Exodus 17:7

Summary

The verse narrates how the place received two names, Massah ("testing", H4532) and Meribah ("quarrel", H4809), explaining this naming by two causes: the quarrel of the people of Israel and their testing of Yehovah. The verse closes by quoting the people's question, "Is Yehovah in our midst, or not?"

Key words

• va-yikra ("and he called", H7121) — qal narrative form; the vav-consecutive marks this as the next event in the story sequence, following what happened at Massah/Meribah.
• riv ("quarrel of", H7379) — masculine singular construct; grammatically linked to bene Yisra'el ("sons of Israel", H1121), forming "the quarrel of the sons of Israel."
• nassotam ("their testing", H5254) — piel infinitive with 3mp suffix; the piel stem intensifies the verbal idea (testing/trying), and the suffix "-am" ("they/their") identifies Israel as the one who tests, with et-Yehovah (H0853 + H3068) marking Yehovah as the direct object of that testing.
• yesh ("is there", H3426) — an existential particle asserting presence; combined with the interrogative ha (H9008) it forms the question "is there...?"
• ayin ("not/there is not", H0369) — an existential particle of negation, functioning as the counterpart to yesh, closing the alternative "or is there not."

What the text says

The verse is structured around a double naming formula: va-yikra shem ha-maqom ("and he called the name of the place") followed by two proper nouns joined by u- ("and", H9002): Massah and Meribah. This is followed by two parallel causal clauses, each introduced by the preposition 'al ("on/because", H5921): the first cause is 'al-riv bene Yisra'el ("because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel"), the second is ve-'al nassotam et-Yehovah ("and because of their testing Yehovah"). The construct chains (riv bene Yisra'el, shem ha-maqom) link nouns directly without an intervening preposition, a standard feature of Hebrew possessive/relational phrasing.

The closing question is introduced by le'mor ("saying", H0559, qal infinitive), a common formula preceding direct speech. The question itself uses the paired particles yesh ("there is", H3426) and ayin ("there is not", H0369) joined by 'im ("or", H0518) — a fixed idiomatic construction in Biblical Hebrew for posing an either/or existential question, here concerning Yehovah's presence be-qirbenu ("in our midst", H7130 + suffix "our").

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the two place names as Peirasmos ("testing") and Loidorēsis ("reviling/reproach"), translating the Hebrew proper names Massah and Meribah by their meanings rather than transliterating them. The Vulgate gives only one name, Tentatio ("testing"), omitting a separate rendering corresponding to Meribah. The LXX also renders the closing question with a doubled verb, "Εἰ ἔστιν ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν," differing from the single yesh construction in the Hebrew.