Hebrew word · H4838

מָרַק

umorak

to polish

Passive participle of maraq, 'to scour, rub clean, polish'. Its uses run from scrubbing a bronze pot after a sin offering has been boiled in it (Leviticus 6:28 [Hebrew 6:21]) to polishing weapons (Jeremiah 46:4) and, figuratively, scouring away evil (Proverbs 20:30).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to scour, polish

1a) (Qal) to scour, polish

1b) (Pual) to be scoured

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 4:16

Range of meaning

Passive participle of maraq, 'to scour, rub clean, polish'. Its uses run from scrubbing a bronze pot after a sin offering has been boiled in it (Leviticus 6:28 [Hebrew 6:21]) to polishing weapons (Jeremiah 46:4) and, figuratively, scouring away evil (Proverbs 20:30).

Against the English

BSB and NIV 'polished', WEB 'bright', KJV 'bright' (as 'bright brass'), YLT 'purified'. 'Polished' or 'burnished' fits best. YLT's 'purified' leans too far toward ritual purity.

How it drifted

YLT's 'purified' pushes the word toward ritual cleansing. The verb is physical, scouring and polishing, though in the sanctuary a gleaming finish suited a holy place.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 7:45 describes the same objects with a different word, memoraṭ ('burnished', from maraṭ). The two verbs sound alike and mean nearly the same thing.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 6:28 וּמֹרַ֥ק and it will be scoured

    The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:16 מָרֽוּק׃ polished

    and the pots, shovels, meat forks, and all the other articles. All these objects that Huram-abi made for King Solomon for the house of the LORD were of polished bronze.

    Here: 'Having been scoured.' The bronze was rubbed until it was clean and gleaming. The same verb is used for scouring a bronze vessel in Leviticus 6:28 and for polishing spears in Jeremiah 46:4.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 46:4 מִרְקוּ֙ polish

    Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!

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