obliged to draw water out of wells, with
pain, by reason of the hardness of the soil. Moreover, what water they
found was bitter, and not fit for drinking, and this in small quantities
also; and as they thus traveled, they came late in the evening to a
place called Marah, [1] which had that name from the badness of its
water, for Mar denotes bitterness. Thither they came afflicted both
by the tediousness of their journey, and by their want of food, for it
entirely failed them at that time. Now here was a well, which made them
choose to stay in the place, which, although it were not sufficient to
satisfy so great an army, did yet afford them some comfort, as found in
such desert places; for they heard from those who had been to search,
that there was nothing to be found, if they traveled on farther. Yet was
this water bitter, and not fit for men to drink; and not only so, but it
was intolerable even to the cattle themselves.

2. When Moses saw how much the people were cast down, and that the
occasion of it could not be contradicted, for the people were not in the
nature of a complete army of men, who might oppose a manly fortitude to
the necessity that distressed them; the multitude of the children,
and of the women also, being of too weak capacities to be persuaded by
reason, blunted the courage of the men themselves,--he was therefore in
great difficulties, and made everybody's calamity his own; for they
ran all of them to him, and begged of him; the women begged for their
infants, and the men for the women, that he would not overlook them,
but procure some way or other for their deliverance. He therefore
betook himself to prayer to God, that he would change the water from its
present badness, and make it fit for drinking. And when God had granted
him that favor, he took the top of a stick that lay down at his feet,
and divided it in the middle, and made the section lengthways. He
then let it down into the well, and persuaded the Hebrews that God had
hearkened to his prayers, and had promised to render the water such as
they desired it to be, in case they would be subservient to him in what
he should enjoin them to do, and this not after a remiss or negligent
manner. And when they asked what they were to do in order to have the
water changed for the better, he bid the strongest men among them that
stood there, to draw up water [2] and told them, that when the greatest
part was drawn up, the remainder would be fit to dri