Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 107:5

"Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them." — Psalms 107:5 (ASV)

Hungry and thirsty - As they would be, when wandering in such a desert. A more literal and expressive rendering would be, “Hungry - also thirsty.”

Their soul fainted in them - The word used here - עטף ‛ âṭaph - means properly to cover, to clothe, as with a garment (Psalms 73:6); or a field with grain (Psalms 65:13); then, to hide oneself (Job 23:9); then, to cover with darkness (Psalms 77:3;Psalms 102:0, title); thus it denotes the state of mind when darkness seems to be in the way - a way of calamity, trouble, sorrow; of weakness, faintness, feebleness. Here it would seem from the connection to refer to the exhaustion produced by the want of food and drink.