Exodus 17:2

Summary

The people quarrel with Moses and demand water to drink. Moses responds by questioning why they quarrel with him and why they test Yehovah.

Key words

• va-yaRev ("it quarreled", H7378) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine singular, opening the episode with the standard "and then" storytelling form.
• ha-'Am ("the people", H5971A) — masculine singular noun with definite article, the collective subject of the quarrel.
• tenu ("give", H5414G) — qal imperative, masculine plural, a direct command addressed to Moses.
• teriVun ("are you quarreling", H7378) — qal imperfect, masculine plural, marked with the paragogic nun (H9013) for emphasis; repeats the same root as va-yaRev in word 2.
• tenaSun ("are you testing", H5254G) — piel imperfect, masculine plural, also carrying the paragogic nun; the piel (intensive) stem marks repeated or intensified testing, distinct from the qal quarreling-root.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb va-yaRev ("it quarreled", H7378) governing ha-'Am ("the people", H5971A) as subject, followed by 'im-Mosheh ("with Moses", H5973A + H4872) marking the object of the dispute. The people's speech is introduced by another narrative verb, va-yo'meRu ("they said", H0559), and their demand is expressed through the imperative tenu-Lanu Mayim ("give us water", H5414G + H4325G), followed by a purpose clause with the imperfect nishTeh ("we may drink", H8354) attached by the conjunction ve- ("and", H9002), showing the intended result of receiving water.

Moses' reply repeats the root of the people's action: mah-teriVun 'immaDi uses the same verb root, H7378, now in the imperfect with the interrogative mah ("why?", H4100) and the emphatic paragogic nun (H9013) attached to the verb. This grammatical echo — the people "quarrel" (qal perfect-narrative) and Moses asks why they "are quarreling" (qal imperfect) — ties the two clauses together through repetition of the same root rather than synonymy. The second question shifts to the piel stem tenaSun ("are you testing", H5254G), also marked by mah and the paragogic nun, with 'et-Yehovah ("Yehovah", H0853 + H3068G) as the marked direct object. The piel stem here signals an intensified or repeated action of testing, distinguishing it from the simpler qal quarreling directed at Moses.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the people's action with λοιδορεῖτο ("was reviling/reproaching") rather than a term strictly meaning "quarrel," and adds πρὸς φυσῆν (a puzzling phrase not corresponding directly to the Hebrew 'im-Mosheh, "with Moses"). The Vulgate's jurgatus ("having quarreled") aligns more closely with the Hebrew root sense of dispute. The Hebrew's paragogic nun emphasis on both questions has no formal counterpart in the LXX or Vulgate, which render both questions with standard interrogative verb forms.