The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional formal protest handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal …

And there was no water ... — Kadesh may have comprised a considerable portion of the wilderness of Zin, and there may hav…

And there was no water for the congregation. We have already seen a similar, though not identical, history. For when the people had scarce…

And there was no water for the congregation
Which was so ordered, for the trial of this new generation, to see wheth…

After thirty-eight years of a tiresome stay in the wilderne , the armies of Israel advanced towards Canaan again. There was no water for the congre…