Exodus 17
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?”
While Moses Prays, the Amalekites[c] Are Defeated.[d] 8 Amalek came and fought against Israel in Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out to fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did all that Moses had commanded him to do and he fought against Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the top of the hill. 11 When Moses lifted his hands, Israel was stronger, but when he lowered them, Amalek was stronger. 12 Moses’ hands grew heavy as he tired, so they took a stone and placed it under him as a stool. Aaron and Hur stood on either side and held up his hands. Thus, his hands were held steady until the sun set. 13 Joshua defeated Amalek and its people, putting them to the sword.
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua: I will totally cancel the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
15 Moses built an altar, and he named it, “The Lord is my banner,” 16 and he said, “A hand is raised upon the throne of the Lord that there will be war against Amalek from one generation to the next.”
Footnotes
- 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.”
- Exodus 17:8 This account will allow the future generations to find assurance in the face of hostile peoples.
- Exodus 17:8 Amalekites: an ancient Arab people, located between Palestine and Egypt (see Gen 36:12).
