Hebrew word · H4771

מַרְגּוֹעַ

margoa'

rest

This word occurs only once in the Bible. It comes from the root rgʿ, 'to come to rest, settle down, be at ease.' It means a place or state of repose, a settled condition after restlessness.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

rest

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 Jeremiah 6:16

Range of meaning

This word occurs only once in the Bible. It comes from the root rgʿ, 'to come to rest, settle down, be at ease.' It means a place or state of repose, a settled condition after restlessness.

Against the English

'Rest' is the right word, but many modern readers hear inner calm or relief from stress. The Hebrew picture is a traveler arriving and settling, and a nation living secure in its land.

How it drifted

Modern devotional use, partly through Matthew 11:29, has made 'rest for your souls' mainly a matter of emotional or spiritual peace. That is part of it but narrower than the Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

The root appears in Deut 28:65: among the nations 'you will find no repose (lo targiaʿ), no resting-place for the sole of your foot,' a covenant curse. Isaiah 28:12 is a striking parallel: 'This is the rest... and this is the repose (margeʿah), but they would not listen.' Jer 31:2 speaks of Israel going 'to find its rest' (le-hargiʿo). Matthew 11:29 quotes this verse in Greek: 'you will find rest (anapausis) for your souls.'

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 6:16 מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ rest

    This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

    Here: This word occurs only here in the Bible. It comes from a root meaning to settle down or be at rest: a resting place, the settled security that ends restless wandering. In this chapter it stands against the invasion and flight coming in vv. 22–26.

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