Exodus 15:24-25

15:24 So the people murmured ¹  against Moses, saying, “What can ²  we drink?” 15:25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him ³  a tree. ⁴  When Moses ⁵  threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord ⁶  made for them ⁷  a binding ordinance, ⁸  and there he tested ⁹  them.

[15:24]  ¹ tn The verb וַיִּלֹנוּ (vayyillonu) from לוּן (lun) is a much stronger word than “to grumble” or “to complain.” It is used almost exclusively in the wilderness wandering stories, to describe the rebellion of the Israelites against God (see also Ps 59:14-15). They were not merely complaining – they were questioning God’s abilities and motives. The action is something like a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

[15:24]  ² tn The imperfect tense here should be given a potential nuance: “What can we drink?” since the previous verse reports that they were not able to drink the water.

[15:25]  ³ tn The verb is וַיּוֹרֵהוּ (vayyorehu, “and he showed him”). It is the Hiphil preterite from יָרָה (yarah), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (תּוֹרָה, torah).

[15:25]  ⁴ tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”

[15:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “there he”; the referent (the Lord) is supplied for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel as a whole).

[15:25]  ⁸ tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”

[15:25]  ⁹ tn The verb נִסָּהוּ (nissahu, “and he tested him [them]”) is from the root נָסָה (nasah). The use of this word in the Bible indicates that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.