Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank.
World English Bible
Numbers 20:11
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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WEB World English Bible Public Domain ✓ - Modern English
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
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Striking a rock with a stick can produce a stream of water.
Geology · Numbers 20:11
The scientific record: Water emerges from rock through aquifer pressure and spring formation, not through mechanical impact on demand. (USGS)
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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What angered God so much that he didn't allow Moses to enter the promised land?
Numbers 20:7-12 says YHWH barred Moses and Aaron from the promised land because Moses struck the rock at Meribah twice instead of speaking to it as commanded — failing to sanctify YHWH before the people. But Deuteronomy 3:26-27 and 4:21 have Moses tell Israel YHWH was angry with him "for your sakes" — that is, because of the people's sin, not Moses'.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
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The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Numbers 20:11 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/numbers/20/11?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).