Inquiry:
How did Moses get water out of the rock? Did he strike the rock (Exodus 17:5-6) or was he to talk to it (Numbers 20:7-8)? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
If these texts were about the same instance, then there certainly would be a problem. However they’re not the same occasion. There are two times that God brought water out of a rock for the people of Israel. Moses was told to strike the rock the first time, and to speak to the rock the second.
The first time water was brought forth from a rock was shortly after Israel was brought out of Egypt. Here is a quick timeline:
- Exodus 12-13, exodus
- Exodus 14, cross Red Sea
- Exodus 15, song of victory
- Exodus 16, complaints
- Exodus 17, water from rock
This was before they came to Mount Sinai, where the law of Moses would be given (Exodus 19-20). The people came to Sinai 3 months after leaving Egypt (19:1).
The history in the book of Numbers begins about a year later (Numbers 1:1). The tabernacle had been built, and the people had left the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 10:12). On the word of 10 faithless spies, the nation decided they could not take the land of Canaan (Numbers 13-14). They would eventually be in the wilderness of Zin, where Miriam died (Numbers 20:1). It was after this that God again gave the people water from a rock.
The first time, God told Moses to strike the rock. The second time, God told Moses to speak to the rock. We have two different occasions and two different commands.
There is no contradiction.
Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
Return to the article archive
