They went forward twelve mil and recoiled ten mil at each commandment, and they were not deterred, neither by the sound of the (shofar) blasts, nor by the "sound" of the flashes.
Variantly: "He found them in a desert land": Everything was provided for them in the desert: The well rose up for them; the manna descended for them; the quail was available for them; the clouds of glory surrounded them. "and in a waste land, howling and desolate": in a place of afflictions, invaders, and marauders.
"He surrounded them": with flags: three from the north, three from the south, three from the east, three from the west.