Exodus 17

Exodus 17:1 All the congregation of the sons of Israel moved on within the Sin open country by stages, according to Yahveh’s commandment, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

Exodus 17:2 So the people protested against Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses asked them, “Why are you protesting against me? Why are you testing Yahveh?”

Exodus 17:3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and the people protested against Moses and asked, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, only to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

Exodus 17:4 So Moses cried out to Yahveh, and this is what he said, “What should I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

Exodus 17:5 And Yahveh said to Moses, “Get out in front of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and walk.

Exodus 17:6 Notice, I will stand in front of you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did it, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Exodus 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the protest of the people of Israel, and because they tested Yahveh by asking, “Is Yahveh among us or not?”

Exodus 17:8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

Exodus 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

Exodus 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Exodus 17:11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel succeeded, but whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek succeeded.

Exodus 17:12 Then Moses’ hands grew tired, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So, his hands were steady until sunset.

Exodus 17:13 So Joshua gained victory over Amalek and his people with the sword.

Exodus 17:14 Then Yahveh said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it so Joshua can hear it, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.”

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, Yahveh is my war flag,

Exodus 17:16 saying, “My hand was on the throne of Yahveh! Yahveh will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Exodus 17 quotes:

“‘And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed’ (Exodus 17:11). But could the hands of Moses promote the battle or hinder the battle? — it is, rather, to teach you that such time as the Israelites directed their thoughts on high, and kept their hearts in subjection to their Father in heaven, they prevailed; otherwise they suffered defeat.”

Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. The Sayings of Moses. Ecco Press, 1998. p. 60.

“The rock mentioned in Exodus 17 foreshadowed Christ on the cross because there He was smitten. However, the rock of Numbers 20 foreshadowed the ascended Christ, who now intercedes as a high priest for believers. The significant difference in the rocks of Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 is also indicated in that a different word for “rock” is used in these two passages. Although both rocks speak of Christ, God was endeavoring to communicate two different things to us concerning the Person of Christ.”

Epp, Theodore H. Moses Greatest Moments. Back to the Bible Broadcast, 1976. p. 128.

“Amalek was a tribe of people opposed to God. They were strong and didn’t like God’s people; in fact, they were the Israelites’ avowed enemy. Amalek can be to us a picture of the “flesh,” or self. The Bible tells us God vowed He would have war with Amalek throughout all generations (Exodus 17:16). Selfishness must have less and less part in our lives once we are rescued from being selfcentered and become God-centered.”

Briscoe, Jill. Here Am I, Lord– Send Somebody Else : How God Uses Ordinary People to Do Extraordinary Things. W Pub. Group, 2004. p. 122.