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Merib-baal meaning

Merib-baal in Biblical Hebrew
מריב בעל
מרי־בעל
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Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Merib-baal.html

🔼The name Merib-baal: Summary

Meaning
The Lord Contends, Baal Is An Agent Of Contention
Etymology
From (1) the verb ריב (rib), to contend, and (2) the verb בעל (ba'al), to be lord.
Related names
• Via ריב (rib): Jareb, Jarib, Jeribai, Jeroboam, Jerubbaal, Jerubbesheth, Meribah, Ribai
• Via בעל (ba'al): Ashbel, Baal, Baalah, Baalath, Baalath-beer, Baal-berith, Baale-judah, Baal-gad, Baal-hamon, Baal-hanan, Baal-hazor, Baal-hermon, Baali, Baalis, Baal-meon, Baal-peor, Baal-perazim, Baal-shalishah, Baal-tamar, Baal-zebub, Baal-zephon, Baladan, Bamoth-baal, Bealiah, Bealoth, Beelzebub, Bel, Beulah, Bildad, Eshbaal, Ethbaal, Gur-baal, Hannibal, Kiriath-baal

🔼The name Merib-baal in the Bible

There's only one Merib-baal in the Bible. He is a son of Jonathan, the son of king Saul of Israel (1 Chronicles 8:34 and 9:40).

Merib-baal's story is mostly recorded in the Book of Samuel, but there he is called Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 4:4).

Very curiously, in 1 Chronicles 9:40 our name occurs twice — the first time it's spelled מריב בעל (Merib baal), but the second time מרי־בעל (Meri-baal).

🔼Etymology of the name Merib-baal

The name Merib-baal consists of two elements. The first part of our name comes from the verb ריב (rib), meaning to contend. The letter מ (mem), with which our name begins, indicates place or agency:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
ריב

The very common verb ריב (rib) means to strive or contend and ranges from a mere bickering to full scale combat. Noun ריב (rib) means strife, dispute or plea. Noun יריב (yarib) denotes an opponent or adversary. Noun מריבה (meriba) refers to a place or agent of strife or contention.

— See the full Dictionary article —

The second part of the name Merib-baal is the same as the name Baal, which comes from the verb בעל (ba'al), meaning to rule over:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
בעל

The verb בעל (ba'al) means to exercise dominion over; to own, control or be lord over. The ubiquitous noun בעל (ba'al) means lord, master and even husband, and its feminine counterpart בעלה (ba'ala) means mistress or landlady.

God is obviously called 'lord' all over the Bible and the sin of the Baal priests (1 Kings 18:40) was not that they called upon some other deity but rather their incessant howling of the word 'lord' without any further responsibility or effects (see Matthew 7:21 and 11:4-5).

— See the full Dictionary article —

🔼Merib-baal meaning

For a meaning of the name Merib-baal, NOBSE Study Bible Name List makes no distinction between this name and the name Jerubbaal, and reads Baal Contends for both. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Contender Against Baal. BDB Theological Dictionary proposes Baal Is (Our, My, His) Advocate, but adds a question mark, possibly to indicate that this much creativity borders on flippancy.

The secondary name מרי־בעל (Meri-baal) may be construed to contain the verb מרה (mara), meaning to rebellious or disobedient, or מרר (marar), to be bitter or strong, and would thus be related to the names Miriam and Mary.