Exo 17:1-3 | Clarke | e4.org | 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 , 6. The place is called Massah and Meribah, 7. The Amalekites attack Israel in Rephidim, 8. Joshua is commanded to fight with them , 9. Moses, Aaron , and Hur go to the top of a hill, and while Moses holds up his hands, the Israelites prevail; when he lets them down, Amalek prevails , 10, 11. Moses, being weary, sits down, and Aaron and Hur hold up his hands , 12. The Amalekites are totally routed , 13, and the event commanded to be recorded , 14. Moses builds an altar, and calls it JEHOVAH-NISSI, 15. Amalek is threatened with continual wars , 16. NOTES ON CHAP. XVII Verse 1. Pitched in Rephidim ] In it is said, that when the Israelites came from Sin they encamped in Dophkah , and next in Alush , after which they came to Rephidim . Here, therefore, two stations are omitted, probably because nothing of moment took place at either. ; and "Nu 33:13" .

‏ Exodus 17:1-3

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, 6.

The place is called Massah and Meribah, 7.

The Amalekites attack Israel in Rephidim, 8.

Joshua is commanded to fight with them, 9.

Moses, Aaron, and Hur go to the top of a hill, and while Moses holds up his hands, the Israelites prevail; when he lets them down, Amalek prevails, 10, 11.

Moses, being weary, sits down, and Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, 12.

The Amalekites are totally routed, 13,

and the event commanded to be recorded, 14.

Moses builds an altar, and calls it JEHOVAH-NISSI, 15.

Amalek is threatened with continual wars, 16.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVII

Verse 1. Pitched in Rephidim] In Nu 33:12-14 it is said, that when the Israelites came from Sin they encamped in Dophkah, and next in Alush, after which they came to Rephidim. Here, therefore, two stations are omitted, probably because nothing of moment took place at either. See Clarke on Nu 33:12; and "Nu 33:13".

Verse 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 destroy his enemies and support his friends? And is he not among you to do you good? Ex 17:7. Why therefore do ye doubt his power and goodness, and thus provoke him to treat you as his enemies?

Verse 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 the heads of the people, provision would necessarily have been made for such exigencies as these. But as God chose to keep them constantly dependent upon himself for every necessary of life, and as they had Moses alone as their mediator to look to, they murmured against him when brought into straits and difficulties, regretted their having left Egypt, and expressed the strongest desire to return. This shows that they had left Egypt reluctantly; and as Moses and Aaron never appear to have any resources but those which came most evidently in a supernatural way, therefore the whole exodus or departure from Egypt proves itself to have been no human contrivance, but a measure concerted by God himself.