After the Israelites complained about the difficulties of their journey out of Egypt, God punished them for their lack of gratitude by sending snakes to bite and plague them. Apparently reveling in the brutality of the scene, the artist shows men and women alike being savaged by snakes, one of whose tail slithers over the rulings of the right margin. An Israelite woman raises her hands and pleads with Moses to help them, promising repentance, and he intercedes on their behalf. Father Jerome used this episode to demonstrate how repentant believers merit salvation.