Exodus 17:1

Water from the Rock

1 Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, [a] moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 1

Exodus 17:1 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 17:1

And all the congregation of the children of Israel
journeyed from the wilderness of Sin
Where they had stayed some time, at least a week, as it should seem, from the gathering the manna there six days, and resting on the seventh:

after their journeys:
first from the wilderness of Sin to Dophkah, and from Dophkah to Alusb, and from Alush to Rephidim, as appears from ( Numbers 33:12-14 ) their two stations at Dophkah and Alush are here omitted, nothing very remarkable or of any moment happening at either place:

according to the commandment;
or "mouth of the Lord" F4, who, either with an articulate voice out of the cloud, ordered when they should march, and where they should encamp; or else this was signified by the motion or rest of the pillar of cloud or fire, which always went before them, in which the Lord was:

and pitched in Rephidim;
which was a place on the western side of Mount Sinai: according to Bunting F5, Dophkah was twelve miles from the wilderness of Sin, and Alush twelve miles from Dophkah, and Rephidim eight miles from Alush: and Jerom says F6, according to the propriety of the Syriac language, it signifies a remission of hands: and to which the Targum of Jonathan seems to have respect, adding,

``the place where their hands ceased from the precepts of the law, wherefore the fountains were dried up;''

and it follows:

and there was no water for the people to drink;
being a sandy desert place.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 (yp le) "super ore", Montanus, "ad os", Vatablus.
F5 Travels, p. 82.
F6 Epist. ad Fabiolam de 42 mansion. tom. 3. fol. 15. B.

Exodus 17:1 In-Context

1 Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
3 But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”
5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

Cross References 1

  • 1. (Numbers 20:1–13)

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be mistaken for the English word sin.
The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially placed into the public domain