Hebrew word · H4762

מָרֵשָׁה

mareshah

Mareshah

A place name. The town of Mareshah in the Judean Shephelah (Josh 15:44), identified with Tel Maresha (Tell Sandahanna), next to Beit Guvrin, about 40 km southwest of Jerusalem.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Mareshah = "crest of a hill"

one of the cities in the lowlands of Judah

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 2 Chronicles 14:9

Range of meaning

A place name. The town of Mareshah in the Judean Shephelah (Josh 15:44), identified with Tel Maresha (Tell Sandahanna), next to Beit Guvrin, about 40 km southwest of Jerusalem.

Against the English

All versions say 'Mareshah'. The name gives no trouble, but a modern reader will not know its strategic place.

Used elsewhere in the period

Fortified by Rehoboam as one of his defensive towns (2 Chr 11:8). It was the home of the prophet Eliezer son of Dodavahu (2 Chr 20:37), and Micah plays on its name (Mic 1:15). In the Hellenistic period it became Marisa, a major Idumean city, and it has been extensively excavated.

From the study of Joshua 15:44

Range of meaning

A proper name for a major town in the foothills at Tel Maresha, the Hellenistic Marisa. The name is also used for a person or clan in Judah's genealogies (1 Chronicles 2:42; 4:21). Here it is spelled מָרֵאשָׁה with a silent aleph, which may echo rosh, 'head, summit'. That link is uncertain.

Against the English

All versions spell it 'Mareshah'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chronicles 11:8). Asa defeated Zerah the Cushite near it (2 Chronicles 14:9–10). Micah puns on it: 'I will again bring a conqueror (yoresh) upon you, inhabitant of Mareshah' (Micah 1:15). Later it became an Idumean and Hellenistic city with painted Sidonian tombs. John Hyrcanus took it around 112 BC (Josephus, Antiquities 13.257).

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:44 וּמָֽרֵאשָׁ֑ה and Mareshah

    Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages.

    Here: An important foothills town at Tel Maresha, next to later Beit Guvrin. The main pause mark in the Hebrew falls on this word, which closes the list of names before the total is given.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:21 מָרֵשָׁ֑ה Mareshah

    The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth-ashbea,

2 Chronicles · 4

  1. 2 Chronicles 11:8 מָרֵשָׁ֖ה Mareshah

    Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

  2. 2 Chronicles 14:9 מָרֵשָֽׁה׃ Mareshah

    Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.

    Here: A fortified Judahite town in the Shephelah, the low foothills between the coast and the Judean highlands (Josh 15:44; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr 11:8). Reaching it meant the invader stood at one of the gateways up to Hebron and Jerusalem.

  3. 2 Chronicles 14:10 לְמָרֵשָֽׁה׃ to Mareshah

    So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

  4. 2 Chronicles 20:37 מִמָּ֣רֵשָׁ֔ה from Mareshah

    Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 1:15 מָֽרֵשָׁ֑ה Mareshah

    I will again bring a conqueror against you, O dweller of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

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