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Place Old Testament

Marah

Marah, a place where the Israelites found bitter water that Moses made drinkable by casting a tree into it (Exodus 15:23-25; Numbers 33:8-9). Mentioned in 3 verses across 2 books, first at Exodus 15:23.

Why it matters. A place with bitter water on the Exodus route

Location
29.350, 32.933 (approximate, within about 2 km)

Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Marah

Marah was a location on the route of the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt. It was the first camp after crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:22-23; Numbers 33:8). The name Marah means "bitter" because the water there was undrinkable due to its bitterness. The Israelites grumbled against Moses, but the Lord showed him a tree which, when cast into the water, made it sweet (Exodus 15:24-25). God then tested the Israelites, promising to protect them from diseases if they obeyed His commands (Exodus 15:25-26). After Marah, the Israelites traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees (Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:9).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

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Appears in Scripture

Named in 3 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Place. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.