and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
- KJV And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
- NKJV and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
- NASB and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
- NLT and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All Israel drank the same spiritual drink from the rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. Christ Himself was present, sustaining His people even in the wilderness.
Overview
Paul identifies the water-giving rock (Exod 17; Num 20) as a manifestation of Christ, who accompanied and provided for Israel. This striking statement affirms Christ's pre-incarnate presence and care for His people throughout redemptive history. It also deepens the warning: those who were nourished by Christ Himself still largely perished through unbelief, so the Corinthians must not presume upon their spiritual privileges either.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Exod 17:6Behold, 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.
- John 7:37On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Isa 48:21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
- John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Ps 105:41He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
- Num 20:11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
- Ps 78:15He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
- Ps 78:20When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
- John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Isa 43:20The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.
- Col 2:17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- Matt 26:26–28While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
- 1 Cor 11:24–25and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
- Heb 10:1For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
- Dan 2:38Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
- Gal 4:25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
- Deut 9:21And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.
- Matt 13:38–39The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
- Ezek 5:4–5Again, take a few of these, throw them into the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.
- Gen 41:26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
- Gen 40:12Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days.
- Dan 7:17‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 10:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.