מָרוֹת (ma.rot)
ma.rot
Maroth
N:N--LQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N--L
Word Overview
The name Maroth, meaning "bitterness," identifies a specific town in the lowlands of Judah mentioned only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Micah 1:12. Rather than serving as a backdrop for narrative action, the location functions as a poignant symbol within the prophet’s message of impending judgment.
Micah uses the place name itself to illustrate the spiritual state of the region. The town’s name becomes a literal description of its condition, where the inhabitants experience the bitter consequences of their actions and the approaching calamity. This wordplay highlights how physical locations in Scripture can carry theological weight beyond their geographical identity.
By anchoring this abstract concept of bitterness to a real settlement, the text grounds the prophetic warning in tangible reality. The single occurrence underscores how place names in the Bible often reflect the moral or spiritual atmosphere of the people living there, turning geography into a mirror for divine judgment.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The name Maroth means bitterness, and it appears in Micah 1:12 as a town waiting for relief that does not come. This single mention turns a geographic location into a mirror of spiritual reality. When people live far from God’s ways, their circumstances often reflect the weight of those choices. The text shows how anxiety can grow when hope is misplaced.
Yet this word also points to a deeper truth: bitterness is not the final word. Even in places where evil seems to have reached the gates, God remains sovereign. Your own seasons of waiting may feel heavy, but they are seen. You do not have to carry the burden of fixing what only God can restore.
When life feels bitter, remember that God knows your waiting. He hears the quiet hopes you hold for good. This story invites you to bring your anxieties to Him, trusting that His timing is better than our own. There is peace in letting go of the need to control outcomes.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Maroth1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מָר֑וֹת1×
Key Verses
-
Micah 1:12
For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
The word Maroth functions as a prophetic symbol, where the town’s name literally describes its state of anxious waiting for relief while judgment approaches Jerusalem.