Numbers 20:11

Numbers 20:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

Context of Numbers 20:11

9So Moses did what the Lord had told him. He took the stick from its place in the Lord's Tent of Meeting. 10Then Moses and Aaron brought all the people to meet in front of the rock. Moses said to them, ‘Listen now, you people who refuse to obey God. It seems that we must bring water out of this rock for you!’ Moses lifted up his arm. He hit the rock twice with his stick. Water poured out from the rock. The people and their animals drank the water. 12The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘You did not trust me enough to show the Israelites that I am holy. So you will not lead them into the land that I have promised to give to them.’ 13The place where this happened was called ‘Meribah’, because the Israelites quarrelled with the Lord there. But he showed them there that he was their holy God.

Numbers 20:11 word by word

וַיָּ֨רֶם מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־יָד֗וֹ וַיַּ֧ךְ אֶת־הַסֶּ֛לַע בְּמַטֵּ֖הוּ פַּעֲמָ֑יִם וַיֵּצְאוּ֙ מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֔ים וַתֵּ֥שְׁתְּ הָעֵדָ֖ה וּבְעִירָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• lifted upרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
• his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• and with his rodמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: rodH4294
• he smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the rockסֶ֫לַעsela‛ · cragH5553
• twiceפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
• and the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• came outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: issueH3318
• abundantlyרַבrab · manyH7227
• and the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
• drankשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• and their beastsבְּעִירbe‛îyr · cattleH1165

Cross-references for Numbers 20:11

• Numbers 20:8‘Get the stick. Take your brother Aaron with you and go to the whole group of the Israelites. Then speak to that rock that you can all see. Water will pour out from it. Then the people and their animals can drink it.’
• Leviticus 10:1Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn incense. They threw incense over the hot material. They offered the incense to the Lord. This was a wrong thing to do. The Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong.
• 1 Samuel 15:13Samuel went and he found Saul. Saul said to Samuel, ‘I pray that the Lord will bless you. I have obeyed the Lord's command.’
• 1 Kings 13:21He spoke this message to the servant of God who had come from Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed the Lord. You have not done what the Lord your God commanded you to do.
• 1 Chronicles 13:9They reached the place of Kidon's threshing floor. There the oxen that were pulling the cart almost fell. So Uzzah reached out to hold the Covenant Box to stop it falling.
• 1 Chronicles 15:2Then David said, ‘Only the Levites may carry God's Covenant Box. The Lord chose them to do that. He chose them to serve him for ever.’
• Matthew 28:20Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will be with you until the end of time.’
• James 1:20God wants us to do what is right. But when someone is angry, they do not do those right things.
• Exodus 17:6I will stand there, in front of you, by the rock at Sinai. Hit the rock with your stick, and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.’ So Moses did this, while the leaders of the Israelites watched him.
• Deuteronomy 8:15He led you through the large and terrible desert where there were dangerous snakes and scorpions. It was very hot and dry. There was no water there for you to drink. But the Lord made water pour out of a hard rock for you.
• Hosea 13:5I took care of you in the wilderness, where it was very hot and dry.
• 1 Corinthians 10:4All of them drank the same spiritual drink. They drank water from the spiritual rock that went with them. Christ was that rock.

Commentaries on Numbers 20:11

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11The command Numbers 20:8 was “Speak ye unto the rock.” The act of smiting, and especially with two strokes, indicates violent irritation on the part of Moses; as does also his unseemly mode of addressing the people: “Hear now, ye rebels.” The form too of the question, “must we, etc.,” directs the people not, as ought to have been the case, to God as their deliverer, but to Moses and Aaron personally. In fact the faithful servant of God, worn out by the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-12Instead of obeying God's instructions with respect, Moses criticized the people (Must we bring you water out of this rock?). Moses then hit the rock twice with his staff (20:11). God considered the words and actions of Moses as a serious lack of faith. Moses "spoke rashly" (Psalm 106:32–33; compare James 1:20). Moses did not trust God enough to show God’s holiness to the people. God had told Moses exactly what to do. By acting differently, Moses showed a…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-132-13. there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water. It was then either partially dried up by the heat of the season, or had been exhausted by the demands of so vast a multitude.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 20:11

• Aaron
• Anger
• Blessing
• Disobedience to God
• Israel
• Miracles
• Rashness
• Trouble
• Water

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Aaron
• Beast
• Exodus
• Meribah
• Refuse
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Criticism

Commentaries on Numbers 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings