| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The initial adversative velo {וְלֹא | wə-lōʾ} ‘and not’ sets up the lack of water, followed by the perfect hayah {הָיָה | hā-yāh} expressing a sustained state. The noun mayim {מַיִם | ma-yim}, though plural in form, functions as a mass noun. The prepositional phrase la’edah {לָעֵדָה | lā-ʿē-dāh} marks the recipients of the deficiency. In the next narrative clause, the vav-consecutive on vayikkahalu {וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ | way-yi-qā-hal-lū} shifts to the imperfect and describes collective action. The paired prepositions al {עַל | ʿal} and ve’al {וְעַֽל | wə-ʿal} create a chiastic parallelism, each governing Mosheh {מֹשֶׁה | mō-šeh} and Aharon {אַהֲרֹן | ’ă-hă-rōn}, emphasizing communal opposition toward the leaders. |