Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 17
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 17
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 17
"And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of Jehovah, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink." — Exodus 17:1 (ASV)
According to their journeys - The Israelites rested at two stations before they reached Rephidim, namely, Dophkah and Alush (Numbers 33:12–14). Dophkah was in the Wady Sih, a day’s journey from the Wady Nasb.
The wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1) properly speaking ends here; the sandstone ceases, and is replaced by the porphyry and granite which belong to the central formation of the Sinaitic group. Alush may have been near the entrance to the Wady Sheikh.
Rephidim - (Variously placed at Feiran at the base of Mount Serbal, or at the pass of El Watiyeh.)
"Wherefore the people stove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah?" — Exodus 17:2 (ASV)
Tempt the Lord - It is a general characteristic of the Israelites that the miracles, which met each need as it arose, failed to produce a habit of faith; but the severity of the trial, the faintness and anguish of thirst in the burning desert, must not be overlooked in appreciating their conduct.
"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." — Exodus 17:6 (ASV)
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 (1 Corinthians 10:4), the general meaning of which appears to be that their needs were ever supplied from Him, of whom the rock was but a symbol, and who accompanied them in all their wanderings.
"And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not?" — Exodus 17:7 (ASV)
Massah ...Meribah - See the margin. On the importance of this lesson see our Lord’s words (Matthew 4:7).
"Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim." — Exodus 17:8 (ASV)
Then came Amalek - The attack occurred about two months after the Exodus, toward the end of May or early in June, when the Bedouins leave the lower plains in order to find pasture for their flocks on the cooler heights. The approach of the Israelites to Sinai would of course attract notice, and no cause of warfare is more common than a dispute for grazing rights. The Amalekites were at that time the most powerful race in the Peninsula; here they took their position as the chief of the pagans. They were also the first among the pagans who attacked God’s people, and as such were marked out for punishment (see the marginal references).
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