Exodus 17:1-7
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
Water from the Rock.[a] 1 The entire community of Israel pulled up their camp in the Desert of Sin and, as the Lord commanded, they moved by stages to their camp in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people protested against Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you protesting against me? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”
3 The people suffered from thirst because there was no water, so they murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die of thirst along with our children and our animals?” 4 Moses called upon the help of the Lord saying, “What will I do for this people? Only a little more and they will stone me.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk in front of the people and bring some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff with which you struck the Nile in your hand and go! 6 Behold, I will stand before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 They called this place Massah[b] and Meribah, because the children of Israel had protested and had put the Lord to the test, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 17:1 Even though they are frequently helped by the Lord, the Hebrews are distrustful of him. The Psalmist has placed the blame for this on bad faith (Ps 95:8-9). God meets their challenge by slaking their thirst with a miracle that left its mark on Israelite piety (Deut 8:15; Ps 114:8). Some rabbis later imagined that the rock accompanied the people through the wilderness; Paul echoes this tradition (1 Cor 10:4), and John alludes to it (Jn 7:37-38).
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means “test,” and Meribah “quarrel.”
