Category:Maranatha

Mar`a*nath"a, n. Etym: [Aramaic maran atha.]

Defn: "Our Lord cometh;" -- an expression used by St. Paul at the conclusion of his first Epistle to the Corinthians 16:22. This word has been used in anathematizing persons for great crimes; as much as to say, "May the Lord come quickly to take vengeance of thy crimes." See Anathema maranatha, under Anathema.

-

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Maranatha - (Colossians 16:22) consists of two Aramean words, Maran'athah, meaning, "our Lord comes," or is "coming." If the latter interpretation is adopted, the meaning of the phrase is, "Our Lord is coming, and He will judge those who have set Him at naught." (Compare Philippians 4:5; James 5:8, James 5:9.)