Water from the Rock at Horeb

The congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and pitched in Rephidim according to the commandment of the Lord, but there was no water for the people to drink (Exodus 17:1). Consequently, the people chided with Moses and demanded that he give them water to drink. Moses questioned why they chided with him and why they tempted the Lord. The text does not say why the people were led to a place without a water source. As the people thirsted, they murmured against Moses, asking why he had brought them out of Egypt to kill them, their children, and their livestock with thirst (Exodus 17:3).

Moses cried unto the Lord, stating that the people were almost ready to stone him. The Lord instructed Moses to go before the people and take the elders of Israel with him. He was commanded to take the rod wherewith he smote the river in his hand and go. The Lord promised to stand before Moses there upon the rock in Horeb. Moses was told to smite the rock, and the text states that water would come out of it so that the people may drink (Exodus 17:6). Moses performed these actions in the sight of the elders of Israel.

The text does not say how much water flowed or the specific physical appearance of the rock after it was struck. Moses 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?' (Exodus 17:7). This event occurred during the wilderness wanderings following the departure of Israel from Egypt, which took place in the 15th century BC.