Chapter 17

1 The people murmur for water at Rephidim. 5 God sendeth him for water to the rock in Horeb. 8 Amalek is overcome by the holding up of Moses’ hands. 15 Moses buildeth the altar Jehovah-nissi.

1. Pitched in Rephidim. Between the Wilderness of Sin, where the fall of the manna began, and Rephidim, lay two camp sites, Dophkah and Alush (Num. 33:12, 13). The location of these stations, as well as that of Rephidim, is unknown. Most Biblical scholars have sought Rephidim in the Wadi Feiran, which leads up to the traditional Mt. Sinai. Others have identified it with theWadi RefaЖyid, primarily because of the similarity of its name to Rephidim. Wadi RefaЖyid lies but a few hours’ march from Mt. Sinai. This fact favors its identification with Rephidim, since in several texts Mt. Horeb is used almost synonymously with Mt. Sinai (see Ex. 17:6; 33:6; Ps. 106:19; etc.).

No water. Traveling in the late spring the people expected to find water in the valleys. This probably accounts for the fact that water was not taken in sufficient quantity. The dry river bed of the valley of Rephidim proved to be the cause of consternation more serious than any they had felt before.

2. Give us water. On several occasions the people had murmured; now they complained bitterly. Since Moses had already given them flesh and bread to eat, the people may have naturally expected him to provide them with water as well. But their complaint reflected doubt rather than faith.

Tempt the Lord. The children of Israel “tempted” God by trying His patience, and aroused His holy anger by their continued want of faith and gratitude. The entire history of their desert wandering is one of provocation. The long-suffering of God with such a people, who “tempted and provoked the most high God” (Ps. 78:56), is amazing. They repeatedly “provoked him to anger with their inventions” (Ps. 106:29), “murmured in their tents” (Ps. 106:25), “provoked him at the sea” (Ps. 106:7), and “tempted God in the desert” (Ps. 106:14).

3. To kill us. For a short time the words of Moses seem to have calmed the people, but when their thirst became unbearable they returned to Moses, hot with anger. Again accusing him of having plotted their death (see ch. 14:11), they manifested a grievous lack of faith.

4. What shall I do? Moses ever carried his difficulties to the Lord (see Ex. 15:25; 32:30; 33:8; Num. 11:2, 11; 12:13; 14:13–19; etc.). For his own part, Moses had learned implicit confidence in the One who had called him to be leader of His people, and whenever he reached the limit of human wisdom he found an ever ready Helper.

Ready to stone me. The situation must have been serious indeed, for Moses’ very life was in danger. The practice of stoning is first mentioned in ch. 8:26. Since no trace of death by stoning has been found in Egypt, this form of capital punishment seems to have originated here, so far as the Israelites were concerned, and was no doubt suggested by the abundance of available rocks. Stoning was later practiced among the Greeks, in the time of the Persian wars (Herodotus ix. 5), and by some other peoples. It was one of the easiest ways of killing a criminal without spilling his blood, and seemed especially suitable when the public was called upon to avenge a certain crime like blasphemy (Lev. 24:16) or idolatry (Deut. 13:10; 17:5–7). Here at Rephidim, however, the occasion was one of mutiny, a spontaneous uprising to get rid of a hated leader, whom they held responsible for their unbearable suffering. Thirst can, of course, prove to be torture of the worst sort.

5. Go on before the people. Taking some of the elders with him as witnesses, Moses was to leave the people in Rephidim and go up into the mountains in advance of the spot where the people were encamped. The performance of this miracle was to be witnessed only by the elders, in contrast with the second similar experience, when water was brought forth in the presence of all the people (Num. 20:8–11).

6. I will stand before thee. The Lord promised to come personally to the help of Moses. It was His gracious presence that caused water to flow out of the rock, though this was not to be till Moses should strike it with his staff, that the people might acknowledge him as God’s representative.

7. Massah, and Meribah. “Temptation,” and “murmuring.” The unbelief manifested here would by these names long continue to remind Israel of the lesson God designed to teach them upon this occasion (Deut. 6:16; Ps. 78:20; 95:8; 105:41). The location of this rock is not known, but in view of the fact that it was “in Horeb” (v. 6), it seems to have been close both to Rephidim and to the amount of the law.

8. Then came Amalek. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau’s grandson, after whom they were named (Gen. 36:12). Separating themselves from their brethren at an early date, they seem to have become a leading tribe in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. Though a race kindred to Israel, they viewed with suspicion the occupation of their pastures by the Hebrews, and were bent upon their utter destruction (PP 300). Beginning with this first encounter at Rephidim, a long and bitter feud developed between the two nations. A year later the Israelites were defeated by the Amalekites, who joined forces with the Canaanites at Kadesh-barnea (Num. 14:45). During the period of the judges the Amalekites sought to subjugate Israel, but were defeated by the band of Gideon (Judges 6:33). Saul and David also repeatedly defeated (1 Sam. 14:48; 15:7; 27:8; 30:17, 18; 2 Sam. 8:12), and the last remnants of the nation were finally destroyed by the Simeonites during the reign of King Hezekiah (1 Chron. 4:41–43).

Fought with Israel. This battle began with a treacherous attack upon those at the rear of the long Hebrew column, “even all that were feeble,” when they were “faint and weary” (Deut. 25:18). This infamous attack was regarded by God as a personal insult, and though final retribution was long delayed it was never forgotten, for in due time God commissioned Saul to destroy them (1 Sam. 15:2, 3). It was because of the murmuring of the Israelites that God permitted the Amalekites to attack them at Rephidim (PP 298).

9. Joshua. The successor of Moses and later leader of Israel here appears in the narrative for the first time. Joshua, whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah helps,” was a prince of the tribe of Ephraim who entered the personal service of Moses either before or soon after the battle with the Amalekites (see Num. 13:8; Ex. 24:13). When chosen by Moses, his name was still Hoshea or Oshea, which means “salvation.” His more meaningful name, Jehoshua or Joshua, “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah helps,” was given him by Moses upon a later occasion (Num. 13:8, 16). The name Jesus is from the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua (see Heb. 4:8).

Choose us out men. It was probably evening when Moses heard of the attack upon his rear ranks, and there was consequently little possibility of retrieving the loss until the following day (Ex. 17:9). But arrangements for meeting the enemy the next morning were made. This preparation consisted in the selection of men fit for battle, and probably also in strategy meetings with band leaders and last-minute instructions for battle on the morrow.

The rod of God in mine hand. While Moses sent his men into combat and did everything humanly possible to guarantee victory over the treacherous enemy, he demonstrated also his trust in God rather than in human strength (cf. Jer. 17:5). Although he knew that victory comes from the Lord, this trust did not prevent him from putting forth every effort to protect the women and children, the aged and weak. Divine power is thus ever to be combined with human effort.

10. Hur. Hur, who also held a prominent position (ch. 24:14), was a descendant of Judah through Caleb, the son of Hezron (1 Chron. 2:18–20). His grandson, Bezaleel, was architect of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:2). According to one Jewish tradition he was the husband of Miriam, and according to another, her son.

11. Israel prevailed. The lifting up of the hands has generally been regarded by ancient Jewish scholars, by the church Fathers, by the Reformers, and by many modern commentators as the sign or attitude of prayer. Throughout Bible times the custom of lifting up one’s hands in prayer was observed by pious and earnest worshipers. A few commentators have regarded the posture of Moses, with his hands lifted up, as the attitude of a commander superintending and directing the battle, but this opinion must be rejected, since Moses did not function as commander in chief. He had transferred the command to Joshua (v. 9). He himself engaged in earnest prayer to God for help and victory (PP 299). The question has been raised as to why Moses did not continue to pray even when his hands were weary. Only those who have attempted to pray continuously for long periods of time know how difficult such a procedure is. Perhaps when Moses dropped his hands because of fatigue, he rested also from the mental concentration necessary to prayer. To impress upon Israel the importance of intercessory prayer, God permitted success and failure to alternate accordingly. At the same time God wished His people to learn that their success was to be found in cooperating with His chosen leaders.

12. Aaron and Hur. Teamwork prevailed. While Israel under Joshua’s command fought for its very existence down in the valley Moses’ two companions supported him. This support was not only physical but probably spiritual as well. They continued with him in intercession until final victory was gained, toward the close of the day.

In this experience lies a deep spiritual lesson for every Christian and for the church as a whole. From it we learn that prayer and supplication are essential to victories over our enemies. So long as the hands are outstretched and the soul exerts itself in prayer, our spiritual adversaries will be beaten back. When prayer is forgotten and one’s hold on God is loosened, spiritual foes will gain ground, with the result that eventually all connection with heaven may be severed. On the other hand the church is assured of victory over all the powers of evil so long as its leaders are men of prayer, and so long as its members cooperate with those leaders, supporting them with their prayers and exemplary lives.

14. Write. This is the first mention in the Sacred Record of writing. Until recently it was not known how this was done and what kind of script was employed. The fact that alphabetic writing existed in the time of Moses was discovered about the time of the first world war. Previously, it had been known only that alphabetic script was used by the various peoples of Palestine, particularly the Phoenicians, in the first millennium b.c., and that European alphabets had developed, through the intermediate stages of Greek and Latin, from that original Phoenician script. Higher critics scoffed at the idea that Moses could have written the Pentateuch in Hebrew during the second millennium b.c., convinced as they were that Hebrew writing was nonexistent at that time. Those who admitted that Moses might have written part of the Pentateuch, or certain experiences such as this one, thought that he must have employed either Egyptian hieroglyphic script or Babylonian cuneiform.

According to the evidence it seems probable that the first alphabetic form of writing was invented—if not in Phoenicia or southern Palestine—in the very region of Sinai where Moses received the command to write the story of Amalek’s defeat in a book. In 1916 Dr. Alan Gardiner published his first attempt to decipher inscriptions found some ten years earlier by Sir Flinders Petrie which the Egyptian copper mines of the Wadi MagaЖra on Sinai. Subsequent expeditions have increased the number of inscriptions from that place, and the combined labor of a number of outstanding linguists has succeeded in deciphering this previously unknown script. These inscriptions reveal the astonishing fact that they constitute the earliest attempts at composing a Semitic script, which consisted of about 25 characters.

The inventors of this alphabet were probably Canaanites who worked for the Egyptians in mines in Sinai. They may have had no written language of their own, but had become acquainted with the hieroglyphic system of writing used for centuries in Egypt. For example, the only way the Egyptians could express in writing the idea of a house was by drawing a hieroglyph, or picture, of a house. To some Canaanite at the mines came the brilliant idea of using certain Egyptian hieroglyphs to express abstract phonetic sounds instead of concrete objects. In the Canaanite language a house was a bayith. The first sound of bayith being b, they assigned the phonetic value of b to the Egyptian hieroglyph for “house.” The application of this principle made it possible for a small number of characters to express whatever they wished to say. This was an invention of far-reaching importance. Nor has it been greatly improved since then. We still use a modified form of the alphabetic script invented probably on the Sinai Peninsula before the Exodus. Our own letter b, for example, is a direct descendant of the first character used at Sinai for that sound.

The invention of alphabetic writing shortly before the Exodus was as much a providential gift of God as the invention of printing by movable type shortly before the Reformation. The Bible could never have become the “book of the people” if it had been necessary to write it in the complicated hieroglyphic or cuneiform systems which preceded the invention of alphabetic script. With this new script, with which Moses had probably become acquainted during his long sojourn in Sinai, it was easy to write the story of God’s dealings with His people and the various legal regulations found in the Pentateuch as well. It was also easy to learn to read such writing. By no mere accident the Hebrew Scriptures constitute the oldest and most complete historical record of the human race and of God’s attempts to rescue man from the kingdom of Satan.

In a book. The “book” in which Moses wrote the story of Amalek’s attack and defeat probably consisted of a papyrus scroll, the most common Egyptian writing material. This ancestor of paper was made from fibers of the stem of the papyrus plant, then found in swamps of the Nile Delta. Papyrus sheets were made by first placing a layer of soaked fibers one way, and on top of it another layer the other way. The layers were then glued together, pressed and dried, and smoothed by rubbing the sheets with a pumice stone. Finally, several sheets were fastened together to form a roll of an average height of 9 or 10 in. and a length of from 10 to 30 ft. Such a scroll would be long enough to contain any of the five books of the Pentateuch.

From the remark made in Num. 33:2 it is evident that Moses kept a diary of Israel’s journey through the wilderness, which formed the basis of the list of Num. 33 and of the historical narrative he has left us. Moses probably acquired the habit of keeping a diary during the first 40 years of his life at the Egyptian court, for we know from the records of Thutmose III, probably a contemporary of Moses, that all events connected with military campaigns were “recorded on [each] day by its name,” and that after the completion of a campaign these field notes were transferred to “a roll of leather in the temple of Amon” (cf. PP 245). It would therefore not have seemed strange to Moses to receive instructions to record the treacherous attack and defeat of Amalek for future reference as a “memorial.”

Rehearse it. These words show that Joshua had already been selected by God to succeed Moses.

I will utterly put out. The destruction of this branch of the Edomite nation was decreed, whereas the rest of the Edomites enjoyed divine protection (see Deut. 2:4, 5). The Amalekites had brutally attacked God’s people, showing no compassion even for their own kindred (Deut. 25:18). This attack, wholly unprovoked, revealed their hatred and defiance of God and sealed their doom as a nation (PP 300).

15. Moses built an altar. The building of an altar implies the offering of a sacrifice. Inasmuch as the sacrifice was offered in celebration of victory, it must have been a thank offering.

Jehovah-nissi. In naming the altar, Moses followed the example of Jacob, who had called one of his altars El-elohe-Israel (Gen. 33:20). The name of Moses’ altar meant “the Lord is my banner” and was intended to glorify God for victory over the Amalekites. “The rod of God” (Ex. 17:9) had been held up by Moses during the battle as soldiers hold up their standards, and as soldiers follow the standard, Israel had followed the directions of God. Thus, the Lord became their standard. While in Egypt the Israelites had frequently seen the military standards of the Egyptian armies, which bore pictorial representations of their gods Amen, Ra, Ptah, Sutekh, and others, after whom their divisions were named. Giving the name “the Lord is my standard” to this altar, Moses used familiar language and at the same time called attention to the fact that the standard of the Lord was more powerful than the emblems of the Amalekites. The name “Jehovah-nissi” stands for holy boldness.

16. Because the Lord hath sworn. Literally, “Because the hand [of Amalek] was against the throne of the Lord.” The Hebrew text of this passage is obscure. The rendering of the RSV, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord!” is based upon the change of one consonant, by which the word “throne” becomes “banner.” The Hebrew letters n and k are similar, and some copyist may easily have mistaken the former for the latter. Many commentators today prefer this rendering because it seems to be more in harmony with the context, particularly v. 15, where the same Hebrew word for “banner” is used.

Ellen G. White comments

1-16PP 297-300

1-3PP 297

2-7SR 131

4-7PP 298

6     ML 12; PP 411

7     DA 126

8     2T 106

8-12SR 133

9     4T 530

10-124T 531

10-13PP 299

12   1T 527; 5T 162

13-16SR 134

14   PP 299; 2T 108; 5T 245

16   PP 300; 2T 108