Hebrew word · H4808

מְרִיבָה

merivah

provocation

Quarrel, contention, dispute. It belongs to the root ryb, which covers everything from a heated argument to a formal legal case (rîv = lawsuit, complaint, dispute). As an ordinary noun it is rare.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

strife, contention

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 Genesis 13:8

Range of meaning: Quarrel, contention, dispute. It belongs to the root ryb, which covers everything from a heated argument to a formal legal case (rîv = lawsuit, complaint, dispute). As an ordinary noun it is rare. It is better known as a place name, Meribah, 'Quarrel-place', where Israel 'contended' with Moses and with God over water (Exod 17:7; Num 20:13, 24; 27:14; Ps 81:7; 95:8).
Against the English: KJV, WEB and ESV have 'strife', BSB 'contention', NIV 'quarreling', NLT 'conflict'. All are accurate. The gloss 'provocation' in the supplied lexical data comes from the KJV of Psalm 95:8, where the place name was translated as a word. That sense does not fit here.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint has machē, 'fight, quarrel'. The Vulgate has iurgium, 'wrangling, dispute'. The root ryb is the everyday Hebrew word for a dispute between parties, in the market as well as in court (e.g. Exod 23:2-3; Deut 25:1).

From the study of Numbers 27:14

Range of meaning: Strife, quarrel, dispute or contention, including a formal complaint against someone. It comes from rîb, 'to contend, argue a case', which is also used of lawsuits. It became the name of two sites: Massah-and-Meribah at Rephidim (Exod 17:7) and Meribah of Kadesh (here).
Against the English: English versions transliterate it as 'Meribah', so the meaning disappears. KJV and WEB 'strife of the congregation' and BSB 'contended' translate the first use, but nobody can see that the place name is the same word. Older English sometimes had 'provocation' (KJV Ps 95:8), which follows the Greek tradition.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 13:8: 'let there be no merivah between me and you.' Exod 17:7; Deut 33:8 (Levi tested 'at the waters of Meribah'); Ps 81:7; Ps 95:8; Ps 106:32. Ezek 47:19 and 48:28 use 'waters of Meriboth-Kadesh' as a boundary marker. The Septuagint translates it as a word, antilogia ('dispute, contradiction'), and in Ps 95:8 as parapikrasmos ('embitterment, provocation'). Hebrews 3:8 quotes that form.

Similar words

מְרִיבָה merivah · Meribah

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

Genesis 13:8 מְרִיבָה֙ strife

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.

Here: A quarrel or dispute. It comes from the same root as rîv, 'dispute', in v.7, so Abram takes up the narrator's word and refuses to let the herdsmen's quarrel become a quarrel between the two heads of the family.

Numbers · 1

Numbers 27:14 בִּמְרִיבַת֙ in [the] strife of

for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin.

Here: 'In the quarrel of.' The ordinary noun for a dispute or complaint, from the verb rîb ('to contend, bring a case'). The people had 'quarreled with Moses' over water (Num 20:3). The same word becomes the place name later in the verse.

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