1Then the people started murmuring sinful things against Jehovah, and He heard them. This made Him very angry, and a fire that came from Jehovah started burning among them, which consumed part of the camp, 2so the people called for Moses. And after he prayed to Jehovah, the fire went out. 3Thereafter, they called that place ‘The Burning,’ because that was where a fire from Jehovah had burned among them. 4It was the [ethnics] who were mixed among them that started [complaining]. They (and some of the children of Israel) sat down and started crying and saying, ‘Who is going to give us meat to eat? 5We remember all the fish that we used to eat in Egypt, as well as the cucumbers, melons, leeks, garlic, and onions. 6But now our lives have become [empty], because all we can see is manna!’ 7The manna looked like coriander seeds, and it appeared [on the ground] like frost. 8The people went into the fields and collected it, then they ground it in a mill or pounded it in a mortar. Thereafter, they baked it in a pan and made cakes from it. It tasted like sweet crackers that had been mixed with oil. 9And during the night, when the dew was settling on the camp, the manna came down upon it. 10Well, Moses heard them sitting in front of their [tents] in family groups, crying. This made Jehovah very angry, and Moses viewed these actions as evil. 11So Moses asked Jehovah, ‘Why have You done this to your servant, and why haven’t I found favor in Your eyes, so that You should lay the burden of these people on me? 12Am I the one who carried and gave birth to all these people, so that You should tell me, Take them into your arms as a nursing mother would take her new-born baby, and carry them into the land that You promised to their fathers? 13Where can I find meat to feed all these people? For, here they are crying before me and saying, Give us meat to eat. 14I can’t carry all these people by myself; they’re just too heavy for me. 15If You’re going to do this to me, then just kill me (if I’ve found Your favor), so I don’t have to [endure] this pain!’ 16Then Jehovah told Moses, ‘Gather seventy men from among the elders of Israel to Me. [Make sure that] you know they are the elders and scribes among the people, then bring them to the Tent of Proofs and have them stand there with you. 17Then I will come down and speak with you there; for I will take [some] of [My] Breath that is on you and put it on them, and they will have to share the burden of the people with you… you won’t have to handle it by yourself. 18‘Then go to the people and tell them, ‘Now purify yourselves, because tomorrow you’re going to eat meat. Yes, you who have bawled before Jehovah and asked, Who will give us meat to eat? and said, Things were good for us [back in Egypt]! ‘So, Jehovah will provide meat, and you must eat the meat. 19You aren’t going to eat it for one day, or two, or five, or ten, or twenty days. 20You’re going to eat it for a full month… until it comes out your noses! You’re going to be sick of it, because you disobeyed Jehovah who is here among you. You bawled before Him and asked, Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ 21Then Moses asked, ‘Why, there are six hundred thousand soldiers among us, and are You telling me to give them enough meat to eat for a whole month? 22Must we slaughter all the sheep and cattle for them… and will even that be enough? Or must we catch all the fish in the sea for them, and would that be enough?’ 23Then Jehovah said to Moses: ‘Isn’t the hand of Jehovah big enough? By now you should know whether My words will come true!’ 24So Moses went out and told the people what Jehovah said. Then he gathered seventy men from among the people’s elders and stood them around the Tent. 25Then Jehovah came down in a cloud to speak to [Moses], and He took some of the Breath that was in him and put it into the seventy elders. And when [God’s] Breath came to rest upon them, they started prophesying… and then they stopped. 26However, two of these men were still back in the camp at the time; one was ElDad, and the other was MoDad. They were part of the group that [Moses] had chosen, but they hadn’t made it to the Tent. Yet, [God’s] Breath also came to rest upon them, and they started prophesying in the camp. 27So a young man ran and told Moses. He said: ‘ElDad and MoDad are prophesying in the camp!’ 28Well, JoShua (the son of NaWeh) who was Moses’ assistant and chosen successor, said, ‘Lord Moses; Make them stop!’ 29But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for me? I wish that all of Jehovah’s people were Prophets when He puts His Breath on them.’ 30And with that, Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. 31Then Jehovah blew His Breath, and [flocks of] quail blew over the sea and into the camp. They covered the ground several feet deep for a day’s journey all around the camp. 32So the people went out all that day, all night, and all the next day to gather quail. Why, even those who gathered the least gathered hundreds. And then, all around the camp they [sat down to feast]. 33Well, they were still picking the meat that was stuck between their teeth when Jehovah showed how angry He was with the people, for He then struck them with a great plague. 34And thereafter, that place was called the Graves of Greed, because there is where they buried all the greedy people. 35Then the people moved away from the Graves of Greed [and went to] to AsherOth, where they [set up camp].
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MANNA LOATHED. (Num. 11:1-35)
When the people complained it displeased the Lord, &c.--Unaccustomed to the fatigues of travel and wandering into the depths of a desert, less mountainous but far more gloomy and desolate than that of Sinai, without any near prospect of the rich country that had been promised, they fell into a state of vehement discontent, which was vented at these irksome and fruitless journeyings. The displeasure of God was manifested against the ungrateful complainers by fire sent in an extraordinary manner. It is worthy of notice, however, that the discontent seems to have been confined to the extremities of the camp, where, in all likelihood, "the mixed multitude" [see on
Exod 12:38] had their station. At the intercession of Moses, the appalling judgment ceased [
Num 11:2], and the name given to the place, "Taberah" (a burning), remained ever after a monument of national sin and punishment. (See on
Num 11:34).
4 the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting--These consisted of Egyptians. [See on
Exod 12:38.] To dream of banquets and plenty of animal food in the desert becomes a disease of the imagination; and to this excitement of the appetite no people are more liable than the natives of Egypt. But the Israelites participated in the same feelings and expressed dissatisfaction with the manna on which they had hitherto been supported, in comparison with the vegetable luxuries with which they had been regaled in Egypt.
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely--(See on
Exod 7:17). The people of Egypt are accustomed to an almost exclusive diet of fish, either fresh or sun-dried, during the hot season in April and May--the very season when the Israelites were travelling in this desert. Lower Egypt, where were the brick-kilns in which they were employed, afforded great facilities for obtaining fish in the Mediterranean, the lakes, and the canals of the Nile.
cucumbers--The Egyptian species is smooth, of a cylindrical form, and about a foot in length. It is highly esteemed by the natives and when in season is liberally partaken of, being greatly mellowed by the influence of the sun.
melons--The watermelons are meant, which grow on the deep, loamy soil after the subsidence of the Nile; and as they afford a juicy and cooling fruit, all classes make use of them for food, drink, and medicine.
leeks--by some said to be a species of grass cresses, which is much relished as a kind of seasoning.
onions--the same as ours; but instead of being nauseous and affecting the eyes, they are sweet to the taste, good for the stomach, and form to a large extent the aliment of the laboring classes.
garlic--is now nearly if not altogether extinct in Egypt although it seems to have grown anciently in great abundance. The herbs now mentioned form a diet very grateful in warm countries where vegetables and other fruits of the season are much used. We can scarcely wonder that both the Egyptian hangers-on and the general body of the Israelites, incited by their clamors, complained bitterly of the want of the refreshing viands in their toilsome wanderings. But after all their experience of the bounty and care of God, their vehement longing for the luxuries of Egypt was an impeachment of the divine arrangements; and if it was the sin that beset them in the desert, it became them more strenuously to repress a rebellious spirit, as dishonoring to God and unbecoming their relation to Him as a chosen people.
6 But now . . . there is nothing . . . beside this manna--Daily familiarity had disgusted them with the sight and taste of the monotonous food; and, ungrateful for the heavenly gift, they longed for a change of fare. It may be noticed that the resemblance of the manna to coriander seed was not in the color, but in the size and figure; and from its comparison to bdellium, which is either a drop of white gum or a white pearl, we are enabled to form a better idea of it. Moreover, it is evident, from the process of baking into cakes, that it could not have been the natural manna of the Arabian desert, for that is too gummy or unctuous to admit of being ground into meal. In taste it is said to have been like "wafers made with honey" (
Exod 16:31), and here to have the taste of fresh oil. The discrepancy in these statements is only apparent; for in the latter the manna is described in its raw state; in the former, after it was ground and baked. The minute description given here of its nature and use was designed to show the great sinfulness of the people, in being dissatisfied with such excellent food, furnished so plentifully and gratuitously.
10 Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant, &c.--It is impossible not to sympathize with his feelings although the tone and language of his remonstrances to God cannot be justified. He was in a most distressing situation--having a mighty multitude under his care, with no means of satisfying their clamorous demands. Their conduct shows how deeply they had been debased and demoralized by long oppression: while his reveals a state of mind agonized and almost overwhelmed by a sense of the undivided responsibilities of his office.
16 the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders-- (
Exod 3:16;
Exod 5:6;
Exod 24:9;
Exod 18:21,
Exod 18:24;
Lev 4:15). An order of seventy was to be created, either by a selection from the existing staff of elders or by the appointment of new ones, empowered to assist him by their collective wisdom and experience in the onerous cares of government. The Jewish writers say that this was the origin of the Sanhedrin, or supreme appellate court of their nation. But there is every reason to believe that it was only a temporary expedient, adopted to meet a trying exigency.
17 I will come down--that is, not in a visible manner or by local descent, but by the tokens of the divine presence and operations.
and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee--"The spirit" means the gifts and influences of the Spirit (
Num 27:18;
Joel 2:28;
John 7:39;
1Cor 14:12), and by "taking the spirit of Moses, and putting it upon them," is not to be understood that the qualities of the great leader were to be in any degree impaired but that the elders would be endowed with a portion of the same gifts, especially of prophecy (
Num 11:25) --that is, an extraordinary penetration in discovering hidden and settling difficult things.
18 say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh--that is, "prepare yourselves," by repentance and submission, to receive to-morrow the flesh you clamor for. But it is evident that the tenor of the language implied a severe rebuke and that the blessing promised would prove a curse.
21 Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand . . . Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them?--The great leader, struck with a promise so astonishing as that of suddenly furnishing, in the midst of the desert, more than two millions of people with flesh for a whole month, betrayed an incredulous spirit, surprising in one who had witnessed so many stupendous miracles. But it is probable that it was only a feeling of the moment--at all events, the incredulous doubt was uttered only to himself--and not, as afterwards, publicly and to the scandal of the people. (See on
Num 20:10). It was, therefore, sharply reproved, but not punished.
24 Moses . . . gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, &c.--The tabernacle was chosen for the convocation, because, as it was there God manifested Himself, there His Spirit would be directly imparted--there the minds of the elders themselves would be inspired with reverential awe and their office invested with greater respect in the eyes of the people.
25 when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease--As those elders were constituted civil governors, their "prophesying" must be understood as meaning the performance of their civil and sacred duties by the help of those extraordinary endowments they had received; and by their not "ceasing" we understand, either that they continued to exercise their gifts uninterruptedly the first day (see
1Sam 19:24), or that these were permanent gifts, which qualified them in an eminent degree for discharging the duty of public magistrates.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp--They did not repair with the rest to the tabernacle, either from modesty in shrinking from the assumption of a public office, or being prevented by some ceremonial defilement. They, however, received the gifts of the Spirit as well as their brethren. And when Moses was urged to forbid their prophesying, his answer displayed a noble disinterestedness as well as zeal for the glory of God akin to that of our Lord (
Mark 9:39).
31 There went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, &c.--These migratory birds (see on
Exod 16:13) were on their journey from Egypt, when "the wind from the Lord," an east wind (
Ps 78:26) forcing them to change their course, wafted them over the Red Sea to the camp of Israel.
let them fall a day's journey--If the journey of an individual is meant, this space might be thirty miles; if the inspired historian referred to the whole host, ten miles would be as far as they could march in one day in the sandy desert under a vertical sun. Assuming it to be twenty miles this immense cloud of quails (
Ps 78:27) covered a space of forty miles in diameter. Others reduce it to sixteen. But it is doubtful whether the measurement be from the center or the extremities of the camp. It is evident, however, that the language describes the countless number of these quails.
as it were two cubits high--Some have supposed that they fell on the ground above each other to that height--a supposition which would leave a vast quantity useless as food to the Israelites, who were forbidden to eat any animal that died of itself or from which the blood was not poured out. Others think that, being exhausted with a long flight, they could not fly more than three feet above the earth, and so were easily felled or caught. A more recent explanation applies the phrase, "two cubits high," not to the accumulation of the mass, but to the size of the individual birds. Flocks of large red-legged cranes, three feet high, measuring seven feet from tip to tip, have been frequently seen on the western shores of the Gulf of Akaba, or eastern arm of the Red Sea [STANLEY; SHUBERT].
32 people stood up--rose up in eager haste--some at one time, others at another; some, perhaps through avidity, both day and night.
ten homers--ten asses' loads; or, "homers" may be used indefinitely (as in
Exod 8:14;
Judg 15:16); and "ten" for many: so that the phrase "ten homers" is equivalent to "great heaps." The collectors were probably one or two from each family; and, being distrustful of God's goodness, they gathered not for immediate consumption only, but for future use. In eastern and southern seas, innumerable quails are often seen, which, when weary, fall down, covering every spot on the deck and rigging of vessels; and in Egypt they come in such myriads that the people knock them down with sticks.
spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp--salted and dried them for future use, by the simple process to which they had been accustomed in Egypt.
33 while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed--literally, "cut off"; that is, before the supply of quails, which lasted a month (
Num 11:20), was exhausted. The probability is, that their stomachs, having been long inured to manna (a light food), were not prepared for so sudden a change of regimen--a heavy, solid diet of animal food, of which they seem to have partaken to so intemperate a degree as to produce a general surfeit, and fatal consequences. On a former occasion their murmurings for flesh were raised (
Exod 16:1-
Exod 16:8) because they were in want of food. Here they proceeded, not from necessity, but wanton, lustful desire; and their sin, in the righteous judgment of God, was made to carry its own punishment.
34 called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah--literally, "The graves of lust," or "Those that lusted"; so that the name of the place proves that the mortality was confined to those who had indulged inordinately.
35 Hazeroth--The extreme southern station of this route was a watering-place in a spacious plain, now Ain-Haderah.