The Bible

 

Exodus 17

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1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of Jehovah, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Wherefore the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me.

5 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and they rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not?

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 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 my hand.

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi;

16 And he said, Jehovah hath sworn: Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

   

Commentary

 

Say

  

As with many common verbs, the meaning of “to say” in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Who is speaking? Who is hearing? What is it about? Is it a command, a message, an apology, instruction? All these things enter into the meaning of “say.” In general, though, “saying” has to do with sharing truth at various levels -- from the most exalted power people can have to perceive the Lord's desires directly to the most basic of orders issued to people at their lowest.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3009

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3009. As to the second point - that Messiah, Anointed, or King is the same as Divine Truth - this is clear from very many places in the Word, and has been shown frequently in explanations; as in 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069. The Lord Himself also teaches the same in John,

Pilate said to Jesus, Are you not then a king? Jesus answered, You say it, because I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. John 18:37.

From this it is clear that the Divine Truth itself is at the root of the Lord's being called 'the King'. The reason why kings were anointed and consequently called the anointed was that 'the oil' with which they were anointed meant good, 886, 2832. Also the truth, meant by 'king', was derived from good and was accordingly truth grounded in good, so that the kingly office with them represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth which is derived from Divine Good, and so represented the Divine marriage of good within truth, whereas the priestly function represented the Divine marriage of truth within good. The latter is meant by Jesus, the former by Christ.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.