Exodus 17:6
in Exodus 17Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
KJV
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
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This verse in Exodus 17
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb - The rock, הצור hatstsur. It seems as if God had directed the attention of Moses to a particular rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount and its vicinity must have been well known to Moses during the time he kept Jethro’s flocks in those quarters.
This site's exposition
I will stand before thee there upon the rock
God puts himself at the place the blow lands, standing on the rock that Moses is told to strike. The word rock occurs here for the first time in Scripture, and Horeb is the mountain where the bush burned at 3:1 and where the law will be given. Paul writes at 1 Corinthians 10:4 that they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ, which is the New Testament drawing the line itself. Matthew Henry and John Wesley both read the struck rock this way in their comments on the verse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
It does not surpass faith that a virgin gave birth, when we read that even a rock poured out water and that the waves of the sea were made solid in the form of a wall.
The people of the fathers thirsted, Moses touched the rock, and water flowed out of the rock. Did not grace work a result contrary to nature, so that the rock poured forth water, which by nature it did not contain?
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take the staff and strike the rock, that it may produce water for the people." Behold, there is a rock, and it contains water. However, unless this rock is struck, it does not have any water at all. But …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Upon Christ's grace: That rock was Christ, 1 Cor. x. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are compared to rivers of living water, John vii. These flow from Christ, who is the rock smitten by the law of Moses, for he was made under the law.
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The rock in Horeb - (a rock situated, according to Arab tradition, in Wady Feiran. Horeb was a name given to the whole desert of Sinai and subsequently attached to the mountain. Palmer). It is questioned whether the water thus supplied ceased with the immediate occasion; see 1Co 10:4, the general meaning of which appears to be that their wants were ever supplied from Him, of whom the rock was but a symbol, and who accompanied them in all their wanderings.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנְנִ֣י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| עֹמֵד֩ | ʾomed | [will be] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנֶ֨יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שָּׁ֥ם׀ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַצּוּר֮ | hatzur | the rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| בְּחֹרֵב֒ | bechorev | at Horeb | H2722 → | 17 times |
| וְהִכִּ֣יתָ | vehikita | and you will strike | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בַצּ֗וּר | vatzur | <on> the rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| וְיָצְא֥וּ | veyatzeu | and they will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמֶּ֛נּוּ | mimenu | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְשָׁתָ֣ה | veshatah | and it will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֵּן֙ | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| לְעֵינֵ֖י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| זִקְנֵ֥י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
הִנְנִ֣יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
עֹמֵד֩[will be] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
לְפָנֶ֨יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
שָּׁ֥ם׀there
shamH8033 →834 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַצּוּר֮the rock
hatzurH6697 →78 times
בְּחֹרֵב֒at Horeb
bechorevH2722 →17 times
וְהִכִּ֣יתָand you will strike
vehikitaH5221 →499 times
בַצּ֗וּר<on> the rock
vatzurH6697 →78 times
וְיָצְא֥וּand they will come out
veyatzeuH3318 →1067 times
מִמֶּ֛נּוּfrom it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
מַ֖יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
וְשָׁתָ֣הand it will drink
veshatahH8354 →217 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
כֵּן֙so
kenH3651 →771 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
לְעֵינֵ֖יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
זִקְנֵ֥י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
1 Corinthians 10:4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:21
They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Psalms 105:41
He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
- Psalms 78:20
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
- Isaiah 48:21
Through
Psalms 105:41He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
it leads to
- Numbers 20:11
Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 114:8
who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 20:11
Through
Nehemiah 9:15In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:3–4
They all ate the same spiritual food
- 1 Corinthians 10:3–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Letter 42.7; Ambrose of Milan, On the Mysteries 9.51; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 103.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.