Bible Contradiction? Where did Moses get water from a rock?

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Where did Moses get water from a rock?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:

The wilderness of Sin in Rephidim

“Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”” (Exodus 17:1-7)

The desert of Zin in Kadesh

“Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there. 2 There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? 5 Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”” (Numbers 20:1-8)

“for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)” (Numbers 27:14)

“because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 32:51)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

 

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

 

1. When dealing with skeptics’ claim of Bible contradictions it seems one can never be reminded enough of what exactly is a contradiction.  A contradiction occurs when two or more claims conflict with one another so that they cannot simultaneously be true in the same sense and at the same time.  To put it another way, a Bible contradiction exists when there are claims within the Bible that are mutually exclusive in the same sense and at the same time.
2. One should be skeptical of whether this is a Bible contradiction given the Skeptic Annotated Bible’s track record of inaccurately handling the Bible.  See the many examples of their error which we have responded to in this post: Collection of Posts Responding to Bible Contradictions.  Of course that does not take away the need to respond to this claim of a contradiction, which is what the remainder of this post will do.  But this observation should caution us to slow down and look more closely at the passages cited by the Skeptic Annotated Bible to see if they interpreted the passages properly to support their conclusion that it is a Bible contradiction.
3. The skeptic tries to pit three passages (Numbers 20:1-8, Numbers 27:14, Deuteronomy 32:51) against Exodus 17:1-7 as a contradiction.  In regards to Numbers 20:1-8, Numbers 27:14 and Deuteronomy 32:51 the skeptic cited these passages as teaching the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh.”  The skeptic did rightly interpreted those verse as making that claim.  Numbers 20:1-8 is the main passage for that while Numbers 27:14 and Deuteronomy 32:51 summarizes the event in Numbers 20:1-8.  Meanwhile the skeptic cited Exodus 17:1-7 as making the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim.”  Again the skeptic is right in interpreting Exodus 17:1-7 correctly.
4. Yet there is not a Bible contradiction here.  Note the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh” does not necessarily contradict the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim:” Logically speaking the contradictory statement against the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh” would be if there’s a Bible verse that taught “Moses got water ONLY from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim.”  But that claim is not the same thing as the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim.”  Likewise to contradict the claim “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim” require a Bible verse that taught the claim “Moses got water ONLY from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh.”  But those passages in question doesn’t exclude the possibility of Moses getting water elsewhere.
5. Furthermore the two claims are not necessarily contradictory since Moses can get water from a rock in two different locations at two different times.  In fact careful considerations of the the context suggests they were two separate instances when Moses got water from rocks.  If this is true then we don’t have a contradiction here.
6. One reason to see “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim” and “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh” as taking place at different times is to look at the dates in the Bible surrounding the passages the skeptics cited.
   1. The incident in Exodus 17:1-7 in which Moses got water from the rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim occurred between the 15th day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the Exodus and the 1st day of the 3rd month of the first year of the Hebrew’s escape from Egypt.  We know this because before Exodus chapter 17, Exodus 12:2 and Exodus 12:5 tells us that the Hebrews’ departed from Egypt on the 15th day of the 1st month while Exodus 19:1 tells us the Hebrews arrival at Mount Sinai on the 1st day of the 3rd month.  Thus Exodus 17:1-7 took place in the first year of the Hebrew’s departure from Egypt.
   2. Numbers 20:1-8 is the main passage recording the incident in which Moses got water from the rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh.  As noted earlier Numbers 27:14 and Deuteronomy 32:51 provide a quick summary of the event in Numbers 20:1-8.  Yet the whole book of Numbers took place on the second year after the Hebrews departed Egypt.  Note the opening of the book of Number in Numbers 1:1 mentioning the timing was “on the first of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt.”  The second year is mentioned elsewhere before Numbers 20: Numbers 9:1 and Numbers 10:11.
   3. We don’t have a contradiction here since Moses getting water from the rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim occurred in the first year of the Hebrews’ departure from Egypt while the incident in which Moses got water from the rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh occurred during the second year of the Hebrews’ departure.
7. A second reason to see “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Sin in Kadesh in Rephidim” and “Moses got water from a rock at the desert of Zin in Kadesh” as taking place at different times is to pay attention to the question of whether or not the Tabernacle has been built yet.
   1. Exodus 17:1-7 was before the building of the Tabernacle since the Tabernacle won’t be completed until the 1st day of 1st month of the second year according to Exodus 40:1, 40:16.  Recall Exodus 17:1-7 took place between the first and third month of the Hebrews leaving Egypt.
   2. Yet according to the introduction to the book of Numbers in Numbers 1:1 there was already in existence “the tent of meeting” (Tabernacle).
   3. Thus we see clearly that Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 are two separate events.
8. A third reason one should see Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 as separate incidents is to note that Moses’ sister Miraim was already dead in Numbers 20:1 while she was still alive during the time of Exodus including the time of Exodus 17.
9. Still a fourth reason to consider: The desert is a dry place with little water and we shouldn’t be surprised that God would provide water for the Hebrews at different location during their travel.  So to see a parallel and similarities between Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 doesn’t mean they are the same event in light of the strong exegetical reasons we have already given of why they are two separate events.
10. We can say conclusively there is no contradiction here.  The skeptics are so sloppy in handling these passages according to their chronological context.
11. We shouldn’t miss that worldviews are at play even with the skeptic’s objection to Christianity.  The worldview of the author of the Skeptic Annotated Bible actually doesn’t even allow for such a thing as the law of non-contradiction to be meaningful and intelligible.  In other words for him to try to disprove the Bible by pointing out that there’s a Bible contradiction doesn’t even make sense within his own worldview.  Check out our post “Skeptic Annotated Bible Author’s Self-Defeating Worldview.”