The Meaning of Numbers 20:10 Explained

Numbers 20:10

KJV: And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

YLT: and Moses and Aaron assemble the assembly unto the front of the rock, and he saith to them, 'Hear, I pray you, O rebels, from this rock do we bring out to you water?'

Darby: And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, ye rebels: shall we bring forth to you water out of this rock?

ASV: And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Moses  and Aaron  gathered  the congregation  together before  the rock,  and he said  unto them, Hear  now, ye rebels;  must we fetch  you water  out of this rock? 

What does Numbers 20:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 20:1-13 - The Sin Of Moses And Aaron
Again the people, as the long years of their Wilderness life drew to an end, gathered around the Tabernacle at Kadesh. Again the murmuring spirit broke out, as it had done forty years before. To the end we shall be liable to the outbreak of the old sins; and can never relax our vigilance or sheathe the sword.
Moses was to speak to the rock, not smite it. See Exodus 17:6. The Rock of Ages was smitten only once. "It is appointed unto men once to die," and "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." It is now only needful for the soul to speak to Him, though in the lowest and most faltering accents, to elicit streams of help and salvation.
It was lack of faith that led Moses to smite the rock twice. Speaking seemed too slight an effort for the production of such a marvel! He forgot that neither rod nor speech effected the result, but the power of God that wrought through and with him. See 1 Corinthians 3:4. "She only touched the hem of His garment!" Matthew 9:20. [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 20

1  The children of Israel come to Zin, where Miriam dies
2  They murmur for want of water
7  Moses smiting the rock, brings forth water at Meribah
14  Moses at Kadesh desires passage through Edom, which is denied him
22  At Mount Hor Aaron resigns his place to Eleazar, and dies

What do the individual words in Numbers 20:10 mean?

And gathered together Moses and Aaron - the assembly to the face of the rock and he said to them Hear now you rebels Must out of rock this we bring for you water
וַיַּקְהִ֜לוּ מֹשֶׁ֧ה וְאַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־ הַקָּהָ֖ל אֶל־ פְּנֵ֣י הַסָּ֑לַע וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם שִׁמְעוּ־ נָא֙ הַמֹּרִ֔ים הֲמִן־ ؟ הַסֶּ֣לַע הַזֶּ֔ה נוֹצִ֥יא לָכֶ֖ם מָֽיִם

וַיַּקְהִ֜לוּ  And  gathered  together 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: קָהַל  
Sense: to assemble, gather.
מֹשֶׁ֧ה  Moses 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹשֶׁה  
Sense: the prophet and lawgiver, leader of the exodus.
וְאַהֲרֹ֛ן  and  Aaron 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַהֲרֹון  
Sense: brother of Moses, a Levite and the first high priest.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַקָּהָ֖ל  the  assembly 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָהָל  
Sense: assembly, company, congregation, convocation.
פְּנֵ֣י  the  face  of 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַסָּ֑לַע  the  rock 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סֶלַע  
Sense: crag, cliff, rock.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  and  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לָהֶ֗ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
שִׁמְעוּ־  Hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
נָא֙  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
הַמֹּרִ֔ים  you  rebels 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: מָרָה  
Sense: to be contentious, be rebellious, be refractory, be disobedient towards, be rebellious against.
הֲמִן־  Must  out 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
؟ הַסֶּ֣לַע  of  rock 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סֶלַע  
Sense: crag, cliff, rock.
הַזֶּ֔ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
נוֹצִ֥יא  we  bring 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
לָכֶ֖ם  for  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
מָֽיִם  water 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.