Home › Glossary › Letter M

Meribah

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

A place in the wilderness where Israel quarreled with Moses over water, testing God’s patience.

Detailed Definition
Meribah (Exodus 17; Numbers 20) means “quarreling” and marks Israel’s rebellion. In poetry, it symbolizes doubt amid provision, the danger of testing God, and the tension between human need and divine faithfulness in desolate places.
Example
Example in poetry:
Meribah—place of Israel’s quarrel with God—fuels testing poetry: “At Meribah, they tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is He among us?’”; A modern poem: “My Meribah is the desert moment when I doubt God’s presence”; In a lament: “Moses struck the rock in anger—Meribah cost him Canaan”; Historical reflection: “Blessed Meribah, where water flowed from rock, but leadership cracked.”
Additional Notes
Mesha, king of Moab (2 Kings 3; Mesha Stele), rebelled against Israel and sacrificed his crown prince to Chemosh—a desperate act of war piety. His story intersects archaeology and text. In poetry, Mesha represents the extremity of national devotion, the horror of child sacrifice, and the tragic calculus of survival in ancient warfare.
Also Known As
Waters of Meribah
Skip to main content