CHAPTER XVII _The Israelites journey from the wilderness of_ Sin _to_ Rephidim, 1, _where they murmur for lack of water_, 2, 3. _Moses asks counsel of God_, 4, _who commands him to take his rod and smite the rock_, 5, _and promises that water should proceed from it for the people to_ _drink_,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:2. _WHY CHIDE YE WITH ME?_] God is your leader, complain to him; _Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord_? As he is your leader, all your murmurings against _me_ he considers as directed against _himself_; why therefore do ye tempt _him_? Has he not given you sufficient proofs that he can de... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:3. _AND THE PEOPLE MURMURED_] The reader must not forget what has so often been noted relating to the degraded state of the minds of the Israelites. A strong argument however may be drawn from this in favour of their supernatural escape from Egypt. Had it been a scheme concerted by... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:6. _I WILL STAND BEFORE THEE THERE, UPON THE ROCK IN HOREB_] THE _rock_, הצור hatstsur. It seems as if God had directed the attention of Moses to a _particular_ rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount and its vicinity must have been well known to Moses du... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:7. _HE CALLED THE NAME OF THE PLACE MASSAH, AND MERIBAH_] מסה _Massah_ signifies _temptation_ or _trial_; and מריבה _Meribah, contention_ or _litigation_. From 1 Corinthians 10:4, we learn that this rock was a type of Christ, and their drinking of it is represented as their being mad... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:8. _THEN CAME AMALEK, AND FOUGHT WITH ISRAEL_] The Amalekites seem to have attacked the Israelites in the same way and through the same motives that the wandering Arabs attack the caravans which annually pass through the same desert. It does not appear that the Israelites gave them a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:9. _MOSES SAID UNTO JOSHUA_] This is the first place in which Joshua the son of Nun is mentioned: the illustrious part which he took in Jewish affairs, till the settlement of his countrymen in the promised land, is well known. He was captain-general of the Hebrews under Moses; and o... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:10. _MOSES, AARON, AND HUR WENT UP_] It is likely that the _Hur_ mentioned here is the same with that _Hur_ mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:19, who appears from the chronology in that chapter to have been the son of Caleb, the son of _Ezron_, the son of _Pharez_, the son of _Judah_. The ra... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:11. _WHEN MOSES HELD UP HIS HAND_] We cannot understand this transaction in any _literal_ way; for the lifting up or letting down the hands of Moses could not, humanly speaking, influence the battle. It is likely that he held up the rod of God in his hand, Exodus 17:9, as an ensign... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:13. _JOSHUA DISCOMFITED AMALEK AND HIS PEOPLE_] _Amalek_ might have been the name of the ruler of this people continued down from their ancestor, (Exodus 17:8, Exodus 17:8,) as _Pharaoh_ was the name of all succeeding kings in Egypt. If this were the case, then _Amalek and his people... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:14. _WRITE THIS_ FOR _A MEMORIAL IN A BOOK_] This is the first mention of _writing_ on record: what it signified, or how it was done, we cannot tell. But it is evident that either this passage is introduced here instead of Deuteronomy 25:17, by way of _anticipation_, or that by the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:15. _JEHOVAH-NISSI_] _Jehovah is my ensign_ or _banner_. The hands and rod of Moses were held up as soldiers are wont to hold up their _standards_ in the time of battle; and as these standards bear the arms of the country, the soldiers are said _to fight under_ _that banner_, i.e., u... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 17:16. _THE LORD HATH SWORN_ THAT _THE LORD_ WILL HAVE _WAR WITH_ _AMALEK, C._] This is no translation of the words כי יד על כס יה מלחמה _ki yad al kes yah milckamah_, which have been variously rendered by different translators and critics the most rational version of which is the foll... [ Continue Reading ]