Chapter Seventeen

1–4. The camp at Rephidim, the complaint of the people. 5–7. Moses miraculously draws water from a rock. 8–16. The battle with the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:1. And all the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin by stages, as the Lord commanded, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. The intermediate camps between Sin and Rephidim were Dophkah and Alush (Num 33:12-13), the location of which is not known precisely. The movement of the Hebrews was determined by “God’s command,” that is, by the indication of the cloud pillar that went before them (Exod 40:34-38). The last camp before Sinai, Rephidim, is thought to be either in the valley of Pheiran, distinguished by fertility and abundance of waters gathering in a stream flowing from a rock (Exod 17:6), or in the valley of Sheikh, in the place called Suweita, where there is a stone called the seat of Moses.

Exodus 17:2. And the people found fault with Moses, and said: Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them: Why do you find fault with me? Why do you test the Lord? Exodus 17:3. And the people were thirsty for water there, and the people complained against Moses, saying: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? On the people’s part the quarrel with Moses consisted of accusing him of leading them out of Egypt and subjecting them to a new hardship – death by thirst (Exod 17:3). It was founded on doubt of divine help: the people was not sure of the presence of the Lord in its midst (Exod 17:7), a second time (Exod 15:24) made a sinful attempt to ascertain whether He would help Moses or not (Ps 77:18 and others); in view of this, the quarrel was a testing of God.

Exodus 17:4. Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. Exodus 17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go on ahead of the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the rod with which you struck the water, take it in your hand, and go; With the wonder-working rod (Exod 7:20) in his hands, Moses comes forth before the people as a miracle-worker. The Hebrews will believe in him as a messenger of God (Exod 14:31); their intention to kill him will disappear, and therefore he has no reason to fear death: “go on ahead of the people.”

Exodus 17:6. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink. And Moses did so 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 fault-finding of the children of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying: Is the Lord among us, or not? *** The presence of the wonder-working rod in Moses’ hand convinced the people and Moses himself of the forthcoming working of the miracle, and the words “Behold, I will stand before you” served to assure Moses in the same way. You will not be abandoned by Me, I Myself will be present and will work the miracle, as the Lord says (Ps 77:15-20). “At Horeb,” not on the mountain of that name, since at this time the Hebrews had not yet approached Sinai, but in the mountain range bearing that name. “The rock, from which water flowed, as the Apostle Paul says, is Christ (1 Cor 10:4), for the unbelieving a dry and stubborn rock, but as soon as anyone applies the rod of faith, it becomes accessible to those who are thirsty and flows within those who receive Him” (Gregory of Nyssa).

Exodus 17:8. And Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. The Amalekites, descendants of Esau through his son Eliphaz (Gen 36:12), – a nomadic people, living by robbery, occupied the space between Idumea and Sinai. According to the testimony Deut 25:18, they attacked not the main forces and masses of the people, but the rear ranks, weary from the journey and therefore having fallen behind.

Exodus 17:9. Moses said to Joshua: Choose men for us and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God will be in my hand. Joshua, originally called Oshea, – the son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim (Num 13:8). The people, who had just been complaining and dissatisfied with Moses, could not, given their disposition, take part in the battle in their entirety; brave men, those who had not lost courage, were chosen for it (Judg 7:1 and others). The promise to stand with the rod of God, the wonder-working rod (see above Exod 17:5), is nothing other than assurance of the coming victory over enemies.

Exodus 17:10. And Joshua did as Moses said to him, and went [to fight] with Amalek; and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. According to the opinion of Josephus, the Hur mentioned in the present case is the same person as Hur, the grandfather of the famous craftsman, the builder of the tabernacle, Bezalel, and the son of Caleb from the tribe of Judah (Exod 31:2; 1 Chr 2:19; 2 Chr 1:5). Jewish tradition, noted by Josephus, calls him the husband of the sister of Moses, Miriam. How much the Hebrew tradition is justified and accurate, it is quite difficult to say. But it sufficiently explains the fact why Moses chose Hur in this case; together with Aaron, he is his nearest relative.

Exodus 17:11. And whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed; Exodus 17:12. but Moses’ hands grew heavy, and 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 one on the other side. And his hands remained steady until the setting of the sun. “Not only because the people won the victory,” said Justin Philosopher, “when Moses prayed, but also because, while the name of Jesus was at the head of the battle, he himself, Moses, made the sign of the cross.”

Exodus 17:13. And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Exodus 17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Israel, as the holy thing of the Lord, is inviolable; all who harm it are overtaken with misfortune (Jer 2:3). This general rule is applied also to the Amalekites (1 Sam 15:2-3). The command of destruction is recorded so that it would not subsequently be forgotten.

Exodus 17:15. And Moses built an altar to [the Lord] and called its name: [the Lord is My Banner] ****. Exodus 17:16. For he said: A hand is on the throne of the Lord; the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Israel fought under the banner of the Most High, which was held in the hands of Moses; hence the name of the altar: “the Lord is My Banner” – in Hebrew: the Lord is my banner. This meaning is established by the expression in verse 16: “a hand is on the throne of the Lord.” Moses explains the name of the altar: “the Lord is my banner,” by the fact that his hand was on the banner of the Most High, held the latter. * * * Testing and fault-finding. The Lord is my banner. Slavonic: “with a secret hand,” LXX: “ἐν χειρὶ κρυφαίᾳ” concerning the hand of the Lord that conquered Amalek.