“And Moses raised his hand” in Numbers 20,11 The most discussed issue of Num 20,1-13 has been the sin of Moses, which remains an enigma for biblical exegetes. Lim has conveniently summarised the sin of Moses under five categories: speech of Moses, misuse of Aaron’s staff, surrendering leadership responsibilities, speech during the performance of a miracle and striking of the rock (1). The purpose of this paper is not to evaluate these proposals, but to examine a much neglected phrase “and Moses raised his hand” (wdyAta hvm μryw) (Num 20,11) and its implication for an understanding of the sin of Moses. A survey of some major commentaries on the book of Numbers shows that commentators hardly pay any attention to the phrase “and Moses raised his hand”, not to mention its relationship to the sin of Moses (2). This is perhaps not surprising, because it seems so natural that in order to strike the rock, Moses needs to raise his hand first. Thus, it is hardly necessary to comment on this particular action of Moses. Levine seems to be the only one who takes the trouble to state explicitly in his commentary the relationship between raising one’s hand and striking the rock (“Moses raises his staff so as to be able to strike hard”), comparing it with Exod 14,16 (3). However, Exod 14,16 speaks of rasing one’s staff (˚fmAta μrh) but not the hand. Moreover, this raising of the staff has nothing to do with any striking action by using the staff. The difference between “to raise his staff” and “to raise his hand” has remained unnoticed. One may question whether it is necessary for a person to raise his hand before his strikes with his staff. A comparison with Exod 14,1-7, which is often regarded as the duplicate of Num 20,1-13, may provide a first answer to this question. God commanded Moses to strike the rock at Horeb, so that water would come out of it, and Moses did as told (Exod 20,6). In both the description of God’s command and Moses’ compliance, there is no mention at (1) J.T.K. LIM, The Sin of Moses and the Staff of God (Assen 1997) 116-131. See also a more recent contribution: M. EMMRICH, “The Case against Moses Reopened”, JETS 46 (2003) 53-62. Some scholars hold that the text refuses to state the sin of Moses explicitly. See, for example, J.H. SAILHAMER, The Pentateuch as Narrative (Grand Rapids, MI 1992) 75. (2) T.R. ASHLEY, The Book of Numbers (NICOT; Grand Rapids, MI 1993) 383-385; P.J. BUDD, Numbers (WBC 5; Waco, TX 1984) 218; E.W. DAVIES, Numbers (NCB; Grand Rapids, MI 1995) 204; G.B. GRAY, Numbers (ICC; Edinburgh 1906) 259-264; B.A. LEVINE, Numbers 1-20 (AB 4; Garden City, NY 1993) 490; J. MILGROM, Numbers (JPSTC; Philadelphia, PA 1990) 165, 448-456; M. NOTH, Das vierte Buch Mose. Numeri (ATD 7; Göttingen 1966) 126-129; D. OLSON, Numbers (Interpretation; Louisville, KY 1996) 124- 130; J. SCHARBERT, Numeri (NeB 27; Würzburg 1992) 80; L. SCHMIDT, Das 4. Buch Mose. Numeri. Kapitel 10,11-36,13 (ATD VII/2; Göttingen 2004) 92-93; H. SEEBASS, Numeri. Kapitel 10,11-22,1 (BKAT IV/2; Neukirchen-Vluyn 2003) 281; G.J. WENHAM, Numbers (TOTC 4; Leicester 1981) 149-151. Some detailed studies on Num 20 also fail to examine this phrase, see for example, D. FRANKEL, The Murmuring Stories of the Priestly School (VTSup 89; Leiden 2000) 263-311. LIM (Sin, 137) does remark that this phrase is “very significant” (his italics), but he does not pursue this issue further. (3) LEVINE, Numbers, 490.