Waters of Meribah (Kadesh)
므리바 물 (가데스)
The place Numbers 20:13 calls the waters of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the LORD there; 20:24 says Moses and Aaron rebelled against his word there. This collection keeps it apart from the Meribah of Exodus 17. Numbers 27:14 gives what happened at these waters, in the strife of the congregation in the wilderness of Zin, as the reason Moses is to be gathered to his people, and names them the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
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Source-backed narrative relations; not independent historical verification. Legacy dates and coordinates are outside this review.
Collection & rightsSource evidence (9)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- DEU 32:48–52, engwebp
48The LORD spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
49“Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is across from Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession.
50Die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;
51because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
52For you shall see the land from a distance; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.”
- DEU 33:8–11, engwebp
8About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.
9He said of his father, and of his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ He didn’t acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his own children; for they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.
10They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
11LORD, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”
- EZK 47:13–23, engwebp
13The Lord GOD says: “This shall be the border by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.
14You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers. This land will fall to you for inheritance.
15“This shall be the border of the land: “On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;
16Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.
17The border from the sea shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
18“The east side, between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side.
19“The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.
20“The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as opposite the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.
21“So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
22You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23In whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord GOD.
- EZK 48:23–29, engwebp
23“As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion.
24“By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.
25“By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.
26“By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.
27“By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.
28“By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea.
29“This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord GOD.
- NUM 20:2–13, engwebp
2There was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “We wish that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
4Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
5Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
6Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The LORD’s glory appeared to them.
7The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
11Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
12The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
- NUM 20:22–29, engwebp
22They traveled from Kadesh, and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
23The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24“Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
25Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
26and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron shall be gathered, and shall die there.”
27Moses did as the LORD commanded. They went up onto Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
29When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
- NUM 27:12–14, engwebp
12The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel.
13When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered;
14because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
- PSA 81:1–16, engwebp
1For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph. Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!
2Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp.
3Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
4For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5He appointed it in Joseph for a covenant, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know.
6“I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket.
7You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.
8“Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god.
10I am the LORD, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
12So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
- PSA 106:24–33, engwebp
24Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
25but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to the LORD’s voice.
26Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
28They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.
30Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.
31That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
32They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-24
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Unresolved interpretation: Two places called Meribah
- Exodus 17:1–7: at Rephidim, with no water to drink, the people quarrel with Moses; he strikes the rock in the sight of the elders, water comes out, and the place is called Massah and Meribah.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- EXO 17:1–7, engwebp
1All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, starting according to the LORD’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
3The people were thirsty for water there; so the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
4Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5The LORD said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”
- EXO 17:1–7, engwebp
- Numbers 20:1–13: while the people stay in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin they quarrel with Moses for lack of water; he strikes the rock twice, water comes out, and these are called the waters of Meribah. Numbers 20:24 says Moses and Aaron rebelled against the LORD’s word at these waters of Meribah.
Source evidence (3)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- NUM 20:1, engwebp
1The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.
- NUM 20:2–13, engwebp
2There was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “We wish that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
4Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
5Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
6Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The LORD’s glory appeared to them.
7The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
11Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
12The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
- NUM 20:22–29, engwebp
22They traveled from Kadesh, and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
23The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24“Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
25Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
26and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron shall be gathered, and shall die there.”
27Moses did as the LORD commanded. They went up onto Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
29When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
- NUM 20:1, engwebp
- Psalm 81:7 says, “I tested you at the waters of Meribah”; 95:8, “as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness”; 106:32–33, “They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes; because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips” (the Korean names Moses at 106:33, WEB “he”).
Source evidence (3)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- PSA 81:1–16, engwebp
1For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph. Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!
2Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp.
3Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
4For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5He appointed it in Joseph for a covenant, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know.
6“I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket.
7You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.
8“Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god.
10I am the LORD, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
12So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
- PSA 95:1–11, engwebp
1Oh come, let’s sing to the LORD. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
2Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s extol him with songs!
3For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The heights of the mountains are also his.
5The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land.
6Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before the LORD, our Maker,
7for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
8Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work.
10Forty long years I was grieved with that generation, and said, “They are a people who err in their heart. They have not known my ways.”
11Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They won’t enter into my rest.”
- PSA 106:24–33, engwebp
24Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
25but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to the LORD’s voice.
26Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
28They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.
30Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.
31That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
32They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
- PSA 81:1–16, engwebp
Exodus 17:1–7 and Numbers 20:1–13 share the name, the quarrel over water and the water from the rock, but set them in different places. Psalm 95:8 names Meribah with Massah, and 81:7 and 106:32 the waters of Meribah, without saying where. This collection records Rephidim and the waters of Meribah (Kadesh) separately, gives the Psalms’ Meribah and Massah to Rephidim and their waters of Meribah to the waters of Meribah (Kadesh) by their names, and does not decide whether these records point to the same place or the same event.
Unresolved interpretation: Massah and the waters of Meribah in the blessing of Levi
- Exodus 17:7 says the place at Rephidim where the children of Israel quarreled and tested the LORD was named Massah and Meribah. Deuteronomy 33:8 names the two together as well, saying of Levi, “whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.”
Source evidence (2)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- DEU 33:8–11, engwebp
8About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.
9He said of his father, and of his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ He didn’t acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his own children; for they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.
10They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
11LORD, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”
- EXO 17:1–7, engwebp
1All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, starting according to the LORD’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
3The people were thirsty for water there; so the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
4Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5The LORD said to Moses, “Walk on before the people, and take the elders of Israel with you, and take the rod in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”
- DEU 33:8–11, engwebp
- Numbers 20:13 calls the water where the children of Israel strove with the LORD the waters of Meribah, and Deuteronomy 32:51 names the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. Deuteronomy 33:8 uses the same name, the waters of Meribah.
Source evidence (3)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- DEU 32:48–52, engwebp
48The LORD spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
49“Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is across from Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession.
50Die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;
51because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
52For you shall see the land from a distance; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.”
- DEU 33:8–11, engwebp
8About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.
9He said of his father, and of his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ He didn’t acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his own children; for they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.
10They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
11LORD, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”
- NUM 20:2–13, engwebp
2There was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “We wish that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
4Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
5Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
6Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The LORD’s glory appeared to them.
7The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
11Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
12The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
- DEU 32:48–52, engwebp
Deuteronomy 33:8 names Massah and the waters of Meribah in one verse, but does not say whether those are the waters at Kadesh or the Meribah that Exodus 17:7 names with Massah. This collection cites the verse for Rephidim under the name Massah and for the waters of Meribah (Kadesh) under their own name, and does not decide which is meant.
Unresolved interpretation: Why Moses may not go over the Jordan
- Deuteronomy 1:37 says, “Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘You also shall not go in there’”; 3:26, “But the LORD was angry with me because of you”; and 4:21, “Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.”
Source evidence (3)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- DEU 1:34–40, engwebp
34The LORD heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying,
35“Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,
36except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed the LORD.”
37Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there.
38Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.
40But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
- DEU 3:26–28, engwebp
26But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and didn’t listen to me. The LORD said to me, “That is enough! Speak no more to me of this matter.
27Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan.
28But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”
- DEU 4:21–24, engwebp
21Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance;
22but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan, but you shall go over and possess that good land.
23Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
24For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
- DEU 1:34–40, engwebp
- Deuteronomy 32:51 has the LORD give Moses the reason: “because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.” Numbers 20:12 also has the LORD say to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Source evidence (2)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- DEU 32:48–52, engwebp
48The LORD spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
49“Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is across from Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession.
50Die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;
51because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
52For you shall see the land from a distance; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.”
- NUM 20:2–13, engwebp
2There was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “We wish that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
4Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
5Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
6Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The LORD’s glory appeared to them.
7The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
11Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
12The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
- DEU 32:48–52, engwebp
The words of Deuteronomy 1–4 give the people as the cause, while 32:51 and Numbers 20:12 give what happened at the waters of Meribah. This collection does not reconcile the two or decide between them.
Geographic sources & candidates
Matched to OpenBible.info’s “Meribah 1” by name and 8 shared verses. The coordinate of its leading identification, another name for Kadesh-barnea (confidence 1000 of 1000), is adopted as a sourced approximation: not verified here, and not the place of any particular event.
AI-assisted source review; human approval pending, 2026-09-29
- another name for Kadesh-barnea
OpenBible.info confidence 1000 of 1000 (current scholarship)
30.64833, 34.42222
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, “Meribah 1” (CC BY 4.0)
Original editorial notes; linked source texts retain their own rights. Candidate lists are not exhaustive.
All 1 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Narrated location (1) — Moses strikes the rock twice at the waters of Meribah
A relationship with an event rests on the passages the event cites: each event’s page has them.
Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
“The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.
“By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea.
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Waters of Meribah (Kadesh) (place-meribah-kadesh) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/place/meribah-kadesh Current wording: The place Numbers 20:13 calls the waters of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the LORD there; 20:24 says Moses and Aaron rebelled against his word there. This collection keeps it apart from the Meribah of Exodus 17. Numbers 27:14 gives what happened at these waters, in the strife of the congregation in the wilderness of Zin, as the reason Moses is to be gathered to his people, and names them the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. Cited evidence: DEU 32:48–52, engwebp / DEU 33:8–11, engwebp / EZK 47:13–23, engwebp / EZK 48:23–29, engwebp / NUM 20:2–13, engwebp / NUM 20:22–29, engwebp / NUM 27:12–14, engwebp / PSA 81:1–16, engwebp (and 1 more of 9) Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.