Lexical Summary marud: Rebellious, wandering Original Word: מָרוּד Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cast out, misery From ruwd in the sense of maltreatment; an outcast; (abstractly) destitution -- cast out, misery. see HEBREW ruwd NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom rud Definition restlessness, straying NASB Translation homeless (1), homelessness (1), wandering (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [מָרוֺד, Köil. l, 127 f.] noun [masculine] restlessness, straying (?); — suffix עָנְיִי וּמְרוּדִי Lamentations 3:19; plural suffix יְמֵי עָנְיָהּ וּמְרוּדֶיהָ Lamentations 1:7 (read probably מְרוּדָהּ NöZMG xxxvii (1883), 539); plural וַעֲנִיִּם מְרוּדִים Isaiah 58:7, usually concrete the wandering (homeless) poor (Di thinks old Qal passive Participle; CheComm. reads Hoph`al מוּרָדִים; BuhlLex Hiph`il מָרִידִים; Köii. 1, 128 takes ᵑ0 abstract for concrete [apposition of ׳וַע]; so Du CheHpt [׳וַע gloss], read perhaps participle רָדִים (מ dittograph)). Topical Lexicon Meaning and Imagery Marud evokes the picture of a person driven from settled security into restless, often involuntary, movement—physically displaced, socially exposed, and emotionally unsettled. The word gathers ideas of homelessness, vagrancy, exile, and inner turmoil, making it a potent metaphor for both outward circumstances and the inward state of the soul. Occurrences Isaiah 58:7; Lamentations 1:7; Lamentations 3:19. Isaiah 58:7 – The Call to Merciful Hospitality “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the poor and homeless into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Within Isaiah’s indictment of hollow ritualism, marud personifies the covenant obligation to mercy. True fasting rises above self-denial to embrace the marud with food, shelter, and familial solidarity. The prophet thus binds worship and social ethics, insisting that active compassion toward the wanderer is integral to genuine piety. Lamentations 1:7 – National Displacement “In the days of her affliction and wandering, Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old.” Here marud enlarges from individual homelessness to collective exile. Jerusalem, once secure, now shares the status of the outcast. The term underscores the shame of covenant breach: the city that ignored the needy (compare Isaiah 58) becomes needy herself. Lamentations 3:19 – Personal Anguish “Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and gall.” The lamenter internalizes marud. The exile is not merely geopolitical but existential; bitterness (“wormwood and gall”) blends with the memory of displacement. Yet the very next verses turn toward hope (Lamentations 3:21–23), teaching that acknowledgment of marud can be the gateway to renewed trust in the Lord’s steadfast love. Historical Setting Isaiah 58 addresses post-exilic Judah grappling with socio-economic inequities, while Lamentations mourns the devastation of 586 BC. In both settings, marud crystallizes the human cost of sin and judgment: fractured communities, scattered families, and the collapse of sacred institutions. The term thus becomes a historical marker of covenant unfaithfulness and its consequences. Theological Themes 1. Covenant Compassion: Scripture repeatedly links God’s character to His care for the stranger (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 10:18–19). Marud highlights the human counterpart to this divine attribute. Ministry Implications • Hospitality as Worship: Welcoming refugees, the unhoused, and other modern marud is not optional philanthropy but covenantal obedience (Hebrews 13:1–2; James 2:14–17). Christological Connections Jesus embodies and redeems the marud. Born in a borrowed stable, forced into Egyptian exile, and ministering “on the way,” He assumes the place of the wanderer to gather the scattered (John 11:52). Through His death and resurrection He secures an eternal home (John 14:2–3), transforming alienated rebels into citizens of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). Eschatological Hope Revelation envisions the end of wandering: “They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them” (Revelation 21:3). The marud finds permanent security in the New Jerusalem, where homelessness, tears, and exile are abolished forever. Related Concepts Ger (“sojourner”), ani (“poor”), nad (“fugitive”), exile, pilgrimage, hospitality. Forms and Transliterations וּמְרוּדִ֖י וּמְרוּדֶ֔יהָ ומרודי ומרודיה מְרוּדִ֖ים מרודים mə·rū·ḏîm meruDim mərūḏîm ū·mə·rū·ḏe·hā ū·mə·rū·ḏî ūmərūḏehā umeruDeiha umeruDi ūmərūḏîLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 58:7 HEB: לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת NAS: And bring the homeless poor KJV: the poor that are cast out to thy house? INT: your bread poor the homeless and bring the house Lamentations 1:7 Lamentations 3:19 3 Occurrences |
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