Exodus 17:14

וַ֠יִּסְע֠וּ כׇּל־עֲדַ֨ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל מִמִּדְבַּר־סִ֛ין לְמַסְעֵיהֶ֖ם עַל־פִּ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙ בִּרְפִידִ֔ים וְאֵ֥ין מַ֖יִם לִשְׁתֹּ֥ת הָעָֽם׃ From the wilderness of Sin the whole Israelite community continued by stages as the LORD would command. They encamped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.

וַיָּ֤רֶב הָעָם֙ עִם־מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ תְּנוּ־לָ֥נוּ מַ֖יִם וְנִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה מַה־תְּרִיבוּן֙ עִמָּדִ֔י מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃ The people quarreled with Moses. “Give us water to drink,” they said; and Moses replied to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you try the LORD?”

וַיִּצְמָ֨א שָׁ֤ם הָעָם֙ לַמַּ֔יִם וַיָּ֥לֶן הָעָ֖ם עַל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לָ֤מָּה זֶּה֙ הֶעֱלִיתָ֣נוּ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם לְהָמִ֥ית אֹתִ֛י וְאֶת־בָּנַ֥י וְאֶת־מִקְנַ֖י בַּצָּמָֽא׃ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”

וַיִּצְעַ֤ק מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֣ה לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה ע֥וֹד מְעַ֖ט וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃ Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? Before long they will be stoning me!”

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה עֲבֹר֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם וְקַ֥ח אִתְּךָ֖ מִזִּקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמַטְּךָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִכִּ֤יתָ בּוֹ֙ אֶת־הַיְאֹ֔ר קַ֥ח בְּיָדְךָ֖ וְהָלָֽכְתָּ׃ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and set out.

הִנְנִ֣י עֹמֵד֩ לְפָנֶ֨יךָ שָּׁ֥ם ׀ עַֽל־הַצּוּר֮ בְּחֹרֵב֒ וְהִכִּ֣יתָ בַצּ֗וּר וְיָצְא֥וּ מִמֶּ֛נּוּ מַ֖יִם וְשָׁתָ֣ה הָעָ֑ם וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֵּן֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה לְעֵינֵ֖י זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

וַיִּקְרָא֙ שֵׁ֣ם הַמָּק֔וֹם מַסָּ֖ה וּמְרִיבָ֑ה עַל־רִ֣יב ׀ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְעַ֨ל נַסֹּתָ֤ם אֶת־יְהֹוָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הֲיֵ֧שׁ יְהֹוָ֛ה בְּקִרְבֵּ֖נוּ אִם־אָֽיִן׃ {פ}
The place was named Massah^aI.e., “Trial.” and Meribah,^bI.e., “Quarrel.” because the Israelites quarreled and because they tried the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD present among us or not?”

וַיָּבֹ֖א עֲמָלֵ֑ק וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בִּרְפִידִֽם׃ Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֤ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ בְּחַר־לָ֣נוּ אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְצֵ֖א הִלָּחֵ֣ם בַּעֲמָלֵ֑ק מָחָ֗ר אָנֹכִ֤י נִצָּב֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ הַגִּבְעָ֔ה וּמַטֵּ֥ה הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּיָדִֽי׃ Moses said to Joshua, “Pick some men for us, and go out and do battle with Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill, with the rod of God in my hand.”

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר אָֽמַר־לוֹ֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם בַּעֲמָלֵ֑ק וּמֹשֶׁה֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן וְח֔וּר עָל֖וּ רֹ֥אשׁ הַגִּבְעָֽה׃ Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

וְהָיָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרִ֥ים מֹשֶׁ֛ה יָד֖וֹ וְגָבַ֣ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְכַאֲשֶׁ֥ר יָנִ֛יחַ יָד֖וֹ וְגָבַ֥ר עֲמָלֵֽק׃ Then, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

וִידֵ֤י מֹשֶׁה֙ כְּבֵדִ֔ים וַיִּקְחוּ־אֶ֛בֶן וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ תַחְתָּ֖יו וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב עָלֶ֑יהָ וְאַהֲרֹ֨ן וְח֜וּר תָּֽמְכ֣וּ בְיָדָ֗יו מִזֶּ֤ה אֶחָד֙ וּמִזֶּ֣ה אֶחָ֔ד וַיְהִ֥י יָדָ֛יו אֱמוּנָ֖ה עַד־בֹּ֥א הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ But Moses’ hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur, one on each side, supported his hands; thus his hands remained steady until the sun set.

וַיַּחֲלֹ֧שׁ יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ אֶת־עֲמָלֵ֥ק וְאֶת־עַמּ֖וֹ לְפִי־חָֽרֶב׃ {פ}
And Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek^cLit. “Amalek and his people.” with the sword.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה כְּתֹ֨ב זֹ֤את זִכָּרוֹן֙ בַּסֵּ֔פֶר וְשִׂ֖ים בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ כִּֽי־מָחֹ֤ה אֶמְחֶה֙ אֶת־זֵ֣כֶר עֲמָלֵ֔ק מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Inscribe this in a document as a reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven!”

וַיִּ֥בֶן מֹשֶׁ֖ה מִזְבֵּ֑חַ וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ נִסִּֽי׃ And Moses built an altar and named it Adonai-nissi.^dI.e., “The Lord is my banner.”

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־יָד֙ עַל־כֵּ֣ס יָ֔הּ^*(בכתר ארם צובה היה כתוב כֵּ֣סְיָ֔הּ בתיבה אחת) מִלְחָמָ֥ה לַיהֹוָ֖ה בַּֽעֲמָלֵ֑ק מִדֹּ֖ר דֹּֽר׃ {פ}
He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne^eMeaning of Heb. kes uncertain. of the LORD!’ The LORD will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”

Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 18:1:1

Chapter 18:1

(Exodus 18:1) "And Yithro heard": What did he hear that caused him to come (and join Israel)? The war with Amalek, which is juxtaposed with this section. These are the words of R. Yehoshua. He heard of the (prospective) giving of the Torah and he came. For when the Torah was to be given to Israel, all the kings of the earth shook in their palaces, viz. (Psalms 29:9) "and (each king) in his palace accorded glory" (to the L rd). At that time, all the kings of the nations convened with the wicked Bilam and said to him: Is it possible that He is going to do to us as He did to the generation of the flood? He replied: Fools that you are! The Holy One Blessed be He already swore to Noach that he would not bring (another) flood to the world, viz. (Isaiah 54:9) "For this to Me is like the waters of Noach, of which I swore that the waters of Noach would no more pass over the earth." They: Perhaps he will not bring a flood of water, but He will bring a flood of fire? Bilam: He will bring neither a flood of fire nor a flood of water, but the Holy One Blessed be He is giving Torah to His people and to His loved ones, viz. (Psalms, Ibid. 10) "the L rd will give strength ("oz" = Torah) to His people." When all of them heard this from his mouth, they all responded (Ibid.) "May the L rd bless His people with peace," and they turned and went, each to his place. R. Eliezer says: Yithro heard the splitting of the sea and came (to join Israel). For the splitting of the sea was heard from one end of the world to the other, viz. (Joshua 5:1) "And it was, when all the kings of the Emori heard, etc." And thus did Rachav the harlot say to the messengers of Joshua (Ibid. 2:10-11) "For we heard how the L rd dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you went out of Egypt … and when we heard, our hearts melted, and no spirit was left in a man before you." They said: Rachav the harlot was ten years old when Israel left Egypt, and all forty years that Israel was in the desert, she plied her trade. At the end of fifty years, she converted, saying: L rd of the universe, I have sinned in three areas: niddah, challah, and candle lighting. Forgive me by virtue of three things: the rope, the window, and the wall, viz. (Ibid. 15) "And she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived within the wall."...

"And Yithro heard": Yithro had seven names: Yether, Yithro, Chovav, Reuel, Chever, Putiel, Keni. Yether — he added (yiter) a section in the Torah; Yithro — he was "abundant" (yiter) in good deeds. Chovav — he was beloved (chovev) by the L rd. Reuel — he was a "friend" (rea) to the L rd. Chever — he was a "companion" (chaver) to the L rd. Putiel — he "weaned himself" (niftar) from idolatry. Keni — he was zealous (kinei) for Heaven and he acquired (kanah) Torah. Variantly: "And Yithro heard": In the beginning, he was called "Yether," viz. (Exodus 4:18) "And Moses went and he returned to Yether, his father-in-law," and when he "added" good deeds (to himself), a letter (vav) was added to his name. And thus do you find with Avraham. In the beginning he was called "Avram," and when he "added" good deeds, a letter (heh) was added to his name and he was called "Avraham." And thus do you find with Sarah. In the beginning she was called "Sarai," and when she "added" good deeds, a "great" letter (heh) was added to her name and she was called "Sarah." And thus do you find with Yehoshua, viz. (Numbers 13:16) "And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Yehoshua." And there are others whose name was diminished, e.g., Efron. In the beginning he was called "Efron," but when he took the money from Abraham, a letter was dropped from his name, viz. (Genesis 23:16) "and Abraham hearkened to Efron," "and Abraham gave the money to Efron." And thus do you find with Yonadav. In the beginning he was called "Yehonadav," but after "that deed" a letter was dropped from his name and he was called "Yonadav," as it is written (II Chronicles 20:37) "When you befriended Achazyahu, etc." — whence the sages ruled: Let one not befriend an evildoer, even to draw him close to Torah.

(Exodus 18:1) "the Cohein of Midian": R. Yehoshua says: He was a priest, as in (Judges 18:30) "And Jonathan the son of Gershom the son of Menasheh — he and his sons — were Cohanim (for idolatry) to the tribe of Dan until the day the land was exiled." R. Elazar Hamodai says: He (Yithro) was an officer, as in (II Samuel 8:18) "And the sons of David were Cohanim."

"the father-in-law of Moses": In the beginning, Moses prided himself in his father-in-law, viz. (Exodus 4:18) "And Moses went and he returned to Yether, his father-in-law." Now, his father-in-law prided himself in him. When asked "Who are you?" he replied "I am Moses' father-in-law."

"all that G d had done with Moses and with Israel, His people": Moses is equated with Israel, and Israel with Moses; the master, with the disciple, and the disciple with the master. "that the L rd had taken Israel out of Egypt": We are hereby apprised that the exodus from Egypt is over and against all the miracles and acts of might that the Holy One Blessed be He wrought for Israel.