Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab before they enter the Promised Land, recounting their desert journey to prevent future pride. He speaks as their mediator, reminding them of past divine provision.
The words — The text highlights מּוֹלִיכֲ/ךָ (mo.Li.kha) meaning "who led you" and שָׂרָף (sa.Raf) meaning "fiery" or venomous. These terms frame God’s active guidance through lethal terrain.
The thread — This wilderness narrative reappears in Numbers 21:6 regarding the sent snakes, Numbers 20:11 regarding water from the rock, and Jeremiah 2:6 where Israel forgets the One who led them through the desert.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that survival in hostile conditions originates from divine action, not human capability. It requires readers to attribute sustenance to God rather than self-reliance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Cross-references
- Numbers 20:11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
- Numbers 21:6 So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
- Jeremiah 2:6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
- Deuteronomy 1:19 And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
- Psalms 114:8 who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
- Isaiah 63:12 who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
- Hosea 13:5 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.
- Psalms 78:15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Exodus 17:5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.