These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
Parallel translations
- WEB These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Yahweh, and he was sanctified in them.
- KJV This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
- NKJV This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
- NASB Those were called the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.
- NLT This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the Lord, and there he demonstrated his holiness among them.
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
The place was named Meribah ('quarreling') because Israel strove with the Lord, yet He showed Himself holy. God's holiness was upheld even amid the people's and leaders' failure.
Overview
The name memorializes Israel's contention, but the emphasis falls on God being 'sanctified' or shown holy. Whether through provision or through the discipline of Moses, the Lord vindicated His own holy name. God's commitment to His glory stands firm regardless of human sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 17:7He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Ps 95:8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Deut 33:8Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.
- Ps 106:32–48At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.
- Deut 32:51For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.
- Ezek 36:23I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.
- Ezek 20:41When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.
- Ezek 38:16You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the latter days, O Gog, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.
- Isa 5:16But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
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
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 20:13 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.