possible that the descriptions in vv. 4–5 are not to be pinned down to precise referents as most commentators attempt to do, but all refer more generally to the experience of the people in hearing the Gospel and experiencing the blessings of the new covenant within the context of the new covenant community.48 What the readers have experienced as part of the new Exodus community is to be interpreted in terms of what the first Exodus generation experienced on their way to the promised land. More importantly,