Psalms 105:41
in Psalms 105He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He opened the rock, and waters gushed out; They ran in the dry places like a river.
KJV
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
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This verse in Psalms 105
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHe opened the rock, and the waters gushed out. With Moses' rod and his own word he cleft the rock in the desert, and forth leaped abundant floods for their drinking where they had feared to die of thirst. From most unlikely sources the all sufficient God can supply his people's needs; hard rocks become springing fountains at the Lord's command. They ran in the dry places like a river: so that those at a distance from the rock could stoop down and refresh themselves, and the stream flowed on, so that in future journeyings they were supplied.
This site's exposition
He brought Israel out with silver
on Psalms 105:37-41
The silver and gold come from Exodus 12:35 and 36, and the dread of Israel makes Egypt glad to see them go. None of the tribes stumbled on the way out. The provisions run together, a cloud, a fire, quail, the bread of heaven, and water out of a rock.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"He opened the rock of stone, and the waters flowed out: so that rivers ran in the dry places" [Psalm 105:41]. This fact too is understood as soon as read.
"He opened the rock of stone, and the waters flowed out: so that rivers ran in the dry places" [Psalm 105:41]. This fact too is understood as soon as read.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
4 ), and, which increased the miracle, this river of God (so it might be truly called) ran in dry places, and yet was not drunk in and lost, as one would have expected it to be, by the sands of the desert of Arabia. To this that promise alludes, I will give rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen, Isa. xliii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out,.... That is, God opened the rock, who before is said to spread the cloud, and bring the quails, for it was a miraculous affair; or Moses, by divine orders, which was done by smiting it, when waters flowed out in great abundance, sufficient to give drink to men and beasts, and which continued, Exo 17:
In singing this we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old-Testament church, both because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and because out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out. With Moses' rod and his own word he cleft the rock in the desert, and forth leaped abundant floods for their drinking where they had feared to die of thirst. From most unlikely sources the all sufficient God can supply his people's needs; hard rocks become springing fountains at the Lord's command. They ran in the dry places like a river: so that those at a distance from the rock could stoop down and refresh themselves, and the stream flowed on, so that in future journeyings they were supplied. The desert sand would naturally swallow up the streams, and yet it did not so, the refreshing river ran "in the dry places." We know that the rock set forth our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom there flows a fountain of living waters which shall never be exhausted till the last pilgrim has crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan.
He opened the rock, and the waters rushed out - See the note on Exo 17:6, to which I can now add, that a piece of this rock, broken off by the hand of my nephew, E. S. A. Clarke, in the course of the present year [1822,] now lies before me. It is fine granite; and so well distinguished as a granite, that the feldt-spar, the mica, and the quartz, of which granite is composed, appear very distinctly. It is worthy of remark, that, as granite is supposed, in the most accredited systems of geology, to be the very basis of the earth, the original rock, and all other substances to be superimpositions upon it, and as the decompositions of the feldt-spar produce pure vegetable earth, this rock should be used for this purpose, and should be an emblem of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of the human race; and that it should signify him who is the basis of all things; who upholds all by the word of his power; without whom nothing is stable, nothing fruitful; from whom alone the water of life proceeds; and in whose name only is salvation. And that rock (in the wilderness) was Christ! and it is the only remaining emblem of him in creation.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He opened the rock ... - See the notes at Psa 78:15. “They ran in the dry places like a river.” Or, “a river.” They flowed along in the desert - a river of waters. See the notes at 1Co 10:4.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּ֣תַח | patach | he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| צ֭וּר | tzur | a rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| וַיָּז֣וּבוּ | vaiyazuvu | and they flowed out | H2100 → | |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הָ֝לְכ֗וּ | halekhu | they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בַּצִּיּ֥וֹת | batziyot | in the dry regions | H6723 → | 16 times |
| נָהָֽר׃ | nahar | a river | H5104 → | 119 times |
פָּ֣תַחhe opened
patachH6605 →144 times
צ֭וּרa rock
tzurH6697 →78 times
וַיָּז֣וּבוּand they flowed out
vaiyazuvuH2100 →
מָ֑יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
הָ֝לְכ֗וּthey went
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
בַּצִּיּ֥וֹתin the dry regions
batziyotH6723 →16 times
נָהָֽר׃a river
naharH5104 →119 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
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, 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…
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- 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?”
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.
- 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.
- Exodus 17:6
Through
Exodus 17:6Behold, 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…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 9:15
In 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…
- Numbers 20:9–11
So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 105; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.