Exodus 15:22

The Bitter Water

15:22 ¹ Then Moses led Israel to journey ²  away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days ³  into the desert, and found no water.

Exodus 7:18

7:18 Fish ⁴  in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable ⁵  to drink water from the Nile.”’”

Exodus 15:8

15:8 By the blast of your nostrils ⁶  the waters were piled up,

the flowing water stood upright like a heap, ⁷ 

and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.

Exodus 40:7

40:7 You are to put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. ⁸ 

Exodus 40:30

40:30 Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it ⁹  for washing.

Exodus 7:21

7:21 When the fish ¹⁰  that were in the Nile died, the Nile began ¹¹  to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood ¹²  everywhere in the land of Egypt!

Exodus 7:24

7:24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, ¹³  because they could not drink the water of the Nile.

Exodus 15:23

15:23 Then they came to Marah, ¹⁴  but they were not able to drink ¹⁵  the waters of Marah, because ¹⁶  they were bitter. ¹⁷  (That is ¹⁸  why its name was ¹⁹  Marah.)

Exodus 15:27

15:27 Then they came to Elim, ²⁰  where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

Exodus 17:1

Water at Massa and Meribah

17:1 ²¹ The whole community ²²  of the Israelites traveled on their journey ²³  from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. ²⁴  Now ²⁵  there was no water for the people to drink. ²⁶ 

Exodus 30:18

30:18 “You are also to make a large bronze ²⁷  basin with a bronze stand ²⁸  for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, ²⁹ 

Exodus 30:20

30:20 When they enter ³⁰  the tent of meeting, they must wash with ³¹  water so that they do not die. ³²  Also, when they approach ³³  the altar to minister by burning incense ³⁴  as an offering made by fire ³⁵  to the Lord,

Exodus 17:2

17:2 So the people contended ³⁶  with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!” ³⁷  Moses said to them, “Why do you contend ³⁸  with me? Why do you test ³⁹  the Lord?”

Exodus 17:6

17:6 I will be standing ⁴⁰  before you there on ⁴¹  the rock in Horeb, and you will strike ⁴²  the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” ⁴³  And Moses did so in plain view ⁴⁴  of the elders of Israel.

Exodus 23:31

23:31 I will set ⁴⁵  your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, ⁴⁶  for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

[15:22]  ¹ sn The first event of the Israelites’ desert experience is a failure, for they murmur against Yahweh and are given a stern warning – and the provision of sweet water. The event teaches that God is able to turn bitter water into sweet water for his people, and he promises to do such things if they obey. He can provide for them in the desert – he did not bring them into the desert to let them die. But there is a deeper level to this story – the healing of the water is incidental to the healing of the people, their lack of trust. The passage is arranged in a neat chiasm, starting with a journey (A), ending with the culmination of the journey (A'); developing to bitter water (B), resolving to sweet water (B'); complaints by the people (C), leading to to the instructions for the people (C'); and the central turning point is the wonder miracle (D).

[15:22]  ² tn The verb form is unusual; the normal expression is with the Qal, which expresses that they journeyed. But here the Hiphil is used to underscore that Moses caused them to journey – and he is following God. So the point is that God was leading Israel to the bitter water.

[15:22]  ³ sn The mention that they travelled for three days into the desert is deliberately intended to recall Moses’ demand that they go three days into the wilderness to worship. Here, three days in, they find bitter water and complain – not worship.

[7:18]  ⁴ tn The definite article here has the generic use, indicating the class – “fish” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[7:18]  ⁵ tn The verb לָאָה (la’a), here in the Niphal perfect with a vav consecutive, means “be weary, impatient.” The Niphal meaning is “make oneself weary” in doing something, or “weary (strenuously exert) oneself.” It seems always to indicate exhausted patience (see BDB 521 s.v.). The term seems to imply that the Egyptians were not able to drink the red, contaminated water, and so would expend all their energy looking for water to drink – in frustration of course.

[15:8]  ⁷ sn The phrase “the blast of your nostrils” is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the water.

[15:8]  ⁸ tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean solidified – as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 175).

[40:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there.”

[40:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “there.”

[7:21]  ¹⁶ tn The first clause in this verse begins with a vav disjunctive, introducing a circumstantial clause to the statement that the water stank. The vav (ו) consecutive on the next verb shows that the smell was the result of the dead fish in the contaminated water. The result is then expressed with the vav beginning the clause that states that they could not drink it.

[7:21]  ¹⁷ tn The preterite could be given a simple definite past translation, but an ingressive past would be more likely, as the smell would get worse and worse with the dead fish.

[7:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and there was blood.”

[7:24]  ¹⁹ sn The text stresses that the water in the Nile, and Nile water that had been diverted or collected for use, was polluted and undrinkable. Water underground also was from the Nile, but it had not been contaminated, certainly not with dead fish, and so would be drinkable.

[15:23]  ²² sn The Hebrew word “Marah” means “bitter.” This motif will be repeated four times in this passage to mark the central problem. Earlier in the book the word had been used for the “bitter herbs” in the Passover, recalling the bitter labor in bondage. So there may be a double reference here – to the bitter waters and to Egypt itself – God can deliver from either.

[15:23]  ²³ tn The infinitive construct here provides the direct object for the verb “to be able,” answering the question of what they were not able to do.

[15:23]  ²⁴ tn The causal clause here provides the reason for their being unable to drink the water, as well as a clear motivation for the name.

[15:23]  ²⁵ sn Many scholars have attempted to explain these things with natural phenomena. Here Marah is identified with Ain Hawarah. It is said that the waters of this well are notoriously salty and brackish; Robinson said it was six to eight feet in diameter and the water about two feet deep; the water is unpleasant, salty, and somewhat bitter. As a result the Arabs say it is the worst tasting water in the area (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:398). But that would not be a sufficient amount of water for the number of Israelites in the first place, and in the second, they could not drink it at all. But third, how did Moses change it?

[15:23]  ²⁶ tn The עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) formula in the Pentateuch serves to explain to the reader the reason for the way things were. It does not necessarily mean here that Israel named the place – but they certainly could have.

[15:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “one called its name,” the expression can be translated as a passive verb if the subject is not expressed.

[15:27]  ²⁵ sn Judging from the way the story is told they were not far from the oasis. But God had other plans for them, to see if they would trust him wholeheartedly and obey. They did not do very well this first time, and they will have to learn how to obey. The lesson is clear: God uses adversity to test his people’s loyalty. The response to adversity must be prayer to God, for he can turn the bitter into the sweet, the bad into the good, and the prospect of death into life.

[17:1]  ²⁸ sn This is the famous story telling how the people rebelled against Yahweh when they thirsted, saying that Moses had brought them out into the wilderness to kill them by thirst, and how Moses with the staff brought water from the rock. As a result of this the name was called Massa and Meribah because of the testing and the striving. It was a challenge to Moses’ leadership as well as a test of Yahweh’s presence. The narrative in its present form serves an important point in the argument of the book. The story turns on the gracious provision of God who can give his people water when there is none available. The narrative is structured to show how the people strove. Thus, the story intertwines God’s free flowing grace with the sad memory of Israel’s sins. The passage can be divided into three parts: the situation and the complaint (1-3), the cry and the miracle (4-6), and the commemoration by naming (7).

[17:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[17:1]  ³⁰ tn The text says that they journeyed “according to their journeyings.” Since the verb form (and therefore the derived noun) essentially means to pull up the tent pegs and move along, this verse would be saying that they traveled by stages, or, from place to place.

[17:1]  ³¹ sn The location is a bit of a problem. Exod 19:1-2 suggests that it is near Sinai, whereas it is normally located near Kadesh in the north. Without any details provided, M. Noth concludes that two versions came together (Exodus [OTL], 138). S. R. Driver says that the writer wrote not knowing that they were 24 miles apart (Exodus, 157). Critics have long been bothered by this passage because of the two names given at the same place. If two sources had been brought together, it is not possible now to identify them. But Noth insisted that if there were two names there were two different locations. The names Massah and Meribah occur alone in Scripture (Deut 9:22, and Num 20:1 for examples), but together in Ps 95 and in Deut 33:8. But none of these passages is a clarification of the difficulty. Most critics would argue that Massah was a secondary element that was introduced into this account, because Exod 17 focuses on Meribah. From that starting point they can diverge greatly on the interpretation, usually having something to do with a water test. But although Num 20 is parallel in several ways, there are major differences: 1) it takes place 40 years later than this, 2) the name Kadesh is joined to the name Meribah there, and 3) Moses is punished there. One must conclude that if an event could occur twice in similar ways (complaint about water would be a good candidate for such), then there is no reason a similar name could not be given.

[17:1]  ³² tn The disjunctive vav introduces a parenthetical clause that is essential for this passage – there was no water.

[17:1]  ³³ tn Here the construction uses a genitive after the infinitive construct for the subject: “there was no water for the drinking of the people” (GKC 353-54 §115.c).

[30:18]  ³¹ sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).

[30:18]  ³² tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”

[30:18]  ³³ tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he ( ָה).

[30:20]  ³⁴ tn The form is an infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב), and a suffixed subjective genitive: “in their going in,” or, whenever they enter.

[30:20]  ³⁵ tn “Water” is an adverbial accusative of means, and so is translated “with water.” Gesenius classifies this with verbs of “covering with something.” But he prefers to emend the text with a preposition (see GKC 369 §117.y, n. 1).

[30:20]  ³⁶ tn The verb is a Qal imperfect with a nuance of final imperfect. The purpose/result clause here is indicated only with the conjunction: “and they do not die.” But clearly from the context this is the intended result of their washing – it is in order that they not die.

[30:20]  ³⁷ tn Here, too, the infinitive is used in a temporal clause construction. The verb נָגַשׁ (nagash) is the common verb used for drawing near to the altar to make offerings – the official duties of the priest.

[30:20]  ³⁸ tn The text uses two infinitives construct: “to minister to burn incense”; the first is the general term and expresses the purpose of the drawing near, and the second infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first infinitive.

[30:20]  ³⁹ tn The translation “as an offering made by fire” is a standard rendering of the one word in the text that appears to refer to “fire.” Milgrom and others contend that it simply means a “gift” (Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[17:2]  ³⁷ tn The verb וַיָּרֶב (vayyarev) is from the root רִיב (riv); it forms the basis of the name “Meribah.” The word means “strive, quarrel, be in contention” and even “litigation.” A translation “quarrel” does not appear to capture the magnitude of what is being done here. The people have a legal dispute – they are contending with Moses as if bringing a lawsuit.

[17:2]  ³⁸ tn The imperfect tense with the vav (ו) follows the imperative, and so it carries the nuance of the logical sequence, showing purpose or result. This may be expressed in English as “give us water so that we may drink,” but more simply with the English infinitive, “give us water to drink.”

[17:2]  ³⁹ tn In this case and in the next clause the imperfect tenses are to be taken as progressive imperfects – the action is in progress.

[17:2]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, tempt, try, prove.” It can be used of people simply trying to do something that they are not sure of (such as David trying on Saul’s armor), or of God testing people to see if they will obey (as in testing Abraham, Gen 22:1), or of people challenging others (as in the Queen of Sheba coming to test Solomon), and of the people in the desert in rebellion putting God to the test. By doubting that God was truly in their midst, and demanding that he demonstrate his presence, they tested him to see if he would act. There are times when “proving” God is correct and required, but that is done by faith (as with Gideon); when it is done out of unbelief, then it is an act of disloyalty.

[17:6]  ⁴⁰ tn The construction uses הִנְנִי עֹמֵד (hinni ’omed) to express the futur instans or imminent future of the verb: “I am going to be standing.”

[17:6]  ⁴¹ tn Or “by” (NIV, NLT).

[17:6]  ⁴² tn The form is a Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the future nuance of the participle and so is equivalent to an imperfect tense nuance of instruction.

[17:6]  ⁴³ tn These two verbs are also perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive: “and [water] will go out…and [the people] will drink.” But the second verb is clearly the intent or the result of the water gushing from the rock, and so it may be subordinated.

[17:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[23:31]  ⁴³ tn The form is a perfect tense with vav consecutive.

[23:31]  ⁴⁴ tn In the Hebrew Bible “the River” usually refers to the Euphrates (cf. NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). There is some thought that it refers to a river Nahr el Kebir between Lebanon and Syria. See further W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:447; and G. W. Buchanan, The Consequences of the Covenant (NovTSup), 91-100.