Water from the Rock

The water from the rock refers to God's provision of water from a rock for the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. Two similar incidents are recorded.

Biblical Accounts

The Rock at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1–7)

After the Exodus, the people encamped at Rephidim, but there was no water to drink. The people quarreled with Moses. God commanded Moses to strike the rock at Horeb with his rod, and when Moses struck the rock, water came out. Because the people had tempted God, saying, "Is the LORD among us, or not?" Moses named the place Massah ("testing") and Meribah ("strife").

The Rock at Kadesh (Numbers 20:1–13)

After the death of Miriam, the water ran out again at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, and the people contended with Moses and Aaron. Kadesh is commonly identified with Kadesh Barnea. God told Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock before the people so that it would yield its water. Moses, however, said, "Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" and struck the rock twice with his rod. Water came out abundantly. But God declared that the two men had not believed Him and had not sanctified Him, and He pronounced that they would not bring the people into Canaan (Numbers 20:12). This water is also called the waters of Meribah.

Background

Scholars differ on where Rephidim and Horeb were located on the Sinai Peninsula. The two accounts use different Hebrew words for "rock": Exodus 17 uses tsur, while Numbers 20 uses sela. In the wilderness, water was a matter of survival. For this reason, these events are remembered, together with the manna and quail, as representative instances of God feeding His people and giving them drink.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Old Testament repeatedly celebrates these events as evidence of God's care (Psalm 78:15–16; Psalm 105:41; Psalm 114:8; Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 48:21). At the same time, it also uses them as a cautionary example. Psalm 95:8–9 cites Meribah and Massah as examples of hardened hearts, and Hebrews 3 quotes this psalm. Numbers 20:24 and Deuteronomy 32:51 trace the reason Moses and Aaron did not enter Canaan to this incident.

In the New Testament, Paul wrote that the Israelites "drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). He used these events as a warning to the Corinthian believers (1 Corinthians 10:11–12). Many interpreters also read John 7:37–39, in which Jesus invites the thirsty to come to Him and likens the Holy Spirit to rivers of living water, in connection with this event.

Interpretations and Debates

• Moses' offense: The text states only that Moses and Aaron "believed not" and did not sanctify God. Interpreters identify several possible elements of the offense: disobedience in striking the rock contrary to the command, anger, and claiming the credit with the words "must we fetch you water" (Psalm 106:32–33). These are often considered together.
• Typological interpretation: Typology is a way of reading Old Testament events as foreshadowing Christ. Some interpreters read the striking of the first rock as representing Christ's dying once, and the command merely to speak to the rock the second time as signifying that He need not die again. An interpretation linking the water from the rock with the blood and water that flowed from Christ's pierced side (John 19:34–35) has existed since the early church. All of these are interpretations read in light of the New Testament rather than statements made directly by the text.
• "The Rock that followed them": Jewish tradition includes accounts of a well that followed the people throughout their wilderness journey, and there is also a tradition that this well was given on account of Miriam. Some hold that Paul's expression draws on this tradition, while others take it solely in a spiritual sense, meaning that Christ was always with His people. The Old Testament text contains no statement that the rock actually moved.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, these events are frequently used when addressing complaint and trust, as well as a leader's anger and obedience. They are also often cited as the passages explaining why Moses did not enter Canaan. The hymn "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me" sings of Christ as the cleft Rock and of the water and blood that flowed from His side, illustrating how the devotional tradition of associating the rock and its water with Christ finds expression in worship.