Mareshah (Maresha)

Meaning: possession; at the head; that which is at the head; capital; leadership

This name is mentioned eight times in Scripture. It was the name of a biblical place and two Israelite men of the tribe of Judah.

  1. a city in the plain of Judah (Joshua 15:44)

    “Here Asa defeated Zerah the Ethiopian (2 Chronicles 14:9, 10). It is identified with the ruin el-Mer'ash, about 1 1/2 mile south of Beit Jibrin” (Matthew G. Easton).

    In 2 Chronicles 20:37, it is recorded that a man named Dodavah lived here, and had a son named Eliezer who prophecied against Jehoshaphat.

  2. son of Laadah, grandson of Shelah, great-grandson of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:21)

  3. a grandson of Caleb / Caleb was one of the family chiefs of the tribe of Judah. This Mareshah was the son of Ziph, and father of Hebron (1 Chronicles 2:42; 2 Chronicles 11:8) / descendant of Judah

Author: Paul S. Taylor.