איוב, פרק י״ב, פסוק כ״ד

God holds absolute control over human events, capable of instantly stripping the most powerful leaders of their wisdom and guiding both them and their followers toward ruin. The primary approach among commentators is that this divine action removes a leader's understanding, judgment, and ability to reason. By taking away their wisdom, God effectively nullifies their original intentions and their capacity for free choice [תקות אנוש, אלשיך]. While most view this as a general loss of sound advice, some focus on the context of war, where kings and their military officers suddenly lose their courage and their wits [רמב״ן]. Another perspective applies this historically to Pharaoh and his advisors during the Exodus. As a punishment for plotting to throw the Israelite children into the river, God completely stripped the Egyptian leadership of their wisdom and free will [אלשיך].

This sudden loss of understanding does not only affect the leaders themselves. It has a devastating impact on the entire nation, as the misguided leaders drag the public down with them, causing the masses to stray from the proper path [מצודת דוד, תקות אנוש].

When it comes to the resulting chaos and wandering, there are two primary ways to understand the leaders' downfall. A metaphorical approach suggests that the leaders deceive the public with empty, useless advice that leads nowhere, offering no real solutions or straight course of action [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד]. Conversely, a physical approach interprets the wandering literally. God causes these leaders to become completely lost in a desolate wasteland unfit for travel, unable to find a path to a settled city [רש״י, רמב״ן], particularly when they set out to find a new place to live [מלבי״ם]. Returning to the historical events of the Exodus, this wandering perfectly describes the Egyptians chasing the Israelites into the split waters of the Red Sea. A rational person would recognize that walking into the seabed is unnatural and highly dangerous. However, because God had removed their understanding, the Egyptian forces acted foolishly and marched directly to their destruction [אלשיך].