1 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 wasno water for the people to drink.

2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6Behold, 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.

7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put itunder him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

16For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will havewar with Amalek from generation to generation.

1 And all the Congregation of the children of Israel iourneyed from the wildernesse of Sin after their iourneys, according to the commandement of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drinke.

2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Giue vs water that wee may drinke. And Moses said vnto them, Why chide you with mee? Wherefore doe ye tempt the Lord ?

3And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought vs vp out of Egypt, to kill vs and our children, and our cattell with thirst?

4And Moses cried vnto the Lord, saying, What shall I doe vnto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.

5And the Lord said vnto Moses, Goe on before the people, and take with thee of the Elders of Israel: and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the riuer, take in thine hand, and goe.

6Behold, I will stand before thee there, vpon the rocke in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rocke, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drinke. And Moses did so, in the sight of the Elders of Israel.

7And hee called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord amongst vs, or not?

8 Then came Amalek, & fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9And Moses said vnto Ioshua, Choose vs out men, and goe out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill, with the rodde of God in mine hand.

10So Ioshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went vp to the top of the hill.

11And it came to passe when Moses held vp his hand, that Israel preuailed: and when he let downe his hand, Amalek preuailed.

12But Moses hands were heauie, and they tooke a stone, and put it vnder him, and he sate thereon: and Aaron and Hur stayed vp his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his handes were steady vntill the going downe of the Sunne.

13And Ioshua discomfited Amalek, and his people, with the edge of the sword.

14And the Lord said vnto Moses, Write this for a memoriall in a booke, and rehearse it in the eares of Ioshua: for I will vtterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from vnder heauen.

15And Moses built an Altar, and called the name of it IEHOUAH Nissi.

16For he said, Because the Lord hath sworne that the Lord will haue warre with Amalek from generation to generation.

I == Ex 16:1 ; Num 33:12 , 14

II == Num 20:3-4 ; Deu t 6:16 ; Ps 78:18 , 41 ; Isa 7:12 ; Matt 4:7 ; 1st Cor 10:9

III == Ex 16:2

IV == Ex 14:15 ; 1st Sam 30:6 ; John 8:59 ; 10:31

V == Ex 7:20 ; Num 20:8 ; Ezek 2:6

VI == Num 20:10-11 ; Ps 78:15 , 20 ; 105:41 ; 114:8 ; 1st Cor 10:4

VII == Num 20:13 ; Ps 81:7 ; 95:8 ; Heb 3:8

VIII == Gen 36:12 ; Num 24:20 ; Deut 25:17 ; 1st Sam 15:2

IX == Ex 4:20 ; Acts 7:45 ; Heb 4:8

XI == James 5:16

XIV == Ex 34:27 ; Num 24:20 ; Deut 25:19 ; 1st Sam 5:3 , 7 ; 30:1 , 17 ; 2nd Sam 8:12 ; Ezra 9:14

XV == Judg 6:24

1 From the desert of Sin the whole Israelite community journeyed by stages, as the LORD directed, and encamped at Rephidim. Here there was no water for the people to drink.

2 They quarreled, therefore, with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to a test?"

3 Here, then, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?"

4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!"

5 The LORD answered Moses, "Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river.

6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink." This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.

7 The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD in our midst or not?"

8 At Rephidim, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.

9 Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."

10 So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.

11 As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight.

12 Moses' hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

13 And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this down in a document as something to be remembered, and recite it in the ears of Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens."

15 Moses also built an altar there, which he called Yahweh-nissi;

16 for he said, "The LORD takes in hand his banner; the LORD will war against Amalek through the centuries."

v 1-3. Rephidim is “resting place”. The people soon forgot the Lord’s deliverances of the past and again accuse Moses of bringing them there to die of thirst. Moses in turn chides them for putting the Lord to the test, and trying His patience. 

v 4-7. The Lord quickly responded to Moses’ cry of desperation. Moses was to take the elders along so that when he struck the rock to bring forth water, and they saw the glory of the Lord, they would recognize that the Lord was among them and did this. Ps. 114:8, The rock became a fountain, and 78:16 and 105:41, it ran like a river. Jewish tradition is that the rock or at least streams from the rock followed them in the wilderness. It may have followed the lay of the land and they may well have dug canals for some time, but 1 Cor. 10:4 clarifies that it was the spiritual rock, Christ who followed them. We know they ran short of water much later. Massah=temptation, for tempting God, Meribah= chiding, for their strife with Moses, almost stoning him. The smitten rock is a type of Christ who was smitten for us, and the Holy Spirit, like the water was poured out.
Note from Rood. Horeb is not in traditional Sinai Peninsula. It is east of where Israelites crossed the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba. Mt Sinai can be seen from Mt. Horeb. Here is a rock four and one half stories tall which stands on a crest of rocks. From the pictures, I would say it is 39 feet in diameter, more or less. It is cleft in two so one can go between the sides. There is only one inch of rain a year and no streams or source of water there now. But from this rock, the rocks below show erosion as though much water had passed from there to the valley below.

v 8-10. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau who came out to attack Israel. Moses called out men to fight, but he trusted God and took the rod of God in his hand. Deut. 25:17,18 tell the shameful way Amalek attacked Israel by smiting the feeble stragglers when Israel was faint and weary. Amalekites are the Palestinians of today.

v 11-13. It was not the position of Moses’ hands, but the power of God that could only be released if Moses held up the rod of God in his hands, symbolic of prayer. By the power of God, these relatively untrained soldiers were able to whip Amalek soundly. Hur was Caleb’s son and Miriam’s husband.

v 14-16. This, along with archaeological discoveries, proves Moses could write. He was keeping records which later became a part of the Bible. Some have said that Israel did not have to fight Amalek till they left Egypt, and we don’t have to fight the pull of the flesh until we get our new nature. Christ’s hands never get weary upholding us. The Lord’s statement that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation proved quite true, as Amalek is mentioned numerous times in six other books of the Bible. Israel was told in Deut. 25:19 to blot out the name of Amalek, but they failed to do so. Saul was told to utterly destroy Amalek,1 Sam. 15:3, but he also failed to do so.