Hebrew word · H7508

רְפִידִים

birfidim

Rephidim

A place name for a wilderness stop between the Wilderness of Sin and the Wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 17:1; 19:2; Numbers 33:14–15). The form looks plural. It may come from a root meaning 'to spread out, support', but that is uncertain.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Rephidim = "rests" or "stays" or "resting places"

a station of Israel in the wilderness between Egypt and Sinai

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 17:8

Range of meaning

A place name for a wilderness stop between the Wilderness of Sin and the Wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 17:1; 19:2; Numbers 33:14–15). The form looks plural. It may come from a root meaning 'to spread out, support', but that is uncertain.

Against the English

All versions simply transliterate it ('Rephidim').

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 33:14–15 records it in the list of stops: 'they camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.' Early Christian pilgrim tradition placed it at the Feiran oasis (Pharan) in southern Sinai. Others suggest Wadi Refayid. The site is unknown and depends on where Mount Sinai is placed. The Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 106a) plays on the name as 'they slackened (rafu) their hands' in Torah. That is a teaching wordplay, not an etymology.

Where it appears

Exodus · 3

  1. Exodus 17:1 בִּרְפִידִ֔ים at Rephidim

    Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

  2. Exodus 17:8 בִּרְפִידִֽם׃ at Rephidim

    After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

    Here: The campsite named in 17:1, where there had been no water until the rock was struck. The battle takes place at the same spot as the water miracle and the people's challenge to God, before they move on to Sinai (19:2).

  3. Exodus 19:2 מֵרְפִידִ֗ים from Rephidim

    After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 33:14 בִּרְפִידִ֔ם at Rephidim

    They set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

  2. Numbers 33:15 מֵרְפִידִ֑ם from Rephidim

    They set out from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.