Psalm 78:15-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
15 He split rocks in the desert,
gave water to drink, abundant as the deeps of the sea.(A)
16 He made streams flow from crags,
caused rivers of water to flow down.
Wisdom 11:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 When they thirsted, they called upon you,
and water was given them from the sheer rock,
a quenching of their thirst from the hard stone.
1 Corinthians 10:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,[a] and the rock was the Christ.(A)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 10:4 A spiritual rock that followed them: the Torah speaks only about a rock from which water issued, but rabbinic legend amplified this into a spring that followed the Israelites throughout their migration. Paul uses this legend as a literary type: he makes the rock itself accompany the Israelites, and he gives it a spiritual sense. The rock was the Christ: in the Old Testament, Yahweh is the Rock of his people (cf. Dt 32, Moses’ song to Yahweh the Rock). Paul now applies this image to the Christ, the source of the living water, the true Rock that accompanied Israel, guiding their experiences in the desert.
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