Bible Locations

Merathaim appears in Jeremiah 50:21, in a prophecy against Babylon: "Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them." Merathaim means "double rebellion" or "double bitterness," and Pekod means "punishment" or "visitation." These seem to be wordplays on real place names in Babylonia. Merathaim probably refers to Mat Marrati, "the land of the bitter water," the marshy region of southern Babylonia near the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates meet. Pekod refers to the Puqudu, an Aramean tribe living in eastern Babylonia, mentioned in Babylonian and Assyrian records. Jeremiah used these names to show that Babylon, which had rebelled against God, would be punished. The prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus of Persia captured Babylon in 539 BC, though the city itself declined slowly afterward.