8:15 and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents19 and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow20 from a flint rock and
tnHeb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).
20
tnHeb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.