Exodus 17
Big idea: Two crises at Rephidim, and two names left behind. There is no water and the people quarrel with Moses so fiercely that he fears being stoned — and the question underneath it is the one the narrator records: is Yahweh among us, or not? God tells Moses to take the elders and the rod that struck the Nile and strike the rock, and says something remarkable — behold, I will stand before you there on the rock. Water comes out; the place is named Massah and Meribah, testing and quarrelling. Then Amalek attacks, and the battle is won not by tactics but by a raised hand: while Moses holds it up Israel prevails, and when it drops Amalek does — so Aaron and Hur sit him on a stone and hold his hands steady until sunset.
Chapter 17 ends with an altar named Yahweh our Banner and a war declared on Amalek from generation to generation. Chapter 18 brings a very different foreigner — Jethro the Midianite priest — who blesses Yahweh and then tells Moses he is doing his job badly.
17:1–7 — Is Yahweh among us or not?
The congregation journeys by stages and camps at Rephidim, where there is no water to drink. The people quarrel with Moses — give us water — and he answers, why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh? Thirsty, they murmur: why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst? Moses cries to Yahweh: what shall I do? They are almost ready to stone me. God tells him to walk on ahead with the elders, take the rod with which he struck the river, and strike the rock in Horeb — behold, I will stand before you there on the rock. Water comes out and the people drink. He names the place Massah and Meribah, because of their quarrelling and because they tested Yahweh, saying, is Yahweh among us or not?
1 All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, starting according to Yahweh’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?” 3 The people were thirsty for water there; so the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” 4 Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 Yahweh said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us, or not?”
17:8–16 — While Moses held up his hand
Amalek comes and fights with Israel at Rephidim. Moses tells Joshua — named here for the first time — to choose men and go out to fight, while he stands on the hilltop with the rod of God in his hand. When Moses holds up his hand Israel prevails; when he lets it down Amalek prevails. His hands grow heavy, so they put a stone under him and Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, one on each side, and they are steady until sunset. Joshua defeats Amalek with the edge of the sword. Yahweh tells Moses to write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in Joshua's ears. Moses builds an altar and names it Yahweh our Banner, saying: Yahweh will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out to fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset. 13 Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.” 15 Moses built an altar, and called its name “Yahweh our Banner”. 16 He said, “Yah has sworn: ‘Yahweh will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’”
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).