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Êxodo 17

BLIVRE · Chapter 17/40

1E toda a congregação dos filhos de Israel partiu do deserto de Sim, por suas jornadas, ao mandamento do SENHOR, e assentaram o acampamento em Refidim: e não havia água para que o povo bebesse.

2E brigou o povo com Moisés, e disseram: Dá-nos água que bebamos. E Moisés lhes disse: Por que brigais comigo? Por que tentais ao SENHOR?

3Assim que o povo teve ali sede de água, e murmurou contra Moisés, e disse: Por que nos fizeste subir do Egito para matar-nos de sede a nós, e a nossos filhos e a nossos gados?

4Então clamou Moisés ao SENHOR, dizendo: Que farei com este povo? Daqui um pouco me apedrejarão.

5E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Passa diante do povo, e toma contigo dos anciãos de Israel; e toma também em tua mão tua vara, com que feriste o rio, e vai:

6Eis que eu estou diante de ti ali sobre a rocha em Horebe; e ferirás a rocha, e sairão dela águas, e beberá o povo. E Moisés o fez assim em presença dos anciãos de Israel.

7E chamou o nome daquele lugar Massá e Meribá, pela briga dos filhos de Israel, e porque tentaram ao SENHOR, dizendo: Está, pois, o SENHOR entre nós, ou não?

8E veio Amaleque e lutou com Israel em Refidim.

9E disse Moisés a Josué: Escolhe para nós homens, e sai, luta com Amaleque: amanhã eu estarei sobre o cume do morro, e a vara de Deus em minha mão.

10E fez Josué como lhe disse Moisés, lutando com Amaleque; e Moisés e Arão e Hur subiram ao cume do morro.

11E sucedia que quando erguia Moisés sua mão, Israel prevalecia; mas quando ele baixava sua mão, prevalecia Amaleque.

12E as mãos de Moisés estavam pesadas; pelo que tomaram uma pedra, e puseram-na debaixo dele, e se sentou sobre ela; e Arão e Hur sustentavam suas mãos, o um de uma parte e o outro de outra; assim houve em suas mãos firmeza até que se pôs o sol.

13E Josué derrotou a Amaleque e a seu povo a fio de espada.

14E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Escreve isto para memória em um livro, e dize a Josué que de todo tenho de apagar a memória de Amaleque de debaixo do céu.

15E Moisés edificou um altar, e chamou seu nome O SENHOR é minha bandeira;

16E disse: Porquanto há mão sobre o trono do SENHOR, o SENHOR terá guerra com Amaleque de geração em geração.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The people again grumble for lack of water at Rephidim, and God instructs Moses to strike a rock at Horeb so that water flows from it; afterward, Israel defeats the Amalekites in battle while Moses keeps his hands raised with help from Aaron and Hur.

Explanation

This chapter continues to show the practical challenges of the wilderness journey, with the people again questioning God's presence amid their thirst ('Is the LORD among us, or not?', v. 7). God's response, instructing Moses to strike the rock before the elders of Israel, turns a moment of complaint into another public demonstration of divine provision. The battle against Amalek, a hostile people who attacked Israel during this vulnerable journey, introduces an interesting element of cooperation between faith and practical action: while Joshua physically leads the battle, the victory is directly tied to Moses' hands raised in prayer, physically supported by Aaron and Hur when he grows weary. This scene powerfully illustrates how spiritual intercession and practical effort go hand in hand, and how mutual support among people of faith (Aaron and Hur helping Moses) can be decisive in sustaining victory over time.

Fun facts

  • The place where water flows from the rock is called 'Massah and Meribah' ('temptation and strife', v. 7), names that would become a recurring reference in later texts, such as Psalm 95:8, as a warning against hardness of heart and distrust of God.
  • Amalek's hostility toward Israel shortly after leaving Egypt sparked a lasting enmity recorded throughout the Old Testament, culminating centuries later in the command given to King Saul to fight them (1 Samuel 15), showing how this initial conflict had long-term historical consequences.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 17:1The wilderness route continues step by step, and once again the people face a lack of water, this time at the camp of Rephidim.
  2. Êxodo 17:2Moses responds to the people’s demand by pointing out that complaining about the lack of water is, in practice, testing God’s patience and care, not just a complaint against him.
  3. Êxodo 17:3The thirst becomes urgent enough that the people accuse Moses of bringing them out of Egypt only to die of thirst in the wilderness, along with their children and livestock.
  4. Êxodo 17:4The situation reaches a critical point: Moses is literally afraid of being stoned by the people if water does not appear soon.
  5. Êxodo 17:5God instructs Moses to act publicly, in front of the elders, using the same rod already used in the plagues of Egypt, this time to bring water out of a rock.
  6. Êxodo 17:6God promises to be present in the very rock at Horeb, and water really does gush out as soon as Moses strikes it, resolving the crisis in front of witnesses.
  7. Êxodo 17:7Moses gives the place two names, “Massah” and “Meribah,” because there the people quarreled with him and, at the same time, put God to the test by doubting whether He was really among them. It is one of several cases where a place carries the name of the event that happened there.
  8. Êxodo 17:8Right after the water crisis, a new challenge arises: the people of Amalek attack Israel at Rephidim, the first direct military clash of the journey.
  9. Êxodo 17:9This is Joshua’s first appearance in the text, already appointed by Moses to lead the military defense against the Amalekites.
  10. Êxodo 17:10While Joshua commands the battle on the field, Moses climbs a nearby hill accompanied by Aaron and Hur, setting up the scene of the following verse.
  11. Êxodo 17:11As long as Moses keeps his hands raised, Israel wins the battle against the Amalekites; when he grows tired and lowers them, the enemy gains the advantage. The scene is not about magical power in Moses’s hands, but about depending on God throughout the battle, which is why Aaron and Hur hold up his arms until the end of the day.
  12. Êxodo 17:12When fatigue makes Moses lower his arms, Aaron and Hur help by holding his hands up until the end of the battle, securing Israel’s victory.
  13. Êxodo 17:13The battle ends with the total defeat of the Amalekite army, thanks to the combination of Joshua’s leadership on the field and Moses’s support on the hill.
  14. Êxodo 17:14God orders this episode to be recorded in writing, something rare at this point in the book, and promises to completely blot out the memory of Amalek in the future.
  15. Êxodo 17:15Moses builds an altar to mark the victory, naming it in a way that credits the whole victory to God, not to Israel’s military strength.
  16. Êxodo 17:16Moses builds an altar and calls it “my banner,” using the image of a battle standard raised as a rallying point for the army. It is a way of marking that the victory over Amalek came from God, not from Israel’s military strength.

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