Exodus 17:7 - Exposition

He called the name of the place Massah . Massah is from the root nasah , "to try," or "tempt," and means "trial" or "temptation." Meribah is from rub , "to chide, quarrel," and means "contention, chiding, strife." Moses gave the same name to the place near Kadesh, where water was once more brought out of the rock, near the end of the wanderings. (See Numbers 20:13 ; Deuteronomy 32:51 ; Psalms 106:32 .)