Merathaim
Merathaim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. Known today as Babylon. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Merathaim appears in Jeremiah 50:21, where the prophet uses it as a symbolic name in his extensive oracle against Babylon. God commands, "Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Slay and utterly destroy the last of them." The name Merathaim is a Hebrew dual form meaning "double rebellion" or "double bitterness," functioning as a wordplay on the Babylonian geographical term mat marrati, referring to the marshy lagoon region at the head of the Persian Gulf where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. Jeremiah thus employs a clever double entendre: the actual geographical region near Babylon is reinterpreted through Hebrew to convey theological meaning, characterizing Babylon as doubly rebellious against God. This prophetic technique, using punning names to deliver divine judgment, appears throughout the prophetic books. Merathaim's mention occurs within the broader context of Jeremiah 50-51, the longest sustained oracle against a foreign nation in the Bible, announcing Babylon's total destruction as divine retribution for its treatment of Israel.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Merathaim corresponds geographically to the southern Babylonian marshlands, the region known in Akkadian as mat marrati ("land of the bitter river" or "lagoon land"), located at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day southern Iraq. This marshy delta region, known today as the Mesopotamian Marshes, was partially drained under Saddam Hussein's regime but has been partially restored since 2003. Archaeological surveys in the region have documented numerous ancient settlement mounds dating to various periods of Mesopotamian civilization. The nearby site of ancient Ur and other Sumerian cities attest to the region's deep antiquity. The marshlands themselves provided resources and served as refuge areas throughout history.
Verse Appearances (1)
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Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →