^17:8²⁴ Amalek came²⁵ and attacked²⁶ Israel in Rephidim. ^17:9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our²⁷ men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

^17:10So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him;²⁸ and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ^17:11Whenever Moses would raise his hands,²⁹ then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest³⁰ his hands, then Amalek prevailed. ^17:12When³¹ the hands of Moses became heavy,³² they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,³³ and so his hands were steady³⁴ until the sun went down. ^17:13So Joshua destroyed³⁵ Amalek and his army³⁶ with the sword.³⁷

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Footnotes

24 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).
25 Heb “and Amalek came”; , , , “the Amalekites.”
26 Or “fought with.”
27 This could be rendered literally “choose men for us.” But the lamed (ל) preposition probably indicates possession, “our men,” and the fact that Joshua was to choose from Israel, as well as the fact that there is no article on “men,” indicates he was to select some to fight.
28 The line in Hebrew reads literally: And Joshua did as Moses had said to him, to fight with Amalek. The infinitive construct is epexegetical, explaining what Joshua did that was in compliance with Moses’ words.
29 The two verbs in the temporal clauses are by וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר (véhaya ka’asher, ̓ as long as” or, “and it was that whenever”). This indicates that the two imperfect tenses should be given a frequentative translation, probably a customary imperfect.
30 Or “lower.”
31 Literally “now the hands of Moses,” the disjunctive vav (ו) introduces a circumstantial clause here—of time.
32 The term used here is the adjective כְּבֵדִים (kévedim). It means “heavy,” but in this context the idea is more that of being tired. This is the important word that was used in the plague stories: when the heart of Pharaoh was hard, then the Israelites did not gain their freedom or victory. Likewise here, when the staff was lowered because Moses’ hands were “heavy,” Israel started to lose.
33 Heb “from this, one, and from this, one.”
34 The word “steady” is אֱמוּנָה (’emuna) from the root אָמַן (’aman). The word usually means “faithfulness.” Here is a good illustration of the basic idea of the word—firm, steady, reliable, dependable. There may be a double entendre here; on the one hand it simply says that his hands were stayed so that Israel might win, but on the other hand it is portraying Moses as steady, firm, reliable, faithful. The point is that whatever God commissioned as the means or agency of power—to Moses a staff, to the Christians the Spirit—the people of God had to know that the victory came from God alone.
35 The verb means “disabled, weakened, prostrated.” It is used a couple of times in the Bible to describe how man dies and is powerless (see Job 14:10; Isa 14:12).
36 Or “people.”
37 Heb “mouth of the sword.” It means as the sword devours—without quarter (S. R. Driver, Exodus, ).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

At Rephidim, Amalek came and fought against Israel. Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”

Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

NLTNew Living Translation

While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses 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.”

So 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. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out, fight against Amalek tomorrow. I will be standing on the top of the hill, and the staff of God will be in my hand.”

And Joshua did as Moses had said to him to fight with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And when Moses raised his hand, Israel would prevail, but when he rested his hand, Amalek would prevail. But the hands of Moses were heavy, and they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it; Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on each side, and his hands were steady until sundown. And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

KJV 1900King James Version

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

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