“the souls of the people were shortened.” In Prov. 14:29 the phrase is translated “hasty temper,” the opposite of slow to anger or long-suffering. Another alternate translation is “discouraged.” Whatever the translation, the people “lacked the soul” for bearing their long and difficult journey.62 The phrase “on the way” might be translated “because of the way,” that is, they were impatient or discouraged because of yet one more detour and difficulty (Milgrom 1990: 173, following Rashi). The source