Mara is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Mara is not a separate person in the biblical record but the name that Naomi asked to be called upon her return to Bethlehem. Naomi had left Bethlehem with her husband Elimelech and their two sons because of famine in the land of Judah, and they had gone to sojourn in Moab. While there, her husband died, and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died after marrying Moabite women, leaving Naomi a widow who had lost both of her children. She was left with her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, and when she heard that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread, she set out to return to Bethlehem.
When Naomi came back to Bethlehem, the women of the town were moved at the sight of her and asked, “Is this Naomi?” She answered them by rejecting her own name and asking to be called Mara. Her reason was explicit: “for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” In the same speech she went on to say that she went out full and the LORD brought her home again empty, and she asked why they should call her Naomi when the LORD had testified against her and the Almighty had afflicted her. The text presents her as a woman in deep grief, speaking honestly about her sorrow rather than hiding it.
Scripture records this moment without correcting or condemning her words. She is still the same woman through whom the line of promise would continue, for Ruth remained with her and later bore Obed, the grandfather of David. Yet at this point in the narrative, the Bible simply lets her speak her bitterness plainly, and the name Mara stands as the record of it.
The Name
The name Mara is Hebrew, and its meaning is well established: it means “bitter.” Naomi herself supplies the interpretation in the very verse where the name appears, saying, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” The word she uses for “bitterly” is from the same root as the name Mara, so the text itself makes the connection plain. There is no ambiguity to resolve here, for Scripture gives the meaning directly rather than leaving it to inference.
A Closing Thought
Naomi’s honesty is a quiet gift to anyone who has walked through loss. She did not pretend that her grief was smaller than it was, nor did she dress up her pain in pious language. She told the women of Bethlehem the truth about her heart and even named it. Yet she spoke this way to neighbors who knew her, within the covenant community, and God did not strike her down for it. He went on working through her, giving her Ruth and later a grandson. There is room among God’s people to say plainly that life has been bitter, and still to be held.
At a Glance
- Gender: Female
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ruth 1:20 — And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.