Bible Strands
Psalms 105:41
He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the covenant community, recounting Yahweh’s historical intervention during the wilderness wanderings immediately after supplying quail and bread. This declaration occurs within a broader recitation of God’s faithfulness to Israel’s ancestors.
The words — The Hebrew פָּתַח (Pa.tach) literally means "he opened," paired with צוּר (tzur), "a rock," to describe the physical act of release. The verb יָזֻבוּ (ya.Zu.vu) translates as "they flowed out," denoting the sudden, forceful movement of the waters.
The thread — This event parallels the wilderness water miracles in Exodus 17:6 and Numbers 20:11, where God supplies water from a rock. The New Testament later treats this rock as a typological reference to Christ in 1 Corinthians 10:4.
Why it lands — The text records the factual provision of water from a sealed stone, requiring the reader to acknowledge God’s power to sustain life in barren conditions. It demands a practical reliance on divine promise rather than human resourcefulness.
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
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
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.
- 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 17:6 Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- Psalms 114:8 who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
- Isaiah 48:21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
- Psalms 78:15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
- Psalms 78:20 When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
- Nehemiah 9:15 In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them.