מי מריבה and מידבא

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Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

מי מריבה and מידבא

Post by Isaac Fried »

In Nu. 20:13 we read
הֵמָּה מֵי מְרִיבָה, אֲשֶׁר רָבוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
NIV: "These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled"

Possibly, the name of the spring was originally מי-רבא, 'abundant waters', similarly to the מידבא=מי-דבא, 'fluent waters', of Nu. 21:30.

The possibility was raised here before that ריב RIYB, 'quarrel, altercation, brawl', as in Gen. 13:7, is possibly an engagement involving many people.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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