Exodus 17:3

3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they 1grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and 2our livestock with thirst?"

Exodus 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 17:3

And the people thirsted there for water
They saw there was no water when they first came thither, and therefore chid Moses for bringing them to such a place, where they could not subsist; and having stayed some little time here, and all the water they brought with them from Alush being spent, and having none to drink, began to be very thirsty:

and the people murmured against Moses;
became more impatient and enraged, and threw out their invectives against him with much acrimony and severity:

wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt?
where it would have been much better for us to have continued:

to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst:
which is intolerable to any, and especially to children and cattle, which require frequent drinking: they could not suppose that Moses had such a murderous view in bringing them out of Egypt, or that this was his intention in it, but that this would be the issue and event of it.

Exodus 17:3 In-Context

1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD , and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD ?"
3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
4 So Moses cried out to the LORD , saying, "What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me."
5 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

Cross References 2

Footnotes 4

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