Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
- BSB So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
- NKJV And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”
- NASB So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
- NLT Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
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 tells Joshua to choose men and fight Amalek while Moses stands on the hill with God's staff. Victory will come through both battle and dependence on God.
Overview
Joshua first appears here as Israel's military leader, while Moses positions himself to intercede with the staff that symbolizes God's power. The arrangement shows that human effort and divine help work together, with the outcome resting on God. The staff lifted on the hill points to victory secured not by might but by reliance on the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 4:20Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God’s rod in his hand.
- Exod 24:13Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God’s Mountain.
- Deut 32:44Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Exod 4:2Yahweh said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”
- Heb 4:8For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.
- Num 31:3–4Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian.
- Num 11:28Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered, “My lord Moses, forbid them!”
- Acts 7:45which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,
- Exod 17:13Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
- Num 13:16These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
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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 17:9 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
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