Texts in Conversation
Exodus 17 describes Israel crying out from thirst in the desert and God answering with water from a rock. Judges 15 echoes this moment with Samson, who similarly complains about his thirst before God provides him water from a rock.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 17:6
Hebrew Bible
1 The whole community of the Israelites traveled on their journey from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. Now there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So the people contended with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!” Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people were very thirsty there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with this people?—a little more and they will stone me!” 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in plain view of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Judges 15:19
Hebrew Bible
17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down and named that place Ramath Lehi. 18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised Philistines?” 19 So God split open the basin at Lehi, and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring En Hakkore. It remains in Lehi to this very day.
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Notes and References
“... water is stated in the brief mention of the event in Nehemiah 9:15, 20 and also in Isaiah 48:21 which, as regards vocabulary, is reminiscent of Psalm 78:15, 20 (compare Van der Merwe, 216f.). See further also Wisdom of Solomon 11:4, 7f.; 5 Ezra 1:20. The description of the new exodus in the book of Isaiah speaks about streams of water in the desert in a manner (Isaiah 35:6f.; 41:17ff.; 43:20; 44:3; 49:9ff.; compare also Psalm 107:35) which recalls Psalm 78:15f.; 20; 105:41 (and also Isaiah 48:21). Nothing is said, however, about the rock(s) as source of the water. On the other hand, the Pentateuch and the Psalms are totally silent about a transformation of the desert. Water from a rock occurs also in an altogether different context; when Samson is dying from thirst God splits (בקע) the hollow place in Lehi so that water came from it (Judges 15:18f.) ...”
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