(ג) וְאָמַ֤ר פַּרְעֹה֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל נְבֻכִ֥ים הֵ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ סָגַ֥ר עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃
(3) And Pharaoh had said of the children of Israel, “They are confounded in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.”
נבוכים הם, the sea in front of them caused them to become confused, this is why they retraced their steps not knowing where to turn, seeing סגר עליהם המדבר, the desert is closed to them as a route due to the dangerous reptiles, etc., that abound there, and they also have to worry about the wild beasts behind them so that they decided for the moment to encamp along the shores of the sea near Eytam, at the edge of the desert so that they find themselves between Migdal and the sea, in a state of confusion. The word נבוכים, is to describe a state of hopeless confusion, lack of options. The expression is found in Job 38,16 as well as 28,11, once in connection with the sea, נבכי-ים, meaning “the recesses of the sea,” the other time in connection with “damming up deep rivers.” At any rate. it describes people faced by insurmountable obstacles to their continued progress
נבכים הם בארץ. פי׳ או כי תועים הם בדרך. או כי סגר עליהם המדבר. אינו מניח לילך בקרבו מש״ה חזרו אע״ג שאפשר שיודעים הדרך:
Exodus 14:3
According to vocabulary.com, it is a Yiddish word of Slavic origin akin to "nebohy," Czech for "wretched;" & "nieboe," Polish for "poor creature."
answered Jan 7 '16 at 18:35
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