מרר

מרר¹ to be bitter

Pronunciation

• Tiberian: mārar, qal third person mar, feminine mārâ^[1][2]
• Samaritan reading tradition: piel yēmarrēru^[3]

Forms

מָרַר (mārar) verb^[4][1] Qal perfect מַר, pausal מָר, feminine מָרָה, imperfect יֵמַר; piel יְמָרְרוּ, אֲמָרֵר; hiphil הֵמַר, infinitive הָמֵר; hitpalpel יִתְמַרְמַר.^[1][5]

Etymology

The verb is inherited; it has the same sense in Akkadian marāru (“to be bitter”),^[6][7] Arabic مَرَّ (marra, “to be bitter”), with the causative مَرَّرَ (marrara, “to make bitter”),^[1][8] a Ge'ez verb meaning to be bitter or embittered,^[9] Aramaic מְרַר (mərar) and Syriac ܡܪܪ (mar, “to be bitter”).^[10][11][12] Ugaritic mrr (“to strengthen, bless”) is listed by HALOT without deciding whether it is the same root.^[1] HALOT and BDB separate a root מרר “to go away, flow”, which they compare with the Arabic verb of the same form meaning to pass by or flow.^[13][14]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Blessing of Jacob the archers way-mārăruhû wā-rōbbû, “provoked him bitterly and shot at him”, Joseph (Genesis 49:23).^[15][4][1] In the Exodus narrative the Egyptians way-mārărû ʾeṯ-ḥayyêhem, “embittered their lives” with hard labour (Exodus 1:14).^[1][7]

Semantic evolution

The qal is literal once, when beer becomes bitter to its drinkers (Isaiah 24:9), and otherwise describes the soul: the people of Ziklag ready to stone David (1 Samuel 30:6), the Shunammite mother (2 Kings 4:27), and the impersonal mar lî “it is bitter for me” of Naomi (Ruth 1:13) and the roads of Zion (Lamentations 1:4).^[1][5] The piel makes life bitter or provokes, and with “weeping” means to weep bitterly (Isaiah 22:4);^[1] the hiphil is “to cause grief” (Job 27:2, Ruth 1:20).^[1] Daniel's hitpalpel yiṯmarmar is “to become enraged”, of the ram and the king of the south (Daniel 8:7, 11:11).^[1] The Septuagint has Ancient Greek πικραίνω (pikraínō) and, for Daniel's rage, θυμόω (thumóō) and ὀργίζω (orgízō).^[4] The Mishnah explains the bitter herbs of the Passover by the Egyptians having embittered the lives of the fathers.^[16]

Timeline

• Archaic Hebrew poetry – the archers embitter Joseph (Genesis 49:23).^[15][4]
• Classical Biblical Hebrew – Exodus 1:14, 1 Samuel 30:6, 2 Kings 4:27.^[1]
• Late Biblical Hebrew – the hitpalpel yiṯmarmar in Daniel 8:7 and 11:11.^[1][4]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it Ancient Greek πικραίνω (pikraínō).^[17][4]
• 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – 17 occurrences in the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[18][19]
• c. 200 AD – the Mishnah links the bitter herbs to the embittered lives in Egypt.^[20][16]

Meanings

Verb

1. (qal) to be bitter; to be desperate, in bitter distress;^[1][5] mar lî I am grieved.^[1][5]
2. (piel) to make bitter; to provoke; with בְּכִי, to weep bitterly.^[1]
3. (hiphil) to cause grief; with עַל, to lament bitterly.^[1]
4. (hitpalpel, late) to become enraged.^[1]

Word family

• מַר (mar)
• מֹר (mōr)
• מְרֵרָה (mərērâ)
• מְרוֹרָה (mərôrâ)
• מֶמֶר (memer)
• מַמְּרוֹרִים (mammərôrîm)
• תַּמְרוּרִים (tamrûrîm)
• מְרִירִי (mərîrî)

מרר² bitter herbs

Pronunciation

• Tiberian: mārōr, plural mərōrîm^[21][2]
• Samaritan reading tradition: plural mā̊rūrəm^[3]

Forms

מָרֹר (mārōr) noun, masculine, only in the plural^[4][21] Plural מְרֹרִים, also מְרוֹרִים; feminine plural מְרֹרֹת (Deuteronomy 32:32, Job 13:26).^[21][22]

Etymology

The noun is formed on מָרַר (mārar, “to be bitter”) with the qatōl pattern, as an adjective “bitter” that became a noun.^[21][23] Jewish Aramaic מְרוֹרָא (mərôrā) is borrowed from the Hebrew, while Syriac ܡܪܪܐ (mərārā) is an Aramaic formation with the same plural sense “bitter herbs”.^[21][24]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Priestly Passover law orders the lamb to be eaten roasted û-maṣṣôṯ ʿal-mərōrîm, “with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” (Exodus 12:8, repeated in Numbers 9:11).^[4][21] The feminine plural is in the Song of Moses, ʾaškəlōṯ mərōrōṯ, “clusters of bitterness”, said of the grapes of Sodom's vine (Deuteronomy 32:32).^[15][4][21]

Semantic evolution

Outside the Passover laws the word is figurative: in Lamentations 3:15 God has “sated me with bitter things”, in parallel with wormwood, and in Job 13:26 mərōrôṯ are bitter charges written against Job.^[21][22] The Septuagint renders the herbs by Ancient Greek πικρίς (pikrís), a bitter plant, and the grapes by πικρία (pikría).^[4] In the Babylonian Talmud mārôr is the bitter vegetable of the Passover meal, and the rabbis discussed whether the sweet ḥaroset dipped with it cancels its bitterness.^[10][16]

Timeline

• Archaic Hebrew poetry – ʾaškəlōṯ mərōrōṯ in the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:32).^[15][4]
• Classical Biblical Hebrew – the bitter herbs of the Passover (Exodus 12:8, Numbers 9:11).^[21]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it Ancient Greek πικρίς (pikrís).^[17][4]
• c. 200 AD – the Mishnah's explanation of the bitter herbs (Pesaḥim 10:5).^[20][16]

Meanings

Noun

1. (plural) bitter herbs, eaten with the Passover lamb.^[21][22]
2. (figurative) bitter things, bitterness; bitter grapes.^[21]