Keluaran 17:8

Victory over the Amalekites

17:8 ¹ Amalek came ²  and attacked ³  Israel in Rephidim.

Bilangan 13:29

13:29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks ⁴  of the Jordan.” ⁵ 

[17:8]  ¹ sn This short passage gives the first account of Israel’s holy wars. The war effort and Moses’ holding up his hands go side by side until the victory is won and commemorated. Many have used this as an example of intercessory prayer – but the passage makes no such mention. In Exodus so far the staff of God is the token of the power of God; when Moses used it, God demonstrated his power. To use the staff of God was to say that God did it; to fight without the staff was to face defeat. Using the staff of God was a way of submitting to and depending on the power of God in all areas of life. The first part of the story reports the attack and the preparation for the battle (8,9). The second part describes the battle and its outcome (10-13). The final section is the preservation of this event in the memory of Israel (14-16).

[17:8]  ² tn Heb “and Amalek came”; NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV “the Amalekites.”

[17:8]  ³ tn Or “fought with.”

[13:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”

[13:29]  ⁵ sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.