Exodus 17:2

2 Which people chided against Moses, and said, Give water to us, that we drink. To whom Moses answered, What chide ye against me, and why tempt ye the Lord? (And the people complained to Moses, and said, Give us some water to drink. To whom Moses answered, Why do ye complain to me, and why do ye tempt the Lord?)

Exodus 17:2 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 17:2

Wherefore the people did chide with Moses
Contended with him by words, expostulating with him in a very angry and indecent manner for bringing them thither; loading him with reproaches and calumnies, wrangling and quarrelling with him, and using him very ill, giving hard words and bad language:

and said, give us water, that we may drink;
directing their speech both to Moses and Aaron, as the word "give" ^F7 being in the plural number shows; which was requiring that of them which only God could do and signifying as if they were under obligation to do it for them, since they had brought them out of Egypt, and had the care of them; and having seen so many miracles wrought by them, might conclude it was in their power to get them water when they pleased: had they desired them to pray to God for them, to give them water, and exercised faith on him, that he would provide for them, they had done well; which they might reasonably conclude he would, who had brought them out of Egypt, led them through the Red sea, had sweetened the waters at Marah for them, conducted them to fountains of water at Elim, and had rained flesh and bread about their tents in the wilderness of Sin, and still continued the manna with them:

and Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me?
as if it was I that brought you hither, whereas it is the Lord that goes before you in the pillar of cloud and fire, and as if I kept water from you, or could give it you at pleasure; how unreasonable, as well as how ungenerous is it in you to chide with me on this account

wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
the Lord Christ, as appears from ( 1 Corinthians 10:9 ) who with the Father and Spirit is the one Jehovah; him they tempted or tried; they tried whether he was present with them or not, ( Exodus 17:7 ) , they tried his power, whether he could give them water in a dry and desert land; and they tried his patience by chiding with his servants, and showing so much distrust of his power and providence, of his goodness and faithfulness; and by their wretched ingratitude and rebellion they tempted him to work a miracle for them.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F7 (wnt) "Date", Pagninus, Montanus

Exodus 17:2 In-Context

1 Therefore all the multitude of the sons of Israel went forth from the desert of Sin, by their dwellings, by the word of the Lord, and setted tents in Rephidim, where was no water to the people to drink. (And so all the Israelites went forth from the wilderness of Sin, in stages, by the word of the Lord, and pitched their tents in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.)

2 Which people chided against Moses, and said, Give water to us, that we drink. To whom Moses answered, What chide ye against me, and why tempt ye the Lord? (And the people complained to Moses, and said, Give us some water to drink. To whom Moses answered, Why do ye complain to me, and why do ye tempt the Lord?)

3 Therefore the people thirsted there for the scarceness of water, and they grouched against Moses, and said, Why madest thou us to go out of Egypt, (for) to slay us, and our free children, and our beasts, for thirst? (And so the people thirsted there for the scarceness of water, and they grumbled against Moses, and said, Why hast thou made us to go out of Egypt, in order to kill us, and our children, and our beasts, with thirst?)

4 Forsooth Moses cried to the Lord, and said, What shall I do to this people? yet a little, and it shall stone me (What shall I do with these people? very soon they shall all stone me!).

5 The Lord said to Moses, Go thou before the people, and take with thee of the elder men of Israel, and take in thine hand the rod, with the which thou hast smitten the flood, and go; (The Lord said to Moses, Go thou before the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with thee, and take in thy hand the staff with which thou struck the River, and go;)