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1 Corinthians 10:4

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.
1 Corinthians 10:4 · New Living Translation
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.
  • BSB and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied 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.

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 before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
  • John 7:37Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!
  • Isa 48:21They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
  • John 4:14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
  • Ps 105:41He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.
  • Num 20:11Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
  • Ps 78:15He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
  • Ps 78:20Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?”
  • John 4:10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
  • Isa 43:20The animals of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
  • Col 2:17which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
  • Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
  • Matt 26:26–28As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
  • 1 Cor 11:24–25When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
  • Heb 10:1For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.
  • Dan 2:38and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.
  • Gal 4:25For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
  • Deut 9:21I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain.
  • Matt 13:38–39the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
  • Ezek 5:4–5Of these again you shall take, and cast them into the middle of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from it shall a fire come out into all the house of Israel.
  • Gen 41:26The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
  • Gen 40:12Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.
  • Dan 7:17These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth.

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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.

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