Exode 17

¹ Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

² So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”

³ But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”

⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

⁶ Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷ He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Note · Exode 17.1–7

La question de la présence au milieu d’un besoin réel

Le peuple manque d’eau et met en cause la sortie. Les noms du lieu gardent la mémoire de la contestation et de la mise à l’épreuve. Le secours reçu ne transforme pas toute question dans la détresse en faute, mais le récit interroge une exigence qui voudrait réduire Dieu à la réponse immédiate à chaque demande.

⁸ After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses had instructed him and fought against the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.

¹² When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

¹³ So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword.

Note · Exode 17.8–13

La victoire ne dépend pas d’un homme isolé

Josué conduit les hommes, tandis que les mains de Moïse ont besoin d’être soutenues. La fatigue du chef n’est pas cachée. Le passage ne présente pas les gestes comme une technique magique : il met en relation dépendance envers Dieu, engagement du peuple et soutien concret entre compagnons.

¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.

¹⁶ “Indeed,” he said, “a hand was lifted up toward the throne of the LORD. The LORD will war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Note · Exode 17.14–16

Une mémoire de guerre à ne pas généraliser

L’écriture et l’autel fixent le souvenir de l’affrontement. La formule finale est difficile et reçoit des traductions différentes. Quelle que soit la lecture retenue, on ne peut l’utiliser pour donner à ses propres adversaires l’identité d’Amalek ou légitimer une hostilité héréditaire illimitée.