The Bitter Waters of Marah and a Dispute Over the Places

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 15:23

"And they came to Marah" (Exodus 15:23). Rabbi Yehoshua says: in three places Israel came on that same day, as it is said, "And they came to Marah, and they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore its name was called Marah." Rabbi Eliezer the Modaite says: they came to only one place, and it was named after what befell them there.

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