Hebrew word · H8564
תַּמְרוּר
tamrurim
signpost
Probably 'upright posts, pillars', perhaps from the root of tamar 'palm tree', meaning something tall and straight. A word spelled the same way means 'bitterness' (from marar, 'be bitter') in Jer 6:26, Jer 31:15 ('bitter weeping') and Hos 12:15.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) guideposts, markers, signposts, high heap
1a) meaning doubtful
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 31:21
- Range of meaning
Probably 'upright posts, pillars', perhaps from the root of tamar 'palm tree', meaning something tall and straight. A word spelled the same way means 'bitterness' (from marar, 'be bitter') in Jer 6:26, Jer 31:15 ('bitter weeping') and Hos 12:15.
- Against the English
Modern versions say 'guideposts' or 'signposts'. KJV 'high heaps' follows the idea of something raised up. Ancient translators (Greek, Latin) took it as 'bitterness' (see textual notes).
- Used elsewhere in the period
As a road marker it appears only here. The 'bitterness' sense is found in Jeremiah and Hosea. The Vulgate's 'amaritudines' ('bitternesses') shows that at least one ancient reader heard 'bitterness'.
Similar words
Where it appears
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 31:21 תַּמְרוּרִ֔ים guideposts
“Set up the road markers, put up the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.
Here: Probably upright posts or pillars. The word may be related to tamar, 'palm tree', which suggests something tall and upright. It is spelled exactly like the word for 'bitterness' that Jeremiah used six verses earlier for Rachel's 'bitter weeping' (31:15), so hearers would likely have caught the echo.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.