The Torah · Old Testament

Exodus 17

Water from the rock and the battle with Amalek

General context

Israel camps at Rephidim, where there is no drinking water. The people quarrel with Moses and accuse him of bringing their families and cattle out of Egypt to die of thirst. Moses cries to the Lord, saying they are almost ready to stone him. The Lord tells him to take elders and his rod to the rock at Horeb and strike it so water will come out. Moses does so before the elders. The place is named Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel and the question of whether the Lord is among them. Amalek then fights Israel at Rephidim. Moses directs Joshua to choose men for battle while he stands on a hill with God's rod. Moses, Aaron and Hur go up the hill. Israel prevails when Moses raises his hand, and Amalek prevails when he lowers it. When his hands grow heavy, Aaron and Hur support them while he sits on a stone, keeping them steady until sunset. Joshua defeats Amalek. The Lord commands a written memorial and a message for Joshua concerning Amalek's remembrance. Moses builds an altar, and the chapter closes with a declaration of continuing war with Amalek.

Cited passages: Exodus 17:1, Exodus 17:2, Exodus 17:3, Exodus 17:4, Exodus 17:5, Exodus 17:6, Exodus 17:7, Exodus 17:8, Exodus 17:9, Exodus 17:10, Exodus 17:11, Exodus 17:12, Exodus 17:13, Exodus 17:14, Exodus 17:15, Exodus 17:16

Exodus 17 (KJV)

¹And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

²Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?

³And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

⁴And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

⁵And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

⁶Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

¹²But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

¹³And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

¹⁵And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:

¹⁶For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The water episode names Rephidim and the rock at Horeb. The elders witness Moses' action, and the rod is identified by its connection to the earlier river sign. The naming of Massah and Meribah is explained through Israel's quarrel and testing of the Lord. The battle account distinguishes Joshua's fighting role from the work of Moses, Aaron and Hur on the hill. Hur's family relationship is not given here. The altar is named Jehovah-nissi in the cited translations. The final memorial instruction and declaration concern Amalek in this account; they are not presented as a command for readers to act against a present-day people.

Cited passages: Exodus 17:1, Exodus 17:2, Exodus 17:4, Exodus 17:5, Exodus 17:6, Exodus 17:7, Exodus 17:8, Exodus 17:9, Exodus 17:10, Exodus 17:11, Exodus 17:12, Exodus 17:13, Exodus 17:14, Exodus 17:15, Exodus 17:16

Literary context

Two threats follow one another: thirst within the camp and an attack from outside it. The first episode records the people's question about the Lord's presence alongside the provision at the rock. The second alternates attention between the battlefield and Moses' hands. His weariness and the help of Aaron and Hur make the hilltop scene a shared task. Names, a written memorial and an altar carry the events beyond their immediate setting. The victory is followed by language of continuing conflict, so this battle does not close the account of Amalek.

Cited passages: Exodus 17:1, Exodus 17:3, Exodus 17:6, Exodus 17:7, Exodus 17:8, Exodus 17:9, Exodus 17:10, Exodus 17:11, Exodus 17:12, Exodus 17:13, Exodus 17:14, Exodus 17:15, Exodus 17:16

Key moments

Moses strikes the rock before the elders (Exodus 17:6). Moses follows the Lord’s instruction at the rock in Horeb so the people may drink.
The place receives two names (Exodus 17:7). Massah and Meribah recall Israel’s quarrel and question about the Lord’s presence.
Aaron and Hur support Moses’ hands (Exodus 17:12). They seat Moses on a stone and hold his hands steady until sunset.
A memorial is commanded (Exodus 17:14). The Lord tells Moses to write a memorial and rehearse it to Joshua, announcing that Amalek’s remembrance will be erased.

For reflection

How do the different roles on the battlefield and the hill shape your reading of the victory?

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