וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ (פ)
E Moshe falou assim aos filhos de Yisrael, mas eles não ouviram Moshe por causa do curto ânimo e da dura servidão. {פ}
Ramban
MOREOVER, THE MAN MOSES, who brought the plagues upon them, WAS VERY GREAT IN THE ENTIRE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH’S SERVANTS — his opponents — AND IN THE SIGHT OF THE PEOPLE, Israel.83Unlike Ibn Ezra, who explains in the sight of the people as referring to the Egyptians. Ramban will refer to this explanation further on. After [the officers of the children of Israel] had said to Moses and Aaron, The Eternal look upon you, and judge,84Above, 5:21. after they hearkened not unto Moses for impatience of spirit,85Ibid., 6:9. he now became very great in their sight when they saw that he was established to be a prophet of the Eternal.86I Samuel 3:20. And some scholars87Ibn Ezra. say that the expression, in the sight of the people, means the Egyptians.
The reason Scripture does not state [that Moses was very great] “in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants,” [but instead mentions only Pharaoh’s servants], is that G-d made Pharaoh’s heart obstinate towards Moses because he [Pharaoh] had twice spoken to him improperly,88Above, 10:10 (So be the Eternal with you, as I will let you go), and ibid., Verse 28 (Get thee from me). and He desired that Pharaoh come to Moses and bow down to him as one comes before his enemy, all this being a sign of the power and achievement of Moses.
Now it is impossible to explain the expression, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, as referring to the favor they found in the eyes of the Egyptians at the time of the borrowing, [mentioned further, 12:36]. In that case, the verse there relates that G-d later fulfilled the promise He made here.89The explanation refuted now by Ramban is that of Ibn Ezra [in Verse 3 before us]. If the verse here were establishing the Divine promise, [i.e., that the people will find favor in the sight of the Egyptians and that they will let them have what they asked], the verse here should not have said, And the Eternal gave; it should have said, “And I will give the people favor.” [Hence we must conclude that the intent of the verse here is to be explained as above, i.e., that the Egyptians bore no grudge against the Israelites because of the plagues.] It is further on at the time of the actual event that Scripture says, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.90Further, 12:36.
The reason Scripture does not state [that Moses was very great] “in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants,” [but instead mentions only Pharaoh’s servants], is that G-d made Pharaoh’s heart obstinate towards Moses because he [Pharaoh] had twice spoken to him improperly,88Above, 10:10 (So be the Eternal with you, as I will let you go), and ibid., Verse 28 (Get thee from me). and He desired that Pharaoh come to Moses and bow down to him as one comes before his enemy, all this being a sign of the power and achievement of Moses.
Now it is impossible to explain the expression, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, as referring to the favor they found in the eyes of the Egyptians at the time of the borrowing, [mentioned further, 12:36]. In that case, the verse there relates that G-d later fulfilled the promise He made here.89The explanation refuted now by Ramban is that of Ibn Ezra [in Verse 3 before us]. If the verse here were establishing the Divine promise, [i.e., that the people will find favor in the sight of the Egyptians and that they will let them have what they asked], the verse here should not have said, And the Eternal gave; it should have said, “And I will give the people favor.” [Hence we must conclude that the intent of the verse here is to be explained as above, i.e., that the Egyptians bore no grudge against the Israelites because of the plagues.] It is further on at the time of the actual event that Scripture says, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.90Further, 12:36.
Rav Hirsch
V. 4. דרך ים סוף, es war dies ein scheinbarer Rückzug und ein langer Umweg. Dewarim 2, 1 heißt es: ותקצר נפש העם בדרך .ונסב את הר שעיר ימים רבים (vergl. Schmot 6, 9) מקצר רוח. Wie dort bemerkt ist קצר רוח, und so auch hier קצר נפש, wahrscheinlich Gegensatz zu ארך אפים und bezeichnet die Ungeduld, רוח und נפש reichen nicht aus, das verlangte Ziel zu erwarten. Insbesondere hier reichte die נפש, reichten die vorwärts strebenden Lebensgeister nicht aus, die Mühe des langen Weges mit Hinblick auf das zu erreichende Ziel geduldig zu ertragen. Ein wirklich unbefriedigtes Bedürfnis lag nicht vor.
Chizkuni
ותקצר נפש העם בדרך, “and the people became impatient because of the length of the way.” The root קצר in the sense of impatient, occurs also in Exodus 6,9, when the people did not respond to Moses’ promises, i.e. ומקוצר רוח, “on account of an impatient spirit.” In this instance, the lengthy and strenuous detour around the boundaries of the Kingdom of Edom had tried their patience to breaking point. Rashi explains why the meaning of the word could not possibly be the “shortness of the way,” as after 38 years plus they perceived themselves as getting further away from their destination rather than closer to it. An alternate interpretation: The protective clouds shielding the people from the hot rays of the sun had ceased to function, as a result of Aaron’s death as these had been due to his merit, just as the water supply had been due to Miriam’s merit.