Exodus 17

1 All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, starting according to the LORD’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”

3 The people were thirsty for water there; so the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

4 Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5 The LORD said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out to fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.”

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

11 When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset.

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

14 The LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.”

15 Moses built an altar, and called its name “The LORD our Banner”.

16 He said, “The LORD has sworn: ‘The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’”

Around Exodus 17

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Exodus 17 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

At Rephidim there is no water, and the people are close to rebellion. They quarrel with Moses and ask, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” Moses cries out to God: they are almost ready to stone me. God tells him to take the elders and the rod, and to strike the rock at Horeb, and water comes out for the people to drink. The place is named Massah and Meribah.

Then a new enemy. Amalek attacks. Joshua leads the fighting men, and Moses, Aaron and Hur climb the hill. When Moses holds up his hand, Israel prevails, and when he lowers it, Amalek does. His hands grow heavy, so they put a stone under him, and Aaron and Hur hold up his arms until sunset. Joshua wins.

Moses builds an altar called The LORD our Banner.

Background

The two stories show Israel facing thirst and then war in the same place. The rock at Horeb is read by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 as a picture of Christ, and Christians understand that in different ways. Joshua appears for the first time here and later succeeds Moses (see Numbers 27 and Joshua 1). Amalek appears again as an enemy in 1 Samuel 15, and the text's language about Amalek is among the harsh passages that readers have long struggled with. Here it records what the text says, not a rule for any later group.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 22 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes