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Easy-to-Read Version

Exodus 17:11

Any time Moses held his hands in the air, the men of Israel would start winning the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the men of Israel began to lose the fight.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Intercession;   Miracles;   Prayer;   Thompson Chain Reference - Miracles;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amalekites, the;   Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Miracles Wrought through Servants of God;   Prayer, Answers to;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Amalekites;   Joshua;   Miracle;   Rephidim;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Baal;   Joshua the son of nun;   Moses;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Joshua, Theology of;   War, Holy War;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Agag;   Amalekite;   Hur;   Joshua;   Prayer;   Rephidim;   Sinai;   Wars of the Lord, the Book of the;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Amalekites;   Hur;   Moses;   Purim;   Rephidim;   War;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amalekite;   Exodus, Book of;   Hur;   Joshua;   Moses;   Mount Sinai;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Amalek, Amalekites;   Hand;   Joshua;   Massah and Meribah;   Moses;   Zin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Gestures;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Amalek, Amalekites ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Ensign;   Mordecai;   Mount amalek;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;   Rephidim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Am'alekites,;   Pu'rim;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Agag;   Miriam;   Rephidim;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Sinai;   On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Amalek;   Egypt;   Intercession;   Joshua (2);   Moses;   Purim;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Aaron;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Army;   Joshua (Jehoshua);   Midrash Haggadah;   Purim;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
It happened, when Moshe held up his hand, that Yisra'el prevailed; and when he let down his hand, `Amalek prevailed.
King James Version
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Lexham English Bible
And when Moses raised his hand, Israel would prevail, but when he rested his hand, Amalek would prevail.
New Century Version
As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win.
New English Translation
Whenever Moses would raise his hands, then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest his hands, then Amalek prevailed.
Amplified Bible
Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed.
New American Standard Bible
So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And when Moses helde vp his hande, Israel preuailed: but when he let his hande downe, Amalek preuailed.
Legacy Standard Bible
So it happened when Moses raised his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
Contemporary English Version
The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he had to lower them.
Complete Jewish Bible
When Moshe raised his hand, Isra'el prevailed; but when he let it down, ‘Amalek prevailed.
Darby Translation
And it came to pass when Moses raised his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
English Standard Version
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
George Lamsa Translation
And it came to pass, when Moses lifted up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed.
Good News Translation
As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites won, but when he put his arms down, the Amalekites started winning.
Christian Standard Bible®
While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
Literal Translation
And so it was that when Moses lifted his hand, Israel prevailed. And when he rested his hand, Amalek conquered.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And wha Moses helde vp his hade, Israel had the victory: but whan he let downe his hande, Amalek had the victory.
American Standard Version
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Bible in Basic English
Now while Moses' hand was lifted up, Israel was the stronger: but when he let his hand go down, Amalek became the stronger.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And it came to passe, that when Moyses helde vp his hande, Israel had the better: and when he let his hande downe, Amelec had the better.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe when Moses held vp his hand, that Israel preuailed: and when he let downe his hand, Amalek preuailed.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass, when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands, Amalec prevailed.
English Revised Version
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Berean Standard Bible
As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and whanne Moises reiside the hondis, Israel ouercam; forsothe if he let down a litil, Amalech ouercam.
Young's Literal Translation
and it hath come to pass, when Moses lifteth up his hand, that Israel hath been mighty, and when he letteth his hands rest, that Amalek hath been mighty.
Update Bible Version
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
World English Bible
It happened, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
New King James Version
And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
New Living Translation
As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.
New Life Bible
When Moses held up his hand, Israel would be winning. But when he let his hand down, Amalek would win.
New Revised Standard
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it shall be when Moses shall lift on high his hands, then shall Israel prevail, but when he shall let down his hands, then shall Amalek prevail.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.
Revised Standard Version
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Am'alek prevailed.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

Contextual Overview

8 At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought against the Israelites. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on the top of the hill and watch you. I will be holding the walking stick God gave me." 10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites the next day. At the same time Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 Any time Moses held his hands in the air, the men of Israel would start winning the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the men of Israel began to lose the fight. 12 After some time, Moses' arms became tired. So they put a large rock under Moses for him to sit on. Then Aaron and Hur held Moses' hands in the air. Aaron was on one side of Moses and Hur was on the other side. They held his hands up like this until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua and his men defeated the Amalekites in this battle. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write about this battle. Write these things in a book so that people will remember what happened here. And be sure to tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth." 15 Then Moses built an altar and named it, "The Lord is My Flag." 16 Moses said, "I lifted my hands toward the Lord 's throne. So the Lord fought against the Amalekites, as he always has."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 56:9, Luke 18:1, 1 Timothy 2:8, James 5:16

Reciprocal: Joshua 8:18 - Stretch Joshua 8:26 - drew not 1 Samuel 15:33 - As thy sword 2 Kings 13:18 - he smote thrice 1 Chronicles 5:20 - And they

Cross-References

Genesis 17:25
And Ishmael, his son, was 13 years old when he was circumcised.
Genesis 17:27
Also, on that day all the men in Abraham's house were circumcised. All the slaves born in his house and all the slaves he had bought were circumcised.
Exodus 4:25
But Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She took the skin and touched his feet. Then she said to Moses, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me."
Exodus 12:48
If a foreigner living among you wants to share in the Lord 's Passover, he must be circumcised. Then he can share in the meal like any other citizen of Israel. But a man who is not circumcised cannot eat the Passover meal.
Deuteronomy 10:16
"Stop being stubborn. Give your hearts to God.
Joshua 5:3
So Joshua made knives from flint rocks and circumcised the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.
2 Samuel 3:14
David sent messengers to Saul's son Ish Bosheth. David said, "Give me my wife Michal. She was promised to me. I killed 100 Philistines to get her."
Acts 7:8
"God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had a son, he circumcised him when he was eight days old. His son's name was Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, who became the twelve great ancestors of our people.
Romans 4:11
Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. They believe and are accepted as people who are right with God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed,.... With his rod in it as a banner displayed, as some think, which inspired the Israelites with courage to fight, and they had the better of it; though Aben Ezra rejects that notion, observing, that if that had been the case, Aaron or Hur would have lifted it up, or fixed it in a high place on the mount, that it might have been seen standing; and therefore he thinks the sense of the ancients the most correct, that it was a prayer gesture. And among the Heathens, Moses was famous for the efficacy of his prayers; Numenius, the Pythagoric philosopher y, says of him, that he was a man very powerful in prayer with God: and so all the Targums interpret it, and particularly the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase the words,

"when Moses lift up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed, but when he restrained his hands from prayer, the house of Amalek prevailed,''

as it follows:

when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed; so that victory seemed to go sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other, according as the hand of Moses, with the rod in it, was held up or let down; when it was held up, and Israel saw it, they fought valiantly, but when it was let down, and they could not see it, their hearts failed them, and they feared it portended ill to them, which caused them to give way to the enemy. The spiritual Israel of God are engaged in a warfare with spiritual enemies, some within, and some without; and sometimes they prevail over their enemies, and sometimes their enemies prevail over them for a while; and things go on very much as a man either keeps up or leaves off praying, which is signified by the lifting up of holy hands without wrath and doubting, 1 Timothy 2:8 and which when rightly performed, under the influence of the divine Spirit in faith, in sincerity, and with fervency and constancy, has great power with God and Christ, and against Satan and every spiritual enemy.

y Apud Euseb. Praepar, Evangel. l. 9. c. 8. p. 411.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The act represents the efficacy of intercessory prayer - offered doubtless by Moses - a point of great moment to the Israelites at that time and to the Church in all ages.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 17:11. When Moses held up his hand — We cannot understand this transaction in any literal way; for the lifting up or letting down the hands of Moses could not, humanly speaking, influence the battle. It is likely that he held up the rod of God in his hand, Exodus 17:9, as an ensign to the people. We have already seen that in prayer the hands were generally lifted up and spread out, (Exodus 9:29,) and therefore it is likely that by this act prayer and supplication are intended. The Jerusalem Targum says, "When Moses held up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands from prayer, the house of Amalek prevailed." We may therefore conclude, that by holding up the hands in this case these two things were intended:

1. That hereby a reference was made to God, as the source whence all help and protection must come, and that on him alone they must depend.

2. That prayer and supplication to God are essentially necessary to their prevalence over all their enemies.

It is indisputably true that, while the hands are stretched out, that is, while the soul exerts itself in prayer and supplication to God, we are sure to conquer our spiritual adversaries; but if our hands become heavy - if we restrain prayer before God, Amalek will prevail - every spiritual foe, every internal corruption, will gain ground. Several of the fathers consider Moses, with his stretched-out hands, as a figure of Christ on the cross, suffering for mankind, and getting a complete victory over sin and Satan.


 
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