Session Twenty-Five, Verse 60, General Explanation of the Verse

Session Twenty-Five

Verse 60 – General Explanation of the Verse – The Connection of the Verse to the Preceding Verses

February 8, 2025

General Explanation of the Verse

In the previous session, we set forth a translation of verse 60. Further discussions of this verse remain. If we wish to give a general explanation of this verse, the narrative is as follows: the Children of Israel, on their journey through the wilderness of wandering and the Sinai desert, were commanded to settle for a time in a particular town; this town is distinct from the town referred to in the preceding verses, which they had been commanded to enter. That place was one in which water and certain other resources were scarce; hence they quickly fell into a state of water shortage and complained to the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, asking him to request water from God on their behalf. The Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, then prayed for water (istisqa’) on behalf of his people. The verse, in fact, refers to this stage: “And [recall] when Moses prayed for water for his people” («وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَى مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ») — this occurred after the people’s request, in a place where they had been commanded to stop and settle, albeit temporarily. God, in response to the Prophet Moses’ prayer, granted water to the Children of Israel. The manner of this granting of water was as follows: the Prophet Moses struck those rocks with his staff, and water began to gush forth from twelve points within the rock, each of which served as the drinking place for one of the groups among the Children of Israel. The fact that this region was distinct from the town referred to in the preceding verse becomes evident from the water shortage in this place, and from the fact that, in that town, reference was made to an abundance of blessing — these indications show that these were two separate and independent locations. This, perhaps, was the very place where manna and quails were granted to the Children of Israel.

In any case, following the Prophet Moses’ prayer, since the people had requested water from him, God answered this request and said: We told Moses to strike the rock with his staff. This rock could not reasonably have been a small one; for the verse states that water began to gush forth from twelve points within this rock, each of which served as the drinking place for a group of the Children of Israel. This must, then, have been a great mountain or a massive boulder, such that, upon being struck by the staff, water gushed forth from twelve points within it. Nor were these twelve points adjacent to one another; for, since each of these twelve drinking places was designated for a particular group, they would, in the end, have needed the means to draw water from it; hence these sources and springs of water must have been situated at a distance from one another, so that they could make use of them. Hence, this was either an immense rock or a small mountain, from which, upon being struck by the staff, water began to gush forth.

The staff of Moses, too, was the very same staff that, in the episode of the sorcerers, transformed into a serpent and swallowed the sorcerers’ serpents. This is the very same staff with which he struck the sea, causing the waters of the sea to part; hence, this staff of Moses was not used for this purpose alone — several of these great divine miracles, namely the parting of the sea and the transformation into a serpent, were all carried out by means of this same staff.

God, Blessed and Exalted, then commands them to eat and drink from God’s provision, and warns them against transgression, disobedience, and rebellion before God Almighty; He warns them against ingratitude toward the blessing and asks them to render thanks for the blessing — for had they rendered thanks and not been given to corruption, and had they not spread corruption upon the earth, God would have increased their blessing.

The Connection of the Verse to the Preceding Verses

The connection of this verse to the preceding verses is that God Almighty, in continuing to recount His blessings upon the Children of Israel, refers here to this further blessing as well. This may perhaps be the eleventh or twelfth blessing that God has enumerated. Prior to this, according to some exegeses, eight blessings had been counted, and according to certain other exegeses, ten blessings; here, reference is made either to the ninth or the eleventh blessing. Of course, if we separate certain of these blessings from one another, the number may well exceed this; I believe, on the basis of our own count, that this may, in fact, be the twelfth or thirteenth blessing — for some exegetes have reckoned certain of these blessings together as a single blessing.

God, in continuing to recount the preceding blessings — which, in fact, served as a reminder to the Jews of the Prophet’s, peace be upon him, time — mentions this blessing as well; hence He reminds the Jews of the Prophet’s time how the Children of Israel were made recipients of these blessings and of divine mercy and grace — even such a blessing as the gushing forth of water from the heart of a rock; this is itself a tremendous blessing, and its magnitude is far greater than the mere gushing forth of water from the heart of the earth. God enumerates these blessings for the Jews of the Prophet’s time and reminds them that the Children of Israel, despite all these blessings that God granted them, became given to corruption upon the earth, committed disobedience, engaged in rebellion, and their end was as it was. Hence, this is principally intended as a reminder to the Jews of the Prophet’s time, and forms part of the continued recounting of the divine blessings.

There remains, however, one point here: that the blessings enumerated thus far have, on the whole, been presented in a certain order; yet this particular instance is mentioned after the command to enter the town and their opposition and disobedience — whereas, in fact, this occurred during the journey of the Children of Israel toward the Sinai desert and in the land of their wandering, prior to their entry into that town. Why, then, has this been mentioned afterward? It would, in principle, have been more fitting for this to have been mentioned at the same point as the reference to their wandering in the wilderness and the descent of manna and quails. Their wandering in that wilderness occupied a considerable length of time; whether this episode occurred before the Sinai desert or within the Sinai desert itself is not entirely clear. The question is: why has this been mentioned after the two preceding verses? Before this, the verse stated, “And [recall] when We said: Enter this town, and eat freely therein wherever you wish; and enter through the gate prostrating, and say, ‘Hittah‘” («وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ»), and then stated, “But those who did wrong substituted a saying other than that which had been said to them, so We sent down upon those who did wrong a punishment from the sky on account of the transgression they used to commit” («فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ») — whereas this episode occurred before the events just referred to. Why, then, was it mentioned afterward? It could have been presented before this. There are several points to be made here, which we shall, God willing, set forth in the coming session.