Limitless Word
Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).
Exodus 17:15 · New Living Translation · underlined terms are tappable
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moses built an altar, and called its name Yahweh our Banner.
  • KJV And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
  • BSB And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
  • NKJV And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;
  • NASB And Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner;

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

Moses built an altar and named it 'Yahweh our Banner.' He credited the victory entirely to God.

Overview

By naming the altar Yahweh-Nissi, Moses confesses that the Lord himself is Israel's rallying standard in battle. The altar marks worship and remembrance, ascribing the triumph to God rather than to human strength. This banner anticipates Christ, lifted up as the one under whom God's people gather and find victory.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Gen 22:14Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Will Provide. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”
  • Judg 6:24Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
  • Ps 60:4You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
  • Gen 33:20He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 17:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 17:15 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.