Numbers 20:8
in Numbers 20“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.
KJV
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take the rod - That with which the miracles in Egypt had been performed (Exo 7:8 ff; Exo 7:19 ff; Exo 8:5 ff, etc.), and which had been used on a similar occasion at Rephidim (Exo 17:5 following). This rod, as the memorial of so many divine interpositions, was naturally laid up in the tabernacle, and is accordingly Num 20:9 described now as taken by Moses “from before the Lord.”
This site's exposition
speak ye unto the rock before their eyes
The instruction carries two verbs and the whole chapter turns on which one is acted. Take the rod, and speak ye unto the rock, so the rod is carried and the rock is addressed. At Exodus 17:6 the word was smite the rock, and there the striking was the obedience. The rod is commanded in the same breath here, and the thing it is carried for is the speaking.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), but in it he made them to drink spiritual drink, which typified spiritual blessings, for that rock was Christ. Moses and Aaron acted improperly in the management of this matter, so much so that God in displeasure told them immediately that they should not have the honour of bringing Israel into Canaan,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Take thy rod,....
Moses must a second time in God's name command water out of a rock for them, to show that God is as able as ever to supply his people with good things, even in their greatest straits an in the utmost failure of second causes. Almighty power can bring water out of a rock, has done it, and can again, for his arm is not shortened.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קַ֣ח | kach | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמַּטֶּ֗ה | hamateh | the rod | H4294 → | 252 times |
| וְהַקְהֵ֤ל | vehakhel | and assemble | H6950 → | 39 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֵדָה֙ | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| אַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְאַהֲרֹ֣ן | veaharon | and Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אָחִ֔יךָ | ʾachikha | brother your | H251 → | 630 times |
| וְדִבַּרְתֶּ֧ם | vedibartem | and you will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַסֶּ֛לַע | hasela' | the rock | H5553 → | 58 times |
| לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם | leeineihem | to eyes their | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וְנָתַ֣ן | venatan | and it will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מֵימָ֑יו | meimav | water its | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְהוֹצֵאתָ֨ | vehotzeta | and you will bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לָהֶ֥ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| מַ֙יִם֙ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַסֶּ֔לַע | hasela' | the rock | H5553 → | 58 times |
| וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֥ | vehishkita | and you will give drink to | H8248 → | 61 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֵדָ֖ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּעִירָֽם׃ | beiram | livestock their | H1165 → | 6 times |
קַ֣חtake
kachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמַּטֶּ֗הthe rod
hamatehH4294 →252 times
וְהַקְהֵ֤לand assemble
vehakhelH6950 →39 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעֵדָה֙the congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
אַתָּה֙you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְאַהֲרֹ֣ןand Aaron
veaharonH175 →347 times
אָחִ֔יךָbrother your
ʾachikhaH251 →630 times
וְדִבַּרְתֶּ֧םand you will speak
vedibartemH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַסֶּ֛לַעthe rock
hasela'H5553 →58 times
לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖םto eyes their
leeineihemH5869 →887 times
וְנָתַ֣ןand it will give
venatanH5414 →2011 times
מֵימָ֑יוwater its
meimavH4325 →581 times
וְהוֹצֵאתָ֨and you will bring out
vehotzetaH3318 →1067 times
לָהֶ֥םfor <the> them
lahem
מַ֙יִם֙water
mayimH4325 →581 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַסֶּ֔לַעthe rock
hasela'H5553 →58 times
וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֥and you will give drink to
vehishkitaH8248 →61 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעֵדָ֖הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּעִירָֽם׃livestock their
beiramH1165 →6 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
Revelation 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
it leads to
- 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.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 21:6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Isaiah 55:1–3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- 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.
- Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
- John 4:14
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
- Deuteronomy 1:8
See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:3–4
Through
Isaiah 43:20The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:17
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Isaiah 41:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Numbers

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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 Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; 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.
