Seder 57: Exodus 17---Further Lessons in Faith

Tempers flared at Rephidim (Exod 17:1-2) when there was no water to drink.  Some have asked why God had the Israelites camp at a place with no drinking water.  One suggestion that has been proposed is that perhaps the Amalekites (who soon attack) did not allow them access to the water.  

The lack of water led to widespread complaints.  Did people complain because this tactic had achieved good results earlier in the journey?  At any rate, Moses was feeling the strain of the journey and prayed for help.  "What shall I do with this people?  They are almost ready to stone me" (v 4).  

God instructed Moses to "pass in front of the people" (v 5) with his staff in his hand.  He would then strike a rock, and water would come out.  One midrash says that one reason God had Moses "pass in front of the people" was to show Moses that he actually would not be stoned.  Certainly the staff that had divided the waters of the Yam Suf communicated a message.  The staff represented God's power and presence, and it  let the people know that they could trust God and the human leaders that he had appointed. 

The symbolism of Moses' staff is also important in the ensuing battle with Amalek (vv 8-15). In the battle the Israelites prevailed whenever the staff was held high, sending the message that God was there to give them the victory.  At the same time, God wanted the Israelites to participate in the battle.  He was going to work through them, not strike down the enemy while they sat on the sidelines as spectators.  

An altar commemorating the battle was called, literally, "Yahweh is my signal pole" (v 15).  

In attacking Israel, the Amalekites were opposing God and his plan to bless the nations through Israel.  We learn later (Deut 25:17-19) that the Amalekites had attacked the weak at the rear of the Israelite camp.  In both Exodus 17 and Deuteronomy 25, God called upon the Israelites to be sure to remember to "blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."      

Some comment upon the apparent paradox involved in "remembering to erase the memory" of the Amalekites.  One explanation is that the Israelites are  not to forget the evil the Amalekites did, while at the same time the Amalekites should not be rewarded by being memorialized for their evil deeds.    

Amalek, the ancestor of the Amalekites, was a grandson of Esau and son of Eliphaz and Timna.  Timna was one of the Horites (v 22), the people that the Edomites displaced when they settled at Seir.  The Horites are later mentioned in connection giant clans like the Emim, Anakim, and Rephaim (Deut 2:10-12).  It may be that the Amalekites were part of the opposition to God represented by the infamous "sons of God" of Genesis 6 and their fierce offspring, the Nephilim.  (Michael Heiser speculates along these lines in episode 283 of his Naked Bible Podcast.)

Exodus 17 also mentions an Israelite leader named Hur (v 10), who will again be referred to briefly in Exodus 32.  There is a tradition that Hur was the husband of Miriam (e.g., Josephus in Ant 3.2.4).  We do not know for sure if this is the same Hur as the son of Caleb mentioned in 1 Chron 2:18-20.