the rock.… So did Moses in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Exod. 17:6). We conclude on this basis that the original text of 20:8a very likely contained the command “strike the rock,” which, however, accidentally fell out because of the homoeoteleuton. Subsequently ve-dibbartem, “and speak,” was (incorrectly) inserted on the grounds that the fulfillment passage does relate that Moses did speak (20:10b). A third, more radical approach postulates that the original text called for Moses to strike