מָרֹר (me.ror)
me.ror
bitterness
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The noun maror refers to something that is intensely bitter, whether as a physical taste or a metaphorical experience. In the Hebrew Bible, it most commonly denotes the bitter herbs eaten during the Passover meal, serving as a tangible reminder of the harsh slavery in Egypt. This concrete usage anchors the word’s meaning in sensory reality before it expands into emotional or spiritual territory.
While its primary sense is literal bitterness, the term also describes states of suffering or affliction. It appears in Lamentations to depict the "bitterness" of Jerusalem’s destruction and in Numbers to describe the bitter waters of Marah that Moses made sweet. These contexts show how a physical sensation becomes a powerful symbol for grief, judgment, or hardship.
Translators typically render maror as "bitterness" or "bitter things," preserving the starkness of the original. The word’s power lies in its simplicity: it does not soften the reality of pain but names it directly. By using a taste associated with suffering, Scripture invites readers to remember that redemption often follows a season of acknowledged bitterness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word maror points to a sharp, undeniable taste. In Exodus and Numbers, it describes the bitter herbs eaten during Passover. This was not a symbolic gesture but a physical reminder of the harsh slavery in Egypt. By eating something unpleasant, the people acknowledged their suffering directly rather than ignoring it.
In Lamentations 3:15, this same word describes a soul filled with bitterness and wormwood. Here, the taste represents deep grief and the pain of loss. Scripture does not shy away from this reality. It allows space for honest sorrow before pointing toward hope.
For your faith life, maror reminds us that acknowledging pain is part of the journey. You do not need to pretend everything is fine when it is not. God meets you in your bitterness just as He met Israel in their slavery. This honest remembrance prepares the heart for redemption and healing.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- with <the>/ bitter things1×
- bitter herbs1×
- and/ bitter herbs1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מְרֹרִ֖ים1×
- וּ/מְרֹרִ֖ים1×
- בַ/מְּרוֹרִ֖ים1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 12:8
They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
This verse establishes maror as a tangible, sensory reminder of the harsh slavery in Egypt during the Passover meal.
-
Numbers 9:11
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
It shows that even in a later, secondary observance of the Passover, the bitter herbs remained essential for remembering past afflictions.
-
Lamentations 3:15
He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.
Here maror shifts from food to emotion, describing how God has filled the prophet with bitterness and wormwood during Jerusalem's destruction.