New Living Translation
Exodus 17:8
8While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.
Exodus 17:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
- New International Version (NIV)The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Context of Exodus 17:8
6I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. 7Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 9Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” 10So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.
Read all of Exodus 17Exodus 17:8 word by word
וַיָּבֹ֖א עֲמָלֵ֑ק וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בִּרְפִידִֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 17:8
- Genesis 36:12Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah.
- Numbers 24:20Then Balaam looked over toward the people of Amalek and delivered this message: “Amalek was the greatest of nations, but its destiny is destruction!”
- Deuteronomy 25:17“Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 15:2This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 30:1Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.
- Psalms 83:7Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre.
Commentaries on Exodus 17:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel - The Amalekites seem to have attacked the Israelites in the same way and through the same motives that the wandering Arabs attack the caravans which annually pass through the same desert. It does not appear that the Israelites gave them any kind of provocation, they seem to have attacked them merely through the hopes of plunder. The Amalekites were the posterity of Amalek, one of the dukes of Eliphaz, the son of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Then came Amalek - The attack occurred about two months after the Exodus, toward the end of May or early in June, when the Bedouins leave the lower plains in order to find pasture for their flocks on the cooler heights. The approach of the Israelites to Sinai would of course attract notice, and no cause of warfare is more common than a dispute for the right of pasturage. The Amalekites were at that time the most powerful race in the Peninsula; here they…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-16Verses 8-16 Israel engaged with Amalek in their own necessary defence. God makes his people able, and calls them to various services for the good of his church. Joshua fights, Moses prays, both minister to Israel. The rod was held up, as the banner to encourage the soldiers. Also to God, by way of appeal to him. Moses was tired. The strongest arm will fail with being long held out; it is God only whose hand is stretched out still. We do not find that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:11–12). Amalek’s descendants were a nomadic people. This means they moved from place to place instead of living in one city. They were loosely based in the land of Edom. This means Edom was their main area, even though they traveled often. They likely supported themselves by attacking and robbing nearby settled communities.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-168. Then came Amalek--Some time probably elapsed before they were exposed to this new evil; and the presumption of there being such an interval affords the only ground on which we can satisfactorily account for the altered, the better, and former spirit that animated the people in this sudden contest. The miracles of the manna and the water from the rock had produced a deep impression and permanent conviction that God was indeed among them; and with…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 17:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 17
- 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
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