Aramaic word · H4756
מָרֵא
mare'-
lord
'Mārēʾ' means lord, master, owner, superior. It is used for human masters and for kings (Daniel 4:19/16, 24/21, 'my lord') as well as for God (Daniel 5:23, 'the Lord of heaven'). The phrase means 'master over kings'.
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) lord
1a) of king
1b) of God
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
- Range of meaning
'Mārēʾ' means lord, master, owner, superior. It is used for human masters and for kings (Daniel 4:19/16, 24/21, 'my lord') as well as for God (Daniel 5:23, 'the Lord of heaven'). The phrase means 'master over kings'.
- Against the English
All the major versions say 'Lord of kings', usually with a capital L. The capital tends to make English readers think of the divine name (printed 'LORD') or of 'Lord' as a title for Jesus. The Aramaic word is an ordinary word for a master, applied here to God.
- How it drifted
Capitalized 'Lord' in English Bibles is closely tied to the divine name and to Christian worship. The Aramaic word was general: a slave could call his owner 'mārēʾ', and a courtier could say it to the king.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In later Aramaic and Syriac 'mārā'/'māran' ('our Lord') became a standard title for God and for Jesus. The early Aramaic-speaking church's prayer 'Maranatha' (1 Corinthians 16:22; Didache 10.6) uses it. The Aramaic Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran (1QapGen 20:13) calls God 'Lord of all the kings of the earth', a very close parallel.
- Range of meaning
'Lord, master', a title for a superior: a king, a master, or God (Dan 2:47; 5:23 'Lord of heaven'). With the suffix 'my' (mārî) it is the normal respectful address of a subject to a ruler.
- Against the English
'My lord' is accurate. Readers should not take the capitalised religious sense of 'Lord' into it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Dan 4:24 (again 'my lord the king'); 2:47 and 5:23 (of God). Aramaic papyri from Elephantine use mrʾy ('my lord') for officials. The early Christian marana tha (1 Cor 16:22) uses the same word.
- Range of meaning
Mare' is the everyday Aramaic word for a superior: a master over servants, a lord over subjects, a king addressed by his courtiers. It is a title of rank, not a divine name. 'Lord of heaven' as a whole is unique in the Bible. Elsewhere Daniel says 'God of heaven' (2:18, 19, 37, 44) or 'King of heaven' (4:37).
- Against the English
English Bibles print 'Lord' with a capital, and many readers then assume it stands for God's personal name (YHWH, printed LORD in small capitals). It does not. It is the same word Daniel used to address Nebuchadnezzar ('my lord', 4:19, 24). The point is a matter of rank: there is a Master above the master of Babylon.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Aramaic inscriptions of the region honour a god called Baalshamayn, 'lord of heaven' (for example the 8th-century BC Zakkur stele). The Jewish community at Elephantine in Egypt (5th century BC) called its God 'the God of heaven'. Later Aramaic-speaking Christians kept the word mar in maranatha, 'our Lord, come' (1 Cor 16:22).
Where it appears
Daniel · 4
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Daniel 2:47 וּמָרֵ֥א and [the] lord of
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
Here: 'And master of…' It is an ordinary word for a superior. Courtiers use it for the king himself ('my lord', 4:19/16). It is the same word behind 'Maranatha' ('Our Lord, come!').
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Daniel 4:19 מָרִ֕י O lord my
For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.” “My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!
Here: 'My lord', the respectful way a subject addresses a ruler. It is the same Aramaic word as in maranatha ('our Lord, come'). Here it carries court courtesy, not worship.
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Daniel 4:24 מָרִ֥י lord my
This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against my lord the king:
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Daniel 5:23 מָרֵֽא־ [the] lord of
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
Here: 'Lord of.' This is the ordinary word for a master or overlord. Daniel uses the same word for the human king in 4:19 and 4:24 ('my lord'). Belshazzar, who is used to being called 'lord', is told that he has a Lord above him.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.