THE ROCK THAT FOLLOWED
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
1/4/2022
Paul’s education in Judaism allowed him to approach the Word from a unique perspective. Trained up in the rabbinic methodology of understanding and assessing Scripture, he was able to see beyond the plain meaning of the text and view it with spiritual eyes. Although the Word can be understood on one level in its most straightforward sense, the text is literally Divine information relayed to mankind. This factor means we should be open to understanding it in as many ways as possible that uphold the sanctity and truth of the text. It is an inspired fractal of faith in written form, where eternal iterations of information await in each sentence and word.
The hardcore education Paul received as a Pharisee and student under the famous Gamaliel ensured that he would be primed to perceive the nuances and layers of meaning inherent in the Word. This allowed for the gleaning of insights from the inspired text that might otherwise be easily missed. Rather than exegeting merely from a surface reading, such a rabbinic background in learning provided the apostle with a special perception of the underlying Divine intent behind even the most mundane of details in the Word.
A perfect example of this is found in his words as preserved in 1st Corinthians 10:1-4.
A perfect example of this is found in his words as preserved in 1st Corinthians 10:1-4.
1 Yet I desire that you know, my brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all crossed over in the sea,
2 and all by the hand of Mushe were immersed in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all consumed the one food of the Spirit, 4 and all drank of the one drink of the Spirit, for they drank from the stone of the Spirit that was coming with them—yet, that stone, it was the Messiah. |
In this passage, Paul makes connections to events surrounding the Exodus from Egypt: the cloud that covered them, the sea that parted, the manna from heaven, and the rock that gave water. These events under the leadership of Moses are paralleled with spiritual concepts of being under Divine authority, immersion for cleansing, and supernatural provision.
At the end, he goes so far as to state a surprising declaration: the stone from which the people were watered was a symbolic portrait of the Messiah Yeshua! Rather than view the already miraculous event of bringing forth water from stone, Paul viewed the incident as holding an even more fantastic truth that pointed to the Messiah! This detail is important, for it hints to the nature of his former education and also to how he was teaching those under his spiritual authority who had come to faith in Israel’s Maker through the witness and merit of Yeshua.
At the end, he goes so far as to state a surprising declaration: the stone from which the people were watered was a symbolic portrait of the Messiah Yeshua! Rather than view the already miraculous event of bringing forth water from stone, Paul viewed the incident as holding an even more fantastic truth that pointed to the Messiah! This detail is important, for it hints to the nature of his former education and also to how he was teaching those under his spiritual authority who had come to faith in Israel’s Maker through the witness and merit of Yeshua.
The event he references is found in two different passages in the Torah. Both will be addressed in this study in an effort to show how significant it is to approach the text of Scripture with eyes ready to see wonders.
The first passage is in Exodus 17:6.
The first passage is in Exodus 17:6.
The Holy One would signal to Moses by focusing His Presence over the chosen stone at Horeb that would provide the life-giving water needed by the people once struck by the staff.
Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10 are a reference to this rock.
Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10 are a reference to this rock.
Struck by Moses, it offered water enough to quench the thirst of all Israel. This connection to the Messiah may also have stemmed from the testimony of Yeshua about Himself. That is because in John 7:37-38, at the close of the Biblical festival of Sukkot / Tabernacles, Yeshua made an announcement that linked Himself to the rock in the wilderness that brought forth water.
Yeshua embodied the rock that was struck, offering life-giving spiritual water to those in need. These connections are important, as they show that digging deeper into the meaning of the Scriptural text and applying the truths preserved there in a more personal way than merely reading them as history is a valid method of attempting to understand the worth of the Word.
The accounts are meant to be understood with spiritual eyes. When the Word is gazed at through a lens recognizing its Divine status, then the information embedded in the text bubbles to the surface with meaning beyond what would otherwise be gleaned. Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10:4 exemplify that unique Jewish approach to the text of Scripture, as seen by returning to that verse and noting a detail recorded in it.
The accounts are meant to be understood with spiritual eyes. When the Word is gazed at through a lens recognizing its Divine status, then the information embedded in the text bubbles to the surface with meaning beyond what would otherwise be gleaned. Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10:4 exemplify that unique Jewish approach to the text of Scripture, as seen by returning to that verse and noting a detail recorded in it.
… and all drank of the one drink of the Spirit, for they drank from the stone of the Spirit that was coming with them—yet, that stone, it was the Messiah.
Paul makes the strange claim that the rock which gave the people water “was coming with them.” This is admittedly an odd statement. What is this supposed to mean?
The rock was portable? Or that the rock moved?
The Scriptural text does not chronicle anything about the nature of the stone, so one is left to wonder precisely what this detail Paul mentions in passing really signifies.
The answer is found by returning to the source material from which Paul himself was educated: Jewish traditional teachings on the Word that were an everyday part of Paul’s learning. By looking at those texts, the meaning of what Paul so bizarrely asserted about the rock moving will become clearer. The ancient text of Bemidbar Rabbah 1:2 contains some explanatory details that help to make sense of Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10:4.
The answer is found by returning to the source material from which Paul himself was educated: Jewish traditional teachings on the Word that were an everyday part of Paul’s learning. By looking at those texts, the meaning of what Paul so bizarrely asserted about the rock moving will become clearer. The ancient text of Bemidbar Rabbah 1:2 contains some explanatory details that help to make sense of Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 10:4.
The rock is described as a beehive (full of holes) and is said to have miraculously moved on its own—as if it were a living stone, keeping up with the people of Israel as they traveled through the wilderness and providing water for their needs. This is an amazing detail that shows us Paul was drawing from his former learning about the nuances of how these events really happened and not relying solely on Scripture itself. Although not a detail present in the text of the Torah, the idea of the rock following the people is one that Paul obviously recalled from his rabbinic education and shared briefly with the new Messianic believers in Corinth as being a symbol for the Messiah.
It is likely that these insights concerning the tradition of a miraculous stone that was moving by itself were also picked up by Peter in his letter, where he referred to Yeshua using a similar description in 1st Peter 2:4.
Yeshua being called a “living stone” could potentially be a reference to the idea that the stone which gave water to the people was moving on its own—which Paul asserts was a symbol for the Messiah.
A second mention of this interesting detail about the rock is found in a quote from the text of Tosefta Sukkah 3:3 and contains also another aspect of the matter worth considering.
A second mention of this interesting detail about the rock is found in a quote from the text of Tosefta Sukkah 3:3 and contains also another aspect of the matter worth considering.
This mention of the rock goes further than the details of the previous passage quoted and says that it was also a “well.” A rock that could give water upon command would not be altogether unlike a well, so the description makes sense. Additionally, this development of the rabbinic Jewish account of the rock that was struck and miraculously moved along with the people—which Paul stated was a symbol for the Messiah, further connects to Yeshua if we recall what He said of Himself to the Samaritan woman in John 4:10 while He sat waiting at a well.
Yeshua is the personification of that rock—that miracle well which gave Israel the water it required in the desert.
It probably should come as no surprise to see that Paul returns to that notion back in 1st Corinthians 10:16, just a few verses later, with these words.
At first reading this may not seem to possess any link to the topic at hand. However, with some explanation, it will be clear.
This is referring to the elements of the Passover seder, of course. In that context is found the gruesome death of Yeshua: where His flesh and blood were so viciously and mercilessly abused. The link existing here has its origin in the Torah, and its traditional explanation from Judaism will help us to further appreciate the connections Paul was making in 1st Corinthians 10.
This is referring to the elements of the Passover seder, of course. In that context is found the gruesome death of Yeshua: where His flesh and blood were so viciously and mercilessly abused. The link existing here has its origin in the Torah, and its traditional explanation from Judaism will help us to further appreciate the connections Paul was making in 1st Corinthians 10.
The connection of Messiah to the rock / well and to the bread and blood begins to take shape in a unique link to the second time that Moses hit the rock in the wilderness, recorded in Numbers 20:7-11.
7 And YHWH spoke to Mosheh, saying,
8 “You must take the staff and assemble the congregation—you and Aharon your brother—and speak to the rock before their eyes. And it shall give its water and shall bring forth for them water from the rock and give the congregation and the beasts to drink.” 9 And Mosheh took the staff from before YHWH, as He commanded him. |
10 And Mosheh and Aharon assembled the assembly before the rock, and he said to them, “You must hear now, you rebels! Must we bring forth from this rock water for you?”
11 And Mosheh raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and the beasts drank.
11 And Mosheh raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and the beasts drank.
Angered at the ungrateful attitude of the people, Moses disobeyed the direct command of the Holy One and brought forth water from the rock in his own way. Instead of speaking to the stone, he angrily struck it with the staff like he had done during the original incident mentioned back in Exodus 17. This time, however, he had to hit the rock twice before the water poured forth.
The reason for the detail of hitting it twice is not provided in the preserved text of Scripture. Rather, that unexpected detail is found in the ancient Aramaic translation of Targum Pseudo-Yonatan to Numbers 20:9-11.
In an astounding explanation, the translator provides the missing detail for why Moses struck the rock twice: the first time brought forth a spurting of unwanted blood from the stone, and the desired water only poured forth afterwards!
How did the translator arrive at the decision that he should include this explanation in his rendering? The answer is found in the wording of the Hebrew text of Psalm 78:20.
The parallels are prominent to the remembrance of the death of Yeshua: the notion of “bread” and “flesh” together is particularly striking. The answer to how the translator understood the first strike brought forth only blood, however, is in the wording of the striking of the stone in this verse, which tells us the waters “gushed” from the rock. The Hebrew term used here is VAYAZUVU, and while it essentially means “and gushed,” the word is also found used several times in the Torah to refer to a very specific type of “gushing.”
The text of Shemot Rabbah 3:13 addresses the initial striking of the stone and the gushing that occurred.
The text of Shemot Rabbah 3:13 addresses the initial striking of the stone and the gushing that occurred.
The original connection of VAYAZUVU to the matter of “gushing” is found in Leviticus 15:20, where it is presented in the context of a woman experiencing a flow of blood. This is obviously an odd and unexpected explanation, but it actually makes perfect sense if assessed in the context of the rock being a symbol for the Messiah.
The culmination of all these links is found at the crucifixion of Yeshua—in a detail recorded about His death, in John 19:33-35.
33 And when they came unto Yeshua, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his shin-bones.
34 Instead, one from the soldiers struck at his side with the spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. 35 And he who saw has testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth, that you also should believe. |
In this grim account, the soldier pierces the corpse of Yeshua, and first blood comes forth--then water! The parallel to the rock that brought water to the people is huge! Yeshua—the “living stone”—was struck and poured forth the same fluids in the order as the stone that followed Israel through the wilderness poured when struck twice by Moses.
As Jewish tradition has asserted, during the second incident the rock was struck first in direct disobedience to the command of the Most High. His choice drew forth blood, and only by Moses hitting it again did it produce the water everyone wanted. Yeshua’s purpose was similar: to give people the water of life—the vital source for spiritual sustenance. He offered it freely first to so many, and only on the cross at His death do we see that it ultimately cost Him everything to give what He had to the people of Israel.
In these details it shows that the insights perceivable in the Word and through its traditional Jewish interpretation can be significant to understanding why other events occurred, as well.
In these details it shows that the insights perceivable in the Word and through its traditional Jewish interpretation can be significant to understanding why other events occurred, as well.
The words of Paul in 1st Corinthians 10 are thus an excellent example of someone trained in the ancient traditions of Judaism who was able to perceive in them the prophetic truths that would one day be realized in the atoning ministry of the Messiah. Paul’s exegetical insights allowed him to discover the Savior of Israel in a passage that one would otherwise not so readily apply as relating to Him. When one is willing to gaze deeper into the well of the Word, life giving water will surely bubble up to quench all our spiritual thirsts.
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.