“And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!”
The people quarreled with Moses and said, 'Would that we had died when our kindred died before the LORD!' — the people wish death had claimed them with the earlier rebels, suggesting that continued wilderness life is worse than judgment. The phrase 'before the LORD' (lifnei YHWH) implies that death in God's presence is preferable to thirsty survival. The psychology of despair deepens: the people have lost faith that the journey leads anywhere.
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