Rephidim

Biblical Text

Rephidim is the place where the Israelites camped during the Exodus after leaving the wilderness of Sin and before reaching the wilderness of Sinai. Exodus 17 records two events that took place there.

• Water from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7): When there was no water to drink, the people quarreled with Moses. At God's command, Moses struck the rock in Horeb with his rod, and water came out. Moses named the place Massah ("testing") and Meribah ("strife").
• The battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:8-16): When Amalek attacked, Joshua went out to fight, while Moses went up to the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; whenever he let it down, Amalek prevailed. So Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands until the sun went down. After the victory, Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah-nissi ("the LORD is my banner").

The Israelites departed from Rephidim and came to the wilderness before Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:2). The itinerary in Numbers 33:14-15 likewise places Rephidim immediately before the wilderness of Sinai, noting that it was a place "where was no water for the people to drink."

Background

Apart from placing Rephidim between the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness of Sinai, the Bible gives no indication of its location. In the tradition that identifies Mount Sinai with Jebel Musa in the southern Sinai Peninsula, Rephidim is sometimes placed in the area of Wadi Feiran. However, because scholars disagree even about the location of Mount Sinai, no site has been established. Some interpret the name as meaning "resting places" or something similar, but there is no consensus.

Exodus 17:6 refers to the rock "in Horeb" even though the Israelites had not yet reached Mount Sinai. For this reason, some interpreters understand Horeb as the name of a region rather than of a single mountain.

Significance Elsewhere in Scripture

• Amalek's attack: Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Israel to remember that Amalek struck down those who were faint and lagging behind. 1 Samuel 15:2 cites this event as the basis for the command to Saul to execute judgment on Amalek.
• Massah and Meribah: Psalm 95:8-9 holds up the testing of God at Meribah and Massah as a warning. Hebrews 3:7-11 quotes this psalm according to the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), which renders the place names by their meanings, "provocation" and "temptation." Hebrews uses this passage to exhort New Testament believers not to harden their hearts.
• The rock: Paul says that in the wilderness the Israelites drank of "that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Interpretation and Debate

• Distinguishing the two Meribahs: The incident at Meribah in Kadesh in Numbers 20 is a separate event. At Kadesh, Moses, contrary to God's command, struck the rock twice, and for this he was barred from entering Canaan. Because the two events share the same name, they are often confused.
• The hands of Moses: The text says only that Moses held up his hands; it does not explicitly call this prayer. Nevertheless, many sermons read the scene as a picture of prayer. The Jewish Mishnah (a collection of oral law) is said to interpret the passage to mean that victory did not depend on the hands themselves, but that Israel prevailed when the people looked upward and committed their hearts to God. Early church fathers such as Justin Martyr saw the outstretched arms as a type of the cross, citing in support the fact that in the Septuagint Joshua's name has the same form as the name Jesus.
• The rock that followed: The Exodus account does not say that the rock followed the Israelites. Some connect Paul's expression with later Jewish tradition, while others read it in a spiritual sense, meaning that Christ was with His people throughout the wilderness journey.

In the Korean Church

The scene of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses' hands is frequently cited in sermons on intercessory prayer and on supporting pastors in shared ministry. Some churches name prayer groups or ministry teams "Aaron and Hur." Jehovah-nissi, together with Jehovah-jireh, is used in prayer, preaching, and worship songs as an expression confessing the name of God.