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Bitter Waters

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Bitter waters are waters made undrinkable or used to test suspected unfaithfulness.

Detailed Definition
Biblical bitter waters appear in narratives of wilderness hardship and in the ritual test described in Numbers for a woman accused of adultery. The phrase therefore joins physical thirst with moral suspicion, turning water into an instrument of judgment. In poetry, bitter waters may symbolize poisoned memory, mistrust within intimacy, or the painful knowledge that what should sustain life has become difficult to swallow.
Example
Example in poetry:
Bitter Waters recalls the waters of Marah, which Moses made drinkable in Exodus.; A poet can use the phrase for grief that has not yet been transformed: “We drank the bitter waters of remembrance.”; The image may suggest a trial that becomes healing through faith or endurance.; “At Marah, even bitter waters learned the taste of mercy” turns the biblical episode into a hopeful metaphor.
Additional Notes
Bitter waters can signify judgment, grief, or trial. In Exodus, undrinkable water at Marah becomes sweet through God’s intervention. In Numbers 5, water used in a ritual tests a woman suspected of adultery; the phrase therefore carries associations of ordeal, purity, and divine discernment.
Also Known As
Waters of Marah Marah
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