This noun describes extreme drought, appearing in Hosea 13:5 to characterize the wilderness where God knew Israel. The plural form is intensive, emphasizing the severity and comprehensiveness of the drought conditions. It evokes the parched, waterless wilderness of Israel's desert wanderings, where survival depended entirely on divine provision. The term captures not just absence of water but the harsh, burning dryness that makes the desert deadly, underscoring God's intimate knowledge of Israel in their most vulnerable condition.