Chapter Three MASSAH and MERIBAH

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Chapter Three MASSAH AND MERIBAH In this chapter I increase the specificity further by analysing the legends of the waters that flow from a mountain or are associ ated with the names Massah and Meribah (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). For comparative purposes, the traditions of Beer (Num 21:16-18) and Marah (Exod 15:23-26) are discussed first, even though they properly belong with the thirst stories of chapter one. Beer The simplest account of the miraculous production of water in the wilderness in the days of the desert wanderings of Israel is Num 21:16-18: 16And thence [they traveled] to Beer [Well]; that is the well where Yahweh said to Moses: "Gather the people, and I will give them water."1 17Then the chil dren of Israel sang this song: "Rise, well, ,,Z they sanl to it. 18"0 well which the princes dug, which the leaders of the people 4 hewed with scepter [and] staff."5 What can we make of this fragment? It is often described as archaic,6 but such a dating largely reflects past scholarship's predisposition to regard short poems as the original form of Israelite tradition; the somewhat murky contents perhaps contri bute to this evaluation. The lack of relative pronoun in 18a and of conjunction in 18c are insufficient grounds for assigning the poem an early date, especially since its present form seems gar bled. In fact, the fragment is undatable, but its relation to the Massah-Meribah tradition is clear. Yahweh commands Moses to gather the people, and he himself will provide water. The editor7 then quotes the opening of a song about a well that unspecified leaders of the people dug with their staffs; apparently he considers this miraculous. It seems, however, that the song has nothing to do with either Moses or Yahweh, but rather reports a fairly 51 52 Water in the Wilderness common event in the lives of the modern nomads and presumably also the ancient semi-nomads of Canaan. Western travellers have observed Bedouin elders locating underground sources and %unch ing through the earth with their staffs, creating a well. Our redactor, however, has chosen to associate the song with the mira cle tradition whose fuller form is found in Exod 17:1-7 and Num 20:1-13. The "leaders" are analogous to Moses; the "walking sticks" correspond to his wonder-working rod. Marak The healing of the waters of Ma.rah 9 is also related to the Massah-Meribah tradition. The source of Exod 15:23-26 is difficult to determine;10 one could regard it simply as J's equivalent of Exod 17:2-7 (E), but the apparent familiarity of the northern Elijah-Elisha traditions with the tale suggests rather E.11 The text itself presents few problems . .e9When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water12 from Marah because it was bitter (that is why its name13 is called Marah [Bitter]). 2+The people complained a\ainst Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 25He 4 cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed15 him a stick, 16 and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There he17 esta blished18 for him 19 a statute20 and an ordinance,20 and there he tested him. 26He said, "If you heed the voice of Yahweh your god and do what is right in his eyes and hearken to his commands and observe all his statutes, then I will not set upon you any of the illness that I made in Egypt,21 for I, Yahweh, am your healer.'' This story stresses Yahweh's ability to heal-he wards off (and inflicts) illness and makes salt water fresh. The same themes occur in Mesopotamia in the context of Creation ("Enki and Ninhursag")22 and in Ezek 47:8-9 in the context of re creation, but of this there is no hint here. Rather, the waters assuage thirst and symbolize Yahweh's healing power. 23 The testing of v 25 refers to the command of that verse, made explicit .

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