Psalms 78:16
in Psalms 78He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
KJV
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 78
Commentary
7 notes on this verseGod gives abundantly, and is rich in mercy; he gives seasonably, and sometimes makes us to feel the want of mercies that we may the better know the worth of them. This water which God gave Israel out of the rock was the more valuable because it was spiritual drink. And that rock was Christ.
This site's exposition
The archers of Ephraim turned back
on Psalms 78:9-16
Ephraim's archers turned back, and verses 10 and 11 name the failure, a broken covenant and forgotten works. The works come next, wonders in Egypt at Zoan, the sea split, the cloud and fire, and water out of split rock. Delitzsch ties the tribe to its rejection at verse 67.
This site's exposition
made water flow down like rivers
Albert Barnes gave the Hebrew for streams as flowings, poured out in an overflowing stream that kept running. He pointed to 1 Corinthians 10:4, where Paul says the rock that followed them was Christ. Charles Spurgeon said the streams followed the camp.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He that burst asunder the rock in the desert, and gave them water as in a great deep" [Psalm 78:15]; "and brought out water from the rock, and brought down waters like rivers" [Psalm 78:16], is surely able upon thirsty faith to pour the gift of the Holy Spirit (the which gift the performance of that thing did spiritually signify), to pour, I say, from the Spiritual Rock that followed, which is Christ: who stood and cried, "If any is thirsty, let him come to Me:" [John 7:37] and, "he that shall have drunk of the water which I shall give, rivers of living water shall flow out of his bosom." [John 4:14] For this He spoke, as is read in the Gospel, [John 7:39] to the Spirit, which they were to receive that believed in Him, unto whom like the rod drew near the wood of the Passion, in order that there might flow forth grace for believers.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He brought streams also out of the rock,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The supply of water was as plenteous in quantity as it was miraculous in origin. Torrents, not driblets came from the rocks. Streams followed the camp; the supply was not for an hour or a day. This was a marvel of goodness. If we contemplate the abounding of divine grace we shall be lost in admiration. Mighty rivers of love have flowed for us in the wilderness. Alas, great God! our return has not been commensurate therewith, but far otherwise.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He brought streams also out of the rock ... - literally, “flowings.” The waters were poured out in an over-flowing stream. Those streams continued to flow, thus constituting a continued proof of the presence of God. See this fully explained in the notes at 1Co 10:4.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיּוֹצִ֣א | vaiyotzi' | and he brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| נוֹזְלִ֣ים | nozlim | streams | H5140 → | 16 times |
| מִסָּ֑לַע | misala' | from a rock | H5553 → | 58 times |
| וַיּ֖וֹרֶד | vaiyored | and he made to flow down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| כַּנְּהָר֣וֹת | kaneharot | like <the> rivers | H5104 → | 119 times |
| מָֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
וַיּוֹצִ֣אand he brought out
vaiyotzi'H3318 →1067 times
נוֹזְלִ֣יםstreams
nozlimH5140 →16 times
מִסָּ֑לַעfrom a rock
misala'H5553 →58 times
וַיּ֖וֹרֶדand he made to flow down
vaiyoredH3381 →381 times
כַּנְּהָר֣וֹתlike <the> rivers
kaneharotH5104 →119 times
מָֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 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
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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…
- Numbers 20:11
Through
Numbers 20:8“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…
it leads to
- Exodus 4:17
But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
- Exodus 4:17
Through
Deuteronomy 8:15He 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.
it leads to
- Numbers 21:6
So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
- Numbers 21:6
Through
Deuteronomy 9:21And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it…
it leads to
- Exodus 32:20
Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink…
- Exodus 32:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 78; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.