Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Didn't we tell you this back in Egypt? We said, 'Leave us alone so we can serve the Egyptians!' It would have been better for us to remain slaves to the Egyptians than to die out here in the desert.
The Israelites are complaining to Moses, saying they would rather have stayed as slaves in Egypt than face the possibility of dying in the wilderness.
📚 Historical Context
The Israelites had just escaped from centuries of slavery in Egypt through God's miraculous plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. However, when they saw Pharaoh's army pursuing them at the edge of the Red Sea, fear overtook their faith. This complaint reveals how quickly they forgot God's recent miraculous deliverances and how the familiarity of bondage seemed preferable to the uncertainty of freedom.
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