Massah and Meribah

Biblical Text

Exodus 17

According to Exodus 17:1-7, the Israelites camped at Rephidim, but there was no water to drink. The people quarreled with Moses. God told Moses to strike "the rock in Horeb" with his rod. When Moses struck the rock in the sight of the elders, water came out. Moses called the name of the place "Massah, and Meribah." The text explains that this was "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).

Numbers 20

Numbers 20:1-13 describes an event at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. This Kadesh is generally identified with Kadesh Barnea. After the death of Miriam, there was again no water, and the people rose up against Moses and Aaron. God told Moses to speak to the rock before the people. Moses, however, rebuked the people and then struck the rock twice with his rod. Water came out abundantly, but God said that the two of them "believed me not" and had failed to sanctify Him. He therefore declared that they would not bring the congregation into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). This water is called "the water of Meribah" (Numbers 20:13). Elsewhere it is also called "Meribah-Kadesh" (Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51).

Background and Meaning of the Names

Both events took place during the forty years in the wilderness following the Exodus. The episode in Exodus 17 comes immediately after the account of the manna and quail, before Israel reached Mount Sinai. The episode in Numbers 20 takes place near the end of the wilderness period. The Hebrew Massah derives from a verb meaning "to test" and means "testing." Meribah derives from a verb meaning "to quarrel" or "to bring a legal complaint" and means "quarreling" or "strife." Scholars differ on the exact locations of Rephidim and Kadesh.

Significance Throughout Scripture

In the Old Testament, Massah and Meribah are remembered as a classic example of distrusting and testing God.

• Deuteronomy 6:16 commands, "Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah."
• Deuteronomy 9:22 lists Massah among the places where Israel provoked the LORD to wrath.
• Deuteronomy 33:8 mentions Massah and Meribah in the blessing of the tribe of Levi.
• Psalm 95:8 urges, "Harden not your heart," as at Meribah (rendered "as in the provocation" in the KJV).
• Psalms 81:7 and 106:32 also recall what happened at the waters of Meribah.

The New Testament takes up this tradition in several ways. During the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16, answering, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12). Hebrews 3:7-4:11 quotes Psalm 95 from the Septuagint, which translates the place names with words such as "provocation" and "testing." Hebrews uses this passage to exhort believers not to harden their hearts but to enter God's rest. 1 Corinthians 10:4 says that Israel in the wilderness "drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

Interpretation and Issues

• One event or two? Traditionally, Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 are read as two separate events occurring at different times and places. Some critical scholars regard them as two versions of a single tradition associated with the same place name.
• Moses' error: Interpretations differ on what Moses did wrong in Numbers 20. Some point to his striking the rock contrary to God's command. Others point to his putting himself forward with the words "must we fetch you water out of this rock?" Still others point to his angry attitude toward the people. The text itself gives unbelief and the failure to sanctify God as the reasons.
• Typological interpretation: On the basis of 1 Corinthians 10:4, many interpreters read the rock as a type of Christ. Some sermons in particular explain the rock struck once as Christ, who died once for all, and the second striking as an error that marred that type. This interpretation is widely circulated in the church, but it is not something the Old Testament text states directly.
• The legend of the following rock: Jewish tradition preserves a story that the water-giving rock followed Israel throughout the wilderness journey. Some scholars connect this tradition with Paul's expression "spiritual Rock that followed them." The Old Testament text, however, contains no such account.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, this passage is treated mainly under three themes: grumbling in the wilderness and a faith that tests God; the water from the rock and Christ; and the reason Moses did not enter Canaan. In liturgical traditions such as the Anglican Church, it is customary to sing Psalm 95 as the invitatory (the Venite) at Morning Prayer. On these occasions the remembrance of Meribah and Massah is recited as part of an exhortation to worship.