The Hebrew verb marad (מָרַד) means to rebel, revolt, or be mutinous. It describes active defiance against legitimate authority — whether against a king, against God, or against established order. The word appears about 25 times in the Old Testament, often in contexts of covenant betrayal and willful defiance.
Marad describes the most deliberate form of disobedience — not merely stumbling into sin but actively turning against a recognized authority. In the spiritual realm, this word captures the essence of human rebellion against God: willful, conscious, and covenantal. Joshua contrasts rebellion against the LORD with the deadly consequences that follow (Joshua 22:18–19). The theological weight of marad underscores why the gospel's call to repentance is so urgent — it calls the rebel to lay down arms and return to the God they have defied.