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Exodus 17 - gib65 - 08-07-2025
Hello ladies and gentlemen, I will now post my thoughts on Exodus 17: water from the rock and the war with the Amalekites. As always, my source is chabad.org with biblegateway.com to assist with some of the more difficult passages.
Exodus 17:5-6 Wrote:5 And the Lord said to Moses, Pass before the people and take with you [some] of the elders of Israel, and take into your hand your staff, with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I shall stand there before you on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink Moses did so before the eyes of the elders of Israel.
What role are the elders playing here? It seems like though the people got to drink the water, only the elders got to see how it poured from the rock after Moses struck it with his staff. So the striking of the rock and the pouring out of the water must have been done a distance away from the crowd and the elders must have delivered the water to them.
Exodus 17:7 Wrote:He named the place Massah [testing] and Meribah [quarreling] because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because of their testing the Lord, saying, Is the Lord in our midst or not?
This would be (what?) the 5th time? 6th time? 20th time? That the people quarreled and tested the Lord, as if all the miracles and providence the Lord delivered in the past was never good enough to secure their faith. Why do the people keep doubting that the Lord will provide given everything He was shown them? Is this a statement about human nature?
Exodus 17:11-12 Wrote:11 It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. 12 Now Moses hands were heavy; so they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one from this [side], and one from that [side]; so he was with his hands in faith until sunset.
This is a strange passages. It sounds as though sometimes Moses would raise his hand, causing the Israelites to prevail, and sometimes he would lower his hand, causing Amalek to prevail. Why would Moses sometimes favor the one and other times the other? Why not always keep his hand raised so that Israel would win?
Here's how I interpret this passage: it's not saying that Moses would waffle back and forth between Israel and Amalek, it's saying that Moses tried to keep his hand raised at all times so that Israel would always prevail (always be winning the battle) but his hands (or arms) would get tired so he needed the support of Aaron and Hur and the rock on which he sat. <-- At this point it seems he needed both hands raised whereas in verse 11, it only talks about his one hand (singular). I'm also unclear as to what "he was with his hands in faith until sunset" means except that the battle must have lasted until sunset.
No doubt, there are better translations out there. And there are. This one, for example, concurs with my interpretation.
Overall, the point of this passage seems to be that while the Lord (through Moses) can help the Israelites win the battle, even Moses must put in much effort... to the point where he needs the assistance of Aaron and Hur. God does not do all the work Himself.
Exodus 17:14 Wrote:The Lord said to Moses, Inscribe this [as] a memorial in the book, and recite it into Joshua's ears, that I will surely obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens.
This is certainly ironic considering the inscription of this event in the book (Exodus?) would only serve to preserve the memory of Amalek. Perhaps what God means here is that he wishes for the memory of Amalek to only survive in the book and with Joshua, and other than that, Amalek is to be forgotten by all people and nations who, up until now, knew about them.
Exodus 17:16 Wrote:And he said, For there is a hand on the throne of the Eternal, [that there shall be] a war for the Lord against Amalek from generation to generation.
This is a rather cryptic passage. First, it begins with "And he said..." Who said? Moses? Is this being written to the memorial? Then there's this: "there is a hand on the throne of the Eternal...", which I'm totally lost as to a meaningful interpretation. And finally, "[that there shall be] a war for the Lord against Amalek from generation to generation." <-- It sounds like the Lord is punishing the Amalekites for engaging in war with the Israelites by cursing them to be wrapped up in a war that will last for several generations (at the end of which they will be obliterated? Thus wiping their memory from the face of the Earth?). But who will they be at war with? The passage describes it as "a war for the Lord". Meaning what? Surely, the Amalek are not engaging in war with the Lord. So then "for the Lord" means "for the Lord's sake"? For his satisfaction?
Over at biblegateway.com, Exodus 17:16 is translated thus:
Exodus 17:16 Wrote:He [Moses] said, “Because hands were lifted up against [or to] the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
According to this, it is indeed Moses speaking (but still unclear as to whether he is inscribing this to the memorial), and the "hand on the throne of the Eternal" means "hands were lifted up against/to the throne of the Lord" (the lifting of those hands symbolizing the Amalekites' attack on Israel), and (surprisingly) the war against the Amalekites is waged by the Lord himself (which presumably is the Lord's way of eradicating them from the Earth and from memory).
I suppose an important footnote at biblegateway.com is that the "Lord" in the phrase "hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord" is an uncertain translation, perhaps explaining why it is translated as the "Eternal" over at chabad.org.