Exodus 17:5

Go on before the people. — The people were probably in no condition to move. They were exhausted. with a long day’s march — weary, faint, nerveless. Moses and the elders, who probably journeyed on asses, would have more strength.

Take with thee of the elders — as witnesses. Each miracle had an educational value, and was designed to call forth, exercise, and so strengthen the faith of the people.

The rock in Horeb must necessarily designate some particular rock of the Horeb region already known to Moses during his previous stay in these parts. It cannot possibly, however, have been the traditional “rock of Moses” in the Seil Leja, under Ras Sufsafeh, since that rock is a long day’s journey from the site of Rephidim, near which the miracle must have been performed. (See Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp. 46-48.)