Exodus 17
17
Water from the Rock
1The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. # 17:1 Ex 16:1; Nm 33:12,14 2So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”
“Why are you complaining to me? ” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing # 17:2 Nm 20:3; Dt 6:16; Ps 78:18,41; 1Co 10:9 the Lord? ”
3But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? ” # 17:3 Ex 15:24; 16:2,7–8; Nm 14:2,27,29,36; 16:11
4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me! ” # 17:4 Nm 14:10; 1Sm 30:6; Jn 8:59; 10:31
5The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. 6I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water # 17:6 Ex 20:10–11; Ps 114:8; 1Co 10:9 will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7He named the place Massah # 17:7 = Testing and Meribah # 17:7 = Quarreling,# 17:7 Nm 20:13,24; Ps 81:7; 95:8 because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not? ”
The Amalekites Attack
8At Rephidim, Amalek # 17:8 A seminomadic people descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau; Gn 36:12,# 17:8 Gn 36:12; Nm 13:29; 24:20; Dt 25:17; Jdg 3:13; 6:3; 10:12; 1Sm 14:48 came and fought against Israel. 9Moses said to Joshua, # 17:9 Ex 24:13; 32:17; 33:11; Ac 7:45 “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”
10Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11While Moses held up his hand, # 17:11 Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read hands Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand # 17:11 Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read hands down, Amalek prevailed. # 17:11 Ex 24:14; Jms 5:16 12When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army # 17:13 Or people with the sword.
14The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.” # 17:14 Ex 34:27; Dt 25:17–19; 1Sm 15:3
15And Moses built an altar # 17:15 Ex 20:24–26; 24:4; Jdg 6:24 and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.” # 17:15 = Yahweh-nissi 16He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward # 17:16 Or hand was on, or hand was against; Hb obscure the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
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Exodus 17: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Exodus 17
17
The LORD gives water from a rock
1The Israelites left the desert and moved from one place to another each time the LORD ordered them to. Once they camped at Rephidim,#17.1 Rephidim: The last stopping place for the Israelites between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai; the exact location is not known. but there was no water for them to drink.#Nu 20.2-13.
2The people started complaining to Moses, “Give us some water!”
Moses replied, “Why are you complaining to me and trying to put the LORD to the test?”
3But the people were thirsty and kept on complaining, “Moses, did you bring us out of Egypt just to let us and our families and our animals die of thirst?”
4Then Moses prayed to the LORD, “What am I going to do with these people? They are about to stone me to death!”
5The LORD answered, “Take some of the leaders with you and go ahead of the rest of the people. Also take along the walking stick you used to strike the River Nile, 6and when you get to the rock at Mount Sinai,#17.6 Sinai: The Hebrew text has “Horeb”, another name for Sinai. I will be there with you. Strike the rock with the stick, and water will pour out for the people to drink.” Moses did this while the leaders watched.
7The people had complained and tested the LORD by asking, “Is the LORD really with us?” So Moses named that place Massah, which means “testing” and Meribah, which means “complaining”.
Israel defeats the Amalekites
8When the Israelites were at Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites. 9So Moses told Joshua, “Have some men ready to attack the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on a hilltop, holding this walking stick that has the power of God.”
10Joshua led the attack as Moses had commanded, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the hilltop. 11The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he had to lower them. 12Finally, Moses was so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset. 13That's how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.
14Afterwards, the LORD said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory and read it to Joshua. I want the Amalekites to be forgotten for ever.”#Dt 25.17-19; 1 S 15.2-9.
15Moses built an altar and named it “The LORD Gives me Victory”. 16Then Moses explained, “This is because I depended on the LORD.#17.16 This…LORD: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. But in future generations, the LORD will have to fight the Amalekites again.”
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012