bitter; bitterness
(same as Marah)
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Goddess of death/ the evil principle Buddhist
Gods and Goddess Reference
MARA.The name which Naomi claimed for herself: Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara (i.e. bitter): for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me (Rth_1:20).
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Ma'ra. (sad, bitter). The name which Naomi adopted in the exclamation forced from her by the recognition of her fellow citizens at Bethlehem. Rth_1:20.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
mā?ra, mâr?a (מרה, mārāh, ?bitter?): The term which Naomi applies to herself on her return from Moab to her native country (Rth_1:20). Changed beyond recognition, she creates astonishment among her former acquaintances, who ask, ?Is this Naomi?? She replies, ?Call me not Naomi? (i.e. ?pleasant? or ?sweet?), but ?call me Mara? (i.e. ?bitter?). In the light of her bitter experience, and her present pitiable plight, the old name has become peculiarly inappropriate.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Mara
(Heb. Mlara', מָרָא, for מָרָה, bitter, as explained in the context; Sept. πικρία Vulg. Matrl , id est amara), a symbolical name proposed for herself by Naomi on account of her misfortunes (Rth_1:20). SEE RUTH.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.