Exodus 17:11

Exo 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

Ver. 11. When Moses held up his hand.] The push of Moses’s prayers did more than the pikes of all Israel besides. Moses orat et vincit, cessat et vincitur, saith one. Great is the power of prayers. Henricus Anceps, the Emperor of Germany, slew and put to flight a huge army of the Hungarians, his soldiers all crying out with a loud voice, Kyrie eleison; Kyrie eleison! - i.e., Lord, have mercy upon us; Lord, have mercy upon us! This was done before the city of Mersburg. {a}

{a} Bucholc., Chronol.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So that we see how dangerous a thing it is to faint in prayer.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 11. When Moses held up his hand] We cannot understand this transaction in any literal way; for the lifting up or letting down the hands of Moses could not, humanly speaking, influence the battle. It is likely that he held up the rod of God in his hand, Ex 17:9, as an ensign to the people. We have already seen that in prayer the hands were generally lifted up and spread out, (See Clarke on Ex 9:29,) and therefore it is likely that by this act prayer and supplication are intended. The Jerusalem Targum says, "When Moses held up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands from prayer, the house of Amalek prevailed." We may therefore conclude, that by holding up the hands in this case these two things were intended:

1. That hereby a reference was made to God, as the source whence all help and protection must come, and that on him alone they must depend.

2. That prayer and supplication to God are essentially necessary to their prevalence over all their enemies.

It is indisputably true that, while the hands are stretched out, that is, while the soul exerts itself in prayer and supplication to God, we are sure to conquer our spiritual adversaries; but if our hands become heavy - if we restrain prayer before God, Amalek will prevail - every spiritual foe, every internal corruption, will gain ground. Several of the fathers consider Moses, with his stretched-out hands, as a figure of Christ on the cross, suffering for mankind, and getting a complete victory over sin and Satan.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) When Moses held up his hand . . . Israel prevailed, &c.—In order to teach the lesson of the value of intercessory prayer, God made the fortunes of the fight to vary according as Moses “held up his hand,” or allowed it to sink down. It is not probable that the Israelites were directly affected by the bodily movements of Moses, or indeed could discern them, but Moses, Aaron, and Hur were struck by the fact that the fluctuations in the battle coincided with the motions of Moses’ hands.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. held up, &c.] a gesture suggestive partly of strenuousness and energy, partly of appeal for help to God.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed,.... With his rod in it as a banner displayed, as some think, which inspired the Israelites with courage to fight, and they had the better of it; though Aben Ezra rejects that notion, observing, that if that had been the case, Aaron or Hur would have lifted it up, or fixed it in a high place on the mount, that it might have been seen standing; and therefore he thinks the sense of the ancients the most correct, that it was a prayer gesture. And among the Heathens, Moses was famous for the efficacy of his prayers; Numenius, the Pythagoric philosopher (y), says of him, that he was a man very powerful in prayer with God: and so all the Targums interpret it, and particularly the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase the words,"when Moses lift up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed, but when he restrained his hands from prayer, the house of Amalek prevailed,''as it follows:

when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed; so that victory seemed to go sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other, according as the hand of Moses, with the rod in it, was held up or let down; when it was held up, and Israel saw it, they fought valiantly, but when it was let down, and they could not see it, their hearts failed them, and they feared it portended ill to them, which caused them to give way to the enemy. The spiritual Israel of God are engaged in a warfare with spiritual enemies, some within, and some without; and sometimes they prevail over their enemies, and sometimes their enemies prevail over them for a while; and things go on very much as a man either keeps up or leaves off praying, which is signified by the lifting up of holy hands without wrath and doubting, Ti1 2:8 and which when rightly performed, under the influence of the divine Spirit in faith, in sincerity, and with fervency and constancy, has great power with God and Christ, and against Satan and every spiritual enemy.

(y) Apud Euseb. Praepar, Evangel. l. 9. c. 8. p. 411.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The act represents the efficacy of intercessory prayer - offered doubtless by Moses - a point of great moment to the Israelites at that time and to the Church in all ages.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And when Moses lifted up his hands. Here Moses was a figure of Christ on the cross, by whose power and mediation we overcome our spiritual enemies. (Challoner) --- Hands, forming the sign of the cross, as the fathers observe, in the posture of a suppliant. St. Jerome says, the people fasted also till the evening. (contra Jos. ii.) (Calmet) --- If heretics deride the priests of God, standing with their hands extended at the altar, let them reflect on Moses, and on Jesus Christ, who, lifting up his hands, blessed his disciples; and hence learn, that such ceremonies are not vain. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Moses held up his hand, with the rod of God in it. This gesture, though fervent prayer was doubtless joined with it, seems not to have been the gesture of praying, which is the lifting up of both hands, but of an ensign-bearer, or of one ready to smite his enemies. Howsoever this was only a sign whereby Moses strengthened his faith, and quickened his prayers, and heightened the courage of the soldiers below, and protested that he expected victory not from the skill and prowess of his army, but from the assistance of God.

When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed; God so dispensing his favour, that the honour of the day and victory might be wholly ascribed to the rod and power of God, not to Israel.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. The elevation of Moses" hand, with the rod held in it, was an appeal to God for aid, and must be supposed to have been accompanied by fervent prayer to God, that he would help his people and give them victory over their enemies. So long as the hand was upraised, the Israelites prevailed; not because they saw it, and took it as directing them to continue the fight (Kalisch), but because God gave them strength, and vigour and courage, while Moses interceded, and left them to themselves when the intercession ceased, It may be said, that Moses might have continued to pray, though his hands were weary; but only those who have tried, know how difficult a thing it is to pray with any intensity for a continuance. Probably Moses" spiritual and physical powers collapsed together; and when he dropped his hand through physical fatigue, he rested also from his mental effort. To impress upon Israel the importance of intercessory prayer, God made success and failure alternate with its continuance and discontinuance, thus teaching his people a lesson of inestimable value.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when Moses held vp his hand in prayer (so the Chaldee explains it) Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand from prayer, Amalek prevailed - To convince Israel that the hand of Moses (with whom they had just now been chiding) contributed more to their safety than their own hands; the success rises and falls, as Moses lifts up or lets down his hand. The church's cause is ordinarily more or less successful, according as the church's friends are more or less fervent in prayer.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Israel was winning ... Amalek would begin to win

The words "Israel" and "Amalek" represent the fighters from those groups. AT: "the Israelite fighters were winning ... the Amalekite fighters would begin to win" (See: Synecdoche)

hands became heavy

The author writes of Moses' arms becoming tired as if his hands became heavy. AT: "arms became tired" (See: Metonymy)

with the sword

The sword represents battle. AT: "in battle" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

rest

Aaron

sword

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

כאשר ירים משה ידו WHEN MOSES LIFTED UP HIS HAND — But could Moses’ hands win the battle etc.? See the whole passage as it is given in the Treatise Rosh Hashanah 29a.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND WHEN HE LET DOWN HIS HAND, AMALEK PREVAILED. By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, when Moses was compelled to lower his hands because of weariness, he saw that Amalek prevailed. He then commanded Aaron and Hur to support them, and thus he would not lower them again. Our Rabbis have said in the Midrash: “Did Moses cause Amalek to prevail over Israel? It was merely because a person is forbidden to tarry three hours with his hands spread heavenward.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.