Numbers 17:12

"And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah, dieth; shall we perish all of us?"

We agree with Longacre that the fear of death expressed by Israel following the astounding wonders of this chapter and the preceding one did not afford any evidence of deep repentance on Israel's part but was rather the expression of, "a natural fear in view of the events just recounted."[6] Whatever the source of their fear, however, the effective discipline of these wonders quelled completely this rebellion, described by Keil as "the most important" of the wilderness wanderings.[7]