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מְרִירִי

𐤌𐤓𐤉𐤓𐤉

mᵉrîyrîy

H4815 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root מרר to be bitter, to be painful, to provoke, to embitter

Definition

Adjective meaning 'bitter,' especially in the sense of intensely bitter or poisonous, often applied to substances or conditions that cause pain, distress, or harm. In specific contexts, it can denote poisonous herbs, venomous creatures, or metaphorically refer to adversarial individuals or experiences marked by severe suffering or intensity.

Semantic Range

intensely bitter, poisonous, venomous, causing pain, associated with the venom of serpents or sources of severe distress

Root / Etymology

From the root מָרַר (marar), 'to be bitter.' The word מְרִירִי is a derived intensive or emphatic adjective form, conveying heightened bitterness or poisonous quality, derived from the notion of sharp or acrid taste or experience.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, מְרִירִי appears primarily in poetic and wisdom literature. It often describes substances that are not merely bitter in taste but dangerous or laced with poison, such as the venom of serpents, or the metaphorical poison of human hostility. Notably, in Deuteronomy 32:33, it refers to the venom of serpents as 'the cruel venom of asps' (or 'bitter venom'); elsewhere, it can extend to describe deep affliction or wounding. The semantic overlap with related terms like מָרוֹר (maror, 'bitter herb') is limited by the heightened, often harmful connotation of מְרִירִי, which is rarely used for culinary or ritual bitterness and instead emphasizes destructive qualities. English translations like 'bitter' often underrepresent the term's intensity and its association with poison or violent adversity. In later Jewish liturgy, related terms refer to bitter herbs of the Passover ritual, but מְרִירִי itself remains largely an adjective for intense, threatening bitterness in biblical usage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from מָרַר; bitter, i.e. poisonous; bitter.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מרר (m-r-r) — to be bitter, to be painful, to embitter, 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 Occurrences
H4815-01 מְרִירִ֑י meriri HAamsa bitter poisonously bitter 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4815-01 Deuteronomy 32:24 מְרִירִ֑י meriri HAamsa bitter poisonously bitter
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