Mareshah

Biblical References

• Joshua 15:44: In listing the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah, the book of Joshua names Mareshah among the cities of the lowland (the region of low foothills).
• 2 Chronicles 11:8: After the division of the kingdom, Rehoboam fortified cities to defend Judah, and Mareshah appears in that list together with Gath and Ziph.
• 2 Chronicles 14:9–10: When Zerah the Ethiopian came with a great army to Mareshah, Asa set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. In the following verse, 14:11, Asa prays and is given victory.
• 2 Chronicles 20:37: Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesies against Jehoshaphat, rebuking him for joining with Ahaziah king of Israel to build ships.
• Micah 1:15: Mareshah appears in the passage in which the prophet Micah pronounces judgment on various cities of the lowland of Judah: "Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah."
• 1 Chronicles 2:42; 4:21: In the genealogies of the descendants of Judah, "Mareshah" appears as though it were a personal name.

Background

Mareshah lay southwest of Jerusalem, in the foothills between Hebron and the coastal plain. Because it stood along a route leading from the coast into the hill country of Judah, it is understood to have been militarily significant. It is widely identified with Tel Maresha (Tell Sandahannah), near Beit Guvrin in present-day Israel. The caves of Beit Guvrin and Maresha are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

During the Intertestamental period, the city was known by its Greek name, Marisa, and belonged to Idumea, the land of the Edomites. Painted tombs from this period have been excavated. Josephus reports that the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus captured the city. It is also named in the books of Maccabees, which are not part of the Protestant canon. The city is known to have been destroyed during a Parthian invasion in the late first century BC.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

As one of the anchors of Judah's southwestern line of defense, Mareshah appears in connection with the rise and fall of the kingdom of Judah. Second Chronicles presents Asa's victory there as an illustration of the theme that those who rely on God are delivered even when facing a more numerous enemy. In the book of Micah, by contrast, Mareshah is one of the cities through which the prophet foretells the collapse of the lowland of Judah before the Assyrian invasion. The name does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

• Micah's wordplay: Micah 1:10–15 expresses judgment through words that sound similar to the names of the cities. Commentators often note that in 1:15 as well, "Mareshah" and "heir" (Hebrew yoresh) sound alike. Many scholars hold that Micah's hometown, Moresheth-gath (Micah 1:1, 14), was located near Mareshah.
• Zerah the Ethiopian: Scholars differ over who Zerah was and how to understand the army of "a thousand thousand" recorded in 2 Chronicles.
• Mareshah in the genealogies: The term "father" in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles is commonly interpreted as referring to one who founded or governed a city. On this reading, "Mareshah" in the genealogies is understood as a name associated with the city. Some, however, regard it as the name of an actual person.