{"id":41138,"date":"2026-01-03T07:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=41138"},"modified":"2026-01-05T08:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:50:40","slug":"water-from-a-walking-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/new-testament\/water-from-a-walking-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Water from a Walking Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026 For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u20141 Corinthians 10:4<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"walking-rock\"<\/a>

A WALKING ROCK IN THE DESERT. A walking rock, sailing stone<\/a>, moving rock or sliding rock are all names for a rock that moves along a smooth valley floor without the assistance of humans or animals. What does Paul mean in the Bible when he talks about the \u201cspiritual rock that followed\u201d the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness? Is he talking about a walking rock? No\u2014the natural phenomenon of a walking rock is very different than the miraculous water-giving rock mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Photo: Lgcharlot\u2019s is licensed under CC-by-SA-4.0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

What does Paul<\/a> mean in the Bible when he says that the Israelites drank \u201cfrom the spiritual rock that followed them\u201d during their wanderings in the wilderness<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Paul makes this claim\u2014in 1 Corinthians 10:4\u2014while recounting how the Israelites<\/a> were sustained in the wilderness after their dramatic Exodus from Egypt<\/a> before they entered the Promised Land. They \u201call ate the same spiritual food\u201d and \u201cdrank the same spiritual drink\u201d (1 Corinthians 10:3\u20134).<\/p>\n

Those familiar with the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) might stop and wonder: What does Paul mean? In the Bible, it says that the Israelites miraculously received water from a rock two times (Exodus 17:1\u20137 and Numbers 20:1\u201314). Both times Moses hit the rock, which then produced water, but the text never claims that the Israelites were followed by a water-giving rock. Therefore, what does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 10:4?<\/p>\n

John Byron examines this passage in his Biblical Views column \u201cPaul, Jesus and the Rolling Stone\u201d<\/a><\/strong> in the September\/October 2015 issue of BAR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Byron notes that, interestingly, Paul is not the only person to suggest that the Israelites were followed by a water source during their wilderness wanderings. A first-century C.E. source called Pseudo-Philo\u2019s Biblical Antiquities<\/em> makes a similar claim: \u201cBut as for his own people, he led them forth into the wilderness: Forty years did he rain bread from heaven for them, and he brought them quails from the sea, and a well of water following them\u201d (10.7).<\/p>\n

\"sanzio-moses\"<\/a>

MOSES HIT THE ROCK, and water gushed forth\u2014as depicted in this fresco by Raphael Sanzio. Did a water-giving rock follow the Israelites through the wilderness? If not, what does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 10:4?<\/p><\/div>\n

Pseudo-Philo claims that a well of water followed the Israelites through the wilderness, whereas in 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul says that it was a rock that followed them. How did these two ancient interpreters come to their conclusions?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they seem to have concluded,\u201d Byron explains, \u201cis that since Moses named both the rock at Rephidim (Exodus 17:7) and the one at Kadesh (Numbers 20:13) \u2018Meribah,\u2019 the logical conclusion was that both were one and the same rock and that it, therefore, must have accompanied Israel on their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 10:4 reflects a common ancient interpretation\u2014that the Israelites were followed by a water source during their wilderness wanderings, which is demonstrated by Paul\u2019s casual reference and supported by Pseudo-Philo.<\/p>\n

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FREE ebook: Paul: Jewish Law and Early Christianity<\/strong>. Paul\u2019s dual roles as a Christian missionary and a Pharisee.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t