The Meaning of Numbers 20:13 Explained

Numbers 20:13

KJV: This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

YLT: These are waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel have 'striven' with Jehovah, and He is sanctified upon them.

Darby: These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel contended with Jehovah, and he hallowed himself in them.

ASV: These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and he was sanctified in them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

This [is]  the water  of Meribah;  because the children  of Israel  strove  with the LORD,  and he was sanctified  in them. 

What does Numbers 20:13 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 20:13 mean?

Those [were] the water of Meribah because contended the sons of Israel with Yahweh and He was consecrated among them -
הֵ֚מָּה מֵ֣י מְרִיבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־ רָב֥וּ בְנֵֽי־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־ יְהוָ֑ה וַיִּקָּדֵ֖שׁ בָּֽם ס

הֵ֚מָּה  Those  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
מֵ֣י  the  water 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
מְרִיבָ֔ה  of  Meribah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְרִיבָה 
Sense: a fountain at Rephidim, in the desert of Sin; so called because the Israelites murmured against God.
אֲשֶׁר־  because 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
רָב֥וּ  contended 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: רִיב  
Sense: to strive, contend.
בְנֵֽי־  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
וַיִּקָּדֵ֖שׁ  and  He  was  consecrated 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָדַשׁ  
Sense: to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate.
בָּֽם  among  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation