And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
7. And he called the name of the place. The verb here might be taken indefinitely, as if it were said, that this name was given to the place; but it is more probable that Moses, at God’s command, so called the place, in order that the Israelites might be more ready to acknowledge their crime, when thus it was marked with double infamy.
We may walk in the way of duty and still meet troubles; God brings us into straits to test our faith and be glorified in our relief. Their violent thirst made them outrageous, and they demanded water from Moses as a debt, forgetting that former favors ought to humble the unbelieving rather than embolden them to insist on more.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 17:1-7
And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah,.... The former signifies "temptation", and the latter "contention": the reason of which names being given by Moses, or whoever was the name of the place, follows: "because of the chiding of the children of Israel"; that was the reason why it was called by the last name, Meribah, because here, the Israelites chid and...