Numbers 20:9-11

20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him. 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, ¹  must we bring ²  water out of this rock for you?” 20:11 Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.

Deuteronomy 8:15

8:15 and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents ³  and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow ⁴  from a flint rock and

Nehemiah 9:15

9:15 You provided bread from heaven for them in their time of hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their time of thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land that you had sworn ⁵  to give them.

Psalms 78:15-16

78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,

and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. ⁶ 

78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,

and made the water flow like rivers.

Psalms 78:20

78:20 Yes, ⁷  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

Psalms 105:41

105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;

a river ran through dry regions.

Psalms 114:8

114:8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,

a hard rock into springs of water! ⁸ 

Isaiah 48:21

48:21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;

he makes water flow out of a rock for them;

he splits open a rock and water flows out.’ ⁹ 

Isaiah 48:1

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ¹⁰ 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, ¹¹ 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke ¹²  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. ¹³ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

[20:10]  ¹ tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.

[20:10]  ² tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”

[8:15]  ³ tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).

[8:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.

[9:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “had lifted your hand.”

[78:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”

[78:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “look.”

[114:8]  ⁸ sn In v. 8 the psalmist recalls the event(s) recorded in Exod 17:6 and/or Num 20:11 (see also Deut 8:15 and Ps 78:15-16, 20).

[48:21]  ⁹ sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).

[48:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

[48:1]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

[48:1]  ¹² tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

[48:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”

[1:4]  ¹⁴ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).