Thus far, we have covered much of the background for today’s discussion of Exodus 15:22-25, the verses about “Marah,” which we are told means bitterness. Especially recall the importance of single letters as we go through Exodus 15:22-25 and related passages. Here you will hopefully see several strong witnesses about being very attentive to “every letter,” every small detail. First, the passage as shown in the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New King James Version (NKJV). I have put the heading that the translations include in parentheses, even though they are not in the original. There are minimal differences in these two versions.
⦁ Exodus 15:22-25 (ESV – Bitter Water Made Sweet)
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them…
⦁ Exodus 15:22-25 (NKJV – Bitter Waters Made Sweet)
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them…
- To follow is the more literal translation of Exodus 15:22-25 with several different cognate permutation groups. Please study them closely to get a flavor for the message here.
Two findings which may be of significance are in verse 25. You will notice that both the statute and rule/ordinance for and the testing in our English translations have plural objects, “them,” but literally the Hebrew says the singular “him.” What this means is that it is unclear whether Torah is switching back and forth between singular and plural (plural “we drink” in v.24) for the collective noun “people,” or this teaching and testing were individualized for Moses, not for the people. Translators may be attempting to clear up the conundrum for readers, BUT perhaps Torah wants us to consider both possibilities. Remember that “multiple witnesses” is a key tenet in Scripture and life. One way to encourage getting other witnesses is to have deliberate ambiguity. We are gently moved to seek another viewpoint. (Hmmm, sounds like the Log and the Speck.) So, the next logical step is to think of other times that might reflect on this idea of individualized testing/teaching for Moses and investigate them further. There are definitely clues. Keep the idea of individualized testing in your mind through this entry and (YHWH willing) the next.
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One potential connection to explore for clarification is the section where YHWH gets frustrated/angry at Moses and Aaron for not respecting him (YHWH), in:
⦁ Numbers 20:10-13 (ESV – Moses Strikes the Rock)
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.
At another time we will explore some other connections with Moses to see if we can find a potential answer to the conundrum we pointed out above.
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- Another really important occurrence of “believing every letter” relates to what is glossed over by the two English translations in Exodus 15:23. It is so important, in fact, that Luke apparently shares with us one of the incidents of Yeshua’s/Jesus’s life, to re-iterate the point. See in the first occurrence of Marah in verse 23, it’s not truly Marah מרה, but Martah/Martha מרתה. See that there is an opportunity in this Luke passage to see that “rebelliousness” can be reflected as bitterness, but can also be reflected as “the good portion.” Opposition/rebelliousness, as reflected in the life of Yeshua/Jesus, can be an eye-opener for us, because we get so wrapped up in our everyday perspective that we don’t see the importance of stopping to reflect on what is happening.
⦁ Luke 10:38-42 (ESV – Martha and Mary)
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
- I was recently reading a Jewish article on Pikuach Nephesh פיקוח נפש, which is one of the major concepts in Jewish life. It means, more literally “respecting soul,” but most often translated as “protecting life.” We can share much about the concept another time, and where it came from, but I’d just like to focus on one point today, the Hebrew root פקח, whence comes פיקוח. The root (EDBH p.205) means opening wide or seeing clearly. It is another way of telling us to “be mindful.” And if you look at one sister, Martha, she is bitter/rebellious at least partly because Mary isn’t helping with the tasks at hand. But Mary is being “rebellious” by challenging all the “busy-ness” and focusing on the bigger picture, the Pikuach Nephesh פיקוח נפש, the good portion. To contemplate YHWH, the bigger picture behind all of life, is both rebellious against the status quo of the world and is a reflection on the YHWH perspective of the Tree, what IS “good” and what IS “evil?” As Yeshua/Jesus states, the rebelliousness of Mary is the “good portion.”
I commend to you the following book, whether you are woman or man:
- Stepping back another moment to our statement about the importance of each letter, I point out the following statement by Yeshua/Jesus. There is controversy among “experts” about what exactly are the “jot and tittle.” There are different markings with the original Hebrew of TaNaKh. Since the statement predates the Masoretic markings, we know he is not referring to those markings. Whatever the specific details, the point is clear, that not even the most minute detail in the Hebrew Scriptures will pass. And we return to Discussion section 01. Leave Scripture Unchanged. Leaving Scripture Unchanged is a clear thrust of the LogAndSpeck website.
⦁ Matthew 5:17-18
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, til heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Torah til all is fulfilled.
There is yet more to come, YHWH willing.
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com, April 2026. Please cite if you use this material.