The first reported camp Israel stopped at after their miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea. There they found only a well of bitter water, which Moses—when they complained—turned 'sweet' when he threw in a piece of wood shown to him by Yahweh (Exo 15:23-26). Whether Marah was the already known name of the place or if it was given it by the Israelites as a result of their experience cannot be ascertained.
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CONCORDANCE
Marah is mentioned 4x in 3 verses in the OT:
Exo 15:23 — [Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they travelled in the desert without finding water.] When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
Num 33:8 & 9 — They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had travelled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah. They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
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