HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rephidim or Refidim ( he, רפידים) is one of the places visited by the
Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
in the biblical account of the Exodus from Egypt.


Biblical account

This episode is described in the
Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...
. The Israelites under
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
have come from the
Wilderness of Sin The Wilderness of Sin or Desert of Sin ( he, מִדְבַּר סִין ''Mīḏbar Sīn'') is a geographic area mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as lying between Elim and Mount Sinai. ''Sin'' does not refer to the moral concept of " sin", but comes fr ...
. At Rephidim, they can find no water to drink, and angrily demand that Moses give them water. Moses, fearing they will stone him, calls on
Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism ...
for help and is told to strike a certain "rock in Horeb," in God's name which causes a stream to flow from it, providing ample water for the people. He names the place Massah and Meribah (meaning "testing" and "quarreling"). In the
Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and ...
a similar event is described as taking place near Kadesh. Afterwards, the
Amalek Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or th ...
ites attack the Israelites encamped at Rephidim, but are defeated. The Israelites are led in the battle by
Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
, while Moses,
Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
and
Hur Hur or HUR may refer to: People * Hur (Korean name), also spelled Heo * Hur (Bible), a number of biblical figures * Hur-ul-Nisa Begum, first of the fourteen children of Mumtaz Mahal Places * Hur, Iran (disambiguation), a number of places * H ...
watch from a nearby hill. Moses notices that when his arms are raised the Israelites gained the upper hand, but when they are down the Amalekites prevail. He sits with his hands held up by Aaron and Hur until sunset, securing the Israelite victory. The image of Moses raising his arms in battle against Amalek has been seen by allegorical Christian commenters as a
prefiguration Prefiguration may refer to: * Prefiguration (politics), the reflection of a future society being sought by a group * Prefiguration (theology), a relationship between elements of the Hebrew Bible / Torah, and aspects of Jesus's life as depict ...
of Jesus's arms extended on the cross battling sin.


Location

One proposal places Rephidim in the
Wadi Feiran Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
, near its junction with the Wadi esh-Sheikh. James K. Hoffmeier, ''Ancient Israel in Sinai'' (Oxford University Press, 2005) page 169. When they leave Rephidim, the Israelites advance into the Sinai Wilderness, possibly marching through the passes of the Wadi Solaf and the Wadi esh-Sheikh, which converge at the entrance to the er-Rahah plain (which would then be identified with the "Sinai Wilderness"), which is three kilometers long and about eight hundred metres wide. Wadi Feiran was an oasis, which would explain the battle with the Amalekites in terms of a struggle for control of water sources. Another proposed location for Rephidim is in northwestern Saudi Arabia north of the town of al-Bad, the ancient city of
Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
. Some researchers suggest that Mount Sinai was not in the Sinai Peninsula, but in Midian, which is modern-day Saudi Arabia, and subsequently place Rephidim here as well.
Jabal Maqla Jebal Maqla is a mountain located in northwest Saudi Arabia, near the Jordan border, above the Gulf of Aqaba, and is located in Tabūk, Saudi Arabia. Maqla is one of the tallest mountains in the Arabian Peninsula and the estimated terrain eleva ...
has been the subject of several explorations since the early 1980s. To the northwest of this mountain is a large plain and a massive split rock that shows signs of water erosion (Rephidim is also where Moses is recorded as striking a rock and water coming from it for the parched Hebrews). The plain, or wadi runs from this split rock all the way to Jabal Maqla. The name "Rephidim" ( he, רְפִידִם) means ''place of rest''. More recent scholarship identifies Rephidim with Wadi Refayid in the southwest Sinai.


References

{{coord, 28, 43, N, 33, 39, E, source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Amalek