Hebrew word · H4754

מָרָא

more'ah

to flap

This form occurs only here, and its meaning is disputed. (a) BDB and HALOT, followed by most modern scholars, take it as a spelling variant of מָרָה (mārāh), 'to be rebellious, defiant', especially toward God or parents. The participle מוֹרֶה means 'rebellious' (Deut 21:18).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

1) (Hiphil) to beat (the air), flap (the wings)

1a) meaning uncertain

2) (Qal) filthy

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Zephaniah 3:1

Range of meaning: This form occurs only here, and its meaning is disputed. (a) BDB and HALOT, followed by most modern scholars, take it as a spelling variant of מָרָה (mārāh), 'to be rebellious, defiant', especially toward God or parents. The participle מוֹרֶה means 'rebellious' (Deut 21:18). (b) Medieval Jewish interpreters linked it to מֻרְאָה (Lev 1:16), the crop or the filth in a bird's gullet, and so read 'filthy'; KJV follows this. (c) Another root מרא appears in Job 39:18, where the ostrich 'lifts herself up' or 'flaps'; Strong's merges this into H4754, hence the gloss 'to flap'. (d) The Septuagint linked it to רָאָה 'to see': 'conspicuous, notable'.
Against the English: KJV has 'filthy'. Most modern versions (ESV, NASB, NIV, BSB, WEB, YLT) have 'rebellious'. The two give very different pictures: dirt versus defiance.
How it drifted: 'Filthy' comes from a medieval etymology that guessed from a similar-looking word for a bird's crop. Most modern lexicons drop it. In today's English, 'filthy' also suggests dirt or obscenity, which the context does not support.
Used elsewhere in the period: The root מרה, 'rebel', is used for Israel and Jerusalem in Deut 9:7, 24; Isa 1:20; 3:8; Jer 4:17; 5:23; Lam 1:18, 20. Verse 2 spells out the rebellion: 'she heeded no voice; she accepted no correction (mûsār)'. That closely matches Deut 21:18, the 'stubborn and rebellious (môreh) son who does not listen to the voice of his father… though they discipline him'. The echo is probable but not certain.

Where it appears

Job · 1

Job 39:18 תַּמְרִ֑יא it flaps

Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

Zephaniah · 1

Zephaniah 3:1 מֹרְאָ֖ה [the] filthy [one]

Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!

Here: A feminine participle used as a noun: 'she who keeps rebelling'. It is the first trait of the unnamed city, a standing habit of defiance (explained in 3:2 as refusing to listen or take correction).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.