Search

1All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, starting according to Yahweh’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore 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 Yahweh?”

3The people were thirsty for water there; so the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

4Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5Yahweh said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go. 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. 7He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us, or not?”

8Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out to fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.” 10So Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset. 13Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.” 15Moses built an altar, and called its name “Yahweh our Banner”. 16He said, “Yah has sworn: ‘Yahweh will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’”

Person

Mary (Mother of Jesus)

Also called mother
Father Heli
Biography | Jeffrey Kershner

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young teenager when the Angel Gabriel announced that she would be the mother of the Messiah (Luke 1:26-38) because she had found favor with God. He said that through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, she would conceive as a virgin, and that her son would rule on the throne of David. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2, Matt 2:1) soon after Mary and Joseph had arrived to be enrolled in the census commanded by Augustus. 

When she and Joseph took Jesus to the temple for dedication, Mary was given the prophecy that her soul would be pierced because of the things that would happen to her son. Mary left with Joseph and Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod the Great (Matt 2:23; Luke 2:39, 40). As far as we know, she lived with Joseph and her family in Nazareth until the time of the death of Jesus. 

On one occasion, Mary was reminded of the importance of her son Jesus, when after searching for three days for Him, she was told they should have come to the Temple first since He would be in His father’s house. Later, Mary was at the wedding in Cana where she encouraged Jesus to perform His first Miracle (John 2). After this, she is sporadically mentioned in the Gospels (Mark 3:20, 21, 31-35). Finally, while Jesus is being crucified He gave Mary into the protection of John (John 19:26, 27). Mary is last mentioned with the apostles gathered in the upper room (Acts 1:14). Church tradition says she died in either Jerusalem or Ephesus, the latter being more likely in church tradition, and her continued association with John, who moved to Ephesus.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.