Exodus 17 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 3 Similar 5 Different 8 Divergent 0 Disparate 0
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Water from the Rock
17:1 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:1 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin by their stages, at YHWH’s command, and camped at Rephidim. There was no water for the people to drink.
Greek · Saints priority
17:1 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sin by their encampments, at the Lord’s word, and camped at Rephidim. There was no water for the people to drink.
Journey stages/encampments gives a modest difference of expression. Rephidim consistently identifies the corresponding site [H17; G17].
17:2 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:2 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test YHWH?”
Greek · Saints priority
17:2 The people reviled Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you revile me? Why do you test the Lord?”
Quarreling/reviling anticipates the corresponding site names in verse 7 [H17; G17].
17:3 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:3 The people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to kill me, my children, and my livestock with thirst?”
Greek · Saints priority
17:3 The people thirsted there for water and grumbled there against Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to kill us, our children, and the livestock with thirst?”
Hebrew shifts from us to singular me and my as the people speak collectively; Greek remains plural [H17; G17].
17:4 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:4 Moses cried out to YHWH, “What shall I do with this people? A little more, and they will stone me!”
Greek · Saints priority
17:4 Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? A little more, and they will stone me to death!”
The Greek compound makes the threatened stoning vivid [G17]. Hebrew already describes a grave threat.
17:5 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:5 YHWH said to Moses, “Go on before the people and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
Greek · Saints priority
17:5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go on before this people and take some of the people’s elders with you. Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go.
Israel’s elders/the people’s elders and Nile/river differ in naming, with the same narrative reference [H17; G17].
17:6 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of Israel’s elders.
Greek · Saints priority
17:6 “Behold, I stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and My people shall drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the sons of Israel.
Greek has My people and names the sons of Israel rather than the elders as witnesses [H17; G17].
Saints: In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul identifies the spiritual rock with Christ. This is a typological interpretation of wilderness provision; Christ is not inserted as the named speaker or rock in the Exodus translation [S8].
17:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:7 He called the place Massah and Meribah because the sons of Israel quarreled and tested YHWH, saying, “Is YHWH among us or not?”
Greek · Saints priority
17:7 He named that place Testing and Reviling because the sons of Israel reviled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Greek translates the place names by their associated actions [G17]. Hebrew Massah recalls testing and Meribah quarreling [H17].
War with the Amalekites
17:8 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:8 Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
Greek · Saints priority
17:8 Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
17:9 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out to fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s staff in my hand.”
Greek · Saints priority
17:9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose capable men for yourself and go out to take your stand against Amalek tomorrow. Behold, I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s staff in my hand.”
Greek adds capable, has for yourself, and attaches tomorrow to the battle instruction [G17]. Iēsous names Joshua here; Christian typology must not replace him with Jesus of Nazareth in the translation.
17:10 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:10 Joshua did as Moses had told him and fought Amalek. Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Greek · Saints priority
17:10 Joshua did as Moses had told him and went out to take his stand against Amalek. Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
The Greek battle verb emphasizes taking a position [G17].
17:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:11 Whenever Moses raised his hand, Israel prevailed; whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Greek · Saints priority
17:11 Whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel prevailed; whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed.
Hebrew has singular hand here, Greek plural hands. Both have plural hands in verse 12 [H17; G17]. The grammar alone does not describe a cross-shaped posture.
Rabbinic: Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8 locates Israel’s strength in directing their hearts toward their heavenly Father, rather than attributing victory mechanically to Moses’ hands [R17].
17:12 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:12 Moses’ hands grew heavy. They took a stone, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until sunset.
Greek · Saints priority
17:12 Moses’ hands were heavy. They took a stone, put it beneath him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur steadied his hands, one on each side, so that Moses’ hands remained supported until sunset.
Both describe physical support and endurance [H17; G17]. Steady renders Hebrew emunah in this bodily setting; faith is a related theological use, not an automatic substitute here.
Saints: Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 90, interprets Moses’ supported, outstretched hands as a sign of the cross and relates Joshua’s name to Jesus. This is Christian typology; Joshua remains the historical person named in the narrative [S12].
17:13 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:13 Joshua weakened Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Greek · Saints priority
17:13 Joshua routed Amalek and all his people with the slaughter of the sword.
Weakened/routed and edge/slaughter differ; Greek includes all [H17; G17]. The verse does not say that every Amalekite everywhere was killed.
17:14 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:14 YHWH said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the book and recite it in Joshua’s hearing: I will utterly blot out Amalek’s remembrance from under heaven.”
Greek · Saints priority
17:14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and deliver it in Joshua’s hearing: I will utterly blot out Amalek’s remembrance from under heaven.”
Both use emphatic language of erasing remembrance [H17; G17]. Joshua remains the historical addressee.
17:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:15 Moses built an altar and named it YHWH Is My Banner.
Greek · Saints priority
17:15 Moses built an altar to the Lord and named it The Lord Is My Refuge.
Banner/refuge differs in the altar’s name; Greek explicitly says to the Lord [H17; G17]. These images are compatible descriptions, not opposing divine identities.
17:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
17:16 He said, “A hand upon the throne of Yah! YHWH has war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Greek · Saints priority
17:16 For with a hidden hand the Lord fights against Amalek from generation to generation.
Hebrew’s compressed hand-upon-the-throne phrase is difficult; whose hand and its precise force remain open. Greek has a hidden hand [H17; G17]. Neither text here explicitly names demons or identifies a modern people with Amalek.
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.