מרזח

 

ירמיהו טז:ה
כִּֽי־כֹ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְקֹוָ֗ק אַל־תָּבוֹא֙ בֵּ֣ית מַרְזֵ֔חַ וְאַל־תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לִסְפּ֔וֹד וְאַל־תָּנֹ֖ד לָהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אָסַ֨פְתִּי אֶת־שְׁלוֹמִ֜י מֵאֵ֨ת הָעָ֤ם־הַזֶּה֙ נְאֻם־יְקֹוָ֔ק אֶת־הַחֶ֖סֶד וְאֶת־הָֽרַחֲמִֽים:

עמוס ו:ז
לָכֵ֛ן עַתָּ֥ה יִגְל֖וּ בְּרֹ֣אשׁ גֹּלִ֑ים וְסָ֖ר מִרְזַ֥ח סְרוּחִֽים:

 The unusual root word מרזח appears only in these two places in TaNa”KH.

This blog is apparently now just quoting from https://net.bible.org/#!bible/Amos+6:3:  Religious banquets. This refers to the מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh), a type of pagan religious banquet popular among the upper class of Israel at this time and apparently associated with mourning. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 137-61; J. L. McLaughlin, The “Marzeah” in the Prophetic Literature (VTSup). Scholars debate whether at this banquet the dead were simply remembered or actually venerated in a formal, cultic sense.  The book is a full length treatment of the term. (The marzēaḥ in the prophetic literature : references and allusions in light of the extra-biblical evidence. McLaughlin, John L. ; 2001 Leiden ;a Boston : Brill; ISBN: 9004120068)

There is also an article in Biblical Archaeology Review: BAR 14:04, Jul/Aug 1988 The Marzeah Amos Denounces—Using Archaeology to Interpret a Biblical Text By Philip J. King

There are in fact three Doctoral Dissertations on the topic of Marzeah.  John McLaughlin’s, 1998: The marzeah institution and rites for the dead: A comparative and systemic study with special attention to the eighth-century prophets

Taek Joo Woo.  The marzeah institution and rites for the dead: A comparative and systemic study with special attention to the eighth-century prophets. 1998

David Burton Bryan.  TEXTS RELATING TO THE MARZEAH: A STUDY OF AN ANCIENT SEMITIC INSTITUTION. 1973.

Until I read any of these works, I have nothing further to post on the matter.

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