Exodus 17:1
in Exodus 17Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of Jehovah, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
KJV
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
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This verse in Exodus 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
According to their journeys - The Israelites rested at two stations before they reached Rephidim, namely, Dophkah and Alush Num 33:12-14. Dophkah was in the Wady Sih, a day’s journey from the Wady Nasb. The wilderness of Sin Exo 16:1 properly speaking ends here, the sandstone ceases, and is replaced by the porphyry and granite which belong to the central formation of the Sinaitic group. Alush may have been near the entrance to the Wady Sheikh. Rephidim - (Variously placed at Feiran at the base of Mount Serbal, or at the pass of El Watiyeh.)
This site's exposition
and pitched in Rephidim
on Exodus 17:1-2
They came to Rephidim at the commandment of the LORD and found no water there, so the obedience and the hardship arrive together. The people bring two charges in one breath and the text keeps them apart, since chiding is aimed at Moses and tempting is aimed at the LORD. This is the fourth complaint in four chapters, after the sea at 14:11, the bitter water at 15:24 and the hunger at 16:2.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin,....
They journeyed according to the commandment of the Lord, led by the pillar of cloud and fire, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink. Note, We may be in the way of our duty, and yet may meet with troubles, which Providence brings us into for the trial of our faith, and that God may be glorified in our relief.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The same phraseology occurs elsewhere (Nu 9:18, 19). pitched in Rephidim--now believed, on good grounds, to be Wady Feiran, which is exactly a day's march from Mount Sinai, and at the entrance of the Horeb district. It is a long circuitous defile about forty feet in breadth, with perpendicular granite rocks on both sides.
Pitched in Rephidim - In Num 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 the notes on Numbers 33 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The entire community of B’nei Yisrael journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, traveling according to the word of Adonoy.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠יִּסְעוּ | vaiyisu | and they set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲדַ֨ת | ʾadat | [the] congregation of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִמִּדְבַּר־ | mimidbar- | from [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| סִ֛ין | sin | Sin | H5512 → | |
| לְמַסְעֵיהֶ֖ם | lemaseihem | to journeyings their | H4550 → | 12 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בִּרְפִידִ֔ים | birfidim | at Rephidim | H7508 → | 5 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | [was] water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| לִשְׁתֹּ֥ת | lishtot | to drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַ֠יִּסְעוּand they set out
vaiyisuH5265 →146 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲדַ֨ת[the] congregation of
ʾadatH5712 →149 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֧לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִמִּדְבַּר־from [the] wilderness of
mimidbar-H4057 →270 times
סִ֛יןSin
sinH5512 →
לְמַסְעֵיהֶ֖םto journeyings their
lemaseihemH4550 →12 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙and they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
בִּרְפִידִ֔יםat Rephidim
birfidimH7508 →5 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַ֖יִם[was] water
mayimH4325 →581 times
לִשְׁתֹּ֥תto drink
lishtotH8354 →217 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 17:8After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
it leads to
- Genesis 36:12
Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
- Deuteronomy 25:17–19
Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,
- 1 Samuel 30:1
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
- 1 Samuel 15:2
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they ambushed them on their way up from Egypt.
- Numbers 24:20
Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”
- Genesis 36:12
Through
Exodus 19:2After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
it leads to
- Exodus 3:1
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 3:12
“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will…
- Exodus 3:1
Through
Exodus 16:1On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is…
it leads to
- Numbers 33:10–12
They set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
- Numbers 33:10–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.