Глава 17

1–4. The camp in Rephidim, the murmur of the people. 5–7. Moses miraculously produces water from a rock. 8–16. Battle with the Amalekites. Ex.17:1. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. The intermediate camps between Sin and Rephidim were Dophka and Alusha (Num. 33:12–13), the exact location of which is unknown. The Jewish movement was determined by the “command of God,” i.e. indicating the pillar of cloud walking ahead of them (Ex. 40:34–38, 9:15–23). The last camp before Sinai, Rephidim, is believed to be either in the Feiran valley, distinguished by its fertility and abundance of waters, collecting in a stream flowing from a rock (Ex. 17:6), or in the Sheikh valley, in the town of Suveira, where there is a stone called the seat of Moses. Ex.17:2. And the people rebuked Moses, and said, Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them: Why do you reproach me? Why are you tempting the Lord? Exodus 17:3. And the people there thirsted for water, and the people murmured against Moses, saying: Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our flocks with thirst? On the part of the people, the quarrel with Moses consisted of accusing him of being brought out of Egypt and subjected to a new disaster - death from thirst (Ex. 17:3). It was based on doubt about divine help: the people were not sure of the presence of the Lord in their midst (Exodus 17:7), for the second time (Exodus 15:24) they made a sinful attempt to make sure whether He would help Moses or not (Psalm 77:18, etc.); In view of this, the quarrel was a temptation to God. Exodus 17:4. Moses cried out to the Lord and said, “What shall I do with this people?” a little more and they will stone me. Exodus 17:5. And the Lord said to Moses, Go before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take your rod with which you struck the water in your hand, and go; With a miraculous rod (Ex. 7:20, 14:16) in his hands, Moses appears before the people as a miracle worker. The Jews will believe him as the messenger of God (Ex. 14:31), the intention to kill him will disappear, and therefore he has no reason to fear death: “go before the people.” Exodus 17:6. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:7. And he called the name of the place [Massah and Meribah], because of the reproach of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not? *** The presence of a miraculous rod in the hands of Moses convinced the people and him of the impending performance of a miracle, and the words “behold, I will stand before you” confirmed Moses in the same way. You will not be abandoned by Me, I myself will be present and will perform a miracle, as the Lord says (Ps. 77:15–20, 104:41, 113:8). “In Horeb”, not on the mountain of this name, since at this time the Jews had not yet approached Sinai, but in the mountain range bearing this name. “The stone from which water flowed, as the Apostle Paul says, is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), for the unbelievers it is dry and stubborn, but as soon as someone applies the scepter of faith, it becomes acceptable to those who are thirsty and flows into those who receive Him” (Gregory of Nyssa). Exodus 17:8. And the Amalekites came and fought against the Israelites in Rephidim. The Amalekites, descendants of Esau through his son Eliphaz (Gen. 36:12), a nomadic people living by robbery, occupied the space between Idumea and Sinai. Judging by the testimony of Deut. 25:18, they did not attack the main forces and masses of the people, but the last ranks, tired on the road and therefore lagging behind. Exodus 17:9. Moses said to Joshua: Choose us [strong] men and go and fight the Amalekites; Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God will be in my hand. Joshua, originally called Hosea, is the son of Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8, 16). The people, who had just grumbled and were dissatisfied with Moses, could not, in their mood, take part in the battle in their entirety; For her, courageous people are chosen who have not lost their presence of mind (Judges 7:1, etc.). The promise to stand with the rod of God, the miraculous rod (see above Ex. 17:5), is nothing more than an assurance of impending victory over the enemies. Ex.17:10. And Joshua did as Moses told him, and [went] to fight the Amalekites; and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. According to Josephus, Hor, mentioned in this case, is one and the same person with Or, the grandfather of the famous artist, builder of the tabernacle of Bezalel, and the son of Caleb from the tribe of Judah (Ex. 31:2, 35:30, 38:22; 1 Chron. 2:19, 50, 4:1, 4; 2 Chron. 1:5). Jewish tradition noted by Josephus calls him the husband of Moses' sister Miriam. It is quite difficult to say how fair and true the Jewish tradition is. But it sufficiently explains the fact why Moses chooses Hor in this case; together with Aaron he is his closest relative. Ex.17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed; Exodus 17:12. but Moses' hands grew heavy, and then they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were raised until the sun went down. “Not only,” says Justin the Philosopher, “the people won the victory because Moses prayed, but also because while the name of Jesus was at the head of the battle, he himself, Moses, made the sign of the cross.” Ex.17:13. And Joshua overthrew Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Exodus 17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this in a book for remembrance, and teach Joshua that I will completely blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven. Israel, as the holiness of the Lord, is inviolable; disaster overtakes all those who offend him (Jer. 2:3). This general rule also applies to the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2–3). The order for extermination is written down so that it is not forgotten later. Ex.17:15. And Moses built an altar [to the Lord] and called its name: [Jehovah Nissi] ****. Exodus 17:16. For, he said, there is a hand on the throne of the Lord: the Lord has war against Amalek from generation to generation. Israel fought under the banner of the Most High, which Moses held in his hands, hence the name of the altar: “Jehovah Nissi” - in Hebrew: the Lord is my banner. This meaning is established by the expression of Art. 16: “For a hand is upon the throne of the Lord.” Moses explains the name of the altar: “The Lord is my banner” by the fact that his hand was on the banner of the Most High, holding the latter 13. Slav.: “by a secret hand”, LXX: “ἐν χειρὶ κρυφαίᾳ “about the hand of the Lord, which overcame Amalek. You might be interested in: