To provoke
מָרַרStrong’s H4843marar (ma-rar)
Appears in 15 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Marar is the Hebrew word usually translated “it is bitter”, “showed bitterness to him” and “made bitter”. It appears in 15 verses of the Old Testament.
“And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.”
Meaning
- To be bitter(Qal) to be bitter · (Piel) · (Hiphil) to make bitter, embitter · (Hithpalpel)
- (TWOT) to be strong, strengthen
How it's translated
- it is bitter 4
- and they showed bitterness to him 1
- and they made bitter 1
- you cause bitterness 1
- he has caused bitterness 1
- he has made bitter 1
- i will show bitterness 1
- it will be bitter 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Isaiah 3
- Exodus 2
- Ruth 2
- Daniel 2
- Genesis 1
- 2 Kings 1
10 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Daniel 11:11In contextAnd the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
- Zechariah 12:10In contextAnd I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
- Genesis 49:23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
- Exodus 1:14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
- Exodus 23:21Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
- Ruth 1:13Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
Hebrew dictionary
מָרַר marar · to provoke
1) to be bitter 1a) (Qal) to be bitter 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to show bitterness 1b2) to make bitter 1c) (Hiphil) to make bitter, embitter 1d) (Hithpalpel) 1d1) to embitter oneself 1d2) to be enraged 2) (TWOT) to be strong, strengthen
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “provoke” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
PROVO'KE, verb transitive
[Latin provoco, to call forth; pro and voco, to call.]
- To call into action; to arouse; to excite; as, to provoke anger or wrath by offensive words or by injury; to provoke war.
- To make angry; to offend; to incense; to enrage.“Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath” Ephesians 6:4
- To excite; to cause; as, to provoke perspiration; to provoke a smile.
- To excite; to stimulate; to increase.
All definitions and other forms of “provoke”
- To challenge.
- To move; to incite; to stir up; to induce by motives. Romans 10:19“Let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works” Hebrews 10:24
- To incite; to rouse; as, to provoke one to anger. Deuteronomy 32:21
PROVO'KE, verb intransitive
To appeal. [A Latinism, not used.]
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.