֹחַ | merocha | HAamsc |
crushed | crushed male | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4790-01 |
Leviticus 21:20 | מְר֥וֹחַ | merocha | HAamsc |
crushed | crushed male |