The people complained against God as they journeyed through the wilderness, displeasing God. In response, God sent fire that burned at the outskirts of the camp, consuming some people. Moses interceded with God on behalf of the people, and God listened to Moses, quenching the fire. The place was thereafter named Taberah, meaning "burning", as a reminder of the people's sin and God's punishment.

1. NUMBERS 11 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Fire From the Lord
1 Now the people complained about their
hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he
heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from
the Lord burned among them and consumed some
of the outskirts of the camp.
BARNES, "See the marginal rendering. They murmured against the
privations of the march.
The fire of the Lord - Probably lightning; compare Psa_78:21.
In the uttermost parts - Rather, in the end. The fire did not reach far into
the camp. It was quickly quenched at the intercession of Moses.
CLARKE, "And when the people complained - What the cause of this
complaining was, we know not. The conjecture of St. Jerome is probable;
they complained because of the length of the way. But surely no people had
ever less cause for murmuring; they had God among them, and miracles of
goodness were continually wrought in their behalf.
It displeased the Lord - For his extraordinary kindness was lost on such
an ungrateful and rebellious people. And his anger was kindled - Divine
justice was necessarily incensed against such inexcusable conduct.
And the fire of the Lord burnt among them - Either a supernatural fire
was sent for this occasion, or the lightning was commissioned against them,
or God smote them with one of those hot suffocating winds which are very
common in those countries.
And consumed - in the uttermost parts of the camp - It pervaded the whole
camp, from the center to the circumference, carrying death with it to all the
murmurers; for we are not to suppose that it was confined to the uttermost
parts of the camp, unless we could imagine that there were none culpable
any where else. If this were the same with the case mentioned Num_11:4,
then, as it is possible that the mixed multitude occupied the outermost parts
1

2. of the camp, consequently the burning might have been confined to them.
GILL, "And when the people complained,.... Or "were as complainers" (p);
not merely like to such, but were truly and really complainers, the ‫,כ‬ "caph",
here being not a note of similitude, but of truth and reality, as in Hos_5:10.
This Hebraism is frequent in the New Testament, Mat_14:5. What they
complained of is not said, it being that for which there was no foundation; it
is generally supposed to be of their journey; but if they were come but eight
miles, as observed on Num_10:33; they could not be very weary; and
especially as they were marching towards the land of Canaan, it might be
thought they would be fond and eager of their journey. Some think it was for
want of flesh, being weary of manna, and that this was only the beginning of
their complaints on that head, which opened more afterwards; but if that is
the case, one would think that the fire, which consumed many of them,
would have put a stop to that. Jarchi says, the word signifies taking an
occasion, and that the sense is, that these men sought an occasion how to
separate from the Lord; they wanted to return to Egypt again, that was what
they were meditating and contriving; so the Targum of Jonathan,"and the
ungodly of the people were in distress, and intended and meditated evil
before the Lord:"
it displeased the Lord: a murmuring complaining spirit is always
displeasing to him, when a thankful heart for mercies received is an
acceptable sacrifice; murmurers and complainers God will judge at the
great day, Jud_1:14,
and the Lord heard it: though it was an inward secret complaint, or an evil
scheme formed in their minds; at most but a muttering, and what Moses
had not heard, or had any knowledge of; but God, that knows the secrets of
all hearts, and every word in the tongue before it is well formed or
pronounced, he heard what they complained of, and what they whispered
and muttered to one another about:
and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them; from
the pillar of fire, or from heaven, such as destroyed Nadab and Abihu, Lev_
10:1; the two hundred fifty men that had censers in Korah's company, Num_
16:35; and the captains of fifties that came to take Elijah, 2Ki_1:14; and
might be lightning from heaven, or a burning wind sent by the Lord, such as
is frequent in the eastern countries. Thevenot (q) speaks of one in 1658,
which destroyed at once twenty thousand men:
and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp; who very
likely were the principal aggressors; or it began to arouse and terrify the
body of the people, and bring them to repentance, who might fear it would
proceed and go through the whole camp, the hinder part or rearward of
which was the camp of Dan; and so the Targum of Jonathan.
2

3. HENRY 1-3, "Here is, I. The people's sin. They complained, Num_11:1.
They were, as it were, complainers. So it is in the margin. There were some
secret grudgings and discontents among them, which as yet did not break
out in an open mutiny. But how great a matter did this little fire kindle!
They had received from God excellent laws and ordinances, and yet no
sooner had they departed from the mount of the Lord than they began to
quarrel with God himself. See in this, 1. The sinfulness of sin, which takes
occasion from the commandment to be the more provoking. 2. The
weakness of the law through the flesh, Rom_8:3. The law discovered sin,
but could not destroy it; checked it, but could not conquer it. They
complained. Interpreters enquire what they complained of; and truly, when
they were furnished with so much matter for thanksgiving, one may justly
wonder where they found any matter for complaint; it is probable that those
who complained did not all agree in the cause. Some perhaps complained
that they were removed from Mount Sinai, where they had been at rest so
long, others that they did not remove sooner: some complained of the
weather, others of the ways: some perhaps thought three days' journey was
too long a march, others thought it not long enough, because it did not bring
them into Canaan. When we consider how their camp was guided, guarded,
graced, what good victuals they had and good company, and what care was
taken of them in their marches that their feet should not swell nor their
clothes wear (Deu_8:4), we may ask, “What could have been done more for
a people to make them easy?” And yet they complained. Note, Those that are
of a fretful discontented spirit will always find something or other to
quarrel with, though the circumstances of their outward condition be ever
so favourable.
II. God's just resentment of the affront given to him by this sin: The Lord
heard it, though it does not appear that Moses did. Note, God is acquainted
with the secret frettings and murmurings of the heart, though they are
industriously concealed from men. What he took notice of his was much
displeased with, and his anger was kindled. Note, Though God graciously
gives us leave to complain to him when there is cause (Psa_142:2), yet he is
justly provoked, and takes it very ill, if we complain of him when there is no
cause: such conduct in our inferiors provokes us.
III. The judgment wherewith God chastised them for this sin: The fire of
the Lord burnt among them, such flashes of fire from the cloud as had
consumed Nadab and Abihu. The fire of their wrath against God burned in
their minds (Psa_39:3), and justly does the fire of God's wrath fasten upon
their bodies. We read of their murmurings several times, when they came
first out of Egypt, Ex. 15, 16, and 17. But we do not read of any plagues
inflicted on them for their murmurings, as there were now; for now they
had had great experience of God's care of them, and therefore now to
distrust him was so much the more inexcusable. Now a fire was kindled
against Jacob (Psa_78:21), but, to show how unwilling God was to contend
with them, it fastened on those only that were in the uttermost parts of the
camp. Thus God's judgments came upon them gradually, that they might
take warning.
IV. Their cry to Moses, who was their tried intercessor, Num_11:2. When
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4. he slew them, then they sought him, and made their application to Moses to
stand their friend. Note, 1. When we complain without cause, it is just with
God to give us cause to complain. 2. Those that slight God's friends when
they are in prosperity would be glad to make them their friends when they
are in distress. Father Abraham, send Lazarus.
V. The prevalency of Moses's intercession for them: When Moses prayed
unto the Lord (he was always ready to stand in the gap to turn away the
wrath of God) God had respect to him and his offering, and the fire was
quenched. By this it appears that God delights not in punishing, for, when
he has begun his controversy, he is soon prevailed with to let it fall. Moses
was one of those worthies who by faith quenched the violence of fire.
VI. A new name given hereupon to the place, to perpetuate the shame of a
murmuring people and the honour of a righteous God; the place was called
Taberah, a burning (Num_11:3), that others might hear, and fear, and take
warning not to sin as they did, lest they should smart as they did, 1Co_10:10.
JAMISON, "Num_11:1-35. Manna loathed.
When the people complained it displeased the Lord, etc. — 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 Exo_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).
K&D, "After a three days' march the Israelites arrived at a resting-place;
but the people began at once to be discontented with their situation.
(Note: The arguments by which Knobel undertakes to prove, that in
chs. 11 and 12 of the original work different foreign accounts respecting
the first encampments after leaving Sinai have been woven together by
the “Jehovist,” are founded upon misinterpretations and arbitrary
assumptions and conclusions, such as the assertion that the tabernacle
stood outside the camp (chs. Num_11:25; Num_12:5); that Miriam
entered the tabernacle (Num_12:4-5); that the original work had already
reported the arrival of Israel in Paran in Num_10:12; and that no
reference is ever made to a camping-place called Tabeerah, and others of
the same kind. For the proof, see the explanation of the verses referred
to.)
The people were like those who complain in the ears of Jehovah of
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5. something bad; i.e., they behaved like persons who groan and murmur
because of some misfortune that has happened to them. No special occasion
is mentioned for the complaint. The words are expressive, no doubt, of the
general dissatisfaction and discontent of the people at the difficulties and
privations connected with the journey through the wilderness, to which
they gave utterance so loudly, that their complaining reached the ears of
Jehovah. At this His wrath burned, inasmuch as the complaint was directed
against Him and His guidance, “so that fire of Jehovah burned against
them, and ate at the end of the camp.” ְ‫בּ‬ ‫ר‬ַ‫ע‬ ָ‫בּ‬ signifies here, not to burn a
person (Job_1:16), but to burn against. “Fire of Jehovah:” a fire sent by
Jehovah, but not proceeding directly from Him, or bursting forth from the
cloud, as in Lev_10:2. Whether it was kindled through a flash of lightning,
or in some other such way, cannot be more exactly determined. There is not
sufficient ground for the supposition that the fire merely seized upon the
bushes about the camp and the tents of the people, but not upon human
beings (Ros., Knobel). All that is plainly taught in the words is, that the fire
did not extend over the whole camp, but merely broke out at one end of it,
and sank down again, i.e., was extinguished very quickly, at the intercession
of Moses; so that in this judgment the Lord merely manifested His power to
destroy the murmurers, that He might infuse into the whole nation a
wholesome dread of His holy majesty.
CALVIN, "1.And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. (11) The
ambiguous signification of the participle (12) causes the translators to twist this
passage into a variety of meanings. Since the Hebrew root ‫,און‬aven, is sometimes
trouble and labor, sometimes fatigue, sometimes iniquity, sometimes falsehood,
some translate it, “The people were, as it were, complaining or murmuring. ”
Others (though this seems to be more beside the mark) insert the adverb
unjustly; as if Moses said, that their complaint was unjust, when they
expostulated with God. Others render it, “being sick, (nauseantes, ”) but this
savors too much of affectation; others, “lying, or dealing treacherously.”
Some derive it from the root ‫,תואנה‬ thonah, and thus explain it, “seeking
occasion,” which I reject as far fetched. To me the word fainting (fatiscendi)
seems to suit best; for they failed, as if broken down with weariness. It is
probable that no other crime is alleged against them than that, abandoning
the desire to proceed, they fell into supineness and inactivity, which was to
turn their back upon God, and repudiate the promised inheritance. This sense
will suit very well, and thus the proper meaning of the word will be retained.
Thus, Ezekiel calls by the name ‫,תאנים‬ theunim, those fatigues, whereby men
destroy and overwhelm themselves through undertaking too much work. Still, I do
not deny that, when they lay in a state of despondency, they uttered words of
reproach against God; especially since Moses says that this displeased the ears of
5

6. God, and not His eyes; yet the origin of the evil was, as I have stated, that they
fainted with weariness, so as to refuse to follow God any further.
And the Lord heard it. He more plainly declares that the people broke forth into
open complaints; and it is probable that they even east reproaches upon God, as we
infer from the heaviness of this punishment. Although some understand the word
fire metaphorically for vengeance, it is more correct to take it simply according to
the natural meaning of the word, i.e., that a part of the camp burnt with a
conflagration sent from God. Still a question arises, what was that part or extremity
of the camp which the fire seized upon? for some think that the punishment began
with the leaders themselves, whose crime was the more atrocious. Others suppose
that the fire raged among the common people, from the midst of whom the
murmuring arose. But I rather conjecture, as in a matter of uncertainty, that God
kindled the fire in some extreme part, so as to awaken their terror, in order that
there might be room for pardon; since it is presently added, that tie was content
with the punishment of a few. It must, however, be remarked, that because the
people were conscious of their sin, the door was shut against their prayers. Hence it
is, that they cry to Moses rather than to God; and we may infer that, being devoid of
repentance and faith, they dreaded to look upon God. This is the reward of a bad
conscience, to seek for rest in our disquietude, and still to fly from God, who alone
can allay our trouble and alarm. From the fact that God is appeased at the
intercession of Moses, we gather that temporal punishment is often remitted to the
wicked, although they still remain exposed to the judgment of God. When he says
that the fire of the Lord was sunk down, (13) for this is the proper signification of
the word ‫,שקע‬ shakang, he designates the way in which it was put out, and in which
God’s mercy openly manifested itself; as also, on the other hand. it is called
the fire of God, as having been plainly kindled by Him, lest any should
suppose that it was an accidental conflagration. A name also was imposed on
the place, which might be a memorial to posterity both of the crime and its
punishment; for Tabera is a burning, or combustion.
COFFMAN, "This, and the next three chapters, deal with some of the
numerous disaffections, rebellions, and murmurings of the children of Israel,
not with any view of recording all that they did, but with the purpose of
setting forth for the benefit of all people afterward several of their deeds as
"examples" and for "the admonition" of those upon whom the ends of the
ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11). The account here gives the incident
at Taberah (Numbers 11:1-3), the lusting for flesh (Numbers 11:4-9), Moses'
appeal to God in desperation (Numbers 11:10-15), the appointment of
seventy to aid Moses (Numbers 11:16-23), the endowment of the seventy
6

7. (Numbers 11:24,25), the case of Eldad and Medad (Numbers 11:16-29), and
the sending of the quails, ending in the plague upon Israel at Kibroth-
hattaavah, where many of them were buried (Numbers 11:30-35).
"And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of Jehovah:
and when Jehovah heard it, his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah
burned among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp. And
the people cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto Jehovah, and the fire
abated. And the name of the place was called Taberah, because the fire of
Jehovah burnt among them."
"The people were as murmurers ..." (Numbers 11:1). There is hardly any
other word that more effectively describes Israel during their wilderness
sojourn than this one. The people appeared to be totally unwilling to accept
any kind of inconvenience or hardship in order to achieve their liberty and
independence, overlooking completely the fundamental truth that freedom,
prosperity, and power simply cannot appear automatically as a bestowed
privilege, but must be won by suffering, diligent work and faithfulness. The
spirit that came out in this chapter finally resulted in God's rejection of that
whole generation and His condemnation of them to death in the wilderness.
"And the fire of Jehovah burned among them ..." (Numbers 11:2).
Speculations as to the possibility that this fire was the result of lightning or
some other natural cause are futile. The event was of sufficient dimensions to
warrant the naming of the place as Taberah in commemoration of it, and,
without any doubt, it was a visitation of God upon rebellious men, however
produced. This place was on the outskirts of the immense camp of Israel and
pertains only to the place of the burning. This is not the name of one of the
forty-two stations of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 33).
Keil discerned the reason for this burning thus: "By thus demonstrating his
power that was more than sufficient to destroy the murmurers, He sought to
infuse into the whole nation a wholesome dread of His holy majesty."[1]
Since this burning was an extremely local incident, "It must not be regarded
as a different station from Kibroth-hattaavah."[2] Some, of course, have
7

8. concocted all kinds of theories about "different sources," various "traditions,"
and "conflicting accounts" being "woven together" here; but again, as Keil
said, "All such efforts are founded upon misinterpretations and arbitrary
assumptions."[3] We might also add that such destructive allegations are
grounded in a prior bias against the Bible. That Taberah was not a separate
encampment is proved by its omission in Numbers 33, and by the fact there
is no mention of leaving Taberah, an event covered in the statement that
they left Kibroth-hattaavah, the true name of the whole area, of which
Taberah was a very minor outpost. This encampment was the scene of two
judgments against Israel, the minor one at Taberah, and the greater one in
the matter of the quails; and the station deserved to be named from the
greater event. As for where, exactly, this was, "The site is unknown."[4] "The
name Taberah is from the Hebrew word, meaning to burn."[5]
COKE, "Numbers 11:1. And when the people complained — The when inserted
here much flattens the sense, and leads the mind to wrong ideas respecting this
event. Read it thus, exactly conformable to the Hebrew, and the spirit of the passage
will appear. Now the people greatly murmured: it was evil in the ears of the Lord:
He heard it, and his anger was kindled, &c. Houbigant renders it, In the mean time
the people murmured wickedly in the ears of the Lord, &c. following the Greek,
which has it, ‫נןםחסב‬ ‫דןדדץזשם‬ . We are not told what was the cause of these
murmurs; but it is evident from Numbers 11:3 compared with Numbers 11:34
that it was something different from that mentioned in the 4th and following
verses. The fire of the Lord means lightning. See 2 Kings 1:12. Job 1:16. As
the mixed multitude were in the uttermost parts of the camp, it is probable
that this murmuring began with them, and that they were the persons now
punished.
ELLICOTT, "(1) And when the people complained . . . —Better, And the people
were as those who complained (or murmured), (which was) evil in the ears of the
Lord. The LXX. has, “And the people murmured sinfully before the Lord.” Comp. 1
Corinthians 10:10 : “Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured.”
And consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.-Better, and
devoured at the extremity of the camp. Most commentators have remarked, and
justly, upon the great severity of the Divine judgments which were inflicted after the
8

9. giving of the Law, as compared with those which were inflicted before it. Reference
may be made in illustration of this point to Exodus 14:11-14; Exodus 15:24-25;
Exodus 16:2-8; Exodus 17:3-7. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews argues from
the just recompense of reward which every transgression and disobedience received
under the Law, the impossibility of the escape of those who neglect the great
salvation of the Gospel. See Hebrews 2:2-3. Comp. also Hebrews 10:28-29; Hebrews
12:25.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:1 And [when] the people complained, it displeased the
LORD: and the LORD heard [it]; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of
the LORD burnt among them, and consumed [them that were] in the
uttermost parts of the camp.
Ver. 1. And when the people complained.] Or, Were as it were complainers:
they did inwardly and secretly repine and mutter at their three days ’ march,
without intermission; like those horses that digest their choler by biting their
bridle.
Consumed them that were in the uttermost parts.] There, it seems, the sin
began amongst those that were faint and weary with travel, as Deuteronomy
25:18.
POOLE, "The murmuring of the people, for which the fire breaketh in upon
them, Numbers 11:1. Moses prayeth to God; the fire is quenched, Numbers
11:2. The name of the place, and why called, Numbers 11:3. The people
murmur again, and lust after flesh, Numbers 11:4-6. Manna described,
Numbers 11:7-9. Moses’s complaint and prayer, Numbers 11:10-15. God
commandeth him to gather seventy of the elders of Israel to help him,
Numbers 11:16,17; promising them flesh to eat, Numbers 11:18-20. Moses’
unbelief, Numbers 11:21,22. God is angry with him, Numbers 11:23. Moses
having gathered seventy of the elders of Israel together, rehearseth the words
of the Lord to them, Numbers 11:24. God coming down in a cloud, taketh of
Moses’s spirit and giveth to the seventy; the effects thereof, Numbers 11:25.
Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp, Numbers 11:26-29. God giveth them
quails to eat, Numbers 11:30-32; and smiteth the people with a very great
plague, Numbers 11:33,34.
9

10. Complained, or, murmured; the occasion whereof seems to be their last three
days’ journey in a vast howling wilderness, without any benefit; and
thereupon the remembrance of their long abode in the wilderness, and the
prospect and fear of many other tedious, and fruitless, and dangerous
journeys, whereby they were like to be long delayed from coming to that
rest, that land of milk and honey, which God had promised them, and which
they thirsted after.
The fire of the Lord, i.e. a fire sent from God in an extraordinary manner,
possibly from the pillar of cloud and fire, or from heaven, as 2 Kings 1:12.
In the uttermost parts of the camp; either because the sin began there among
the mixt multitude, who probably had their place there; or amongst those
who were feeble and weary with their last journey, and therefore hindmost
in the march; or in mercy to the people, whom he would rather awaken to
repentance than utterly destroy, and therefore he sent it into the skirts, and
not the heart and midst of the camp.
WHEDON, " THE COMPLAINING AND THE BURNING, Numbers 11:1-3.
1. Complained — Hebrew, were as those who made themselves sad; R.V., “were as
murmurers speaking evil in the ears of the Lord.” The whole clause is thus rendered
by Keil: “The people were like those who complain in the ears of Jehovah of
something bad.” No cause is assigned, but we infer that it was because of the
privations and hardships of the journey, aggravated in this instance by its
continuance through three days. Such murmuring was a reflection upon their divine
Leader.
Fire of the Lord — Supernaturally kindled, either by lightning or in some other
way. It did not, as Knobel and Rosenmuller suppose, merely burn the bushes
around the camp and the tents, but persons also.
The uttermost parts of the camp — Probably one end, where most of the grumblers
were.
BENSON, " 35. Hazeroth — This is identified with modern Ain Huderah by
10

11. Robinson, Stanley, and Palmer. It is a plain begirt by tall cliffs of sandstone. “Here
and there a hill or dyke of green stone, or a rock of rosy granite, contrasts or blends
harmoniously with the rest; and in the midst, beneath a lofty cliff, nestles the dark-
green palm-grove of Hazeroth — such a landscape as none but the Great Artist’s
hand could have designed.” — Palmer’s Desert of the Exodus. “The region through
which the Israelites had hitherto marched was a wide tangle of mountains, with
occasional broad plains and numerous narrow wadies, twisting hither and thither.
The approach to Hazeroth, however, had been over sandy plains broken by
outstanding sandstone cliffs, but the camp itself had been pitched on the sides and in
the basin of a hollow, surrounded by weird and fantastic sandstone walls of the most
varied colours — deep red and violet, and rich gold and scarlet, mingled with deep
purple.” — Geikie.
EBC, "THE STRAIN OF THE DESERT JOURNEY
Numbers 11:1-35
THE narrative has accompanied the march of Israel but a short way from the
mount of God to some spot marked for an encampment by the ark of the
covenant, and already complaining has to be told of, and the swift judgment
of those who complained. The Israelites have made a reservation in their
covenant with God, that though obedience and trust are solemnly promised,
yet leave shall be taken to murmur against His providence. They will have
God for their Protector, they will worship Him; but let Him make their life
smooth. Much has had to be borne which they did not anticipate; and they
grumble and speak evil.
Generally men do not realise that their murmuring is against God. They have
no intention to accuse His providence. It is of other men they complain, who
come in their way; of accidents, so called, for which no one-seems to be
responsible; of regulations, well enough meant, which at some point prove
vexatious; the obtuseness and carelessness of those who undertake but do not
perform. And there does seem to be a great difference between displeasure
with human agents whose follies and failures provoke us, and discontent with
our own lot and its trials. At the same time, this has to be kept in view, that
while we carefully refrain from criticising Providence, there may be,
underlying our complaints, a tacit opinion that the world is not well made
11

12. nor well ordered. To a certain extent the persons who irritate us are
responsible for their mistakes; but just among those who are prone to err our
discipline has been appointed. To gird at them is as much a revolt against
the Creator as to complain of the heat of summer or the winter cold. With
our knowledge of what the world is, of what our fellow-creatures are, should
go the perception that God rules everywhere and stands against us when we
resent what, in His world, we have to do or to suffer. He is against those who
fail in duty also. Yet it is not for us to be angry. Our due will not be
withheld. Even when we suffer most it is still offered, still given. While we
endeavour to remedy the evils we feel, it must be without a thought that the
order appointed by the Great King fails us at any point.
The punishment of those who complained is spoken of as swift and terrible.
"The fire of the Lord burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part
of the camp." This judgment falls under a principle assumed throughout the
whole book, that disaster must overtake transgressors, and conversely that
death by pestilence, earthquake, or lightning is invariably a result of sin. For
the Israelites this was one of the convictions that maintained a sense of
moral duty and of the danger of offending God. Again and again in the
wilderness, where thunderstorms were common and plagues spread rapidly,
the impression was strongly confirmed that the Most High observed
everything that was done against His will. The journey to Canaan brought in
this way a new experience of God to those who had been accustomed to the
equable conditions of climate and the comparative health enjoyed in Egypt.
The moral education of the people advanced by the quickening of conscience
in regard to all that befell Israel.
From the disaster at Taberah the narrative passes to another phase of
complaint in which the whole camp was involved. The dissatisfaction began
amongst the "mixed multitude"-that somewhat lawless crowd of low-caste
Egyptians and people of the Delta and the wilderness who attached
themselves to the host. Among them first, because they had absolutely no
interest in Israel’s hope, a disposition to quarrel with their circumstances
would naturally arise. But the spirit of dissatisfaction grew apace, and the
burden of the new complaint was: "We have nought but this manna to look
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13. to." The part of the desert into which the travellers had now penetrated was
even more sterile than Midian. Hitherto the food had been varied somewhat
by occasional fruits and the abundant milk of kine and goats. But pasturage
for the cattle was scanty in the wilderness of Paran, and there were no trees
of any kind. Appetite found nothing that was refreshing. Their soul was dried
away.
It was a common belief in our Lord’s time that the manna, falling from
heaven, very food of the angels, had been so satisfying, so delicious, that no
people could have been more favoured than those who ate of it. When Christ
spoke of the meat which endureth unto eternal life, the thought of His
hearers immediately turned to the manna as the special gift of God to their
fathers, and they conceived an expectation that Jesus would give them that
bread of heaven, and so prove Himself worthy of their faith. But He replied,
"Moses gave you not that bread out of heaven, but My Father giveth you the
true bread out of heaven. I am the Bread of Life."
In the course of time the manna had been, so to speak, glorified. It appeared
to the later generations one of the most wonderful and impressive things
recorded in the whole history of their nation, this provision made for the
wandering host. There was the water from the rock, and there was the
manna. What a benignant Providence had watched over the tribes! How
bountiful God had been to the people in the old days! They longed for a sign
of the same kind. To enjoy it would restore their faith and put them again in
the high position which had been denied for ages.
But these notions are not borne out by the history as we have it in the
passage under notice. Nothing is said about angels’ food-that is a poetical
expression which a psalmist used in his fervour. Here we read, as to the
coming of the manna, that when the dew fell upon the camp at night the
manna fell upon it, or with it. And so far from the people being satisfied,
they complained that instead of the fish and onions, cucumbers and melons
of Egypt, they had nothing but manna to eat. The taste of it is described as
like that of fresh oil. In Exodus it is said to have resembled wafers mixed
with honey. It was not the privilege of the Israelites in the wilderness but
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14. their necessity to live on this somewhat cloying food. In no sense can it be
called ideal. Nevertheless, complaining about it, they were in serious fault,
betraying the foolish expectation that on the way to liberty they should have
no privations. And their discontent with the manna soon became alarming to
Moses. A sort of hysteria spread through the camp. Not the women only, but
the men at the doors of their tents bewailed their hard lot. There was a
tempest of tears and cries.
God, through His providence, determining for men, carrying out His own
designs for their good, does not allow them to keep in the region of the usual
and of mere comfort. Something is brought into their life which stirs the
soul. In new hope they begin an enterprise the course and end of which they
cannot foresee. The conventional, the pleasant, the peace and abundance of
Egypt, can be no longer enjoyed if the soul is to have its own. By Moses
Jehovah summoned the Israelites from the land of plenty to fulfil a high
mission and when they responded, it was so far a proof that there was in
them spirit enough for an uncommon destiny. But for the accomplishment of
it they had to be nerved and braced by trial. Their ordeal was that mortifying
of the flesh and of sensuous desire which must be undergone if the hopes
through which the mind becomes conscious of the will of God are to be
fulfilled.
In our personal history God, reaching us by His word, enlightening us with
regard to the true ends of our being, calls us to begin a journey which has no
earthly terminus and promises no earthly reward. We may be quite sure that
we have not yet responded to His call if there is nothing of the wilderness in
our life, no hardship, no adventure, no giving up of what is good in a
temporal sense for what is good in a spiritual sense. The very essence of the
design of God concerning a man is that he leave the lower and seek the
higher, that he deny himself that which according to the popular view is his
life, in order to seek a remote and lofty goal. There will be duty that calls for
faith, that needs hope and courage. In doing it he will have recurring trials of
his spirit, necessities of self-discipline, stern difficulties of choice and action.
Every one of these he must face.
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15. What is wrong with many lives is that they have no strain in them as of a
desert journey towards a heavenly Canaan, the realisation of spiritual life.
Adventure, when it is undertaken, is often for the sake of getting fish and
melons and cucumbers by-and-by in greater abundance and of better kinds.
Many live hardly just now, not because they are on the way to spiritual
freedom and the high destiny of life in God, but because they believe
themselves to be on the way to better social position, to wealth or honour.
But take the life that has begun its high enterprise at the urgency of a Divine
vocation, and that life will find hardness, deprivations, perils, of its own. It is
not given to us to be absolutely certain in decision and endeavour. Out in
the wilderness, even when manna is provided, and the pillar of cloud seems
to show the way, the people of God are in danger of doubting whether they
have done wisely, whether they have not taken too much upon themselves or
laid too much upon the Lord. The Israelites might have said, We have obeyed
God: why, then, should the sun smite us with burning heat, and the dust-
storms sweep down upon our march, and the night fall with so bitter a chill?
Interminable toil, in travelling, in attending to cattle and domestic duties, in
pitching tents and striking them, gathering fuel, searching far and wide
through the camp for food, helping the children, carrying the sick and aged,
toil that did not cease till far into the night and had to be resumed with early
morning-such, no doubt, were the things that made life in the wilderness
irksome. And although many now have a lighter burden, yet our social life,
adding new difficulties with every improvement, our domestic affairs, the
continual struggle necessary in labour and business, furnish not a few causes
of irritation and of bitterness. God does not remove annoyances out of the
way even of His devoted servants. We remember how Paul was vexed and
burdened while carrying the world’s thought on into a new day. We
remember what a weight the infirmities and treacheries of men laid upon the
heart of Christ.
Let us thank God if we feel sometimes across the wilderness a breeze from
the hills of the heavenly Canaan, and now and then catch glimpses of them
far away. But the manna may seem flat and tasteless, nevertheless; the road
may seem long; the sun may scorch. Tempted to despond, we need afresh to
assure ourselves that God is faithful who has given us His promise. And
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16. although we seem to be led not towards the heavenly frontier, but often
aside through close defiles into some region more barren and dismal than we
have yet crossed, doubt is not for us. He knoweth the way that we take;
when He has tried us, we shall come forth where He appoints.
From the people we turn to Moses and the strain he had to bear as leader.
Partly it was due to his sense of the wrath of God against Israel. To a certain
extent he was responsible for those he led, for nothing he had done was
apart from his own will. The enterprise was laid on him as a duty certainly;
yet he undertook it freely. Such as the Israelites were, with that mixed
multitude among them, a dangerous element enough, Moses had personally
accepted the leadership of them. And now the murmuring, the lusting, the
childish weeping, fall upon him. He feels that he must stand between the
people and Jehovah. The behaviour of the multitude vexes him to the soul;
yet he must take their part, and avert, if possible, their condemnation.
The position is one in which a leader of men often finds himself. Things are
done which affront him personally, yet he cannot turn against the wayward
and unbelieving, for, if he did, the cause would be lost. The Divine judgment
of the transgressors falls on him all the more because they themselves are
unaware of it. The burden such a one has to sustain points directly to the
sin-bearing of Christ. Wounded to the soul by the wrongdoing of men, He
had to interpose between them and the stroke of the law, the judgment of
God. And may not Moses be said to be a type of Christ? The parallel may
well be drawn; yet the imperfect mediation of Moses fell far short of the
perfect mediation of our Lord. The narrative here reflects that partial
knowledge of the Divine character which made the mediation of Moses
human and erring for all its greatness.
For one thing Moses exaggerated his own responsibility. He asked of God:
"Why hast Thou evil entreated Thy servant? Why dost Thou lay the burden of
all this people upon me? Am I their father? Am I to carry the whole
multitude as a father carries his young child in his bosom?" These are
ignorant words, foolish words. Moses is responsible, but not to that extent. It
is fit that he should be grieved when the Israelites do wrong, but not proper
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17. that he should charge God with laying on him the duty of keeping and
carrying them like children. He speaks unadvisedly with his lips.
Responsibility of those who endeavour to lead others has its limits; and the
range of duty is bounded in two ways-on the one hand by the responsibility
of men for themselves, on the other hand by God’s responsibility for them,
God’s care of them. Moses should see that no law or ordinance makes him
chargeable with the childish lamentations of those who know they should not
complain, who ought to be manly and endure with stout hearts. If persons
who can go on their own feet want to be carried, no one is responsible for
carrying them. It is their own fault when they are left behind. If those who
can think and discover duty for themselves, desire constantly to have it
pointed out to them, crave daily encouragement in doing their duty, and
complain because they are not sufficiently considered, the leader, like Moses,
is not responsible. Every man must bear his own burden-that is, must bear
the burden of duty, of thought, of effort, so far as his ability goes.
Then, on the other side, the power of God is beneath all, His care extends
over all. Moses ought not for a moment to doubt Jehovah ’s mindfulness of
His people. Men who hold office in society or the Church are never to think
that their effort is commensurate with God’s. Proud indeed he would be who
said: "The care of all these souls lies on me: if they are to be saved, I must
save them; if they perish, I shall be chargeable with their blood." Speaking
ignorantly and in haste, Moses went almost that length; but his error is not
to be repeated. The charge of the Church and of the world is God ’s; and He
never fails to do for all and for each what is right. The teacher of men, the
leader of affairs, with full sympathy and indefatigable love, is to do all he
can, yet never trench on the responsibility of men for their own life, or
assume to himself the part of Providence.
Moses made one mistake and went on to another. He was on the whole a
man of rare patience and meekness; yet on this occasion he spoke to Jehovah
in terms of daring resentment. His cry was to get rid of the whole enterprise:
"If Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, and let me not
see my wretchedness." He seemed to himself to have this work to do and no
17

18. other, apparently imagining that if he was not competent for this, he could
be of no use in the world. But even if he had failed as a leader, highest in
office, he might have been fit enough for a secondary place, under Joshua or
some other whom God might inspire: this he failed to see. And although he
was bound up in Israel’s well-being, so that if the expedition did not prosper
he had no wish to live, and was so far sincerely patriotic, yet what good end
could his death serve? The desire to die shows wounded pride. Better live on
and turn shepherd again. No man is to despise his life, whatever it is,
however it may seem to come short of the high ambition he has cherished as
a servant of God and men. Discovering that in one line of endeavour he
cannot do all he would, let him make trial of others, not pray for death.
The narrative represents God as dealing graciously with his erring servant.
Help was provided for him by the appointment of seventy elders, who were
to share the task of guiding and controlling the tribes. These seventy were to
have a portion of the leader’s spirit-zeal and enthusiasm like his own. Their
influence in the camp would prevent the faithlessness and dejection which
threatened to wreck the Hebrew enterprise. Further, the murmuring of the
people was to be effectually silenced. Flesh was to be given them till they
loathed it. They should learn that the satisfaction of ignorant desire meant
punishment rather than pleasure.
The promise of flesh was speedily fulfilled by an extraordinary flight of
quails, brought up, according to the seventy-eighth Psalm, by a wind which
blew from the south and east-that is, from the Elanitic Gulf. These quails
cannot sustain themselves long on the wing, and after crossing the desert
some thirty or forty miles they would scarcely be able to fly. The enormous
numbers of them which fluttered around the camp are not beyond ordinary
possibility. Fowls of this kind migrate at certain seasons in such enormous
multitudes that in the small island of Capri, near Naples, one hundred and
sixty thousand have been netted in one season. When exhausted, they would
easily be taken as they flew at a height of about two cubits above the
ground. The whole camp was engaged in capturing quails from one morning
to the evening of the following day; and the quantity was so great that he
who gathered least had ten homers, probably a heap estimated to be of that
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19. measure. To keep them for further use the birds were prepared and spread
on the ground to dry in the sun.
When the epidemic of weeping broke out through the camp, the doubt
occurred to Moses whether there was any spiritual quality in the people, any
fitness for duty or destiny of a religious kind. They seemed to be all
unbelievers on whom the goodness of God and the sacred instruction had
been wasted. They were earthly and sensual. How could they ever trust God
enough to reach Canaan?-or if they reached it, how would their occupation
of it be justified? They would but form another heathen nation, all the worse
that they had once known the true God and had abandoned Him. But a
different view of things was presented to Moses when the chosen elders, men
of worth, were gathered at the tent of meeting, and on a sudden impulse of
the Spirit began to prophesy. As these men in loud and ecstatic language
proclaimed their faith, Moses found his confidence in Jehovah ’s power and in
the destiny of Israel re-established. His mind was relieved at once of the
burden of responsibility and the dread of an extinction of the heavenly light
he had been the means of kindling among the tribes. If there were seventy
men capable of receiving the Spirit of God, there might be hundreds, even
thousands. A spring of new enthusiasm is opened, and Israel ’s future is again
possible.
Now there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were of the seventy, but
had not come to the tent of meeting, where the prophetic spirit fell upon the
rest. They had not heard the summons, we may suppose. Unaware of what
was taking place at the tabernacle, yet realising the honour conferred upon
them, they were perhaps engaged in ordinary duties, or, having found some
need for their interference, they may have been rebuking murmurers and
endeavouring to restore order among the unruly. And suddenly they also,
under the same influence as the other sixty-eight, began to prophesy. The
spirit of earnestness caught them. With the same ecstasy they declared their
faith and praised the God of Israel.
There was in one sense a limitation of the spirit of prophecy, whatever it
was. Of all the host only the seventy received it. Other good men and true in
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20. Israel that day might have seemed as capable of the heavenly endowment as
those who prophesied. It was, however, in harmony with a known principle
that the men designated to special office alone received the gift. The sense of
a choice felt to be that of God does unquestionably exalt the mind and spirit
of those chosen. They realise that they stand higher and must do more for
God and men than others, that they are inspired to say what otherwise they
could not dare to say. The limitation of the Spirit in this sense is not
invariable, is not strict. At no time in the world ’s history has the call to
office been indispensable to prophetic fervour and courage. Yet the sequence
is sufficiently common to be called a law.
But while in a sense there is restriction of the spiritual influence, in another
sense there is no restraint. The Divine afflatus is not confined to those who
have gathered at the tabernacle. It is not place or occasion that makes the
prophets; it is the Spirit, the power from on high entering into life; and out
in the camp the two have their portion of the new energy and zeal. Spiritual
influence, then, is not confined to any particular place. Neither was the
neighbourhood of the tabernacle so holy that there alone the elders could
receive their gift; nor is any place of meeting, any church, capable of such
consecration and singular identification with the service of God that there
alone the power of the Divine Spirit can be manifested or received. Let there
be a man chosen of God, ready, for the duties of a holy calling, and on that
man the Spirit will come, wherever he is, in whatever he is engaged. He may
be employed in common work, but in doing it he will be moved to earnest
service and testimony. He may be labouring, under great difficulties, to
restore the justice that has been impaired by social errors and political
chicanery-and his words will be prophetic; he will be a witness for God to
those who are without faith, without holy fear.
While Eldad and Medad prophesied in the camp, a young man who heard
them ran officiously to inform Moses. To this young man as to others-for no
doubt there were many who loved and revered the usual-the two elders were
presumptuous fools. The camp was, as we say, secular: was it not? People in
the camp looked after ordinary affairs, tended their cattle, chaffered and
bargained, quarrelled about trifles, murmured against Moses and against God.
20

21. Was it right to prophesy there, carrying religious words and ideas into the
midst of common life? If Eldad and Medad could prophesy, let them go to the
tabernacle. And besides, what right had they to speak for Jehovah, in
Jehovah’s name? Was not Moses the prophet, the only prophet? Israel was
accustomed to think him so, would keep to that opinion. It would be
confusing if at any one’s tent door a prophet might begin to speak without
warning. So the young man thought it his duty to run and tell Moses what
was taking place. And Joshua, when he heard, was alarmed, and desired
Moses to put an end to the irregular ministry. "My lord Moses, forbid them,"
he said. He was jealous not for himself and the other elders, but for Moses ’
sake. So far the leader alone held communication with Jehovah and spoke in
His name; and there was perhaps some reason for the alarm of Joshua, more
than was apparent at the time. To have one central authority was better and
safer than to have many persons using the right to speak in any sense for
God. Who could be sure that these new voices would agree with Moses in
every respect? Even if they did, might there not be divisions in the camp,
new priesthoods as well as new oracles? Prophets might not be always wise,
always truly inspired. And there might be false prophets by-and-by, even if
Eldad and Medad were not false.
In like manner it might be argued now that there is danger when one here
and another there assume authority as revealers of the truth of things. Some,
full of their own wisdom, take high ground as critics and teachers of religion.
Others imagine that with the right to wear a certain dress there has come to
them the full equipment of the prophet. And others still, remembering how
Elijah and John the Baptist arrayed themselves in coarse cloth and leathern
girdle, assume that garb, or what corresponds to it, and claim to have the
prophetic gift because they express the voice of the people. So in our days
there is a question whether Eldad or Medad, prophesying in the camp, ought
to be trusted or even allowed to speak. But who is to decide? Who is to take
upon him to silence the voices? The old way was rough and ready. All who
were in office in a certain Church were commissioned to interpret Divine
mysteries; the rest were ordered to be silent on pain of imprisonment. Those
who did not teach as the Church taught, under her direction, were made
offenders against the public wellbeing. That way, however, has been found
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22. wanting, and "liberty of prophesying" is fully allowed. With the freedom
there have come difficulties and dangers enough. Yet to "try the spirits
whether they are of God" is our discipline on the way to life.
The reply of Moses to Joshua’s request anticipates, in no small degree, the
doctrine of liberty. "Art thou jealous for my sake? Would God that all the
Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon
them." His answer is that of a broad and magnanimous toleration. Moses
cannot indeed have believed that great religious truths were in the reach of
every man, and that any earnest soul might receive and communicate those
truths. But his conception of a people of God is like that in the prophecy of
Joel, where he speaks of all flesh being endued with the Spirit, the old men
and young men, the sons and daughters, alike made able to testify of what
they have seen and heard. The truly great man entertains no jealousy of
others. He delights to see in other eyes the flash of heavenly intelligence, to
find other souls made channels of Divine revelation. He would have no
monopoly in knowledge and sacred prophecy. Moses had instituted an
exclusive priesthood; but here he sets the gate of the prophetical office wide
open. All whom God endows are declared free in Israel to use that office.
We can only wonder that still any order of men should try in the name of
the Church to shut the mouths of those who approve themselves reverent
students of the Divine Word. At the same time let it not be forgotten that the
power of prophesying is no chance gift, no easy faculty. He who is to speak
on God’s behalf must indeed know the mind of God. How can one claim the
right to instruct others who has never opened his mind to the Divine voice,
who has not reverently compared Scripture with Providence and all the
phases of revelation that are unfolded in conscience and human life? Men
who draw a narrow circle and keep their thoughts within it can never
become prophets.
The closing verses of the chapter tell of the plague that fell on the lustful,
and the burial of those who died of it, in a place thence called
Kibrothhattaavah. The people had their desire, and it brought judgment upon
them. Here in Israel’s history a needful warning is written; but how many
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23. read without understanding! And so, every day the same plague is claiming
its victims, and "graves of lust" are dug. The preacher still finds in this
portion of Scripture a subject that never ceases to claim treatment, let social
conditions be what they may.
PETT, " Chapter 11 The Grumbling Of The People and The Men Of The Spirit.
With the journeying beginning again after the stay at Sinai the previous
problems of Exodus 16:1-12; Exodus 17:1-3 recommenced. The way was
unquestionably difficult. The sun was scorching, the wilderness dry, the
desert ‘road’ rough and definitely not suitable for such a large group of
travellers. And in the way of people it was not long before the murmuring
and grumbling began. Their eyes were not on Yahweh but on themselves,
and as they struggled through the sweltering heat with no real end in sight,
they began to feel sorry for themselves, and to think that deliverance was not
all that it was cracked up to be.
In the midst of their troubles God brought home a powerful message which
contrasted their desire for fleshly gratification with His willingness to
provide the Spirit.
The whole of this chapter quite clearly demonstrates the chiastic principle
inherent in Moses’ writings so remarkably that it can surely not be denied. It
is constructed as follows:
a The people murmur against Yahweh (Numbers 11:1 a).
b The anger of Yahweh is kindled and He smites them with judgment
(Numbers 11:1-3)
c The rabble commence lusting and the people crave for the pleasures of
Egypt which causes them to sin (Numbers 11:4-6).
d The people had gathered the manna (Numbers 11:7-8).
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24. e The manna had fallen from heaven (Numbers 11:9).
f Moses was disturbed at the people and receives a reply (Numbers
11:10-15).
g The Spirit will come on the seventy elders (Numbers 11:16-17).
h The people will eat the flesh they craved (when they should have been
craving spirit) (Numbers 11:18 a).
i The people’s craving for flesh makes them declare, ‘It was well with us in
Egypt’ (Numbers 11:18).
i They will be satiated with flesh because they said, ‘Why came we forth out
of Egypt?’ (Numbers 11:19-20).
h Moses puzzled how Yahweh can provide the flesh they crave, but they will
eat it (Numbers 11:21-23 a).
g The Spirit comes on the seventy elders (Numbers 11:24-26).
f Joshua was disturbed at the two elders and receives a reply (Numbers
11:27-30).
e The quails fall from heaven (Numbers 11:31).
d The people gather the quails (Numbers 11:32 a).
c The people’s craving for the quails causes them to sin (Numbers 11:32 b).
b Yahweh’s anger is kindled and the plague comes from Yahweh so that the
people are smitten (Numbers 11:33).
a The malcontents and lusters are buried in the Graves of craving (Numbers
24

25. 11:34).
The chapter commences with a short, sharp warning, which is not heeded.
Chapter 12 The Jealousy of Aaron and Miriam.
In this chapter the position of Moses is firmly established. It can be
compared with Numbers 16-17 where the position of Aaron was firmly
established. In both cases they had been directly appointed by God, not by
man.
Possibly Aaron and Miriam had become jealous because of the Spirit coming
on the seventy elders as they stood with Moses. Aaron was ‘the Priest’ and
Miriam a prophetess (Exodus 15:20). Perhaps they felt, unreasonably, that
Moses was supplanting them and raising up others with spiritual insight.
Whatever the cause they began to mutter against Moses.
Because they dared not attack him openly they attacked his wife. She was a
Cushite woman and not a true-born Israelite. This then enabled them to get
at Moses himself. ‘Why should he think he was different from them?’ they
asked. Did Yahweh only speak with Moses? Did He not also speak with
Aaron and Miriam? How dangerous it is when we become proud of what God
has given us, or the position in which He has placed us. But Yahweh
immediately stepped in to make clear Moses ’ unique position and in the end
the two had to plead with Moses to intercede for them.
The construction of the passage is clear.
a They journey from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth (Numbers 11:35).
b Miriam, with Aaron, turns against Moses (Miriam named first) (Numbers
12:1-2).
c Moses is the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3).
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26. d Yahweh speaks to Moses, Aaron and Miriam and calls them into His
presence (Numbers 12:4).
e The cloud comes down to the door of the Dwellingplace (Numbers 12:5).
f Yahweh’s definition of a prophet (Numbers 12:6).
f Yahweh’s declaration about Moses (Numbers 12:7-8).
e The cloud departs from the Dwellingplace leaving Miriam leprous
(Numbers 12:9-10).
d Aaron pleads with Moses to go into Yahweh’s presence on their behalf
(Numbers 12:11-13).
c Miriam is as one whose father spits in their face (Numbers 12:14).
b Miriam is cast out of the camp for seven days (Numbers 12:15).
a They journey from Hazeroth to the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 12:16).
Verses 1-3
A Sharp Warning About Grumbling. The People Complain and Are Smitten.
Moses Intervenes (Numbers 11:1-3).
It is interesting that even in so short a passage another chiastic formation is
revealed.
a They displease Yahweh and the fire of Yahweh burns among them
(Numbers 11:1).
b The people cry to Moses for the quenching of the fire.
b Moses intercedes with Yahweh and the fire is quenched.
26

27. a The place is called Taberah because the fire of Yahweh burnt among them.
Numbers 11:1
‘And the people were as murmurers, evil in the ears of Yahweh, (or ‘were as
murmurers in the ears of Yahweh about their misfortunes’) and when
Yahweh heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of Yahweh burnt among
them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp. ’
The incidents are not specifically fitted into the travel schedule so that we do
not know how long this was after leaving Sinai, but it was clearly not long
before the people began to murmur. It was probably in the desert of Et-Tih.
And what they were muttering among themselves was evil in Yahweh ’s ears,
as such muttering always is. Indeed the mood was so ugly that God was
angry with it. He clearly felt it totally unjustifiable. They would have much
worse to go through than this. They had to learn to cope with adversity.
The result was that on the extremities of the camp a fire burst out and
‘burned among them’, and they recognised it for what it was, a warning shot
from Yahweh. Whether it was caused by lightning, or a bush bursting into
flames in the intense heat which then spread, we do not know. And whether
anyone died or whether it just affected possessions we are not told. But it
was their first salutary warning.
God uses such trials and judgments in order to teach His people lessons.
Whom Yahweh loves, He chastens (Deuteronomy 8:5). Here He was trying to
pull the people up short so that their minds might be taken off themselves
and set on Him. He knew the condition that they were getting themselves
into. Had they taken heed it would have saved them a lot of trouble in the
future.
PARKER, " Complaining of Providence
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28. Numbers 11:1-3
The people complained—and the Lord set fire to them! That seems rough
judgment, for what is man"s speech as set against the divine fire? We must all agree
that this was harsh—utterly and unwarrantably severe, out of all proportion to the
temper and intention of the people. The people complained: they were in pain, in
distress, in weariness—and the Lord burned them! Who can defend the procedure?
Who can so subordinate his reason and his sense of right as to commend the justice
of this tremendous punishment? So they might say who begin their Bible reading at
the eleventh chapter of Numbers. There is only one place at which to begin the
reading of the Bible, and that is at the first chapter of Genesis and the first verse;
and there is only one place at which the reading of the Bible can be completed, and
that is the last verse of the last chapter of the last book. The difficulty of the
Christian argument is that people will begin to read the Bible wherever they please.
The Bible has but one beginning and one ending, and only they are qualified to
pronounce judgment upon it who read the book from end to end, omitting nothing,
setting everything in its right place, and causing the whole to assume its proper
perspective and colour. It is easily conceivable that many a Prayer of Manasseh ,
opening the Bible at this point and beginning his acquaintance with the sacred
record at this incident, might exclaim—How harsh the divine action I how devoid
not of reason only, but of justice! Who can worship a God who sets fire to people
who, living in a wilderness, venture to complain? Who says so?—the man who does
not understand the case. Who complains against God?—only he who does not know
the meaning of the divine movement, the scope of the divine outlook, the purpose of
the divine beneficence. Was this the first time the people had complained? Was the
voice of whining quite new in the camps of Israel? The Bible does not begin with the
Book of Numbers. Read the Book of Exodus , notably the fourteenth and following
chapters up to the time of the giving of the law, and you will find complaint
following complaint; and what was the divine answer in that succession of
reproaches? Was there fire? Did the Lord shake down the clouds upon the people
and utterly overwhelm them with tokens of indignation? No. When the Israelites
first complained of the pursuing Egyptians, and asked if there were not graves
enough in Egypt that they should have been dragged out into the wilderness to be
buried, what was the answer?—Stand still and see the salvation of God. When the
people complained at Marah, saying,—This water is bitter, and we cannot drink
it,—did the fire descend? No spark fell from the angry heavens, but the waters were
sweetened, every tang of bitterness being taken out of the pool. When the people
complained of their wilderness life and having nothing to eat, what was the answer?
Contempt? A storm such as fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah? No such reply was
given; but the Lord said,—I will rain down food upon the sandy places, and all you
shall have to do will be to go out and gather it. The people complain again—and the
Lord burns them! To some murmuring there is but one reply that can be
appreciated. The Lord is full of tenderness and compassion,—yea, infinite in
piteousness and love is he; but there is a point when his Spirit can no longer strive
with us, and when he must displace the persuasions of love by the anger and the
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29. judgment of fire.
But this is not the whole case. The people were not complaining only. The word
complaint may be so construed as to have everything taken out of it except the
feeblest protest and the feeblest utterance of some personal desire. But this is not the
historical meaning of the word complaint as it is found here. What happened
between the instances we have quoted and the instance which is immediately before
us? Until that question is answered the whole case is not before the mind for opinion
or criticism. What then had taken place? The most momentous of all incidents. God
had said through Moses to the people of Israel,—Will you obey the law? And they
stood to their feet, as it were, and answered in one unanimous reply,—We will. The
spirit of obedience having been, as we have seen, thus created, the law was given in
detail. You remember the criticism passed upon this circumstance. The law was not
given, and then obedience demanded; obedience was promised, and then the law
was given. The Ten Words are an answer to a pledge; the pledge committed the
people to the Ten Words. What had they said in their pledge? They had uttered a
vow which is seldom realised in all the fulness and pathos of its meaning; they had
said,—We will have none other gods beside thee. So the people were wedded to their
Lord at that great mountain altar; words of fealty and kinship and Godhood had
been exchanged, and now these people that had oft complained and had then
promised obedience, and had then sworn that they would have none other gods
beside Jehovah, complained—went back to their evil ways; and the Lord, who takes
out his sword last and only calls upon his fire in extremity, smote them—burned
them. And this will he do to us if we trifle with our oaths, if we practise bad faith
towards the altar, if we are guilty of malfeasance in the very sanctuary of God. To
criticise Providence—who is fit for that high judgment? Providence is a large word;
it is like the horizon, encompassing all things with a line that cannot be touched,
including all things, yet without bond or token of humiliation. Who can criticise the
Providence of life—that marvellous power that lights up the world in the morning,
curtains it off with a veil of darkness night by night, blesses its soil with fertility, fills
its channels with streams and rivers, feeds the roots of its tiniest flowers, paints the
wings of its frailest insects, leads like a cloud by day and like a fire by night, that
numbers the hairs of the head of every child living in the Father"s house? Who has
mind enough, penetration enough, judgment enough, to call God to his bar and
pronounce sentence upon the Infinite? We are vexed by details; we are blinded by
the immediate dust of the road. We are not called to judgment, but to acquiescence,
to acceptance, to gratitude, to hope. To criticise God is to usurp the divine throne.
Let who will pass their insane judgments upon the infinite scale of life; let it be ours,
where we cannot understand, to believe; where we cannot direct, to accept, and in
all things to kiss the rod and bless the Hand that lifts it. This is not the surrender of
reason; it is the baptism and consecration of understanding.
Were the people content with complaining? They passed from complaining to
lusting, saying, "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did
eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions,
and the garlic: but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this
29

30. manna, before our eyes.... And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it
in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it"—and
grumbled the while because Egyptian appetite was excited within them. There is a
philosophy here. You cannot stop short with complaining. Wickedness never plays a
negative game. The man who first complains will next erect his appetite as a hostile
force against the will of God. A marvellous thing is this, to recollect our lives
through the medium of our appetites, to have old relishes return to the mouth, to
have the palate stimulated by remembered sensations. The devil has many ways into
the soul. The recollection of evil may prompt a desire for its repetition. Worldliness
has, no doubt, its pleasant memories. Let us be just to all men. The worldly life is
not without its sensations of pleasure and gratification. We do not expect men to
enter the sanctuary and forget all the old days as if they had had no pleasure in
them. Old tastes will revive; the tongue will be stirred to new desires; an odour in
the air will remind you of the feast you have abandoned; the sight of an old
companion may drive you to wish for just one more day in the old house of bondage,
in the old sensual relations. We live a very delicate life. We are not far from the
enemy at any one point in our history. The sight of a face may awaken within us
influences which we had supposed to be dead; the resonance of an old song may
bring back the memory of black nights consecrated to the service of the devil with a
will. We must not be harsh upon those who remember the pleasant side of Egyptian
life. We may now think of the old days with some pleasure:—how free the riotous
dance was; how eager our appetite at the feast; how we relished the ardent poison;
how we enjoyed the exchange of passionate looks and words! And if a longing
sometimes steals in upon the heart, putting back its prayer and threatening its
overthrow, this may not be sin, it may be a severe temptation, a call to a tremendous
struggle; and if in that struggle the poor soul may fall for a moment, yet, if its
uppermost desire be true, though it fall it shall not be utterly cast down. If any man
has escaped the snare of drunkenness, or the snare of evil indulgence of any kind,
and yet now and again feels as if, after all, the old days had charms and pleasures,
that transient feeling is not necessarily a sin on the part of the man who experiences
its pain; it is a temptation of the evil one, and is only to be put down by nobler
prayer, by a sharper, keener cry for omnipotent defence.
The public complaint affected the bravest spirit in the camp. Moses was utterly tired
out. I wonder that all leaders are not occasionally driven to extremity by sheer
disgust at public ingratitude. Moses said, "Kill me... out of hand." Moses was not a
man who naturally longed for extermination; he was a soldier; he was born to be a
leader and a commander of the people; but continual friction, daily exasperation,
eternal misunderstanding, and implied insult, wrought in him a state of mind which
expressed itself not only in a desire but in a prayer that he might die. Was the leader
paid? Was the leader pampered? Was a separate table provided for Moses in the
wilderness? Did he not throw himself into the common lot and live the life of the
common people of the desert? Yet, notwithstanding, he was the subject of daily
reproach and bitterest criticism. Who knows what it is to carry a thousand lives in
his heart? Who knows the difficulties of the shepherd"s life? Who understands the
daily pain of the pastor"s heart? What has he to do? To sympathise with all kinds of
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31. experiences; to understand all the varied qualities of human life and human desires;
to transfuse himself into conditions and relations apparently far remote from his
own central gift and call of God; to make prayer for a thousand suppliants. It is no
easy task. We should be gentler with men who have given themselves to be our
pastors, and to carry us somehow in their great hearts. A bitter word is easily
spoken, but it is not easily dislodged from the memory of love. Neglect is easily
shown—coldness, contempt, disregard, want of appreciation; but all the time you
are bringing the pastor, the shepherd, the leader, the Moses, to desire to die. There
is another manslaughter than the vulgar shedding of blood; there is a heart-murder:
there are crucifixions without visible crosses. People do not always come to the
assault with the avowed purpose of killing or injuring; but for want of consideration
and the simplest instincts of justice, they tear men to pieces; they say, in ghostly
throngs around the good man"s bed,—You shall not sleep to-night; we will tear the
sleep from your eyelids and vex you with a thousand tormenting memories. Let us
cease from the number of those who criticise the ways of Providence and kill the
messengers of Heaven.
God found assistance for Moses,—the only answer Moses could understand at the
time. God"s answers are accommodated to the state of our intelligence and our
moral feeling. To have seventy men moved by a spirit kindred to your own is an
answer which can easily be understood. Divine and spiritual replies had been given
to Moses again and again; but God says,—The poor soul wants something more
visible and substantial this time; I never saw him so borne down,—a man"s heart so
stout of will, so faultless in its sacred obstinacy; but his bold face looked blanched
to-day, his commanding voice hesitated and struggled in utterance to-day; I must
give him a new reply. So seventy men were called out who were filled with a kindred
spirit, and the Lord said, in effect, to Moses,—I have multiplied thee by seventy:
now play the man. Wondrous are the answers of God! They who have studied them
most are the most assured in their Christian faith; such men do not need wordy
arguments to convince them as to the utility of prayer: they found the answer to the
argument on the prayer itself.
What did Moses do? He took heart again. When he heard of the fire at the outside
of the camp—burning, singeing, scorching—he said,—Lord, put the fire out! He
prayed for the very people that had very nearly killed him. Herein, he anticipated
Christ John said—"Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from
heaven, and consume them?" The Lord said: "Ye know not what manner of spirit
ye are of." Two irregular men in the camp began to prophesy; and the message was
taken to Moses that another kind of fire had broken out—a species of spiritual and
official insanity. Moses said,—Let them alone; good water comes from good
fountains, wise words flow from wise minds; do not feel envious on my account;
"would God that all the Lord"s people were prophets!" That is the philosophy of
progress—not dragging down the one prophet to the level of those who might
prophesy, but lifting up the common camp until it is moved by divine inspirations.
The great preacher has no fear of other preachers arising; the greatest preacher
would say,—Put all the churches in a row, and let him who knows most of God
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32. prove his knowledge. Have no fear of inspired men, no fear of the multiplication of
their number, and do not be jealous of their success; when they succeed, we succeed.
The Church is one, and every minister should claim brotherhood with every other
minister; to insult one of the brethren ought to be felt to be an insult to the entire
fraternity. Joshua thought that Moses would feel rather angry that other people
were beginning to usurp his function. Would to Heaven there were fewer Joshuas of
this kind and for this purpose! for such tale-bearers work no end of mischief in
every circle into which they enter, and none the less mischief that they say—Our
motive was pure, our intention was good; we heard these irregular persons
exercising an irregular ministry, and we were concerned for the traditional unity of
the Church. Have no such concern. The one man the Lord does not need is the tale-
bearer. If he must speak, let him go out into a wide and solitary place, in the deepest
darkness of the night, and speak his insanity to the unheeding winds. "Would God
that all the Lord"s people were prophets!" If they were all preachers, they would
sympathise more with preachers than they do; if they were all commanders of
armies, they would long for some army to command; if they had greater trials, they
would have tenderer patience.
How did the Lord treat Moses? He asked him one question, "And the Lord said
unto Moses, Is the Lord"s hand waxed short?" We always forget the divine element.
Moses says,— indeed?" It is not a question for you; the battle is not yours, but
God"s. "Is the Lord"s hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether my word
shall come to pass unto thee or not." The people got their way. The Lord said,—You
shall have flesh enough to eat; I will find it: I will send out the winds to bring it, I
will command the clouds to shed it; you shall have flesh enough. And whilst they ate
the flesh—ate it to satiety—the judgment of the Lord fell upon them,—"And the
Lord smote the people with a very great plague," and in that wilderness a great
cemetery was dug. The Lord could not be harsher to us sometimes than to answer
our prayers. Pray for fine weather, pray for the rain of manna, pray that flesh may
be given in the wilderness and fowls in places out of the way; but having so prayed,
say, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done," and to that prayer God always
sends an angel in reply.
Note
The Israelites murmuring over their heavenly food looked back with regret to the
melons and cucumbers, which they had eaten so freely even in Egypt, the land of
their captivity. So plentiful are these fruits and vegetables in this and other hot and
sandy countries, that they grow luxuriantly either with or without cultivation,
climbing up the trees and shrubs, shading the roofs of the native dwellings with
their broad green leaves, or covering the ground, which would otherwise be a desert,
making it as a garden in fertility and beauty. The weary traveller pauses on his way
when he sees from afar the vine-shaped leaves of the water-melon in the Indian
cornfields, and he turns aside to seek with eagerness for the delicious fruit, which he
is sure of finding cold and refreshing in the hottest season. The cucumber is also
most grateful to the taste; cooling to the over-heated frame, and an incentive to more
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33. substantial and supporting food than would otherwise be desired in these tropical
countries. The God of love seems so lovingly to have provided for the inhabitants of
these and all climates the food most suitable for nourishing and refreshment. Now
the Israelites had heavenly food, and they needed none other, but (it is the story of a
human heart) they must look back to the cucumbers and melons of Egypt.
—C. W.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:1
And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. There is no "when"
in the original. It is literally, "And the people were as complainers evil in the
ears of the Lord." This may be paraphrased as in the A.V.; or it may be
rendered as in the Septuagint, ‫ח‬‫ם‬ ‫ן‬‫כב‬ ‫ן‬‫דןדד‬ ‫ע‬ ‫ץ‬‫נןםחס‬ ‫זשם‬ ‫ב‬ ‫ו‬‫ץבםפי‬
‫ךץס‬ ‫י‬‫ןץ‬ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:10), where ‫נןםחס‬ ‫ב‬ means the wicked things
they uttered in their discontent; or the "evil" may mean the hardships they
complained of. The Targums understand it in the same way as the
Septuagint, and this seems to agree best with the context. As to the time and
place of this complaining, the narrative seems to limit it within the three
days' march from the wilderness of Sinai; but it is not possible to fix it more
precisely. It is sufficient that the very first incident in the great journey
thought worthy of record was this sin and its punishment, and the natural
conclusion is that it came to pass very shortly after the departure. As to the
reason of the complaining, although it is not stated, and although there does
not seem to have been any special cause of distress, we can hardly be
mistaken about it. The fatigue and anxiety of the march, after a year's
comparative idleness, the frightful nature of the country into which they
were marching, and the unknown terrors of the way which lay before them,
these were quite enough to shake their nerves and upset their minds. Such
things could only be borne and faced in a spirit of faith and trustful
dependence upon God and their appointed leaders, and that spirit they knew
nothing of. Slavery, even when its outward pressure is past and gone like a
bad dream, leaves behind it above all things an incurable suspicion of, and a
rooted disbelief in, others, which shows itself outwardly by blank ingratitude
and persistent complaint of bad treatment. This is the well-known mental
attitude of liberated slaves even towards their benefactors and liberators; and
in the case of Israel this temper extended to the King of Israel himself, whom
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34. they held responsible for all the privations and terrors of an apparently
needless journey through a hideous waste. The Targum of Palestine says
here, "There were wicked men of the people who, being discontent, devised
and imagined evil before the Lord." The complaining, however, seems to have
been general throughout the host, as the Psalmist more truly acknowledges
(Psalms 78:17-22). And the fire of the Lord burnt among them. The "fire of
the Lord" may mean one of three things.
1. Lightning, as apparently in Job 1:16; for lightning to the unscientific is the
fiery bolt, even as thunder is the angry voice, of God (cf. 1 Samuel 12:18, 1
Samuel 12:19).
2. A miraculous outburst of flame from the Presence in the tabernacle, such
as slew Nadab and Abihu (Le Job 10:2), and afterwards the 250 men who
offered incense (Job 16:1-22 :35).
3. A miraculous descent of fire from heaven, as apparently in 2 Kings 1:10-12
(cf. Revelation 13:13). Of these the second seems to be excluded by the fact
that the conflagration was in the outskirts of the camp furthest removed from
the tabernacle. If we suppose the fire to have been natural, we may further
suppose that it set alight to the dry bushes and shrubs which abound in parts
of the desert, and which blaze with great fury when the flame is driven by
the wind. It is, however, at least as likely that a wholly supernatural
visitation of God is here intended. What is most important to notice is this,
that the punishment in this case followed hard and sore upon the sin,
whereas before they came to Sinai the Lord had passed over similar
murmurings without any chastisement (Exodus 15:24; Exodus 16:2). The
reason of this difference was twofold. In the first place, they had now had
abundant opportunity to become acquainted with the power and goodness of
the Lord, and had solemnly entered into covenant with him, and he had
taken up his abode among them; wherefore their responsibilities grew with
their privileges, their dangers kept pace with their advantages. In the second
place, they had while at Sinai committed an act of national apostasy (Exodus
32:1-35), the punishment of which, although suspended (2 Kings 1:14), was
only suspended (verse 34), and was always capable of being revived; Israel
34

35. was plainly warned that he was under sentence, and that any disobedience
would awake the terrors of the Lord against him. And consumed … in the
uttermost parts of the camp. Probably setting fire to the outer line of tents,
or some pitched outside the line, and consuming the people that were in
them. The Targum of Palestine affirms that it "destroyed some of the wicked
in the outskirts of the house of Dan, with whom was a graven image;" but
this attempt to shift the responsibility, and to alter the character of the sin, is
clearly worthless, and only suggested by occurrences wholly unconnected
with the present (see 18:1-31).
BI 1-3, "The people complained.
Against murmuring
I. A dissatisfied spirit causes displeasure to the Lord.
1. This we might infer from our own feelings, when dependents, children,
servants, or receivers of alms are always grumbling. We grow weary of them,
and angry with them.
2. In the case of men towards God it is much worse for them to murmur, since
they deserve no good at His hands, but the reverse ( Lam_3:29; Psa_103:10).
3. In that case also it is a reflection upon the Lord’s goodness, wisdom, truth,
and power.
4. The evil lusting which attends the complaining proves its injurious character.
We are ready for anything when we quarrel with God ( 1Co_10:5-12).
5. God thinks so ill of it that His wrath burns, and chastisement is not long
withheld. To set an imaginary value upon that which we have not —
(1) Is foolish, childish, pettish.
(2) Is injurious to ourselves, for it prevents our enjoying what we already
have.
(3) Is slanderous towards God, and ungrateful to Him.
(4) Leads to rebellion, falsehood, envy, and all manner of sins.
II. A dissatisfied spirit finds no pleasure for itself even when its wish is fulfilled.
The Israelites had flesh in superabundance in answer to their foolish prayers, but —
1. It was attended with leanness of soul (Psa_106:15).
35

36. 2. It brought satiety (Num_11:20).
3. It caused death (Psa_78:31).
4. It thus led to mourning on all sides.
III. A dissatisfied spirit snows that the mind needs regulating. Grace would put our
desires in order, and keep our thoughts and affections in their proper places, thus —
1. Content with such things as we have ( Heb_13:5).
2. Towards other things moderate in desire ( Pro_30:8).
3. Concerning earthly things which may be lacking, fully resigned ( Mat_26:39).
4. First, and most eagerly, desiring God ( Psa_42:2).
5. Next coveting earnestly the best gifts ( 1Co_12:31)
6. Following ever in love the more excellent way (1Co_12:31). (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Murmurings
1. Those who are merely hangers-on to a Church are usually the beginners of
mischief among its members. So in the community, the men who have no stake
in its welfare are always the most dangerous element of the population. They
have nothing to lose in any event, and it is just possible that, in the confusion,
they may gain a little. Thus they are always ready for either riot or emeute. The
“mixed multitude” in our cities represents what others call the dangerous
classes; and in proportion as their existence is ignored by the respectable
portion of the people, and nothing is done for their education or elevation, the
danger is aggravated.
2. Murmuring is invariably one-sided. These discontented Egyptians and
Israelites did nothing but look back on Egypt; and even when they did that, they
saw only the lights, and not the shadows. Again, in their depreciation of their
present lot, they were equally one-sided. They could see in it nothing but the
one fact that they had no flesh to eat. They took no notice of the manna, save to
despise it; they said nothing of the water which God had provided for them;
they never spoke of the daily miracle that their clothes waxed not old; they
made no reference to the constance guidance and presence of Jehovah with
them. Now this was flagrantly unjust; and yet in condemning that it is to be
36

37. feared that we are passing judgment upon ourselves, for if we were fully to
reckon up both sides of the account would there ever be any murmuring among
us at all?
3. God is always considerate of His faithful servants. See how tender He was to
Moses here. He saw that he needed human sympathy and support, as well as
Divine, and therefore He hastened to provide him with a cordon of kindred
spirits, who might act as a breakwater, and keep the waves of trouble and
discontent that rose in the camp from dashing upon him. One cannot read of
this without being impressed by the tenderness of God; and it is a suggestive
fact that on almost every occasion on which we are told of His judgment falling
upon sinners, we have in the near vicinity some manifestation of gentleness to
His friends.
4. The truly great man is never envious of others. Here is a lesson for all, and
especially for ministers of the gospel. How hard it is to rejoice in the excellence
of another, especially if he be in the same line with ourselves l And yet the
disparagement of the gifts of another is really an indication of our consciousness
of the weakness of our own. The highest and the hardest cliff to climb on the
mountain of holiness is humility.
5. We can set no limits to the resources of God ( Num_11:23).
6. It is not good for us to get everything we desire ( Psa_105:15). Prayers horn
out of murmuring are always dangerous. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Sin and prayer
I. A sadly common sin. Murmuring. Discontent is the spirit of this wicked world.
II. A terribly solemn fact. God recognises and retributes sin.
III. A general social tendency. The wicked ever seek the good in their terror and
distress.
IV. A striking result of prayer. The breath of Moses ’ prayer extinguished the flame.
(Homilist.)
Complaining of providence punished
The people complained—and the Lord set fire to them! That seems rough judgment,
37

38. for what is man’s speech as set against the Divine fire? Who can defend the
procedure? Who can so subordinate his reason and his sense of right as to
commend the justice of this tremendous punishment? So they might say who begin
their Bible reading at the eleventh chapter of Numbers. Read the Book of Exodus,
notably the fourteenth and following chapters up to the time of the giving of the
law, and you will find complaint following complaint; and what was the Divine
answer in that succession of reproaches? Was there fire? Did the Lord shake down
the clouds upon the people and utterly overwhelm them with tokens of indignation?
No. The Lord is full of tenderness and compassion—yea, infinite in piteousness and
love is He; but there is a point when His Spirit can no longer strive with us, and
when He must displace the persuasions of love by the anger and the judgment of
fire. But this is not the whole case. The people were not complaining only. The
word complaint may he so construed as to have everything taken out of it except
the feeblest protest and the feeblest utterance of some personal desire. But this is
not the historical meaning of the word complaint as it is found here. What
happened between the instances we have quoted and the instance which is
immediately before us? Until that question is answered the whole case is not before
the mind for opinion or criticism. What, then, had taken place? The most
momentous of all incidents. God had said through Moses to the people of Israel —
Will you obey the law? And they stood to their feet, as it were, and answered in one
unanimous voice—We will. So the people were wedded to their Lord at that great
mountain altar: words of fealty and kinship and Godhood had been exchanged, and
now these people that had oft complained and had then promised obedience, and
had then sworn that they would have none other gods beside Jehovah,
complained—went back to their evil ways; and the Lord, who takes out His sword
last and only calls upon His fire in extremity, smote them —burned them. And this
will He do to us if we trifle with our oaths, if we practise bad faith towards the
altar, if we are guilty of malfeasance in the very sanctuary of God. Were the people
content with complaining? They passed from complaining to lusting, saying, “Who
shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt, ” &c.
There is a philosophy here. You cannot stop short with complaining. Wickedness
never plays a negative game. The man who first complains will next erect his
appetite as a hostile force against the will of God. A marvellous thing is this, to
recollect our lives through the medium of our appetites, to have old relishes return
to the mouth, to have the palate stimulated by remembered sensations. The devil
has many ways into the soul. The recollection of evil may prompt a desire for its
repetition. (J. Parker, D. D.)
38

39. Israel’s sin
1. Israel had many impediments in their march to the Land of Promise, not only
from without (Pharaoh pursuing, Amalek intercepting, &c.), but also from
within, among themselves by their manifold murmurings ( 1Pe_4:18).
2. God writes our sin upon our punishment. These murmurers here sinned
against the “fiery law” (Deu_33:2); therefore were they punished by fire out of
the pillar of fire from whence the fiery law was given and published. Their
perdition is our caution (1Co_10:5; 1Co_10:11).
3. Evil company is infectious and catching as the plague ( 1Co_15:33).
4. Wherever there is sinning again on man ’s part, there will be punishing again
on God’s part (Joh_5:14). Here Israel sinned again with a double sin —
(1) In desiring flesh which they wanted;
(2) In disdaining manna which they enjoyed. The vehemence of their
concupiscence was the more inflamed by remembering their former Egyptian
diet, yet forgetting withal their Egyptian drudgery.
5. The people’s profane deploring their penury (when they had little cause to do
so, while fed with the food of angels) doth not only make God angry with them
(Num_11:10), but also putteth meek Moses into a pang of passion and
impatience (Num_11:11-15).
6. The Divine remedy to all this human malady; both as to Moses ’ impatience,
and as to Israel’s intemperance.
(1) Moses must not bear the burden alone, but shall be assisted with the
Sanhedrin, or great council of the Jews, consisting of seventy seniors
(answerable to the seventy souls that descended with Jacob into Egypt)
whereof Moses sat president, all endowed with the gifts of the spirit of
Moses, who was as a candle that lighteth others, yet hath not less either heat
or light than it had before ( Num_11:16-17; Num_11:24-25; Num_11:30).
(2) As to the people’s intemperance, as God promised and performed plenty
of flesh to those fleshly-minded multitude, so He punished their impiety with
a horrible plague at the close thereof ( Num_11:18-20; Num_11:31-34). (C.
Ness.)
39

40. The sin of complaining
Observe that it does not say that the people “murmured,” but “complained,” or, as it
is in the margin, “were as it were complainers ”; by which it is evidently meant that
there was a feeling in their minds of scarcely expressed dissatisfaction. There was
no sudden outbreak of murmuring, but the whispers and looks of discontent. There
is no special mention of any particular reason for it. It does not say that their
manna failed, or that any hostile army was arrayed against them. Doubtless the
journeying was always wearisome, and on its fatigues they suffered their minds to
dwell, forgetful of all the mercies vouchsafed them, and “complained.” Now, we
must all feel that right-down murmuring is very sinful, and in its worst forms most
Christians overcome it; but not so complaining, for this seems to many to be
scarcely wrong, and it often grows on them so gradually that they are seldom
conscious of it. The causes of complaint are manifold. Little difficulties in our
circumstances—little acts of selfishness in our neighbours; but complaining is most
of all a danger with persons who have weak health —for weakness of body often
produces depression of spirits —and this is the soil in which a complaining spirit
takes deepest root. Then, too, it often grows into a habit; a tinge of discontent
settles on the countenance, and the voice assumes a tone of complaint. And though
this, like most habits soon becomes unconscious, yet it is not the less mischievous
on that account. It is mischievous to our own souls, for it damps the work of the
Spirit of God in our hearts, and enfeebles the spiritual life. It is mischievous in its
effects upon others; for when Christians complain it gives the world altogether
wrong impressions of the strength and consolation which the love of Christ affords,
and it frequently generates the same spirit; one complains, and another, having the
same or other causes of complaint, sees no reason why he should not complain too.
And this was probably its history in Israel. It is scarcely likely that all began to
complain at the same moment. Doubtless there were some who set the sad example,
and then the hearts of all being predisposed, it spread like an epidemic. We should
settle it well in our hearts that complaining, no less than murmuring, is a fruit of
the flesh. David complained in Psa_77:3, “I complained, and my spirit was
overwhelmed”; but he soon felt that the root of the evil was in himself. “This,” he
adds (verse 10), “is my infirmity.” But no part of Scripture proves more strikingly
than the events at Taberah, how displeasing to God, and how dangerous in its
results, a complaining spirit is. The punishment which followed, and which gave the
name to the place, proves the first point. Patient and long-suffering as God ever was
with Israel, we are told (Num_11:1) that “His anger was kindled; and the fire of
40

41. the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of
the camp.” The severity of the punishment shows that this was no little sin,
encompassed as they were with mercy, and guided by Jehovah Himself through the
wilderness. It was no less dangerous in its result, for the subsequent history shows
how “complaining” ripened into “murmuring,” and murmuring was at last the cause
of Israel’s final fall. Let us endeavour, then, to watch against a “complaining spirit. ”
In heavy and stunning afflictions we glorify God, when, like Aaron, we are enabled
to “hold our peace.” Like David, we can say, “I was dumb, and opened not my
mouth, because Thou didst it ”; or, as in Psa_131:2. Still more if we can, through
grace, rise to the elevation of the afflicted Job, and say, “The Lord gave and the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord ”; or, if anything, to the still
higher elevation of the Apostle Paul (Php_4:11-13). In the lesser and more ordinary
trials of daily life, its difficulties and its duties, we glorify Him by Christian
Cheerfulness; and how can we maintain this spirit but by tracing the hand of a
Father in them all, carrying them all to God in prayer, and, most of all, by looking
above present things to the “everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure ”?
For the things which are seen, our difficulties and our trials, are temporal; but the
things which are not seen, our strength and our crown, are eternal. ( G. Wagner.)
Ungrateful discontent
We would think that beggar intolerably impudent, that coming to our doors to ask
an alms, and when we have bestowed on him some bracken bread and meat, yet
(like those impudent persons the Psalmist speaks of, that grudge and grumble if
they be not satisfied, if they have not their own will, and their own fill) he should
not hold himself contented, unless he might have one of our best dishes from the
table. But this is the case of very many amongst us. We come all as so many
beggars to God’s mercy-seat, and God gives us abundance of many good things, as
life, liberty, health of body, &c., yet we cannot be quiet, nor think ourselves well,
unless we be clothed in purple, and fare deliciously every day as such and such do,
not considering in the meantime many that are below us, and above us too, wanting
those things which we comfortably enjoy. ( J. Spencer.)
Criticising favours
There are many persons who receive favours and criticise them. They make it a
41

42. ground and reason of fault-finding; as in the case of the man who found a Spanish
coin worth eighteen and three-quarter cents, and turned it over in his hand and
said, “Well, that is just my luck. If it had been anybody else that found it, it would
have been a twenty-five cent piece.” He had no thanks for what it was, but
grumbled because it was not more. So it is with many men in the world. They are
perpetually analysing and criticising the kindnesses that are done to them. They are
not right in measure, or kind, or method; they are not right somehow; and they shut
off the sense of obligation and refuse to be grateful. (H. W. Beecher.)
Murmuring against God
Murmuring is a quarrelling with God, and inveighing against Him ( Num_21:5). The
murmurer saith interpretatively that God hath not dealt well with him, and that he
hath deserved better from Him. The murmurer chargeth God with folly. This is the
language, or rather blasphemy, of a murmuring spirit: God might have been a wiser
and a better God. The murmurer is a mutineer. The Israelites are called in the same
text “murmurers” and “rebels” (Num_17:10); and is not rebellion as the sin of
witchcraft? (1Sa_15:23). Thou that art a murmurer art in the account of God as a
witch, a sorcerer, as one that deals with the devil. This is a sin of the first
magnitude. Murmuring often ends in cursing: Micah ’s mother fell to cursing when
the talents of silver were taken away ( Jdg_17:2). So doth the murmurer when a
part of his estate is taken away. Our murmuring is the devil ’s music; this is that sin
which God cannot bear (chap. 14:27). It is a sin which whets the sword against a
people; it is a land-destroying sin ( 1Co_10:10). (T. Watson.)
Finding fault with God
God hath much ado with us. Either we lack health, or quietness, or children, or
wealth, or company, or ourselves in all these. It is a wonder the Israelites found not
fault with the want of sauce to their quails, or with their old clothes, or their
solitary way. Nature is moderate in her desires; but conceit is insatiable. ( Bp. Hall.)
Losing temper with God
Losing our temper with God is a more common thing in the spiritual life than many
suppose. (F. W. Faber.)
42

43. Murmuring hurts not God, but wounds us
I have read of Caesar, that, having prepared a great feast for his nobles and friends,
it fell out that the day appointed was so extremely foul that nothing could be done
to the honour of their meeting; whereupon he was so displeased and enraged that
he commanded all them that had bows to shoot up their arrows at Jupiter, their
chief god, as in defiance of him for that rainy weather; which, when they did, their
arrows fell short of heaven, and fell upon their own heads, so that many of them
were very sorely wounded. So all our mutterings and murmurings, which are so
many arrows shot at God Himself, will return upon our own pates, or hearts; they
reach not Him, but they will hit us; they hurt not Him, but they will wound us;
therefore it is better to be mute than to murmur; it is dangerous to contend with
one who is a consuming fire ( Heb_12:29). (Thomas Brooks.)
The fire of the Lord burnt among them.
The worst fire
Nothing but mercies had come upon the back of their complainings before. They
had had water, and they had had bread; but now the Lord would send them fire. It
should be the fire of the Lord, holy fire; yet not as that, which, descending from
heaven upon the altar, burnt continually before the Lord in His temple, acceptable
in sacrifice; but a consuming fire; the burning of His wrath. It is bad to “be saved
so as by fire,” to have all consumed, but ourselves, to be burnt out of house and
home; yet far worse is it to be burnt out of the world. Still this might be the way to
heaven for some, carried thither as in a chariot of fire. We know it was the way, the
common way that martyrs went. The fire was kindled by their enemies; but it was
not as the burning of Taberah; there was no ingredient of the wrath of the Almighty
in the flame: but “one like unto the Son of Man” was there, to make it as the purest
vestment of the soul, the involving element of love. Oh, there is a fire worse than
all others, the burning of the Lord, a fire that descends to the bottomless pit, and
the smoke of which has been seen. Behold it kindling in the camp of Israel. It had
indignation in it; it was a consuming fire, lighted up in the righteous displeasure of
heaven, its fuel the bodies of transgressors themselves. “Tile people complained.”
What then? “It displeased the Lord; and His anger was kindled; and the fire of the
Lord burnt among them, and consumed them in the uttermost parts of the camp. ”
43

44. There was no flying from it, it was a city in flames from its utmost extremities. Who
can run from the presence of the Lord? How affecting this? It may be conceived,
kindled by lightning from the cloud that had guided them, darting in angry form,
and with the voice of the Almighty, in thunders impatient to be gone. Who can
stand before the indignation of the Lord? who can abide His anger when the
gathering storm of His displeasure breaks forth? His favour, what man that regards
his life would not entreat? His wrath, what man that fears His power would not
deprecate? He is to us, as what we are to Him—sinners or saints. This judgment had
in it everything awful—cut off from all share in the promises, slain by the power
that had kept them alive, and left heaps of wrath in the very way to life. ( W.
Seaton.)
2 When the people cried out to Moses, he
prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.
CLARKE, "The fire was quenched - Was sunk, or swallowed up, as in the margin.
The plague, of whatever sort, ceased to act, and the people had respite.
GILL, "And the people cried unto Moses,.... And entreated him to pray for them,
being frightened at the fire which consumed many of them, lest it should spread
and become general among them:
and when Moses prayed unto the Lord; as he did, in which he was a type of Christ,
the mediator between God and man, the advocate of his people, an intercessor for
transgressors:
the fire was quenched; it stopped and proceeded no further; as through Christ's
mediation God is pacified with his people for all that they have done, and his wrath,
44

45. and all the effects of it, are turned away from them, and entirely cease with respect
to them; or it "sunk down" (r) into its place, as the Targum of Jonathan, as if it rose
out of the earth. This may serve to confirm the notion of its being a burning wind,
to which the idea of sinking down and subsiding well agrees.
COKE, "Numbers 11:2. The fire was quenched— ‫ֵךןנבףו‬, the LXX. it ceased.
Scheuchzer is of opinion, as also is Le Clerc, that this destruction might be
wrought by one of those fiery, blasting winds, which are incident to those
countries, and mentioned in Scripture, Ezekiel 17:10; Ezekiel 19:12 and by
one of which Thevenot, in his Voyages, (part 1: b. 2 Chronicles 34 :) tells us,
2000 men perished in one night, in the year 1658.
ELLICOTT, "(2) The fire was quenched. —Better, subsided or sunk down. No
precise information is given as to the extent of the fire, or as to the objects which it
destroyed. It broke out in the extremity of the encampment, and it was arrested in
its progress at the supplication of Moses. It seems, however, more probable that it
consumed some of the Israelites themselves, than that it consumed only some of their
tents. Some suppose that the reference is to the simoom, or fiery south wind, which
sometimes blows in the Eastern desert, and which stifles those over whom it sweeps.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses
prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.
Ver. 2. And the people cried to Moses.] That lord chancellor of heaven, as
one calleth him, that could rule with God, and overrule. Of Moses it might be
said, as once of Luther, Iste vir potuit apud Deum quod voluit, He might have
whatsoever he would of God.
PETT, "Numbers 11:2
‘And the people cried to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire
abated.’
The extent of the fire was such that the people came to Moses and pleaded
45

46. for help. The result was that Moses prayed to Yahweh and the fire died
down. That should have given the people grounds for gratitude to Yahweh.
They should have recognised that it was fortunate that they had in Moses
one who was always ready to intercede for them. He had done so before
(Exodus 15:25; Exodus 32:11-14), and now he had done it again. It should
have fixed their thoughts on God. But if it did, any gratitude was only
temporary.
We also have One Who intercedes for us at all times (Hebrews 7:25). How
trying we must so often appear to Him, but He is ever patient with us. Yet
we must beware lest we forget and lose touch with Him, otherwise He may
have to chasten us too.
PULPIT, "And the people cried unto Moses. Fear brought them to their senses,
and they knew that their only hope was in their mediator, who had already
saved them by his intercession from a worse destruction (Exodus 32:30-34).
The fire was quenched. Rather, "went out." As its beginning was supernatural,
or at least was so ordered as to appear so, its end also was due to the Divine
intervention, not to human efforts.
3 So that place was called Taberah,[a] because
fire from the Lord had burned among them.
BARNES, "Taberah - i. e. “burning:” not the name of a station, and accordingly
not found in the list given in Num. 33, but the name of the spot where the fire
broke out. This incident might seem (compare Num_11:34) to have occurred at the
46

47. station called, from another still more terrible event which shortly followed,
Kibroth-hattaavah.
GILL, "And he called the name of the place Taberah,.... That is, "burning": Moses
called it so; or it may be rendered impersonally, it was called (s) so in later times
by the people:
because the fire of the Lord burnt among them; to perpetuate the, memory of this
kind of punishment for their sins, that it might be a terror and warning to others;
and this history is indeed recorded for our caution in these last days, that we
murmur not as these Israelites did, and were destroyed of the destroyer, 1Co_10:10.
K&D, "From this judgment the place where the fire had burned received the name
of “Tabeerah,” i.e., burning, or place of burning. Now, as this spot is distinctly
described as the end or outermost edge of the camp, this “place of burning” must
not be regarded, as it is by Knobel and others, as a different station from the
“graves of lust.” “Tabeerah was simply the local name give to a distant part of the
whole camp, which received soon after the name of Kibroth-Hattaavah, on account
of the greater judgment which the people brought upon themselves through their
rebellion. This explains not only the omission of the name Tabeerah from the list of
encampments in Num_33:16, but also the circumstance, that nothing is said about
any removal from Tabeerah to Kibroth-Hattaavah, and that the account of the
murmuring of the people, because of the want of those supplies of food to which
they had been accustomed in Egypt, is attached, without anything further, to the
preceding narrative. There is nothing very surprising either, in the fact that the
people should have given utterance to their wish for the luxuries of Egypt, which
they had been deprived of so long, immediately after this judgment of God, if we
only understand the whole affair as taking place in exact accordance with the words
of the texts, viz., that the unbelieving and discontented mass did not discern the
chastising hand of God at all in the conflagration which broke out at the end of the
camp, because it was not declared to be a punishment from God, and was not
preceded by a previous announcement; and therefore that they gave utterance in
loud murmurings to the discontent of their hearts respecting the want of flesh,
without any regard to what had just befallen them.
47

48. COKE, "Numbers 11:3. Name of the place Taberah— The reason of the name
Taberah, or burning, is given, as usual, in the next clause; because the fire of the
Lord burnt among them: see 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 where the apostle applies this
part of the sacred history for the instruction of Christians.
REFLECTIONS.—From the mercies they had experienced, and their promising
beginnings, we might have expected a gracious issue to their journey; but, alas!
what a change is here!
1. A spirit of murmuring is among them; why or wherefore it is hard to guess. They
had every blessing their hearts could reasonably desire; and such extraordinary
instances of God's love to them, as should have made them rejoice with joy
unspeakable. But a discontented spirit will never be without cause of murmuring,
even in the midst of mercies. God heard their repinings; for to him our most secret
thoughts are fully known; and justly angry at their ingratitude, as he must ever be
with those complainers who find fault with his provision for them, 2. He sends a fire
of wrath among them, most probably by strokes of lightning from heaven. It burnt
in the uttermost part of the camp; in the tribe of Dan probably, where the chief seat
of the murmurers lay. God will not spare, if sinners provoke him; and happy for us
if we take warning by others, and repent of the like sins, that we be not consumed
with their plagues. 3. Thus did the people; they cried unto Moses; for in distress of
soul God's slighted ministers will be the first to be applied to; and Moses kindly
interceded for them, and the fire was stayed. The prayers of a righteous man avail
much. It is a great blessing to have an interest in them. 4. The name given the place,
Taberah, Burning. The place of the sinner's torment shortly will be everlasting
burnings. Let us fear to murmur, lest we should likewise perish.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because
the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
Ver. 3. The name of the place Taberah.] So to perpetuate the memory of the
people’s sin, and God’s judgment. Alterius perditio, tua sit cautio.
POOLE, "Tabera, from this fire; as it was called Kibroth-hattaa-vah from
another occasion, Numbers 11:34,35 33:16; as it is no new thing in Scripture
for persons and places to have two names. Both these names were imposed
as monuments of the people’s sin, and of God’s just judgment. See
Deuteronomy 9:7,22,24.
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49. WHEDON, "3. Taberah is simply a local designation of the spot in the end of
the camp where the burning occurred. The entire camp took the name of
Kibroth-hattaavah — the graves of lust, caused by divine justice avenging the
rebellion of Israel. Hence Taberah is not in the list of stations in Numbers 33:16, nor
is there any mention of a removal from Taberah to Kibroth-hattaavah.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:3. He called the place Taberah — That is, burning,
because of this fire; and it was called Kibroth-hattaavah on another account. It is no
unusual thing in Scripture for persons and places to have two or more names. Both
these names were imposed as monuments of the people’s sin, and of God’s just
displeasure. This passage is well improved by St. Paul, (1 Corinthians 10:10-12,) to
caution us against discontent and murmuring.
PETT, "Numbers 11:3
‘And the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Yahweh
burnt among them.’
Then they gave the name ‘Taberah’ to the place, which means ‘burning’,
because there Yahweh’s fire had burned among them. The name does not
appear in their travel itinerary, and indicates more their deep feeling at the
time. It was not a recognised name.
We may see this as an act of grace. By acting quickly the people had been
made to think so that they would be more careful in future. As we have
learned in the past they had a tendency to grumble (Exodus 15:24; Exodus
16:2-3; Exodus 17:2-3), so this was not the first time. But it was the first
time since the journey from Sinai began. The sharp lesson was intended to
save trouble in the future. As it turned out it was not sufficient because their
faith was low, as the next incident brings out.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:3
and he called the name of the place Taberah. Or Taberah ( ‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ֵ‫ﬠ‬ ְ‫ב‬ ַ‫תּ‬ ). This name
49

50. does not occur in the list of stations in Numbers 56-33:1 , which mentions nothing
between Sinai and Kibroth-Hattaavah. It would seem probable, however, that the
conflagration occurred while Israel was encamped, or else there could hardly have
been a burning "in the end of the camp." We may therefore suppose either that
Tabeerah was some spot in the immediate neighbourhood of Sinai whither the
people gathered for their first long march; or that it was one of the halting-places on
the "three days' journey" not mentioned in the list, because that journey was
considered as all one; or that it was the same place afterwards called Kibroth-Hatta-
avah. There is nothing in the narrative to decide a question which is in itself
unimportant. It is necessary to remember that where the ancient and local names
derived from marked natural features were not available, such names as Tabeerah
given to the halting-places of so vast a host must have had a very loose significance.
Quail From the Lord
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food,
and again the Israelites started wailing and said,
“If only we had meat to eat!
BARNES, "Num_11:4
The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,”
and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the
multitude of strangers (see Exo_12:38) who had followed the Israelites
from Egypt.
CLARKE, "The mixed multitude - ‫האספסף‬ hasaphsuph, the collected or
gathered people. Such as came out of Egypt with the Israelites; and are
mentioned Exo_12:38. This mongrel people, who had comparatively little of
the knowledge of God, feeling the difficulties and fatigues of the journey,
were the first to complain; and then we find the children of Israel joined
them in their complainings, and made a common cause with these demi-
infidels.
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51. GILL, "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting,....
These came out of Egypt with them, Exo_12:38; having either contracted
affinity with them, or such intimacy of conversation, that they could not
part, or being proselyted to the Jewish religion, at least in pretence; these
were not only Egyptians, but a mixture of divers people, who having heard
or seen the wonderful things done for Israel, joined them in hopes of
sharing the blessings of divine goodness with them; so the Targum of
Jonathan calls them proselytes, that were gathered among them: these
"lusted a lusting" (t), as the words may be rendered; not after women, as
some Jewish writers (u) think, even after such that were near akin to them,
with whom they were forbidden to marry, and therefore desired to have
those laws dissolved; but they lusted after eating flesh taken in a proper
sense, as the latter part of the verse and the whole context show:
and the children of Israel also wept again; they lusted after flesh likewise,
following the example of the mixed multitude; thus evil communication
corrupts good manners, 1Co_15:33; and a little leaven leavens the whole
lamp, 1Co_5:6; wicked men prove great snares to, and do much mischief
among good men, when they get into their societies, Jer_5:26, and because
the Israelites could not have what they would to gratify their lusts, they
wept as children do, when they cannot have what they are desirous of; and
they wept "again", for it seems they had wept before, either when they
complained, Num_11:1; or at Rephidim, where they wanted water, Exo_17:1,
as here flesh, or before that when they wanted bread, Exo_16:3,
and said, who shall give us flesh to eat? shall Moses, or even the Lord
himself? from lusting they fell to unbelief and distrust of the power and
providence of God; for so the Psalmist interprets this saying of theirs, Psa_
78:19.
HENRY, "These verses represent things sadly unhinged and out of order in
Israel, both the people and the prince uneasy.
I. Here is the people fretting, and speaking against God himself (as it is
interpreted, Psa_78:19), notwithstanding his glorious appearances both to
them and for them. Observe,
1. Who were the criminals. (1.) The mixed multitude began, they fell a
lusting, Num_11:4. The rabble that came with them out of Egypt, expecting
only the land of promise, but not a state of probation in the way to it. They
were hangers on, who took hold of the skirts of the Jews, and would go with
them only because they knew not how to live at home, and were disposed to
seek their fortunes (as we say) abroad. These were the scabbed sheep that
infected the flock, the leaven that leavened the whole lump. Note, A few
factious, discontented, ill-natured people, may do a great deal of mischief in
the best societies, if great care be not taken to discountenance them. Such as
these are an untoward generation, from which it is our wisdom to save
ourselves, Act_2:40. (2.) Even the children of Israel took the infection, as
we are informed, Num_11:4. The holy seed joined themselves to the people
of these abominations. The mixed multitude here spoken of were not
51

52. numbered with the children of Israel, but were set aside as a people God
made no account of; and yet the children of Israel, forgetting their own
character and distinction, herded themselves with them and learned their
way, as if the scum and outcasts of the camp were to be the privy-
counsellors of it. The children of Israel, a people near to God and highly
privileged, yet drawn into rebellion against him! O how little honour has
God in the world, when even the people which he formed for himself, to
show forth his praise, were so much a dishonour to him! Therefore let none
think that their external professions and privileges will be their security
either against Satan's temptations to sin or God's judgments for sin. See
1Co_10:1, 1Co_10:2, 1Co_10:12.
JAMISON, "the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting —
These consisted of Egyptians. [See on Exo_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.
K&D 4-9, "The first impulse to this came from the mob that had come out
of Egypt along with the Israelites. “The mixed multitude:” see at Exo_12:38.
They felt and expressed a longing for the better food which they had enjoyed
in Egypt, and which was not to be had in the desert, and urged on the
Israelites to cry out for flesh again, especially for the flesh and the savoury
vegetables in which Egypt abounded. The words “they wept again” (‫שׁוּב‬
used adverbially, as in Gen_26:18, etc.) point back to the former complaints
of the people respecting the absence of flesh in the desert of Sin (Exo_16:2.),
although there is nothing said about their weeping there. By the flesh which
they missed, we are not to understand either the fish which they expressly
mention in the following verse (as in Lev_11:11), or merely oxen, sheep, and
goats; but the word ‫ר‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ ָ‫בּ‬ signifies flesh generally, as being a better kind of food
than the bread-like manna. It is true they possessed herds of cattle, but these would
not have been sufficient to supply their wants, as cattle could not be bought for
slaughtering, and it was necessary to spare what they had. The greedy people also
longed for other flesh, and said, “We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt for
nothing.” Even if fish could not be had for nothing in Egypt, according to the
extravagant assertions of the murmurers, it is certain that it could be procured for
such nominal prices that even the poorest of the people could eat it. The abundance
of the fish in the Nile and the neighbouring waters is attested unanimously by both
classical writers (e.g., Diod. Sic. i. 36, 52; Herod. ii. 93; Strabo, xvii. p. 829) and
modern travellers (cf. Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., p. 211 Eng. tr.). This also applies
52

53. to the vegetables for which the Israelites longed in the desert. The ‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ ֻ‫שּׁ‬ ִ‫,ק‬ or
cucumbers, which are still called katteh or chate in the present day, are a
species differing from the ordinary cucumbers in size and colour, and
distinguished for softness and sweet flavour, and are described by Forskal
(Flor. Aeg. p. 168), as fructus in Aegypto omnium vulgatissimus, totis
plantatus agris. ‫ים‬ ִ‫ח‬ ִ‫טּ‬ ַ‫ֲב‬‫א‬: water-melons, which are still called battieh in
modern Egypt, and are both cultivated in immense quantities and sold so
cheaply in the market, that the poor as well as the rich can enjoy their
refreshing flesh and cooling juice (see Sonnini in Hengstenberg, ut sup. p.
212). ‫יר‬ ִ‫צ‬ ָ‫ח‬ does not signify grass here, but, according to the ancient
versions, chives, from their grass-like appearance; laudatissimus porrus in
Aegypto (Plin. h. n. 19, 33). ‫ים‬ ִ‫ל‬ ָ‫צ‬ ְ‫:בּ‬ onions, which flourish better in Egypt
than elsewhere, and have a mild and pleasant taste. According to Herod. ii.
125, they were the ordinary food of the workmen at the pyramids; and,
according to Hasselquist, Sonnini, and others, they still form almost the
only food of the poor, and are also a favourite dish with all classes, either
roasted, or boiled as a vegetable, and eaten with animal food. ‫ים‬ ִ‫:שׁוּמ‬ garlic,
which is still called tum, tom in the East (Seetzen, iii. p. 234), and is
mentioned by Herodotus in connection with onions, as forming a leading
article of food with the Egyptian workmen. Of all these things, which had
been cheap as well as refreshing, not one was to be had in the desert. Hence
the people complained still further, “and now our soul is dried away,” i.e.,
faint for want of strong and refreshing food, and wanting in fresh vital
power (cf. Psa_22:16; Psa_102:5): “we have nothing (‫ל‬ֹ‫כּ‬ ‫ין‬ ֵ‫,א‬ there is
nothing in existence, equivalent to nothing to be had) except that our eye
(falls) upon this manna,” i.e., we see nothing else before us but the manna,
sc., which has no juice, and supplies no vital force. Greediness longs for
juicy and savoury food, and in fact, as a rule, for change of food and
stimulating flavour. “This is the perverted nature of man, which cannot
continue in the quiet enjoyment of what is clean and unmixed, but, from its
own inward discord, desires a stimulating admixture of what is sharp and
sour” (Baumgarten). To point out this inward perversion on the part of the
murmuring people, Moses once more described the nature, form, and taste
of the manna, and its mode of preparation, as a pleasant food which God
sent down to His people with the dew of heaven (see at Exo_16:14-15, and
Exo_16:31). But this sweet bread of heaven wanted “the sharp and sour,
which are required to give a stimulating flavour to the food of man, on
account of his sinful, restless desires, and the incessant changes of his
earthly life.” In this respect the manna resembled the spiritual food
supplied by the word of God, of which the sinful heart of man may also
speedily become weary, and turn to the more piquant productions of the
spirit of the world.
CALVIN, "4.And the mixed multitude that was among them. A new murmuring of
the people is here recorded: for we gather from many circumstances that this
relation is different from that which precedes: although, as evil begets evil, it is
53

54. probable that after they had begun to be affected by the disease of impatience, they
spitefully invented grounds for increased tedium and annoyance. Yet there was
something monstrous in this madness, that, when they had just been so severely
chastised, and part of’ the camp was even yet almost smoking, and when God was
hardly appeased, they should have given way to the indulgence of lust, whereby they
brought upon themselves a still more severe punishment. Unquestionably, when
they again provoked God by their iniquity, the remains of the fire were still before
their eyes; whence it appears how greatly they were blinded by their obstinate
wickedness. He states, indeed, that the murmuring first began among the strangers,
or mixed multitude, who had mingled themselves with the Israelites, as we have seen
elsewhere; but he adds that the whole people also were led into imitation of their
ungodly complainings. Hence we are taught, that the wicked and sinful should be
avoided, lest they should corrupt us by their bad example; since the contagion of
vice easily spreads. At the same time also, we are warned, that it does not at all avail
to excuse us, that others are the instigators of our sin; since it by no means profited
the Israelites, that they fell through the influence of others, inasmuch as it was their
own lust; which carried them away. In the first place, therefore, we must beware
that our corrupt desires do not tempt us, and we must put a restraint upon
ourselves; and then that the profane despisers of God do not add fuel to the fire.
A question here occurs, whether it is sinful to long for flesh; for if so, all our
appetites must. likewise be condemned. I answer, that God was not wroth because
the desire of flesh affected the Israelites; but, first, their disobedience displeased
Him, because they longed to eat; flesh, as it were, against His will, when He would
have them content with the manna alone; and then their intemperance and violent
passion. For this reason Moses says that they “lusted a lust,” (14) indicating that
they abandoned all self-control, so as to go beyond all bounds. In the third place,
their ingratitude displeased Him, which is here adverted to, but openly condemned
in the Psalm, where the Prophet reproves them, for that God “had commanded the
clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,” so as to supply them with the
“corn of heaven,” and the bread “of angels,” (Psalms 78:23;) and yet, even so they
were not restrained from despising so excellent a benefit, and abandoning
themselves to lawless intemperance. The rule of moderation, and of a sober and
frugal life, which Paul prescribes, is well known; that we should
“know both how to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
(Philippians 4:12.)
Well known, too, is his admonition, that we should
“make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:14.)
All improper longing is, therefore, to be repressed, so that we should desire nothing
which is not lawful; and, secondly, that our appetites should not be excessive. Hence,
when he refers elsewhere to this occurrence, (1 Corinthians 10:6,)he warns us to
fear the judgment of God; “to the intent we should not lust after evil things,” thus
54

55. distinguishing wild and uncontrolled appetites from such as are moderate and well
regulated.
When they ask, “Who shall give us flesh to eat?” they seek to have it elsewhere than
from God, who abundantly supplied them with food, though it was of a different
kind. We see, then, that they rebelled with a brutal and blind impetuosity; for
necessity was laid upon them by God, that they should eat nothing but manna;
against this they struggled like fierce and stubborn beasts, as if they would make
God the servant of their lust.
COFFMAN, ""And the mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly:
and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt for naught; the cucumbers, and
the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: but now our soul is dried
away; there is nothing at all save this manna to look upon. And the manna was like
coriander seed, and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium. The
people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and
boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it."
"And the mixed multitude that was among them ..." (Numbers 11:4). Plaut gave the
meaning of this as "the riffraff."[6] Owens called them, the rabble, adding that "the
word occurs nowhere else in the O.T."[7] They were part of the great mob of people
that followed Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 12:38). In the account here, it is very
evident that this vast throng of stragglers and hangers-on were a major source of
trouble.
McGee's comment on this mixed multitude is of interest:
"The real troublemakers in any church are the mixed multitude. They are fellow-
travelers with the world and with the church. They like a church banquet, but they
don't want the Bible school. They do not want to go forward with the ark of God;
they want to stay in the back, for they might want to turn and go back some
time."[8]
"Who shall give us flesh to eat ...?" (Numbers 11:4). There could be more to this
request than meets the eye. We are indebted to Plaut for the comment that, "The
words used here are a euphemism for the sexual license they enjoyed in Egypt, but
forbidden in the Law."[9] Some commentators find fault here, because, they say,
"This lack of flesh is inconsistent with the possession by Israel of great flocks and
herds of cattle (Exodus 12:32,38, etc.)."[10] Many recent commentators still follow
this old, discredited view. First, the cattle they owned would have been very shortly
deleted and consumed if used for food; and besides that, the possession of herds in
Israel was by no means universal. The instructions for the offering by a poor man of
two turtle doves on occasion proves this. An incredible number of animals were used
55

56. in the sacrifices, and there was no way that the people could afford to reduce the
supply of animals. Furthermore, the employment of many of the cattle in the dairy
business would also have forbidden their use as beef cattle.
"Israel also wept again ..." (Numbers 11:4). "This points to the former complaint of
the people respecting the absence of flesh in the desert of Sin (Exodus 16:2ff)."[11]
This truth frustrates all allegations about the two occasions being merely various
accounts of one event. As a matter of fact, it is not mentioned that "they wept" in
the first account, but the mention here of their weeping "again" proves that they
did. This type of narrative is common in the sacred writings. (See Jonah 1:4).
Furthermore, the riffraff, remembering the quails they got the first time, were, in
this case, the leaders of a demand for more. It appears a little later that they even
organized this demonstration.
The description of the manna given here is not exactly like that in Exodus, but so
what? Ask any two or three people today to describe the taste of an olive and see
what happens. To one the manna tasted like honey, to others like fresh oil; to some it
appeared "white," and to others the color of bdellium. Since nobody on earth today
knows anything at all about bdellium,[12] it is mere cavil to allege "a
contradiction." Furthermore, even the phrase rendered here "as the taste of fresh
oil" actually means, "its taste was like that of a dainty prepared with oil."[13] Thus,
it is clear that no problems whatever exist with regard to these passages on the
manna.
COKE, "Numbers 11:4. The mixt multitude— See Exodus 12:38. Infected by the
example of this mixed multitude, the children of Israel returned again to their
former murmurings, and bemoaned themselves for the want of the provisions they
had fed upon in Egypt. "Their sin," says Bishop Kidder, "was much aggravated
upon the following accounts: 1st, They declared their distrust of God's power and
providence, whereof they had had so great experience; see Exodus 16:2. Psalms
78:22; Psalms 100:2 nd, They un-thankfully despised God and his former mercies.
3rdly, They covetously desired flesh, when they had much cattle of their own."
Exodus 32:35 with Numbers 32:4.
ELLICOTT, " (4) And the mixt multitude.—The Authorised Version follows the
LXX. and the Vulgate in rendering the word asaph-suph, which occurs only in this
place, and which is derived from a verb which means to collect, in the same way as
the ereb of Exodus 12:38, a mixed multitude, vulgus promiscuum—in many cases,
probably, the children of Hebrew women by Egyptian fathers. This mixed multitude
appears to have been very considerable, and they may have become, as the
Gibeonites at a later period, servants to the Israelites, as hewers of wood and
drawers of water (Deuteronomy 29:11). It is probable that this mixed multitude may
have partaken even more largely than the Israelites of the fish and vegetables of
Egypt, and they appear to have instigated the Israelites to repine at the deprivations
56

57. to which they were exposed in the wilderness. There is no mention in Exodus 16:3 of
weeping, but the same craving after the flesh-pots of Egypt was probably manifested
in the same manner in both cases.
Who shall give us flesh to eat?—The word basar, which is rendered flesh, seems
here to include—it may be to have primary reference to—fish. It is used of fish in
Leviticus 11:11, and it is obvious from Numbers 11:22 that it was understood by
Moses in this general signification. Cp. the use of flesh (1 Corinthians 15:39).
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:4 And the mixt multitude that [was] among them fell a
lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh
to eat?
Ver. 4. And the mixed multitude.] {See Trapp on "Exodus 12:38"} Observe the
danger of ill company. Fish retain their sweetness in the salt sea. The river Dee in
Merionethshire, running through Pimblemere, remains entire, and mingles not her
streams with the waters of the lake. The rivers of Peru, after they have run some
miles into the sea, retain their sweetness, as writers report. But to converse with the
ungodly, and not to learn their manners, is marvellously rare and difficult. A man
may pass through Ethiopia unchanged; but he cannot dwell there and not be
discoloured.
The children of Israel wept again.] And were punished again. Herein they were like
froward children, that, while crying for an apple that is in the father’s hand, will
fling away the cake that is in their own; and so get a whipping rather than a pippin,
as we say; a lashing rather than their longing.
POOLE, " The mixt multitude, consisting of Egyptians or other people, which being
affected with God’s miraculous works in Egypt, and thereupon believing the
promise of God to carry them to a land of milk and honey, for their own advantage
joined themselves to the Israelites, Exodus 12:38, an now, finding themselves sadly
disappointed, they discover their evil minds.
The children of Israel, whose special relation and obligation to God should have
restrained them from such carriages.
Wept again: this word relates either to their former murmuring upon this occasion
a twelvemonth before, Exodus 16:2, or rather to their complaining mentioned
Numbers 11:1, to note the aggravation of their sin, that having just now sinned in
the same kind, and sorely smarted for their sin, and being but newly delivered from
their fears and dangers caused thereby, they forthwith return to their vomit and
murmur again, and that more passionately than before, expressing themselves in
tears and bitter words.
57

58. Flesh: this word is here taken generally, so as to include fish, as the next words
show, and as it is used 1 Corinthians 15:39. They had indeed flesh and cattle which
they brought with them out of Egypt, but these were reserved for breed to be
carried into Canaan, and were so few that they would scarce have served them for a
month, as may be gathered from Numbers 11:20-22.
WHEDON, " 4. Mixed multitude — The Hebrew is very expressive, it being a
syllable intensively repeated, saph-sooph, the gathering of the gathered, much like
our word riffraff, or ruffscuff. “With these two millions of Israelites also went up a
mixed multitude of varied descent, drawn in the wake of God’s people by the signs
and wonders so lately witnessed — just as a mixed crowd still follows after every
spiritual movement, a source of hinderance rather than of help to it, ever continuing
strangers, and at most only fit to act as hewers of wood and drawers of water.” —
Edersheim. Tacitus, though egregiously caricaturing Jewish history in many
particulars, employs a phrase peculiarly appropriate to this mongrel horde of
hangers-on and camp-followers when he describes Israel as “populi colluvies
undecumque collecta,” the dregs of people collected from everywhere. See Exodus
12:38, note. Many of this mixed multitude were related to Israel by intermarriage.
Leviticus 24:10, note. There is nothing more damaging to the cause of Christ, and to
the purity of his Church, than intimacy with men of mixed principles. This
association is much more dangerous than it is with men of unmixed evil characters,
whose open hostility puts the Christian on his guard.
Fell a lusting — Hebrew, lusted a lust.
Wept again — Literally, returned and wept. Similar complaining, respecting the
absence of flesh, but without mention of tears, took place in the desert of Sin,
Exodus 16:2-12. The Israelites, instead of feeling disgust at the animalism of the
mob, began to imitate them. “A few factious, discontented, ill-natured people may
do a great deal of mischief in the best societies, if great care be not taken to
discountenance it. This Egyptian rabble were the disordered sheep that infected the
flock, the leaven that leavened the whole lump.” — Henry.
Flesh to eat — This is not the language of the starving, but of epicures. Their gross
appetites were not satisfied with the wholesome food from heaven plentifully
bestowed. The best Hebraists consider the flesh in this verse as the flesh of fish only,
a much more savory food than any flesh diet which was likely to be within reach of
the oppressed Israelites. Fish was, and is to this day, a staple article of food among
the poor in Egypt.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:4. The children of Israel also wept again — That is, they
again complained and murmured, that God had so lately visited them with such
awful marks of his displeasure; though their special relation and obligation to God
should have restrained them from any such carriage. Bishop Kidder justly observes,
that “their sin was much aggravated on the following accounts: 1st, They declared
58

59. their distrust of God’s power and providence, of which they had had so great
experience. 2d, They despised God and his former mercies. 3d, They covetously
desired flesh, when they had much cattle of their own, Exodus 12:32; Exodus 12:38,
and Numbers 32:4.”
PETT, "Verses 4-15
The Grumbling Again Flares Up: Murmuring For Meat Instead Of Manna
(Numbers 11:4-15).
What follows brings home to us something of the condition of many of the people.
They were not on the whole a people of quiet faith, but a people full of doubts and
worries, and in no mental condition to face the rigours of the desert. They had been
delivered from slavery and did not have the backbone for what they had to face.
That was why Yahweh had sought to counter this at Sinai, both by His firm
covenant and His giving of the Dwellingplace as a visible sign among them. But they
had on the whole not responded in true faith and were thus vulnerable.
The passage is constructed as follows:
a The rabble sinfully desire delicacies (Numbers 11:4 a).
b The people cry, ‘who will give us flesh to eat?’ (Numbers 11:4 b).
c The description of their complaint (Numbers 11:5-6).
d Description of the manna (Numbers 11:7-8).
d The manna falls (Numbers 11:9).
c The description of Moses complaint (Numbers 11:10-12).
b The people weep saying, ‘Give us flesh that we may eat’ (Numbers 11:13).
a Moses sinfully desires to die (Numbers 11:14-15).
Numbers 11:4-6
‘And the rabble who were among them were filled with strong cravings (lusted
exceedingly), and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, “Who shall give us
flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt which cost us
nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the
garlic, but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all save this manna to look
on.’
59

60. What was more there were ‘rabble’ among them who were seeking to stir things up.
The rabble are often considered to be ‘the mixed multitude’ of Exodus 12:38 but
there are no real grounds for blaming the mixed multitude here. That was the result
of the racism of the LXX translators who looked for somewhere to put the blame.
Indeed most of the mixed multitude had probably been absorbed into Israel as a
result of Sinai. The term used here is totally different from Exodus 12:38. Here it is
the ‘rabble’, the low life among the people (asaphsuph - the ‘gathering of reeds’,
useless things, promising much but offering little), who were involved, those
possessed by pure greed and godlessness, and full of their own importance and
jealous of Moses.
There are always a troublesome minority among all peoples. In this case these were
the ones who started the complaints and stirred up the people, so that dissatisfaction
soon spread and clearly deeply upset a people already traumatised by the conditions
they were travelling under. It had caught them unprepared, even though Yahweh
had tried to prepare them. The stronger were undermining the weaker. We must all
be careful when we begin to murmur that we do not undermine the faith of others.
Those who are strong need to bear the burdens of those who are weak (Romans
15:1), not undermine them.
But the malcontents could not have succeeded if Israel had been looking to Yahweh
and the things of the Spirit. Note that while the Israelites mentioned ‘flesh’ they
were thinking rather of a change of diet, as their list of the pleasures of Egypt brings
out. In their list they did not actually mention meat specifically, but fish and
vegetables. What they wanted was something different from the manna. It is true
that they could have eaten their cattle and sheep (although see Numbers 11:22), but
they would be reluctant to do that when they were not actually starving. Those were
necessary for the future ahead. Such eating was not essential. They had the manna
to keep them alive. But what they wanted were delicacies, and a change of diet. Note
their contemptuous dismissal of ‘this manna’. When they had been starving they
had delighted in it. Now their stomachs were full they were not satisfied with it.
They were lacking in appreciation and gratitude because enjoyment of food had
become more important to them than appreciating God.
The point was not that they were hungry, as they had been in the Wilderness of Sin
(Exodus 16:3), but that they were living on a permanent diet of manna. It was the
struggle of the flesh against the spirit. Had their hearts been set on Yahweh they
would have rejoiced to receive the manna from His hands. They would have been
full of joy continually. But greed for delicious food was so strong that they wept.
Their thoughts were purely selfish. They did not want to have to wait for ‘milk and
honey’ in the future, they wanted it now. The manna had once been welcomed
enthusiastically. Now it was taken for granted. It had become monotonous and
prosaic. They just felt that they had had enough. They wanted the good things of
life. They had reached a low level.
So their minds went back to the freely available fish in Egypt that they could catch
60

61. in the Nile and its tributaries, the abundance of watermelons with their rich, cool
satisfying taste, so plentiful in their season that even the poorest could afford them,
and all the other delicious foods that they had once enjoyed. Forgotten was the
penury and servitude. Their eyes were gluttonous and fixed on food. The foods
described are all of a type that the poor in Egypt would eat. Onions flourished
better in Egypt than elsewhere, and had a mild and pleasant taste. According to
Herodotus ii. 125, they were the ordinary food of the workmen at the pyramids.
They still form a basic food for the poor there, and are also a favourite dish with all
classes, either roasted, or boiled as a vegetable, and eaten with meat. Garlic is
mentioned by Herodotus in connection with onions, as forming a leading article of
food with the Egyptian workmen
We may look askance at Israel but we are not so different. Even today the Bread of
Life (John 6:35) can become monotonous and prosaic to us because of our sinful
hearts, so that it results in extremes in religion which are not helpful. Men become
bored with true goodness, and meditation on the word of God. They want
excitement that panders to the flesh, dressed up as spirituality. Or they seek to the
flesh pots of Egypt.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:4
The mixed multitude. Hebrew, ha-saphsuph, the gathered; the rift-raft, or rabble,
which had followed the fortunes of Israel out of Egypt, where they had probably
been strangers and slaves themselves. What the nature and the number and the fate
of this rabble were is a matter of mere conjecture and of some perplexity. There
does not seem any room for them in the regulations laid down for Israel, nor are
they mentioned in any other place except at Exodus 12:38. In Le Exodus 24:10 we
read of the son of an Israelitish woman by an Egyptian father, and this might lead
us to conjecture that a great part of the "mixed multitude" was the offspring of such
left-handed alliances. These half-breeds, according to the general rule in such cases,
would follow their mothers; they would be regarded with contempt by the Jews of
pure blood, and would accompany the march as hangers-on of the various tribes
with which they were connected. As to their fate, it may be probably concluded,
from the reason of things and from the absence of any further notice of them, that
they found their way back to the slavery and the indulgences of Egypt; they were
bound by no such strong restraints and animated by no such national feelings as the
true people of the Lord. And the children of Israel also wept again. This expression,
again (Hebrew, ‫,שׁוּב‬ used adverbially), would seem to point to some former weeping,
and this is generally found in the "murmuring" of which they had been guilty in the
desert of Sin (Exodus 16:2, Exodus 16:3 ). This, however, is unsatisfactory for
several reasons: first, because that occurrence was too remote, having been more
than a year ago; second, because there is no mention of any "weeping" at that time;
third, because the matter of complaint on the two occasions was really quite
different: then they murmured faithlessly at the blank starvation which apparently
stared them in the face; now they weep greedily at the absence of remembered
61

62. luxuries. It is therefore much more likely that the expression has regard to the
"complaining" which had just taken place at Tabeerah. It was indeed wonderful
that the punishment then inflicted did not check the sin; wonderful that it burst out
again in an aggravated form almost immediately. But such was the obstinacy of this
people, that Divine vengeance, which only perhaps affected a few, and only lasted
for a brief space, was not sufficient to silence their wicked clamour. Who shall give
us flesh to eat? ‫ר‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ָ‫בּ‬ —Septuagint, ‫ךס‬́‫ו‬ á—means flesh-meat generally. They had
flocks and herds it is true, but they were no doubt carefully preserved, and the
increase of them would little more than suffice for sacrifice; no one would dream of
slaughtering them for ordinary eating.
bi 4, "The mixt multitude.
The mixed multitude
If Israel, according to its calling, be regarded as a type of the new man, then
this “mixed multitude,” a remnant of Egypt, and influenced still by its spirit,
will be a type of the old man in the believer But we may take another view of
Israel, and say that it is typical of those who walk, not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit—the true members of Christ’s body, the living branches of
the true vine; and then, corresponding with this, the “ mixed multitude” will
be a type of those who accompany the true Israel now, without being
partakers of the Divine nature, and walking in the Spirit—the dead branches
in the vine. History shows that the Church on earth has ever been made up
of these two elements; and prophetic parables show that such will be its
constitution until Jesus comes. The Word of God everywhere encourages
the living members of Christ’s body, by patience, and gentleness, and
unwearied zeal, to win those who have only a name to live. But it forbids
them to take into their own hands the awful work of separation between the
wheat and the tares, a work which the Searcher of hearts reserves to
Himself alone. So that it need cause us no surprise, as it did the Donatists of
old, and still does to some, that there is, and always will be, a “mixed
multitude” associated with the true Israel. But though we are absolutely
forbidden to cast out the element from the Church, this passage of Scripture
may well impress us with the danger arising from it, and show how watchful
we ought to be. Even if the Church were made up of true Christians only,
there would be much evil in it, for the simple reason that there is so much
sin in every heart. Many temptations may come to you even from those who
are really Christ’s, and who are engaged, through grace, in crucifying the
affections and lusts of the flesh; but others will come to you, as they did to
Israel of old, from the “mixed multitude”; and what dangers in particular?
Party spirit, we cannot fail to see, is one; but, oh, there is a greater and more
subtle danger still—worldliness, conformity to the course of this world; and
with it, forgetfulness of the high and holy calling wherewith we are called,
and the adoption of a low standard of holiness. Our only safety is to set the
perfect example of our Lord Jesus Christ before us; to ask ourselves again
and again throughout the day, “How would Christ act if He were in my
place?” to crucify through the Spirit the root of worldliness within, and to
watch all the avenues by which it can enter the heart from without. Only in
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63. this way can our own standard be elevated; only in this way avoid Israel’s
sin, that of being carried away by the worldly spirit which originated in the
“mixed multitude” which sojourned with them. (G. Wagner.)
Who shall give us flesh to eat?—
Wanton longings
See the wantonness and delicacy of sinful flesh, it must have this, it must
have that to pamper and feed it in pleasure. What may be had is loathed,
and what cannot be had, that is longed for, and nothing more than that. But
very wisely doth the heathen Aristotle advise all men to look upon pleasures
when they go, not when they come; for when they come with their faces
towards us, they deceive us with a fair flattering show, but when they go and
turn their backs, then cometh repentance, woe, and grief, not a little, many
times. Just as the Spirit of God saith by the mouth of Solomon, “Even in
laughing the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness”; that
is, the allurement unto sin seemeth sweet, but the end thereof is
destruction. Wanton pleasure is like the fire or flame of the candle, which
shining bright delighteth a child, but when he hath put his finger into it,
then it burneth, and the child crieth. By little and little groweth grief, but in
the end it killeth, so stealingly pleasure creepeth upon us, but in the end
overthroweth all love of virtue. Wilt thou live in a right fashion? Who would
not? Then if virtue only can grant this to thee, stout and strong, tend this
and omit pleasures. For they that will well defend a city, do not only watch
what foes be without, but as warily they observe that there be no traitors
within. So men and women that love virtue, they look to the gates, which are
the outward senses, and they look within, to the inward affections, lest by
the one, as by wickets, evil enter, lest by the other, as by torches lighted,
fires and flames do follow. The epicure said to himself, “Eat, drink, play, for
there is no pleasure after death.” But well doth the poet before mentioned
in an epistle tax him, saying, “Thou hast played enough, thou hast eaten
enough and drank, it is time for thee now to go hence.” As if he had said,
“Part thou must in time with all thy pleasures and be gone, therefore think
of it ere it be too late.” Sardanapalus is said to have caused to be written on
his grave to this effect: “What I did eat that I had, and what I left, that I
lost.” Which Cicero justly reprehendeth, saying, “What else should a man
hath written upon an ex his grave? Pleasure infecteth and poisoneth all our
senses, being a trim but a deceiving harlot; deceiving us by her voice, by her
look, and by her attire, that is, every way.” How many hath gluttony and the
belly, how many hath filthy lust destroyed! (Bp. Babington.)
5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no
63

64. cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions
and garlic.
BARNES, "Num_11:5
The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness
and relish which bespeak personal experience.
CLARKE, "We remember, etc. - The choice aliments which those
murmurers complained of having lost by their leaving Egypt, were the
following: fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. A European
may smile at such delicacies; but delicacies they were in that country. Their
fish is excellent; their cucumbers and water melons highly salubrious and
refreshing; and their onions, garlic, etc., exquisitely flavoured, differing as
much from vegetables of the same species in these northern climes as a bad
turnip does from a good apple. In short, this enumeration takes in almost
all the commonly attainable delicacies in those countries.
GILL, "We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely,.... Fish was
food the Egyptians much lived upon; for though Herodotus says the priests
might not taste of fish, the common people ate much; yea, he himself says
that some lived upon nothing else but fish gutted and dried in the sun; and
he observes, that the kings of Egypt had a great revenue from hence (w); the
river Nile, as Diodorus Siculus (x) says, abounded with all kind of fish, and
with an incredible number, so that there was a plenty of them, and to be
bought cheap; and so Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret the word freely,
of a small price, as if they had them for nothing almost; but surely they
forgot how dear they paid for their fish, by their hard toil, labour, and
service. Now this, with what follows, they call to mind, to increase their lust,
and aggravate their present condition and circumstances:
the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the
garlic; in the Hebrew language, the word for "cucumbers" has the
signification of hardness, because they are hard of digestion In the Talmud
(y) they are so called, because they are as harmful to the body as swords;
though it is said in the same, that Antoninus always had them at his table;
and Suetonius (z) and Pliny (a) say, that they were in great esteem with the
emperors Augustus and Tiberias; though some think what they call
cucumbers were melons. We are told (b), that the Egyptian cucumbers are
very different from our European ones, which in the eastern countries serve
only to feed hogs with, and not men; but the Egyptian cucumber, called
"chate", differs from the common one in size, colour, and softness; and not
64

65. only its leaves, but its fruit, are different from ours, being sweeter to the
taste, and of more easy digestion, and reckoned to be very wholesome to the
bodies of men: and so their "melons" are different from ours, which they
call "abdellavi", to distinguish them from others called "chajar", which are
of little use for food, and not pleasant, and more insipid, and of a softer pulp
(c): as for the "leeks, onions, and garlic", that these were commonly and in
great plenty eaten of by the Egyptians appears from the vast sums of money
spent upon the men that worked in building one of the pyramids, in
radishes, onions, and garlic only, which Herodotus (d), Diodorus Siculus
(e), and Pliny (f) make mention of. Indeed, in later times these were
worshipped as gods, and not suffered to be eaten, as Pliny (g) and Juvenal
(h) inform us; but there is little reason to believe that this kind of idolatry
obtained so early as the time of Israel's being in Egypt; though some have
thought that these were cheaper because of that, and so the Israelites could
more easily come at them; but if that had been the case, it is more
reasonable to believe that the Egyptians would not have allowed them to
have eat of them at all: however, these are still in great plenty, and much
used in Egypt to this day, as Vansleb (i) relates, who says, for desserts they
have fruits, as onions, dried dates, rotten olives, melons, or cucumbers, or
pompions, or such like fruits as are in season: thus carnal men prefer their
sensual lusts and pleasures, and self-righteous men their righteousness, to
Christ, the heavenly manna, his grace and righteousness.
HENRY 5-12, " What was the crime: they lusted and murmured. Though
they had been lately corrected for this sin, and many of them overthrown
for it, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the smell of the fire was
still in their nostrils, yet they returned to it. See Pro_27:22. (1.) They
magnified the plenty and dainties they had had in Egypt (Num_11:5), as if
God had done them a great deal of wrong in taking them thence. While they
were in Egypt they sighed by reason of their burdens, for their lives were
made bitter to them with hard bondage; and yet now they talk of Egypt as if
they had all lived like princes there, when this serves as a colour for their
present discontent. But with what face can they talk of eating fish in Egypt
freely, or for nought, as if it cost them nothing, when they paid so dearly for
it with their hard service? They remember the cucumbers, and the melons,
and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick (precious stuff indeed to be
fond of!), but they do not remember the brick-kilns and the task-masters,
the voice of the oppressor and the smart of the whip. No, these are forgotten
by these ungrateful people. (2.) They were sick of the good provision God
had made for them, Num_11:6. It was bread from heaven, angels' food. To
show how unreasonable their complaint was, it is here described, Num_
11:7-9. It was good for food, and pleasant to the eye, every grain like an
orient pearl; it was wholesome food and nourishing; it was not to be called
dry bread, for it tasted like fresh oil; it was agreeable (the Jews say, Wisd.
16:20) to every man's palate, and tasted as he would have it; and, though it
was still the same, yet, by the different ways of dressing it, it yielded them a
grateful variety; it cost them no money, nor care, for it fell in the night,
while they slept; and the labour of gathering it was not worth speaking of;
they lived upon free quarter, and yet could talk of Egypt's cheapness and the
65

66. fish they ate there freely. Nay, which was much more valuable than all this,
the manna came from the immediate power and bounty of God, not from
common providence, but from special favour. It was, as God's compassion,
new every morning, always fresh, not as their food who live on shipboard.
While they lived on manna, they seemed to be exempted from the curse
which sin has brought on man, that in the sweat of his face should he eat
bread. And yet they speak of manna with such scorn, as if it were not good
enough to be meat for swine: Our soul is dried away. They speak as if God
dealt hardly with them in allowing them no better food. At first they
admired it (Exo_16:15): What is this? “What a curious precious thing is
this!” But now they despised it. Note, Peevish discontented minds will find
fault with that which has no fault in it but that it is too good for them. It is
very provoking to God to undervalue his favours, and to put a but upon our
common mercies. Nothing but manna! Those that might be very happy often
make themselves very miserable by their discontents. (3.) They could not be
satisfied unless they had flesh to eat. They brought flocks and herds with
them in great abundance out of Egypt; but either they were covetous, and
could not find in their hearts to kill them, lest they should lessen their flocks
(they must have flesh as cheap as they had bread, or they would not be
pleased), or else they were curious, beef and mutton would not please them;
they must have something more nice and delicate, like the fish they did eat
in Egypt. Food would not serve; they must be feasted. They had feasted with
God upon the peace-offerings which they had their share of; but it seems
God did not keep a table good enough for them, they must have daintier bits
than any that came to his altar. Note, It is an evidence of the dominion of the
carnal mind when we are solicitous to have all the delights and satisfactions
of sense wound up to the height of pleasurableness. Be not desirous of
dainties, Pro_23:1-3. If God gives us food convenient, we ought to be
thankful, though we do not eat the fat and drink the sweet. (4.) They
distrusted the power and goodness of God as insufficient for their supply:
Who will give us flesh to eat? taking it for granted that God could not. Thus
this question is commented upon, Psa_78:19, Psa_78:20, Can he provide
flesh also? though he had given them flesh with their bread once, when he
saw fit (Exo_16:13), and they might have expected that he would do it again,
and in mercy, if, instead of murmuring, they had prayed. Note, It is an
offence to God to let our desires go beyond our faith. (5.) They were eager
and importunate in their desires; they lusted a lust, so the word is, lusted
greatly and greedily, till they wept again for vexation. So childish were the
children of Israel, and so humoursome, that they cried because they had not
what they would have and when they would have it. They did not offer up
this desire to God, but would rather be beholden to any one else than to
him. We should not indulge ourselves in any desire which we cannot in faith
turn into prayer, as we cannot when we ask meat for our lust, Psa_78:18.
For this sin the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly against them, which
is written for our admonition, that we should not lust after evil things as
they lusted, 1Co_10:6. (6.) Flesh is good food, and may lawfully be eaten; yet
they are said to lust after evil things. What is lawful of itself becomes evil to
us when it is what God does not allot to us and yet we eagerly desire it.
66

67. JAMISON, "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely —
(See on Exo_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.
CALVIN, "5.We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt. By this comparison
with the former mode of living, they depreciate the present grace of God: and yet
they enumerate no delicacies, when they speak of leeks, and onions, and garlic.
Some, therefore, thus explain it, When such great abundance and variety was
commonly to be met with, how painful and grievous must it be to us to be deprived
of greater delicacies! My own opinion is, that these lowly people, who had been used
to live on humble fare, praised their accustomed food, as if they had been the
greatest luxuries. Surely rustics and artisans value as much their pork and beef,
their cheese and curds, their onions and cabbage, as most of the rich do their
sumptuous fare. Scornfully, therefore, do the Israelites magnify things which, in
themselves, are but of little value, in order the more to stimulate their depraved
appetite, already sufficiently excited. Still there is no doubt but that those who had
been accustomed to a diet of herbs and fish, would think themselves happy with that
kind of food. Moreover, to make the matter more invidious, they say in general, that
they ate gratis (15) of that, which cost them but little: although such a phrase is
67

68. common in all languages. For even profane writers testify that all that sea-shore
abounds with fish. (16) The fisheries of the Nile also are very productive, and a part:
of the wealth of Egypt: whilst the country is so well watered, that it produces
abundance of vegetables and fruits. (17)
COKE, "
Numbers 11:5. We remember the fish, &c.— The author of the observations
remarks, that the fish of Egypt are eaten, in common, with pleasure by the
inhabitants of that country; but that in April and May, which is the hot season
there, they scarce eat any thing else but fish, with pulse and herbs; the great heat
taking away their appetite for all sorts of meat. This is Bishop Pococke's account,
vol. 1 p. 182 with whom other travellers agree. Whence some have thought, that this
complaint of the Israelites arose from the peculiar sultriness of the weather, and
their being accustomed, in these hot seasons, to eat fish, and refreshing vegetables.
But it is evident from the text, that the complaint of Israel proceeded from a
wayward and perverse kind of luxuriousness; and for that reason drew down such a
severe animadversion from heaven. De Vitriacho tells us, that some of the more
delicate Egyptians pined to death when Damiata was besieged (anno Dom. 1218.)
though they had a sufficiency of corn, for want of the food they were used to;
pompions, garlick, onions, fish, birds, fruit, herbs, &c. It appears, at least, very clear
from ch. Numbers 10:11 that the Israelites did not arrive at this station till the latter
end of May, if before June; and it seems to have been some time after their arrival
that this murmuring arose; (Numbers 11:4.) so that either the hot south winds do
not blow at the same time in the desart, as they are wont to do in Egypt, or this
complaint did not arise from that cause.
The cucumbers, &c.— Those who are inclined to enter into a minute account of
these plants, will find their curiosity gratified, by referring to the third volume of
Scheuchzer's learned and laborious Physique Sacree. He translates the words
rendered cucumbers and melons, by melons et citrouilles, melons and gourds; and
he observes, that the ancients called all the fruits of that species cucumbers and
melons. The word which we render leeks, he takes to signify a plant of the lotus
kind, which grew in the low lands of Egypt; and which, he says, was of a very
delicate taste, and held in great estimation. Homer says, that the lotus is the first of
the plants which grew for the pleasure of the gods, Iliad 22. See Alpinus de plant.
Egypt. p. 103. With respect to the onions and garlick, Scheuchzer further observes,
upon the credit of the best travellers, that they are far better, and of a much sweeter
taste in the east, than in our parts of the world. The Jews, and the Orientals in
general, are to the present time very fond of them: and Calmet well remarks, that
garlick was in so much request among the ancients, that Homer makes it a part of
the entertainment which Nestor serves up to his guest Machaon. Iliad 11.
Honey new prest, the sacred flour of wheat, And wholesome garlick, crown'd the
sav'ry treat. POPE.
68

69. Juvenal observes, at the beginning of his 15th Satire,
How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, Makes gods of monsters but too well is
known—
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
'Tis mortal sin an onion to devour; Each clove of garlick is a sacred pow'r. Religious
nations sure, and blest abodes, Where every garden is o'er-run with gods!
DRYDEN.
Upon which Calmet and others have started a question, How the Israelites durst
venture to violate the national worship, by eating those sacred plants? To which it
may be replied, in the first place, that whatever might be the case with the
Egyptians in later ages, it is not probable that they were arrived at such a pitch of
superstition in Moses's time; for we find no footsteps thereof in the time of
Herodotus, the most ancient of the Greek historians. 2nd, Juvenal, and the other
writers who speak of this superstition, appear to be mistaken, in imagining those
herbs to have been really the objects of religious worship. The priests, indeed,
abstained from the use of them, and of several other vegetables: and this might give
rise to the opinion of their being reverenced as divinities; but they were not
prohibited to the people, as is plain from the testimonies of ancient writers;
particularly Diodorus, lib. 1: p. 80.
ELLICOTT, " (5) We remember the fish . . . —Classical writers and modern
travellers agree in bearing testimony to the abundance of the fish in the Nile and in
the neighbouring canals and reservoirs. The cucumbers in Egypt are of great size
and finely flavoured. The watermelons serve to moderate the internal heat which
the climate produces. (See The Land and the Book, p. 508.) The word rendered leeks
(in Psalms 104:14, grass for cattle) is supposed by some to denote a species of clover
which is peculiar to Egypt, and of which the young and fresh shoots are said to be
used as food and to be an excellent stomachic. The onions of Egypt are said to be the
sweetest in the world, and they constitute the common food of the lowest class of the
people. Garlic is still much used by the modern Arabs. It is only the fish, which was
probably equally within the reach of all, of which the Israelites are said to have
eaten freely, i.e., not abundantly, but gratuitously. It is probable, however, that
many of them cultivated the land to a greater or lesser degree, and so procured
vegetables for themselves.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely;
the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
Ver. 5. We remember the fish.] They forgat their servitude. Discontent is ever
69

70. harping upon wants, and enjoys nothing: no more than Haman did his honour, or
Ahab his kingdom, when he longed for a salad out of Naboth’s garden.
POOLE, " Freely; either without price, for fish was very plentiful, and fishing was
there free; or with a very small price; for nothing is sometimes put for a little, as
John 18:20 Acts 27:33; and none for few, as Jeremiah 8:6 1 Corinthians 2:8. And
this is the more probable, because the Egyptians might not taste of fish, nor of the
leeks and onions, which they worshipped for gods, and therefore the Israelites, who
speak these words, might have them there upon cheaper terms.
WHEDON, "5. The fish… freely — Hebrew, for nothing. So abundant were the fish
in the Nile that they were very cheap. Herodotus repeatedly speaks of the great use
of fish as an article of food in Egypt. Not only man, but myriads of waterfowl, which
swarm in Lower Egypt more than in any other country in the world, depend on fish,
and yet the supply is as inexhaustible as ever. They were eaten either dried in the
sun or salted.
The Egyptians are the first people mentioned in history as curing any kind of meat
with salt.
Cucumbers — These differ from the ordinary kind both in size, colour, softness,
and sweetness of flavour. They are described by Forskal as “the most common of all
the fruits in Egypt, being planted in whole fields.” Enormous quantities of them are
eaten in the East. They are eaten with the rind on, without any condiment. They are
the commonest and cheapest summer vegetable, and are never complained of as
indigestible. “I remember seeing dinner served out to an Arab school in Jerusalem,
which consisted of a thin barley-cake, and a raw cucumber to each boy.” —
Tristram.
Melons — These are mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. In modern Egypt water-
melons in immense numbers are sold so cheaply that the poor share their cooling
properties. The very Hebrew name is retained slightly changed. “A traveller in the
East who recollects the intense gratitude which the gift of a slice of melon inspired
while journeying over the hot and dry plains, or one who remembers the
consciousness of wealth and security which he derived from the possession of a
melon while preparing for a day’s journey over the same plains — he will readily
comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back
upon the melons of Egypt.” “Nothing could be more regretted in the burning desert
than these delicious melons, whose exuberant juice is so refreshing to the thirsty
pilgrim.” — W.M. Thomson.
Leeks — The Hebrew word occurs twenty-two times, once rendered court,
seventeen times grass, once herb, twice hay, and once leek. It is evident that leek,
which is found only here, is a mistaken translation for grass. Hengstenberg and
Kitto strongly contend for grass as the correct rendering. Says the latter, “Among
70

71. the wonders of the natural history of Egypt, it is mentioned by travelers that the
common people there eat with special relish a kind of grass similar to clover.”
Mayer says of this plant, whose scientific name is Trigonella foenum Graecum, that
its leaves are more pointed than clover, and that great quantities of it are eaten by
the people. In Cairo it is a garden-plant called halbeh. In November it is sold in
large bunches in the streets, and is eaten with incredible greediness without any
kind of seasoning. The Targum of Onkelos for leeks has “cresses,” one species of
which is the pepper-grass. But all the old versions and commentators insist that
leeks is the proper translation. They were a favourite vegetable with the
Egyptians — indeed they were reverenced by them as sacred. Hence a Roman
satirist ridicules the Egyptians for growing their gods in their gardens. Onions of a
mild and pleasant taste flourish in Egypt better than elsewhere. According to
Herodotus they were the ordinary food of the workmen at the pyramids. They are
still almost the only food of the poor, eaten roasted, cut into four pieces, with some
bits of meat. With this dish the Turks in Egypt are so delighted that they wish they
may enjoy it in paradise. Garlic is the Allium sativum of Linnaeus, which abounds
in Egypt, and is akin to the onion. Herodotus states that the allowance of this
vegetable to the workman was inscribed on the great pyramid. Not one of all these
refreshing vegetables could be found in the desert, and yet they are those after
which there would be the most intense craving under the wilting heat of the desert.
There was therefore some ground for the complaint of the people. But their
culpability lay in their forgetfulness of the providential compensations: manna,
emancipation from servitude, the written law of God, Jehovah visibly guiding them,
and the inspiring hope of a home in Canaan. All the miseries of Egypt, the toil, the
taskmaster, the contumely, and the degradation of bondage are forgotten in the
discomforts of the present moment, and only the gross animal pleasures now come
into mind. “Thus when once the heart loses its freshness in the divine life, and
heavenly things begin to lose their savour, and first love declines, and Christ ceases
to be a satisfying and altogether precious portion, and the Bible and communion
with God lose their charm, and become dull and mechanical; then the eye wanders
back to the world, the heart follows the eye, and the feet follow the heart. We forget,
at such moments, what the world was to us when we were in it and of it.”
BENSON, "Verse 5-6
Numbers 11:5-6. The fish which we did eat freely — Either without price, for fish
was very plentiful, and fishing there free, or at a very small price. Our soul —
Either our life, as the term signifies, Genesis 9:5, or our body, which is often
intended by the word soul. Dried-away — Is withered, and pines away, which
possibly might be true, through their envy, discontent, and inordinate appetite. The
expression seems to be of the same purport with that of the psalmist, <19A204>
Psalms 102:4, My heart is withered like grass.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:5
71

72. We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, i.e; gratis. No doubt this
was an exaggeration on the part of the murmurers, but it is attested by classical
writers that fish swarmed in the Nile waters, and cost next to nothing. Cucumbers.
‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ֻ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ק‬ . Cucumbers of peculiar softness and flavour are spoken of by Egyptian
travelers as fructus in Egypto omnium vulgatissimus. Melons. hsilgnE:egaugnaL
‫ים‬ ִ‫ח‬ ִ‫טּ‬ַ‫ב‬ ַ‫.}א‬ Water-melons, still called battieh, grow in Egypt, as in all hot, moist lands,
like weeds, and are as much the luxury of the poorest as of the richest. Leeks. ‫יר‬ ִ‫צ‬ָ‫ח‬ .
This word usually means grass (as in Psalms 104:14), and may do so hare, for the
modem Egyptians eat a kind of field-clover freely. The Septuagint, however,
translates it by ôá̀ ðñá́óá, leeks or chives, which agrees better with the context. Pliny
(Nat. Hist. 19:33) speaks of it as "laudatissimus porrus in Egypto." Onions. ‫ים‬ִ‫ל‬ָ‫צ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ .
Garlic. ‫ים‬ ְ‫.שׁוּמ‬ These are mentioned in the well-known passage of Herodotus (2.125)
as forming the staple food of the workmen at the pyramids; these still form a large
part of the diet of the labouring classes in Egypt, as in other Mediterranean
countries. If we look at these different articles of food together, so naturally and
inartificially mentioned in this verse, we find a strong argument for the genuineness
of the narrative. They are exactly the luxuries which an Egyptian labourer of that
day would have cried out for, if deprived of them; they are not the luxuries which a
Jew of Palestine would covet, or would even think of. The very words here used for
the cucumber, the melon, and the garlic were probably Egyptian, for they may still
be recognized in the common names of those vegetables in Egypt.
6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see
anything but this manna!”
BARNES, "Num_11:6-7
There is nothing at all ... - literally, “Nought at all have we except that our
eyes are unto this manna;” i. e. “Nought else have we to expect beside this
manna.” On the manna see Exo_16:15 note; on bdellium see Gen_2:12 note.
GILL, "But now our soul is dried away,.... Meaning their bodies, which, for
want of flesh food, they pretended had no moisture in them, or they were
half starved, and in wasting and consuming circumstances:
there is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes; which in itself
72

73. was a truth and matter of fact; they had nothing to look to, and live upon but
the manna, and that was enough, and with which, no doubt, many of them
were contented, and satisfied and thankful for it, though the greater part
were not; and therefore this, though a truth, was foolishly and wickedly
spoken, being said in disdain and contempt of the manna: so Christ, the
heavenly manna, the antitype of this, of which See Gill on Exo_16:14; See
Gill on Exo_16:15; See Gill on Exo_16:16; See Gill on Exo_16:17; See Gill on
Exo_16:18; is indeed the only food that is set before us in the Gospel to feed
and live upon; nor is there anything at all besides him, nor do true believers
in him desire any other, but pray that evermore this bread may be given
them; but carnal men and carnal professors slight the Gospel feast, of which
Christ is the sum and substance; and at least would have something besides
him, something along with him, something of their own in justification for
him, or to give them a right unto him, or to trust in along with him; they
cannot bear to have nothing at all but Christ; or that he, and he alone,
should be exalted, and be all in all, as he is justification and salvation, and in
the Gospel provision, in which nothing is set before us but him.
JAMISON 6-9, "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”
(Exo_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.
CALVIN, "6.But now our soul is dried away. They complain that they are almost
wasted away with famine and hunger, whilst they are abundantly supplied with
manna; in the same way as they had just been loudly declaring that they had lived
in Egypt for a very little money; as if they were affected by a great dearth of
provisions, when, by the pure liberality of God, a kind of food was provided for
them, more easy to prepare than any other, and so actually prepared without
trouble or cost. But such is the malignity and ingratitude of men, that they count all
God’s bounty for nothing, whilst they are brooding over their own importunate
lusts. Many in their gluttony consume, and bring to naught whatever God bestows
upon them: others, in their avarice, dry up the fountain of His liberality, which else
would be inexhaustible. But these, in the midst of their abundance, say that they are
dry, because insatiable cupidity inflames them, so that God’s blessing, however
ample, cannot satisfy them. Thus the rain, washing the hard rock, wets it not within,
73

74. neither tempers its dryness by its moisture. Since, therefore, a contempt of God’s
blessings withers them all, like a hot blast, let us learn to assign them their due
honor, that they may be supplied to us in sufficiency. Thus will be fulfilled in our
ease:
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts
of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and
flourishing.”
(Psalms 92:12.)
For Scripture does not so often declare in vain that God satisfies the longing souls,
and filleth the hungry with food. They complain that there is nothing before their
eyes but manna: as if their loathing of this one excellent and abundant kind of food
was actual famine.
COKE, "Numbers 11:6. Our soul is dried away— This expression is of the same
import with that of the Psalmist; my heart is—withered like grass. The word ‫נפשׁ‬
nepesh, as we have before observed, is often used for the merely animal life, (see
Genesis 2:7.) and the drying away here mentioned, may refer to their want of the
moist, fishy, and vegetable food, for which they expressed so impetuous a desire.
Their contempt of the manna is shewn by the way of speaking of it: There is nothing
at all besides THIS manna before our eyes. Though they had some cattle, Numbers
11:22 yet it would seem that they had them not in such plenty or cheapness, that the
populace could eat them for ordinary food.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:6 But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all,
beside this manna, [before] our eyes.
Ver. 6. There is nothing at all besides.] The wheat of heaven was held a light meat,
because lightly come by; Cito parta vilescunt. How are many queasy stomachs even
nauseated with the bread of life! it makes not to their dainty palates; plain
preaching is disrelished.
POOLE, " Our soul; either,
1. Our life, as the soul signifies, Genesis 9:5 Psalms 33:19 Job 36:14; or,
2. Our body, which is oft signified by the soul, as Psalms 16:10 Psalms 35:12 105:18.
So Leviticus 19:28 21:1 Numbers 5:2.
Is dried away; is withered, and pines away; which possibly might be true through
envy and discontent, and inordinate appetite, as 2 Samuel 13:4 Proverbs 14:30.
74

75. Before our eyes;
Heb. our eyes see or look to nothing but this manna. They speak as if the manna
were only useful to please their eyes with its fine colour and shape, but not to satisfy
their appetites, or sustain their natures.
WHEDON, " 6. Our soul is dried away — Our animal life faints for want of strong
and refreshing food. Such a use of the term soul is still common in the East, where,
hungry or thirsty, the people say, “Our soul is withered.”
Nothing at all, besides this manna — The skilful reader will not fail, by correct
intonation, to bring out the contempt here poured upon the bread of heaven, which
prefigures our Lord Jesus according to his own words in John 6:32-33, and to St.
Paul’s in 1 Corinthians 10:3. We know of nothing in the conduct of these Israelites
that more strikingly exhibits their low moral character than this complaint. The
animal appetites have completely subverted their intellectual and spiritual tastes, if
they ever had any, and they here exhibit a disgusting sensuality. The carnal mind to-
day treats the glorious Antitype with no more respect than these sensual Israelites
treated the type. Sin is the same in all ages.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:6
Our soul is dried away. This exaggerated statement expressed their craving for the
juicy and savoury food of which they had been thinking, and which was obviously
unattainable in the wilderness. There is a physical craving in man for variety of diet,
and especially for such condiments and flavours as he has been used to all his life,
which makes the lack of them a real hardship. It is not necessary to condemn the
Israelites for feeling very keenly the loss of their accustomed food, which is
notoriously the one thing which the poorest classes are least able to bear; it is only
necessary to condemn them for making this one loss of more account than all their
gain. There is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. Rather, "we have
nothing ( ‫ל‬ֹ‫כּ‬ ‫ין‬ ֵ‫)א‬ except that our eye (falls) upon this manna." These graphic words
speak of the longing looks which turned in every direction after the accustomed
dainties, only to fall with disgust upon the inevitable manna. It was very ungrateful
of them to speak disparagingly of the manna, which was good and wholesome food,
and sufficient to keep them in health and strength; but it is useless to deny that
manna only for people who had been accustomed to a rich and varied diet must
have been exceedingly trying both to the palate and the stomach (cf. Numbers 21:5).
75

76. 7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked
like resin.
CLARKE, "The manna was as coriander seed - Probably this short
description is added to show the iniquity of the people in murmuring, while
they had so adequate a provision. But the baseness of their minds appears
in every part of their conduct. About the bdellium of the ancients the
learned are not agreed; and I shall not trouble the reader with conjectures.
See the note on Gen_2:12. Concerning the manna, see the notes on Exodus
16 (note).
Num_11:11-15. The complaint and remonstrance of Moses in these verses
serve at once to show the deeply distressed state of his mind, and the
degradation of the minds of the people. We have already seen that the
slavery they had so long endured had served to debase their minds, and to
render them incapable of every high and dignified sentiment, and of every
generous act.
GILL, "And the manna was as coriander seed,.... Not in colour, for that is
black or darkish, whereas the manna was white, as is generally observed; of
which See Gill on Exo_16:31; however it might be like the coriander,
because of its form and figure, being round, and because of its quantity,
being small, Exo_16:14; Some think the mustard seed is meant, as Aben
Ezra observes, which is the least of all seeds; it seems that the manna fell in
small round grains, like to such seed. This, with what follows, is observed,
to expose the folly and ingratitude of the Israelites, that having such bread
from heaven, angels food, that they should slight it, and hanker after other
food:
CALVIN, "7.And the manna was as coriander seed. Moses had already adverted to
this in Exodus 16:0; (18) but he now repeats it, in order more fully to condemn their
perverse desire; for what could be more unseemly and intolerable than thus to
eschew a food delightful both in appearance and taste v. For the same reason the
Prophet, in Psalms 78:0, records that men were not satisfied with “angels’ food,”
and “corn from heaven.” Here, instead of saying that it was white, he calls it the
color of Bedola, (19) a precious stone, whether a pearl, or some other kind. Its very
appearance, then, was calculated to give them pleasure; and, since without much
labor, either by grinding or crushing it, they might make it into various sorts of
food, and all of a sweet and pleasant taste;. the baser was their ingratitude in
complaining, as if God treated them with but little liberality as to their food.
76

77. COKE, "Numbers 11:7. The manna was as coriander-seed, &c.— This description
of the manna, its excellence as a food, its immediate descent from God, and the
easiness of its procural, appear to be subjoined by the sacred writer, to shew the
ingratitude and luxury of the people in despising so agreeable a food.
REFLECTIONS.—One sin severely visited prevents not new provocations. 1. The
mixed multitude, a mongrel breed, such as followed in hopes of sharing Israel's
good, not to serve Israel's God, began the mutiny, and communicated the spirit of
infection to the camp. A bad neighbourhood is dangerous, and sin contagious; nor
are any so high in grace or attainments, but they need to watch and pray lest they
enter into temptation. 2. They lusted for flesh to eat, dissatisfied with God's
provision, and wanting to be their own caterers. Indulging our appetites, is usually
our ruin: to gratify the body, men destroy the soul. 3. They distrusted God's power
to supply their wants, though every day living by a miracle. Unbelief is a sin which
miracles cannot cure. 4. They compare their present with their past estate, and draw
the most ungrateful conclusions. They remember the leeks and onions, but not the
task-masters of Egypt, and speak of that manna, the bread of heaven, as if it
famished instead of fed them. Note; (1.) Ingratitude is among the greater sins. (2.)
The discontented loath their very blessings, and seem solicitous to make themselves
miserable. (3.) It is a strong mark of the curse of God upon the heart, to see repining
in the midst of plenty.
ELLICOTT, "(7) And the manna was . . . —The design of the description of the
manna in this place (comp. Exodus 16:14; Exodus 16:31, and Notes in loc.; also
Article Manna, in “Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible”) was probably to exhibit in its
just light the sinfulness of the Israelites in repining at the merciful provision which
God had made for the supply of their wants. The dissatisfaction of the Israelites
with the sweet bread of heaven, and their craving after the more savoury and more
stimulating food of Egypt may be regarded as typical of man’s natural repugnance
to the spiritual food which is provided in the Gospel, and his restless cravings after
the pleasures of the world.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:7 And the manna [was] as coriander seed, and the colour
thereof as the colour of bdellium.
Ver. 7. And the manna.] {See Trapp on "Exodus 16:14"} {See Trapp on "Exodus
16:31"} There was therefore no such cause they should so loathe it.
Was as coriander seed.] Small, but full of sweetness and nourishment. This might be
some cause of Moses’ undecayedness. [Deuteronomy 34:7]
As the colour of bdellium.] A kind of transparent and precious gum.
77

78. POOLE, " As coriander seed; not for colour, for that is black, but for shape and
figure.
Bdellium is either,
1. The gum of a tree, of a white and bright colour; or rather,
2. A gem or precious stone, as the Hebrew doctors take it; and particularly a pearl,
as some render it, wherewith the manna doth manifestly agree both in its colour,
which is white, Exodus 16:14, and in its figure, which is round. See more on Genesis
2:12.
WHEDON, "7. Manna — See Exodus 16:14-15, and Joshua 5:12, notes. The
coriander is found in Egypt, Persia, and India. It has a round, tall stalk, white or
reddish flowers, and grayish, spicy seeds used by confectioners and druggists. It
grows wild in Egypt and Palestine. Tristram found it in the valley of the Jordan. It
is a spice to bread in the East, and an aroma to sweetmeats. Bdellium occurs only
here and in Genesis 2:12. It is impossible to say whether it is a mineral, (beryl or
crystal, as in the Septuagint,) animal, as pearl, for which some of the Jewish doctors
contend, or vegetable, as an aromatic exudation.
BENSON, "Verse 7-8
Numbers 11:7-8. As coriander-seed — Not for colour, for that is black, but for
shape and figure. Bdellium — Is either the gum of a tree, of a white and bright
colour, or rather a gem or precious stone, as the Hebrew doctors take it; and
particularly a pearl, wherewith the manna manifestly agrees both in its colour,
which is white, (Exodus 16:14,) and in its figure, which is round. Fresh oil — Or, of
the most excellent oil; or, of cakes made with the best oil, the word cakes being
easily supplied out of the foregoing member of the verse; or, which is not much
different, like wafers made with honey, as it is said, Exodus 16:31. The nature and
use of manna are here thus particularly described, to show the greatness of their sin
in despising such excellent food.
PETT, "Numbers 11:7
‘And the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance as the appearance of
bdellium.’
The manna is described. It was in deliberate contrast to the luxuries of Egypt. All
they had was this one small ‘seed’. It was in shape and size somewhat like coriander
seeds. Coriander seeds are from the fruit of the Coriandrum sativum (of the natural
order Umbelliferae), which was a plant indigenous around the Mediterranean and
78

79. extensively cultivated. It was used for medicinal and culinary purposes from at least
1500 BC. The fruits are aromatic and were thought to assist flatulence. They are of
a greyish-yellow colour, ribbed, globular and oval, and in size about twice that of a
hemp-seed being about four millimetres in diameter. Bdellium is a pale yellow
transluscent resin. Exodus 16:14; Exodus 16:31 says that the manna was flaky like
hoar frost, white and tasting like honey. Thus manna was like small flaky seeds, and
probably whitish-yellow and smooth.
More modern examples have been cited of an unidentified white substance which
one morning covered a fairly large area of ground in Natal and was eaten by the
natives, and also of falls of whitish, odourless, tasteless matter in Southern Algeria
which, at a time of unusual weather conditions, covered tents and vegetation each
morning. While not being the same as the Manna, or lasting over so long a period,
these do indicate the kind of natural phenomena which God may have used to bring
about His miracle.
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:7
The manna was as coriander seed. On the name and the nature of the manna see
Exodus 16:31. It is commonly supposed that the brief description here inserted was
intended to show the unreasonableness of the popular complaints. There is no trace
whatever of any such purpose. So far as the description conveys fresh information,
it was simply suggested by the occurrence of the word "manna," according to the
artless style of the narrative. If any moral purpose must be assigned to this
digression, it would rather be to suggest that the people had some real temptation to
complain. It is often forgotten that, although the manna was supernatural, at least
as to the amount and regularity of its supply, yet as an article of food it contained no
supernatural elements. If we had to live upon nothing but cakes flavored with honey
or with olive oil, it is certain that we should soon find them pall upon our appetite.
To the eye of the Psalmist the manna appeared as angels' food (Psalms 78:25); but
then the Psalmist had not lived on manna every day for a year. We have to
remember, in this as in many other cases, that the Israelites would not be "our
ensamples" ( ôṍðïé ç̔ ìù͂ í, 1 Corinthians 10:6) if they had not succumbed to real
temptations. As the colour of bdellium. See on Genesis 2:12. As no one knows
anything at all about bdellium, this adds nothing to our knowledge of the manna.
The Septuagint has here åé̔͂
äïò êñõóôá́ëëïõ, "the appearance of ice," or perhaps "of
hoar-frost." As it translates bdellium in Genesis 2:12 by á̓́íèñáî (carbuncle), it is
probable that the comparison to ice here is due to some tradition about the manna.
Taking this passage in connection with Exodus 16:1-36 :81, we may reasonably
conjecture that it was of an opalescent white, the same colour probably which is
mentioned in connection with manna in Revelation 2:17.
79

80. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then
ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar.
They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And
it tasted like something made with olive oil.
GILL, "And the people went about and gathered it,.... Went about the camp
on all sides, where it fell in plenty; this they did every morning, and this was
all the trouble they were at; they had it for gathering, without any expense
to them:
and ground it in mills: in hand mills, as Aben Ezra; for though it melted
through the heat of the sun, and became a liquid, yet, when gathered in the
morning, it was hard like grains of corn, or other seeds, and required to be
ground in mills:
or beat it in a mortar; with a pestle, as spices are beaten and bruised:
and baked it in pans; or rather boiled it in a pot, as the Targums of Jonathan
and Jerusalem, since it follows:
and made cakes of it; which were baked on the hearth; all which may denote
the sufferings of Christ, who was beaten, and bruised, and broken, that he
might become fit food for faith, Isa_53:4,
and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil; which is very grateful and
pleasant, as well as very fattening and nourishing; so that the Israelites had
no reason to complain of their being dried away by continual eating of it;
See Gill on Exo_16:31.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:8 [And] the people went about, and gathered [it], and ground
[it] in mills, or beat [it] in a mortar, and baked [it] in pans, and made cakes of it:
and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
Ver. 8. And the people went about.] Or, "Went to and fro," as men ought still to
"increase knowledge," [Daniel 12:4] "labouring for the meat that endureth to
eternal life." [John 6:27] God might have saved them this labour, by raining manna
into their mouths; but he would not, for the trial of their diligence; and that they
might not think that worth nothing, that cost them nothing.
80

81. And ground it in mills.] So was Jesus Christ ground and pounded with passion,
baked and dried up in the oven of his Father’s displeasure, before he became fit
food, and a Saviour to his Church.
As the taste of fresh oil.] Or, Wafers baked with honey. [Exodus 16:31] The sweet
promises of grace are sweeter than honey. [Psalms 19:10] No fresh and sweet oil can
so cherish the face, as they do the heart of a believer.
POOLE, " Or, of the most excellent oil; or, of the flour of oil; or, as others, of cakes
or paste made with the best oil, the word cakes being easily supplied out of the
foregoing member of the verse; or, which is not much differing, like wafers made
with honey, as it is said Exodus 16:31. The nature and use of manna is here thus
particularly described to show the greatness of their sin in despising such excellent
food as this was.
WHEDON, " 8. Ground it in mills — These probably differed but little from the
Syrian mills of the present time. The mortar is still used by the Arabs to pound
wheat for kibby, their national dish.
Pans — R.V., “seethed it in pots.” The same Hebrew word is rendered pot in Judges
6:19, and 1 Samuel 2:14.
As the taste of fresh oil — Olive oil. In Exodus 16:31, manna is said to have the taste
of honey. Olive-oil and honey entered largely into the diet of the Hebrews in
Canaan; they are also prominent articles of food to the Easterns at this day.
PETT, "Numbers 11:8
‘The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in
mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it, and the taste of it was as the
taste of fresh oil.’
It was collected in pots and ground in their hand-mills or beaten in mortars, it was
then boiled or turned into cakes and tasted like the taste of fresh olive oil, reminding
the people of honey. So they clearly tried different ways of making it enjoyable. But
nothing could fully relieve its monotony. However, as long as they were not greedy it
never made them ill (Exodus 16:20). Had their faith been strong they would have
accepted it gladly from the hand of God because their satisfaction was elsewhere
and was spiritual. But they were carnal and their food meant a lot to them, while
God did not. So they broke down at the thought of what they were missing, they
‘wept’. They felt sorry for themselves.
81

82. “The taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.” It was good and wholesome. But the
people did not want what was good and wholesome, they wanted what tickled the
palate. They wanted the lusts of the flesh and not the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians
5:16 onwards).
PULPIT, "Numbers 11:8
And the people … ground it in mills. This information as to the preparation of the
manna is new. It may be supposed that at first the people ate it in its natural state,
but that afterwards they found out how to prepare it in different ways for the sake
of variety. Small handmills and mortars for the preparation of grain they would
have brought with them from their Egyptian homes. As the taste of fresh oil. In
Exodus 16:31 it is said to have tasted like wafers made with honey. Nothing is more
impossible adequately to describe than a fresh taste. It is sufficient to note that the
two things suggested by the taste of the manna, honey and oil, present the greatest
possible contrast to the heavy or savoury food which they remembered in Egypt.
9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the
manna also came down.
GILL, "And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night,.... As it usually,
and even constantly did:
the manna fell upon it; as constantly, and had thereby a clean place to fall
on; and then another dew fell upon that, which kept it the cleaner still, and
from any vermin creeping upon it; see Exo_16:14; so careful was the Lord of
this their provision, and so constantly every morning were they supplied
with it: and which fell in the night when they were asleep, and at rest, and
without any labour of theirs; and was ready to their hands when they arose,
and had nothing to do but gather it; and yet were so ungrateful as to make
light of it, and despise it.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the
manna fell upon it.
Ver. 9. And when the dew fell.] As manna fell in the dew, so doth the Spirit descend
82

83. in and by the word preached. [Galatians 3:2]
In the night.] Figuring that hidden manna, laid up and prepared for the saints.
[Revelation 2:17]
PETT, "Numbers 11:9
‘And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.’
It fell during the early morning after the dew. It was probably the result of the
unusual weather conditions at the time, coming from we know not where. But in the
end it was ‘from heaven’. The reason for giving this information about the manna
was in order to remind the readers of how good God was being to His people.
PULPIT, "And when the dew fell,… the manna fell upon it. We know from Exodus
16:14 that when the dew evaporated in the morning it left a deposit of manna upon
the ground; we learn here that the manna fell upon the dew during the night. Now
the dew is deposited in the cool of the night beneath a clear sky, when radiation of
heat goes on uninterruptedly from the earth's surface; it is clear, therefore, that the
manna was let fall in some way beyond human experience from the upper air. What
possible physical connection there could be between the dew and the manna we
cannot tell. To the untaught mind, however, the dew seemed to come more directly
than any other gift of nature from the clear sky which underlay the throne of God;
and thus the Jew was led to look upon the manna too as coming to him day by day
direct front the storehouse of heaven (cf. Psalms 78:23, Psalms 78:24; Psalms
105:40).
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing
at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became
exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.
BARNES, "Num_11:10
The weeping was general; every family wept (compare Zec_12:12), and in
a manner public and unconcealed.
83

84. GILL, "Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families,.... So
general was their lusting after flesh, and their discontent for want of it; and
so great their distress and uneasiness about it, that they wept and cried for
it, and so loud and clamorous, that Moses heard the noise and outcry they
made:
every man in the door of his tent: openly and publicly, were not ashamed of
their evil and unbecoming behaviour, and in order to excite and encourage
the like temper and disposition in others; though it may have respect, as
some have observed, to the door of the tent of Moses, about which they
gathered and mutinied; and which better accounts for his hearing the
general cry they made; and so in an ancient writing of the Jews it is said (l),
they were waiting for Moses until he came out at the door of the school; and
they were sitting and murmuring:
and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; because of their ingratitude
to him, their contempt of the manna he had provided for them, and their
hankering after their poor fare in Egypt, and for which they had endured so
much hardship and ill usage, and for the noise and clamour they now made:
Moses also was displeased; with the people on the same account, and with
the Lord also for laying and continuing so great a burden upon him, as the
care of this people, which appears by what follows.
JAMISON10-15, "Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted
thy servant, etc. — 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.
K&D, "When Moses heard the people weep, “according to their families,
every one before the door of his tent,” i.e., heard complaining in all the
families in front of every tent, so that the weeping had become universal
throughout the whole nation (cf. Zec_12:12.), and the wrath of the Lord
burned on account of it, and the thing displeased Moses also, he brought his
complaint to the Lord. The words “Moses also was displeased,” are
introduced as a circumstantial clause, to explain the matter more clearly,
and show the reason for the complaint which Moses poured out before the
Lord, and do not refer exclusively either to the murmuring of the people or
to the wrath of Jehovah, but to both together. This follows evidently from
the position in which the clause stands between the two antecedent clauses
in Num_11:10 and the apodosis in Num_11:11, and still more evidently from
84

85. the complaint of Moses which follows. For “the whole attitude of Moses
shows that his displeasure was excited not merely by the unrestrained
rebellion of the people against Jehovah, but also by the unrestrained wrath
of Jehovah against the nation” (Kurtz). But in what was the wrath of
Jehovah manifested? It broke out against the people first of all when they
had been satiated with flesh (Num_11:33). There is no mention of any
earlier manifestation. Hence Moses can only have discovered a sign of the
burning wrath of Jehovah in the fact that, although the discontent of the
people burst forth in loud cries, God did not help, but withdrew with His
help, and let the whole storm of the infuriated people burst upon him.
CALVIN, "10.Then Moses heard the people weep. Wonderful indeed, and almost
prodigious was the madness of the people, thus all of them to mourn as if reduced to
the extremity of despair. What would they have done in actual famine? what if they
had to gnaw bitter roots, almost without any juice in them? What if they had had to
live on tasteless and unwholesome bread? We see, therefore, how by the indulgence
of their depraved lusts men make themselves wretched in the very midst of
prosperity. Let us, then, learn to bridle our excessive passions, that we may not
bring upon ourselves troubles and inconveniences, and all sorts of painful feelings;
for if the cause be duly weighed, when men afflict themselves with sorrow and
lamentation, we shall generally find that, whereas the evil might be lightened by
endurance, its pain is increased by preposterous imaginations. But here a gross
instance of luxury is set before us, when, in their satiety, they weep as if long
abstinence threatened them with death. It was an effect of holy and praiseworthy
zeal, that this great perverseness should displease Moses; but he was not without
error in carrying it to excess; for he unjustly expostulates with God, complaining
that He had laid too heavy a burden upon him, when tie knew all the time that he
was sustained by His power. His charge was indeed difficult and laborious; but in
that he had experienced God’s wondrous aid, whenever he had groaned beneath his
burden, there was no room for complaint; besides, since he had been dignified by a
peculiar honor, it was ungrateful to brand with disgrace the good gift of God. He
reputes it his greatest evil that the charge of governing the people had been
intrusted to him; whereas all his senses ought rather to have been ravished with
astonishment, that God had condescended to choose him to be the redeemer of His
people, and the minister of His wondrous power. This, too, was very inconsiderate,
to ask whether he had begotten or brought forth the people; as if his calling by God
did not lay him sufficiently under obligation, or as if there were no other ties than
those of nature. God, indeed, has inspired parents with such love towards their
offspring, that they willingly undergo incredible troubles on their account; but
Moses was bound by another kind of piety, for by God’s command he was father of
the people. Wherefore he ought not to have only regarded nature, but the obligation
of his office also.
COFFMAN, ""And Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families,
every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled greatly;
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86. and Moses was displeased, And Moses said unto Jehovah, Wherefore hast thou dealt
with thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest
the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I
brought them forth, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a
nursing-father carrieth a sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their
fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto
me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone,
because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee,
out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness."
"Every man at the door of his tent ..." (Numbers 11:10). How can it be supposed
that this was anything other than an organized demonstration? We believe that this
very fact lies behind the statement that Jehovah's anger was kindled "greatly."
"Such a public and obtrusive a demonstration of grief must, of course, have been
organized."[14]
One can easily understand the frustration and desperation of Moses. From his point
of view, the situation was just about unbearable. His request that God would slay
him is like that of Jonah and Elijah, other great men of God, who requested God's
release of them from the duties and burdens of life. It cannot be that Moses was
without sin in the events of this chapter. There is one vast difference, however,
between Moses' sin here and that which took place at the waters of Meribah. That
sin was in the presence of the people, and this one was committed in his subjective
attitude toward the Lord. It appears that Moses' failure at Meribah to sanctify the
Lord "in the presence of the people" was a far greater transgression. To say the
least, Moses' desperate situation here is understandable enough.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their
families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled
greatly; Moses also was displeased.
Ver. 10. Weep throughout their families.] Generally and openly they rebelled and
murmured, though so lately they had smarted at Taberah. And this they did, not
once or twice, but ten times over; whereby it appears that God chose this
unthankful people, not for their merits, sed ex mera et mira misericordia. He chose
them for his love, and loved them for his choice.
POOLE, " In the door of his tent; to note, that they were not ashamed of their sin.
Moses was displeased; partly, for their great unthankfulness; partly, foreseeing the
dreadful judgments coming upon them, and partly, for his own burden expressed in
the following verses.
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87. WHEDON, " 10. Every man — This indicates the universality of the disaffection.
In the door of his tent — Not secretly but publicly giving vent to his tears and
complaints. The anger of the Lord was justly kindled in view of the ingratitude of
the people for their deliverance from bondage, their forgetfulness of past mercies,
their contempt for present blessings, and their distrust of the divine guidance. Faith
never complains.
Moses also was displeased — His very sympathy with Jehovah required this
displeasure. Anger in the interest of God and justice, and not asthe expression of
personal resentment, is not only innocent but is demanded. Plato says, that he who
cannot be angry at an outrage upon innocence is like a man with a withered muscle.
Verses 10-15
THE COMPLAINT OF MOSES, Numbers 11:10-15.
The human infirmity of Moses, and his imperfection as a mediator, here strikingly
appear. His faith, his repose of soul in the Almighty, is evidently shaken. He had not
learned that God strengthens the back while he increases the burden, the lesson so
well learned by St. Paul: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me.” The sensuality and insubordination of this company of serfs, just set free from
the brickkilns of Egypt, greatly aggravated the burdens of Moses as the national
executive, and justify his appeal to the Lord.
BENSON, "Verses 10-14
Numbers 11:10-14. Every man in the door of his tent — To denote they were not
ashamed of their sin. Have I not found favour — Why didst thou not hear my
prayer when I desired thou wouldst excuse me, and commit the care of this unruly
people to some other person? Have I begotten them? —
Are they my children, that I should be obliged to provide food and all things for
their necessity and desire? To bear — The burden of providing for and satisfying
them. Alone — Others were only assistant to him in smaller matters; but the harder
and greater affairs, such as this unquestionably was, were brought to Moses and
determined by him alone.
PETT, "Numbers 11:10
‘And Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the
door of his tent, and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and Moses was
displeased.’
87

88. The influence of the rabble, no doubt deliberately spread among the remainder so as
to undermine Moses, had reached deep into the hearts of the ordinary people. This
comes out in that Moses heard them weeping ‘throughout their families’ in their
tents. That is quite a disturbing statement and illustrates the state that some of them
were in. We must not underestimate it. Their faith had collapsed, and they were
totally disillusioned.
We must not see these as people in a fairly good state of mind just muttering
because they were dissatisfied. Rather, because their thoughts were not on God, they
were very vulnerable and were being deeply affected by the rabble. They had begun
to feel very sorry for themselves and did not have sufficient faith to sustain them.
They were collapsing inwardly. They were not used to standing up for themselves.
The picture is quite vivid. The whole of Israel were weeping. This was hardly
natural, but after all their sufferings this round of discontent had proved one step
too much. The traumatic effect of making their way through the desert and the
wilderness, together with the boring nature of the manna, had clearly been brought
home to them in a forceful way through the complaining of the rabble so that they
were genuinely on the point of despair, and in a desperate state of mind. All their
fears and worries were coming out as a result. They were on the verge of break
down. They had passed the point of being able to cope. But had their hearts been
fixed on Yahweh it would not have happened. The problem was that all their
thoughts were fixed on themselves.
Yahweh saw it and was ‘angry’. That is, in His righteousness He felt an aversion to
their behaviour, for He knew what lay at the root of it, unbelief. He had delivered
them from Egypt, He had provided them with the manna, and they were so
ungrateful and so worldly minded that they were actually despising both and
wishing He had never bothered. They were forgetting, as He had not, how desperate
they had been then (Exodus 2:23). All that He had planned for them now mattered
to them not a jot. All they wanted was to enjoy filling their bellies with delicious
food. How strange man is that he can allow temporary longings to so replace his
confidence in eternal realities for such an unimportant reason.
Moses too was ‘displeased’. That is, he was upset within himself. The whole
situation was getting on top of him, as what follows demonstrates.
PULPIT, "Throughout their families. Every family weeping by itself. Such was the
contagion of evil, that every family was infected. Compare Zechariah 12:12 for a
description of a weeping similar in character, although very different in its cause.
Every man in the door of his tent. So that his wailing might be heard by all. So
public and obtrusive a demonstration of grief must of course have been pre-
arranged. They doubtless acted thus under the impression that if they made
themselves sufficiently troublesome and disagreeable they would get all they
wanted; in this, as in much else, they behaved exactly like ill-trained children. Moses
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89. also was displeased. The word "also" clearly compares and unites his displeasure
with that of God. The murmuring indeed of the people was directed against God,
and against Moses as his minister. The invisible King and his visible viceroy could
not be separated in the regard of the people, and their concerted exhibition of
misery was intended primarily for the eye of the latter. It was, therefore, no wonder
that such conduct roused the wrath of Moses, who had no right to be angry, as well
as the wrath of God, who had every right to be. angry. Moses sinned because he
failed to restrain his temper within the exact limits of what befits the creature, and
to distinguish carefully between a righteous indignation for Cod and an angry
impatience with men. But he sinned under very sore provocation.
BI 10-15, "Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?
The sufferings of the good in the path of duty
I. Look at the afflictions of godly men in the path of duty as a fact.
1. Good men suffer afflictions.
2. Good men suffer affliction in the path of duty.
II. Look at the afflictions of godly men in the path of duty as a problem.
1. A difficulty. Moses felt it.
2. Faith in the power of God to remove the difficulty.
III. Offer some hints towards the solution of the problem. The afflictions of
the good in the path of duty, under the blessing of God, tend.
1. To test their faith. “Character,” says Dr. Huntington, “ depends on
inward strength. But this strength has two conditions; it is increased
only by being put forth, and it is tested only by some resistance. So, if the
spiritual force or character in you is to be strong, it must be measured
against some competition. It must enter into conflict with an antagonist.
It must stand in comparison with something formidable enough to be a
standard of its power Suffering, then, in some of its forms, must be
introduced—the appointed minister, the great essayist—to put the
genuineness of faith to the proof and purify it of its dross.”
2. To promote their perfection. “As the Perfect One reached His
perfectness through suffering,” says Dr. Ferguson, “so it was with His
servant. It was through the fire and the flame that the law of separation
and refinement acted on the whole nature, and gave to it higher worth
and glory. Trial ripened his manly spirit and made it patient to endure.”
3. To enhance their joy hereafter (cf. Mat_5:10-12; Rom_8:17-18; 2Co_
4:17-18; Rev_7:14-17).
4. To promote the good of the race. The Christian is called to “know the
fellowship of Christ’s sufferings”—to suffer vicariously with Him that
others may be saved and blessed. In the privilege of this high fellowship
the sharpest sufferings become sacred and exalting services.
Conclusion:
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90. 1. Severe afflictions in the path of duty are in full accord with the
character of God.
2. Such sufferings are quite compatible with the favour of God towards
us (cf. Heb_12:5-11).
3. When severe suffering leads to sore perplexity let us seek help of God
(cf. Psa_73:16-17)
. (W. Jones.)
The burdens of leadership
I. That the position of leader or governor of men is a very trying one.
1. Because of the responsible nature of the duties of leadership.
2. Because of the interest which the true leader takes in his charge.
3. Because of the intractableness of men.
II. The true leader of men must often be painfully conscious of his
insufficiency.
III. The ablest and holiest leaders of men sometimes fail under the burdens
of their position. Conclusion:
1. Great honours involve great obligations.
2. A man may fail even in the strongest point of his character. Moses was
pre-eminently meek, yet here he is petulant, &c. Therefore, “Watch thou
in all things,” &c.
3. It is the duty of men not to increase, but if possible to lessen the
difficulties and trials of leadership. (W. Jones.)
Seeing afflictions from God’s standpoin:
Christian friend, did you ever take your stand beside your God, and see
what there is to be seen? Do so; and it may be that, in your deprivations and
disappointments, you will behold a wonderful and beautiful arrangement by
which you can glorify God far better than by the gratification of your own
selfish and earth-bound desires. Never were the Israelites better off than
when they had just enough manna for the day, and not a morsel over; and it
may be you are richer and happier in your present condition than you could
have been in any other. See if it be not so! “I thank God!” said one, “that I
lost my all; for it has led me up into many blessed experiences with my God
which I never knew while I was held down by the golden chain of worldly
possessions. Then my affections were set on things on the earth, but now
they rise to heaven.” If you see things from God’s standpoint your black
trouble will appear fringed with brightness, relieving the monotonous
darkness upon which you have fixed your steady gaze far too long already.
Look at your prolonged affliction from this point of view, and you will
discern secret fingers carving the delicate “lily work” which shall adorn you
90

91. in the upper sanctuary, when you become a pillar in the temple of your God.
It may be by the very method so distasteful to you, the cherubim of adoring
reverence are being woven into the texture of your being. Yes, do see what
there is to be seen, for in every dispensation there is the hand of a Divine
purpose, full of love, and wisdom, and grace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Afflictions may be full of mercies
In one of the German picture galleries is a painting called “Cloudland.” It
hangs at the end of a long gallery, and, at first sight, It looks like a huge,
repulsive daub of confused colour, without form or comeliness. As you walk
toward it the picture begins to take shape. It proves to be a mass of exquisite
little cherub faces, like those at the head of the canvas in Raphael’s
“Madonna San Sisto.” If you come close to the picture you see only an
innumerable company of little angels and cherubims. How often the soul
that is frightened by trials sees nothing but a confused and repulsive mass
of broken expectations and crushed hopes I But if that soul, instead of
fleeing away into unbelief and despair, would only draw up near to God, it
would soon discover that the cloud was full of angels Of mercy. In one
cherub face it would see, “Whom I love, I chasten.” Another angel would
say, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” (T. L.
Cuyler.)
Affliction preferable to sin
Here are two guests come to my door; both of them ask to have a lodging
with me. The one is called Affliction; he has a very grave voice, and a very
heavy hand, and he looks at me with fierce eyes. The other is called Sin, and
he is very soft-spoken, and very fair, and his words are softer than butter.
Let me scan their faces, let me examine them as to their character, I must
not be deceived by appearances. I will ask my two friends who would lodge
with me, to open their hands. When my friend Affliction, with some little
difficulty opens his hand, I find that, rough as it is, he carries a jewel inside
it, and that he meant to leave that jewel at my house. But as for my soft-
spoken friend Sin, when I force him to show me what that is which he hides
in his sleeve, I find that it is a dagger with which he would have stabbed me.
What shall I do, then, if I am wise? Why, I should be very glad if they would
both be good enough to go and stop somewhere else, but if I must entertain
one of the two, I would shut my door in the face of smooth-spoken Sin, and
say to the rougher and uglier visitor, Affliction, “Come and stop with me, for
may be God sent you as a messenger of mercy to my soul.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought
91

92. this trouble on your servant? What have I done to
displease you that you put the burden of all these
people on me?
BARNES, "Num_11:11-15
The complaint and remonstrance of Moses may be compared with that in
1Ki_19:4 ff; Jon_4:1-3, and contrasted with the language of Abraham (Gen_
18:23 ff) The meekness of Moses (compare Num_12:3) sank under vexation
into despair. His language shows us how imperfect and prone to degeneracy
are the best saints on earth.
GILL, "And Moses said unto the Lord, wherefore hast thou afflicted thy
servant?.... Or "done evil" (m) to him, that which was distressing to him,
and gave him trouble; namely, setting him at the head of the people of
Israel, and laying the government of them on his shoulders; which surely
was doing him honour, though that is not to be expected without care and
trouble; Moses does not seem to be in a good frame of spirit throughout the
whole of this discourse with the Lord: the best of men are not always alike
in their frames, and sometimes act contrary to that for which they are the
most eminent, as Moses was for his, meekness and humility:
and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight; he had found much
favour in the sight of God, to have so many wonderful things done by him in
Egypt, to be the instrument of the deliverance of Israel from thence, to be
the leader of them through the Red sea, to be taken up to the mount with
God, and receive the law from him to give to that people; but the favour he
complains of that was denied him, is, his not being excused, when he
desired it, from taking on him the office he was called unto, of being the
deliverer and ruler of the people, Exo_4:10,
that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? with respect to
matters heavier and more difficult; for as to lighter and lesser things, be
was assisted and relieved by the officers placed over the various divisions of
the people at the advice of Jethro, Exo_18:21; government is a burdensome
thing, and especially when a people are prone to mutiny and rebellion, as
the people of Israel were.
K&D, "Num_11:11-14
In Moses' complaint there is an unmistakeable discontent arising from
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93. the excessive burden of his office. “Why hast Thou done evil to Thy
servant? and why have I not found favour in Thy sight, to lay upon me the
burden of all this people?” The “burden of all this people” is the expression
which he uses to denote “the care of governing the people, and providing
everything for it” (C. a. Lap.). This burden, which God imposed upon him in
connection with his office, appeared to him a bad and ungracious treatment
on the part of God. This is the language of the discontent of despair, which
differs from the murmuring of unbelief, in the fact that it is addressed to
God, for the purpose of entreating help and deliverance from Him; whereas
unbelief complains of the ways of God, but while complaining of its
troubles, does not pray to the Lord its God. “Have I conceived all this
people,” Moses continues, “or have I brought it forth, that Thou requirest
me to carry it in my bosom, as a nursing father carries the suckling, into
the promised land?” He does not intend by these words to throw off entirely
all care for the people, but simply to plead with God that the duty of
carrying and providing for Israel rests with Him, the Creator and Father of
Israel (Exo_4:22; Isa_63:16). Moses, a weak man, was wanting in the
omnipotent power which alone could satisfy the crying of the people for
flesh. ‫י‬ ַ‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬ ‫כּוּ‬ ְ‫ב‬ִ‫,י‬ “they weep unto me,” i.e., they come weeping to ask me to
relieve their distress. “I am not able to carry this burden alone; it is too
heavy for me.”
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:11 And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou
afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou
layest the burden of all this people upon me?
Ver. 11. Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant.] Antoninus the Emperor said
often, Imperium oceanum esse malorum, that to be a governor of others is to be
plunged into an ocean of miseries. Pope Adrian caused to be engraven upon his own
tomb, Faelix si non imperitasset. Melancthon said, the three sorest labours of all
were, Docentis, imperantis, parturientis, the labours of ministers, magistrates, and
of travailing women.
WHEDON, "11. Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant — In a moment of weak
faith the most honoured person on earth — honoured in bearing the largest part in
the elevation of the race — deems himself the subject of special afflictions. But this
was only momentary and exceptional in the history of Moses. He usually “endured
as seeing Him who is invisible.”
PETT, "Numbers 11:11
‘And Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why
have I not found favour in your sight, that you lay on me the burden of all this
people?’
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94. Moses was aware of how the people were feeling, and how deeply it had gone. As he
walked around the camp and heard their distress he found it hard to bear. He felt
the pressures piling up on him too as he witnessed their condition. And he went to
Yahweh with his problems. He did have sufficient faith, but it needed bolstering.
He asked Yahweh why He had brought on him the burden of this people, a burden
he was finding too difficult. Why had Yahweh dealt so ill with him? Why had
Yahweh’s graciousness to him been so lacking? He was finding it hard to cope with
their misery. Why had he been given the responsibility of a father for children not
his own?
This prayer of Moses itself follows a chiastic pattern:
a ‘Why have you evil entreated your servant?’ (Numbers 11:11 a)
b Why have I not found favour in your sight? (Numbers 11:11 b)
c That you lay the burden of all this people on me. (Numbers 11:11 c)
d Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth (Numbers 11:12 a)
e That you should say to me carry them in your bosom -- (Numbers 11:12 b)
d From where should I have flesh to give to all this people? (Numbers 11:13)
c I am not able to bear all this people alone -- (Numbers 11:14)
b Kill me out of hand if I have found favour in your sight (Numbers 11:15 a)
a Let me not see my wretchedness (Numbers 11:15 b)
PULPIT, "Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? These passionate complaints
were clearly wrong, because exaggerated. God had not thrown upon Moses the
responsibility of getting the people safely into Canaan, or of providing flesh for
them; and apart from these exaggerations, it was a selfish and cowardly thing thus
to dwell upon his own grievance, and to leave out of sight the grave dishonour done
to God, and the awful danger incurred by the people. It was the more blameworthy
in Moses because upon a former occasion he had taken upon him, with almost
perilous boldness, to remonstrate with God, and to protest against the vengeance he
threatened to inflict (Exodus 32:11-13). In a word, Moses forgot himself and his
duty as mediator, and in his indignation at the sin of the people committed the same
sin himself. It is a strong note of genuineness that so grave (and yet so natural) a
fault should be recorded with such obvious simplicity. Compare the eases of Elijah
(1 Kings 19:1-21) and of Jonah (Jonah 4:1-11).
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95. 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them
birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my
arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you
promised on oath to their ancestors?
GILL, "Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them?.... Conceived
them as a mother, or begotten them as a father? am I a parent of either sort
to them, in a literal sense, that I should have the like care of them as parents
of their children? but though this was not the case, yet, in a civil and
political sense, he was their parent, as every king and governor of a country
is, or should be, the father of it, and should have a paternal affection for his
subjects, and a tender care of them, and a hearty concern for their good and
welfare: this, in a spiritual sense, may denote the weakness of the law of
Moses, as Ainsworth observes, which has no concern in the regeneration of
the spiritual Israel of God; who are born not of blood, nor of the will of men,
nor of the will of the flesh, but of God; he only does and can regenerate men
by his Spirit and grace; and though ministers of the word are instruments,
yet it is not through the law, but through the Gospel that they beget souls to
Christ, even by the word of truth, the Gospel of salvation, by that word
which lives and abides for ever; it is not through the doctrine of the law, but
through the doctrine of faith, that the Spirit, as a spirit of regeneration and
sanctification, is received; faith, hope, and love, and every other grace,
come the same way; see 1Co_4:15,
that thou shouldest say unto me; as in Exo_32:34; "go, lead the people unto
the place", &c. which words, Jarchi thinks, are here referred to:
carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father beareth the sucking child,
unto the land which thou swarest to their fathers? the land of Canaan: kings
should be nursing fathers; civil governors should rule with gentleness and
mildness; such are most beloved, and most cheerfully obeyed by their
people: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret the word for
"nursing father", by "pedagogue", which is the same word the apostle uses
of the law, Gal_3:24; that indeed was a severe schoolmaster, that menaced,
whipped, and scourged for every fault, and not a tender nursing father;
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96. there is not one kind tender word in the law; it accuses of sin, pronounces
guilty of it, curses and condemns for it; but the Gospel ministry, and
ministers of it, use men gently; the apostles of Christ were gentle, as a nurse
cherisheth her children, 1Th_2:7; fed men as they were able to bear it; and
when they delivered out their charges, it was in a kind manner, and even
their reproofs were in love; and especially Christ himself was so, by whose
meekness and gentleness the Apostle Paul beseeches men, 1Co_10:1; who
gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them in his bosom, and gently leads
those that are with young; and supplies them with food, and brings them all
safely to Canaan's land, the heavenly glory, where the law and the deeds of it
will never bring men, Isa_40:11.
COKE, "Numbers 11:12. As a nursing-father beareth the sucking child— This is a
very lively expression to denote that tenderness and fatherly affection which princes
ought to have for their people; and, on the other side, as expressive an emblem of
the perverseness of the Israelites, wayward as an infant, which rises up with fury
against the very nurse who gives it milk, and carries it in her bosom. Happy the
people, whose sovereigns are nurses! Isaiah 49:23. Wretched the sovereigns, whose
ungrateful and seditious subjects so ill requite their benefits!
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them,
that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father
beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
Ver. 12. As a nursing father beareth, &c.] Lovingly, mildly, gently. A magistrate
should carry himself as a pater patriae. Queen Elizabeth would many times say,
That she could believe nothing of her people that parents would not believe of their
children. (a)
POOLE, " Have I begotten them; are they my children, that I should be obliged to
provide food and all things for their necessity and desire?
As a nursing-father beareth the sucking-child; which expression shows the tender
care and affection that governors by the command of God ought to have towards
their people.
WHEDON, " 12. Have I conceived all this people — Moses does not throw off all
care for the people, but he rather devolves on Jehovah that burden as the Creator
and Father of Israel, (Exodus 4:22,) more in despair than in unbelief. For unbelief
complains, but does not pray. The Holy Ghost has declared that “Moses was faithful
in all his house.” Hebrews 3:2. He was, in the language of the New Testament, a
perfect man, inasmuch as the bent of his will, the outgoing of his affections, the drift
of his whole being was toward God; yet this verse unveils the infirmities which were
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97. still marring his character. The holiest man, in times of great distress, may
momentarily lose heart through forgetfulness of the fact that God is a great burden-
bearer, as Moses forgot that Israel was but a feather’s weight upon the divine
shoulders. How honestly does Moses draw aside the veil which might have concealed
his own weakness, and which an uninspired historian would have left undrawn!
Carry them in thy bosom — Moses here seems to disclose some past charge given to
him by the Lord. It is in striking consonance with the character of the great
Shepherd of Israel: “He shall gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his
bosom.” Isaiah 40:11; John 10:11-14, notes.
As a nursing father — Moses’s ideal of a ruler is here beautifully expressed: not a
stern despot wielding a sceptre, but a kind and loving father bearing his infant babe
in his arms. St. Paul, as a spiritual ruler of the Church of Christ, realized this ideal.
1 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:11. The Palestinian Targum, instead of
“nursing father” has “pedagogue” — child leader — the term which describes the
office of the law in Galatians 3:24.
PETT, "Numbers 11:12
‘Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth, that you should say to
me, “Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing-father carries the sucking child, to the
land which you swear to their fathers?”
He used the illustration of a father and mother who recognised their responsibility
for their own children. But, he pointed out, he was not their father, he had not
conceived them. Nor was he their mother who had brought them forth into the
world. They were not relations of his. Why then should he have to act towards them
as a nursing-father, carrying them in his bosom like a father carries his babes in a
sling? Why had he to be the one to bring them to the land of their fathers which
Yahweh had sworn to their fathers to give them? Why should he have to carry their
burdens?
Moses probably intended here an indirect reminder to God of Who it was Who was
their father, Who it was Who had begotten them and brought them forth (Exodus
4:25; Deuteronomy 1:31; Deuteronomy 14:1; Deuteronomy 32:18; Isaiah 1:2; Isaiah
63:16). They were really God’s problem not his. He was pointing out that while God
could cope with them, he could not.
We note here an interesting commencement to the building up of the picture of the
undeserving of Israel. Here Moses was exasperated with them. In Numbers 14:11-12
it would be Yahweh Who became exasperated with them, and in Numbers 14:26-35
it would be Yahweh Who was so exasperated that it would be fatal for that
generation of Israel.
97

98. It is clear that the people’s distress had really bitten deeply into Moses. Up to this
point he had been mainly sustained by seeing their gratitude to be free of Egypt, and
their willingness in spite of some failures to respond, and by his desire to bring glory
to Yahweh. But now it appeared to him that all that had gone and he was being
made responsible for it all. The people were not behaving as he had expected. And
he felt unable to cope. He felt at a total loss. He felt it was no longer worth while.
How often we begin something enthusiastically when all seems to be going well. But
then the problems set in and people become lethargic and even grumble and
murmur. It is at that point that we often feel like giving up. But if it is of God we
have no right to consider giving up. What we must do is what Moses did. Cast
ourselves on God, grit out teeth, and go on.
PULPIT, "Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father. Probably he meant to say
that this was the part and the duty of God himself as the Creator and Father of
Israel. Compare the reading, which is perhaps the correct one, in Acts 13:18 :
ôåóóáñáêïíôáåôç͂ ÷ñḯíïí å̓ ôñïöïḯñçóåí áõ̓ ôïõ̀ò å̔ í ôç͂ͅ å̓ ñḉìùͅ .
13 Where can I get meat for all these people?
They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
GILL, "Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people?.... This
seems to countenance the Israelites in their lusting after flesh, as if it was
no evil in them, and as if it was but right they should have what they desired,
though it was out of his power to give it them:
for they weep unto me, saying, give us flesh, that we may eat; he seems to
pity them, whereas he ought to have reproved them for their murmurings
and ingratitude, and put them in mind of the manna which was provided for
them every day, and with which they ought to have been content.
HENRY 13-15, "Moses himself, though so meek and good a man, is uneasy
upon this occasion: Moses also was displeased. Now, 1. It must be confessed
that the provocation was very great. These murmurings of theirs reflected
great dishonour upon God, and Moses laid to heart the reproaches cast on
himself; they knew that he did his utmost for their good, and that he neither
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99. did nor could do any thing without a divine appointment; and yet to be thus
continually teased and clamoured against by an unreasonable ungrateful
people would break in upon the temper even of Moses himself. God
considered this, and therefore we do not find that he chided him for his
uneasiness. 2. Yet Moses expressed himself otherwise than became him
upon this provocation, and came short of his duty both to God and Israel in
these expostulations. (1.) He undervalues the honour God had put upon
him, in making him the illustrious minister of his power and grace, in the
deliverance and guidance of that peculiar people, which might have been
sufficient to balance the burden. (2.) He complains too much of a sensible
grievance, and lays too near his heart a little noise and fatigue. If he could
not bear the toil of government, which was but running with the footman,
how would he bear the terrors of war, which was contending with horses?
He might easily have furnished himself with considerations enough to
enable him to slight their clamours, and make nothing of them. (3.) He
magnifies his own performances, that all the burden of the people lay upon
him; whereas God himself did in effect ease him of all the burden. Moses
needed not to be in care to provide quarters for them, or victuals; God did
all. And, if any difficult case happened, he needed not to be in any
perplexity, while he had the oracle to consult, and in it the divine wisdom to
direct him, the divine authority to back him and bear him out, and almighty
power itself to dispense rewards and punishments. (4.) He is not so sensible
as he ought to be of the obligation he lay under, by virtue of the divine
commission and command, to do the utmost he could for his people, when
he suggests that because they were not the children of his body therefore he
was not concerned to take a fatherly care of them, though God himself, who
might employ him as he pleased, had appointed him to be a father to them.
(5.) He takes too much to himself when he asks, Whence should I have flesh
to give them (Num_11:13), as if he were the housekeeper, and not God.
Moses gave them not the bread, Joh_6:32. Nor was it expected that he
should give them the flesh, but as an instrument in God's hand; and if he
meant, “Whence should God have it for them?” he too much limited the
power of the Holy One of Israel. (6.) He speaks distrustfully of the divine
grace when he despairs of being able to bear all this people, Num_11:14.
Had the work been much less, he could not have gone through it in his own
strength; but had it been much greater, through God strengthening him, he
might have done it. (7.) It was worst of all passionately to wish for death,
and desire to be killed out of hand, because just at this time his life was
made a little uneasy to him, Num_11:15. Is this Moses? Is this the meekest of
all the men on the earth? The best have their infirmities, and fail sometimes
in the exercise of that grace for which they are most eminent. But God
graciously overlooked Moses's passion at this time, and therefore we must
not be severe in our animadversions upon it, but pray, Lord, lead us not
into temptation.
CALVIN, "13.Whence should I have flesh to give to all this people? Justly, indeed,
does he accuse the people, and deny that he is possessed of flesh wherewith to satisfy
so great a multitude; but he is wrong in expostulating with God, as if he were
burdened beyond his strength; for, since God knew that he was unequal to so many
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100. difficulties, He supported him by the influence of His Spirit. But he sinned most
grossly in the conclusion of his complaint, requesting God to kill him. In these words
we see how far even the best of God’s servants may be carried, when they give too
great indulgence to their passions. For it is the longing of despair to seek that we
may be removed from the world, so that death may bring our troubles to an end.
Since the impetuosity of his grief hurried away Moses God’s most chosen servant to
this, what might not happen to us, if impatience should hold dominion over our
hearts? Let us, then, learn to put a stop to this disease in good time.
ELLICOTT, "(13) Whence should I have flesh . . .?—Moses does not justify the
murmuring of the people, and was doubtless conscious of their sinfulness. At the
same time, he displays a spirit of discontent, and almost of despair, at God’s
dealings with himself; and he appears to treat the demand of the Israelites. for flesh
as one which was not altogether unreasonable.
TRAPP "Numbers 11:13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for
they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
Ver. 13. Whence should I have flesh.] Lust is unsatisfiable; to go about it, is to go
about an endless piece of work; it is to cast oil into the fire to quench it.
WHEDON, "13. Whence should I have flesh — The eye of Moses had certainly
fallen from God to himself. His faith had fallen from the supernatural to the
natural. He had forgotten that this was God’s work, and that he might be trusted
now and forever. Moses is not the only good man who has imagined that the crank
of the universe is turned by his hand.
PETT, "Numbers 11:13
“From where should I have flesh to give to all this people? For they weep to me,
saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.”
The heart of Moses comes out here. He had a real concern for the people, and his
inability to meet their needs was really hurting. He too had begun to cease looking to
Yahweh. Instead his eyes were on the people and their need, and he could not cope
with it. It was breaking his heart. That is why he wanted to be done with it.
It is a reminder that when we face the great need of others we must beware of being
so taken up with the need that we forget God, otherwise it will be too much for us. It
will get us down too. Sometimes we can only survive by fixing our minds on doing
God’s will rather than letting people’s conditions affect us. Otherwise it will destroy
us like it was destroying Moses. Sometimes, when conditions are really bad, love has
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101. to be harsh, and keep itself held in, in order to survive. There are limits to what a
man can take. God alone can keep us under such conditions.
So in his love for the people Moses felt totally inadequate. He felt that he was just
unable to help them. The situation was impossible. They were deeply upset, and
clearly on the edge of breaking down. But where on earth was he going to get meat
for all these people in the wilderness? The whole situation was getting on top of him,
and he felt very much alone.
14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the
burden is too heavy for me.
GILL, "I am not able to bear all this people alone,.... The burden of
government of them, to take care of them and provide sustenance for them;
but he was not alone, for, not to take notice of the rulers and officers in the
several divisions of the people that assisted and eased him in lighter
matters, advised to by Jethro, Exo_18:21, the Lord himself was with him in
all matters of moment and difficulty; to whom he could apply at any time for
advice, and who had promised to supply and did supply the people with
suitable and proper provisions every day:
because it is too heavy for me; to answer the requests, redress the
grievances, and supply the necessities of this people.
COKE, "Numbers 11:14. I am not able to bear all this people alone— Though
Moses, by Jethro's advice, had appointed several persons to assist him, Exodus
18:21 yet all the weighty and difficult causes were still brought before himself, to
whom also the last appeal was to be made in every cause.
ELLICOTT, " (14) To bear all this people alone.—In accordance with the advice of
Jethro, able men had been chosen out of all Israel who heard and determined the
small matters which arose among them (Exodus 18:25-26), but they were of no avail
on occasions such as the present.
My wretchedness.—Or, my evil. This is one of the eighteen places in which the
scribes are said to have altered the text, and to have substituted my for Thy.
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102. POOLE, " All this people, i.e. the burden of providing for and satisfying of them.
Object. How was he alone, when there were others added to help him, Exodus
18:21,24?
Answ. Those were only assistant to him in civil causes and smaller matters, but the
harder and greater affairs, such as this unquestionably was, were brought to Moses
and determined by him alone, Exodus 18:22.
PETT, "Numbers 11:14
“I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”
He frankly told God that he could no longer carry all this burden on his own. It was
too much for him. The burden was too heavy. When we find ourselves in what seems
an impossible position it pays to be frank with God. It will not make Him any
different, but it will help us considerably.
15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please
go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in
your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
GILL, "And if thou deal thus with me,.... Let the whole weight of
government lie upon me, and leave the alone to bear it:
kill me, I pray thee, out of hand; take me out of the world at once, or "kill me
now, in killing" (n); dispatch me immediately, and make a thorough end of
me directly:
if I have found favour in thy sight; if thou hast any love for me, or art willing
to show me a kindness, to remove me by death, I shall take as one:
K&D, "Num_11:15
102

103. “If Thou deal thus with me, then kill me quite (‫ג‬ֹ‫ר‬ ָ‫ה‬ inf. abs., expressive of
the uninterrupted process of killing; see Ewald, §280, b.), if I have found
favour in Thine eyes (i.e., if Thou wilt show me favour), and let me not see
my misfortune.” “My misfortune:” i.e., the calamity to which I must
eventually succumb.
COKE, "Numbers 11:15. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, &c.— "If I must
carry this heavy burden to the end of my days, I entreat of thee, O my God! as an
especial grace, that thou wouldst hasten my last moment, that I may not see my
wretchedness;—that I may not see myself reduced to still greater evils." To see
death, and to die; to see salvation, and be saved; to see affliction, and be afflicted,
are synonimous expressions in Scripture.
REFLECTIONS.—Moses heard the general murmur, and was justly displeased;
and God also beheld with anger their base ingratitude. Had Moses rested here, he
had done well; but impatience at their perverseness, and despair of supporting the
burden of such a people, seem to have provoked him to speak unadvisedly with his
lips. He finds fault with that charge which was his highest honour; and wishes for
that death with impatience, which he should wait for with resignation. Note; (1.) In
heavy trials we are too apt to wish ourselves rid of them by death, rather than
glorify God under them by patient submission. (2.) Many have in a passion desired
to die, who would gladly unsay their words, if God had granted their request. (3.)
They, whom God calls to be rulers of others, have need to look peculiarly to the
government of their own spirits.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of
hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
Ver. 15. And if thou deal thus with me.] Here the word Thou, spoken to God, is of
the feminine gender. At, for Atta, - ex magna perturbatione, saith a Rabbin. Moses
was so exceedingly moved with anger and grief, these passions did so overcarry him,
that he could not complere vocem, utter his whole speech; as he that groaneth or
gapeth in the beginning of his sentence cannot make up his breath to speak what he
intended.
POOLE, " Heb. my evil, i.e. my intolerable anguish and torment, arising from the
insuperable difficulty of my office and work of ruling this people, and from the
dread of their utter extirpation which they will bring upon themselves, and the
dishonour which thence will accrue to God and to religion; as if not I only, but God
also, were an impostor. Seeing is here put for feeling, as to see death, Psalms 89:48
Luke 2:26, is to suffer it; and to see the salvation of God, Psalms 50:23 91:16, is to
enjoy it.
103

104. WHEDON, " 15. Kill me… out of hand — That is, outright, by an instantaneous
stroke. The oppressiveness of his official responsibility, and the depth of his despair
in this temporary eclipse of faith, are here strikingly portrayed.
My wretchedness — His apprehended future failure and disgrace. Faith alone spans
the future with the bow of hope. Unbelief always forebodes evil. Some MSS. read,
“their wretchedness.” Thus the Jerusalem Targum, which adds “who are thy
people.” Though the spirit of this prayer is reprehensible, no rebuke is administered
by the longsuffering Jehovah. He who knoweth our frame saw in the heart of his
servant no wilful apostasy.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:15. If thou deal thus with me, kill me — He begs that God
would be pleased either to ease him of the burdensome charge, or take him out of
the world, and rid him of a life so troublesome and insupportable. See my
wretchedness — Hebrew, my evil, my torment, arising from the difficulty of my
office, and work of ruling this people, and from the dread of their utter extirpation,
and the dishonour which will thence accrue to thee and religion; as if not only I, but
thou also wast a deceiver. He speaks like an affectionate father of a people who
makes their sufferings his own. And, indeed, what could make a ruler of such
paternal tenderness more distressed than to see the people he was appointed to
govern so untoward, not only toward himself, but God? and to see them, by their
perverseness, drawing down upon themselves such dire calamities, and the enemies
of God rejoicing in their ruin?
PETT, "Numbers 11:15
“And if you deal with me in this way, kill me, I pray you, out of hand, if I have
found favour in your sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
Indeed he was so upset that he asked God that he might die. He was staring failure
in the face. If God had any pity on him let Him kill him as He had once sought to do
(Exodus 4:24). He could not bear any longer seeing his own inadequacy in the face
of the crying needs of these people. He could not bear the wretchedness and
helplessness that he felt. He could not bear the thought of letting God down. He
wanted out.
16 The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of
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105. Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders
and officials among the people. Have them come
to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there
with you.
BARNES, "Num_11:16
Seventy men of the elders of Israel - Seventy elders had also gone up with
Moses to the Lord in the mount Exo_24:1, Exo_24:9. Seventy is accordingly
the number of colleagues assigned to Moses to share his burden with him.
To it, the Jews trace the origin of the Sanhedrim. Subsequent notices Num_
16:25; Jos_7:6; Jos_8:10, Jos_8:33; Jos_9:11; Jos_23:2; Jos_24:1, Jos_
24:31 so connect the elders with the government of Israel as to point to the
fact that the appointment now made was not a merely temporary one,
though it would seem to have soon fallen into desuetude. We find no traces
of it in the days of the Judges and the Kings.
Elders of the people, and officers over them - In English idiom, “elders
and officers of the people.” Both elders and officers appear in Egypt (Exo_
3:16; Exo_5:6 ff): the former had headed the nation in its efforts after
freedom; the latter were the subordinate, though unwilling, agents of
Egyptian tyranny. The two classes no doubt were working together; and
from those who belonged to either, perhaps from those who were both
eiders and officers, the council of Seventy was to be selected.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Without making any reflection
upon him, or upbraiding him with his unbecoming speeches to him, but in a
kind and tender manner directs for his assistance and case:
gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel; out from among them,
such as were not only men in years, but men of gravity, prudence, and
wisdom; elders there were among the people in Egypt, Exo_3:16; and it was
from among such as those the seventy men were to be taken; we read of
seventy elders before this time, that went up to the mount with Moses, Exo_
24:1; but they are supposed only to be selected for that purpose at that time,
and did not continue as a separate body, or in any office: according to this
number seventy, the great sanhedrim, or court of judicature the sat at
Jerusalem in later times, consisted of seventy persons, with a prince or
president at the head of them, as Moses was at the head of those: and so our
Lord, besides his twelve apostles, sent out seventy disciples to be assisting
in his work and service, Luk_10:1,
whom thou knowest to be elders of the people; either in age, or in some sort
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106. of office and authority among them, or, however, to be good and just men,
and had a considerable share of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom:
and officers over them; such as Jethro advised to constitute, Exo_18:21; and
it is not improbable that these seventy were chosen out of them:
and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand
there with thee; and be seen by all the people what honour was done them,
what authority was conferred upon them, and what gifts were bestowed on
them, qualifying them for their office, in which they were to be treated with
respect by them.
HENRY, "We have here God's gracious answer to both the foregoing
complaints, wherein his goodness takes occasion from man's badness to
appear so much the more illustrious.
I. Provision is made for the redress of the grievances Moses complains of.
If he find the weight of government lie too heavy upon him, though he was a
little too passionate in his remonstrance, yet he shall be eased, not by being
discarded from the government himself, as he justly might have been if God
had been extreme to mark what he said amiss, but by having assistants
appointed him, who should be, as the apostle speaks (1Co_12:28), helps,
governments (that is, helps in government), not at all to lesson or eclipse
his honour, but to make the work more easy to him, and to bear the burden
of the people with him. And that this provision might be both agreeable and
really serviceable,
1. Moses is directed to nominate the persons, Num_11:16. The people were
too hot and heady and tumultuous to be entrusted with the election; Moses
must please himself in the choice, that he may not afterwards complain. The
number he is to choose is seventy men, according to the number of the souls
that went down into Egypt. He must choose such as he knew to be elders,
that is, wise and experienced men. Those that had acquitted themselves
best, as rulers of thousands and hundreds (Exo_18:25), purchase to
themselves now this good degree. “Choose such as thou knowest to be elders
indeed, and not in name only, officers that execute their office.” We read of
the same number of elders (Exo_24:1) that went up with Moses to Mount
Sinai, but they were distinguished only for that occasion, these for a
perpetuity; and, according to this constitution, the Sanhedrim, or great
council of the Jews, which in after ages sat at Jerusalem, and was the
highest court of judgment among them, consisted of seventy men. Our
Saviour seems to have had an eye to it in the choice of seventy disciples, who
were to be assistants to the apostles, Lu. 10.
JAMISON, "the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the
elders — (Exo_3:16; Exo_5:6; Exo_24:9; Exo_18:21, Exo_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
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107. 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.
K&D 16-17, "There was good ground for his complaint. The burden of the
office laid upon the shoulders of Moses was really too heavy for one man;
and even the discontent which broke out in the complaint was nothing more
than an outpouring of zeal for the office assigned him by God, under the
burden of which his strength would eventually break down, unless he
received some support. He was not tired of the office, but would stake his
life for it if God did not relieve him in some way, as office and life were
really one in him. Jehovah therefore relieved him in the distress of which
he complained, without blaming the words of His servant, which bordered
on despair. “Gather unto Me,” He said to Moses (Num_11:16, Num_11:17),
“seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest as elders and
officers (shoterim, see Exo_5:6) of the people, and bring them unto the
tabernacle, that they may place themselves there with thee. I will come
down (see at Num_11:25) and speak with thee there, and will take of the
spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them, that they may bear the
burden of the people with thee.”
CALVIN, "16.And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men. God
complies with the request of Moses, by associating with him seventy companions, by
whose care and assistance he may be relieved from some part of his labor; yet not
without some signs of indignation, for, by taking from him some portion of His
Spirit to distribute amongst the others, He inflicts upon him that mark of disgrace
which he deserved. I know that some (20) regard it differently, and think that
nothing was taken away from Moses, but that the others were endued with new
grace, such as Moses had been preeminent for possessing alone before. But, since the
words expressly declare that God will make them partakers of that grace which He
will take from Moses himself, I by no means admit the truth of this subtle
exposition. The passage in Genesis 27:36 is quoted, in which it is said, “Hast thou
not reserved a blessing for me?” but, when God expressly says, “I will separate (21)
of the Spirit which is upon thee,” there can be no question but that a diminution is
indicated. For, as long as Moses alone was appointed to rule the people, he was so
supplied with the necessary gifts of the Spirit, as that his ability should not be
inferior to the greatness of the labor. God now promises that the others shall be his
companions in such sort, as that He divides His gifts among them all. I have no
doubt, then, but that this division comprehends punishment in it; and from hence
we may gather a useful piece of instruction, viz., that the greater the difficulty is
which God imposes upon any one, the greater is the liberality with which He treats
him, in order that he may be sufficient for his charge. Thus it is in His power to
work with equal efficiency by one man, as by a hundred, or a thousand; for He has
no need of a multitude (of agents,) but, as He pleases, He executes His works
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108. sometimes without the aid of men, sometimes by their hands. In sum, God indirectly
reproves the gross ingratitude of Moses, whereby he depreciated that marvelous
grace which had hitherto shone forth in him; and He declares that he shall not be
hereafter so great as he was, in regard to the excellency he derived from the Spirit;
inasmuch as he had in a manner thrown away the gifts of the Spirit, by refusing to
bear the trouble imposed upon him. Our modesty, indeed, is praiseworthy, if
through consciousness of our own weakness we recoil from arduous charges; but it
is too absurd for us to withdraw ourselves under this pretext from our duty, and,
despising the calling of God, to shake off the yoke.
The word Spirit is here, as frequently elsewhere, applied to the gifts themselves; as
if He had said, I had deposited with thee gifts sufficing for the government of the
people; but now, since thou refusest, I will distribute his due measure to each of the
seventy, so that the grace of the Spirit, which dwelt in thee alone, shall be manifestly
dispersed among many. It is now asked how Moses separated the seventy, whether
according to his own judgment only, or by the election of the people. It is generally
agreed that six were chosen from each tribe, and thus that they were seventy-two;
but that for the sake of brevity two were omitted, as amongst the Romans, (22) they
spoke of the Centumviri, although they were a hundred and five; for they appointed
three for each of the thirty-five tribes. Since the opinion is probable, I leave it
undecided; but at the same time I retain the conjecture which I have elsewhere
made, (23) viz., that, since the race of Abraham had been increased in an incredible
manner in two hundred and twenty years, lest so astonishing a miracle should ever
be forgotten, the seventy were elected in accordance with the number of the fathers
who had gone down into Egypt with Jacob. And, in fact, this seems to have been
with them, as it were, a sacred number; as recalling to their memory that little band
from which they had derived their origin. For, before the Law was promulgated,
Moses was commanded to take with him seventy to accompany him to the mount,
and to be eye-witnesses of God’s glory. Meanwhile, I do not deny that there were
two more than the number seventy; but I only point out why God fixed upon this
number, viz., to equalize the leaders and heads of the people with the family of
Jacob, which was the source of their race and name. In truth, from the fact that,
when Hoses went up into Mount Sinai to receive the Tables from the hand of God,
he took with him seventy officers, we infer that the number of those who should
excel in honor, was already fixed at this, although the charge of governing, which is
here spoken of, was not yet committed to them. And it is probable that these same
persons who had been appointed leaders, were called to this new and unwonted
office, as the words themselves imply. It is indeed certain, that when the Jews
returned from the Babylonish captivity, because they were not permitted to appoint
a king, they followed the example here set them in the establishment of their
Sanhedrim; only this honor was paid to the memory of David and their rings, that
from their race they chose their seventy rulers in whom the supreme power was
vested. And this form of government continued down to Herod, (24) who abolished
the whole council by which he had been condemned, and destroyed the lives of them
all. Still, I think that he was not impelled to commit the massacre only out of
vengeance, but also lest the dignity of the royal race should be an obstacle to his
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109. tyranny.
It must, however, be observed that, although God promises new grace to the seventy
men, he would not have them taken indiscriminately from the people in general, but
expressly commands them to be chosen from the order of the elders, and heads of
the people, being such as were already possessed of authority, and had given proofs
of their diligence and virtue. Thus, also, now-a-days, when he calls both the pastors
of the Church and magistrates to their office, although He furnishes them with new
gifts, still He would not have them raised to their honorable stations promiscuously
as they may come first, but chooses rather with reference to their spiritual
endowments, wherewith He distinguishes, and commends those whom He has
destined to any exalted office. In short, He commands the most fitting to be chosen;
but, after they have been elected, tie promises that He will add what is wanting. For
this reason He commands that they should station themselves at the door of the
tabernacle, that He may there display His grace. Although I think that two other
reasons were likewise taken into consideration, viz., that they might know that the
office was intrusted to them by God, and might always be mindful of the heavenly
tribunal, before which they must be accountable: and also that they might be held in
additional reverence by the very associations of the place, and that the people might
submit to them as the ministers of God. Now, although God does not at present
dwell in a visible tabernacle, yet are we reminded by this example that pastors and
magistrates are not duly ordained, unless they are placed in the presence of God;
nor rightly inaugurated in their offices, unless when they consecrate themselves to
God Himself, and when His majesty, on the other hand, acquires their reverence.
Cyprian (25) twists this passage further, but I know not whether on sufficiently firm
grounds, to prove that bishops are not to be elected, except with the consent of the
whole people.
The above quotation is from a letter written in the names of Cyprian and thirty-six
of his brethren, as a reply to inquiries made by the presbyter and people of Leon
and Astorga, and the deacons and faithful people in Merida. Cyprian has not cited
Numbers 11:16, in any of the works now acknowledged as his, though the argument
thus drawn from Numbers 20:25, would have been more reasonably collected from
the text, to which Calvin has assumed that he referred.
COFFMAN, ""And Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the
elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over
them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee.
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is
upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people
with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify
yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of
Jehovah, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt:
therefore Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor
two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until
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110. it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have
rejected Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came
we forth out of Egypt? And Moses said, The people among whom I am, are six
hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may
eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or
shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? And
Jehovah said unto Moses, Is Jehovah's hand waxed short? now shalt thou see
whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not."
This paragraph recounts God's answer to Moses' desperate appeal. Help would be
supplied by the commissioning of the seventy. Also, the complaint of the people
which had precipitated the crisis would also be met. God would give them flesh.
"I will take of the Spirit that is upon thee, and put it upon them ..." (Numbers
11:17). In one sense, the Holy Spirit is somewhat like a fire in that spreading it to
others does not diminish the intensity existing in another, just as a flame kindled
from one fire does not put out the first. What a lack of discernment there is in the
comment by Wade: "The spirit resting on Moses is regarded as a quasi-physical
fluid, capable of being divided and imparted to others."[15] One may only wonder
as to where such an idea originated.
Later Jewish leaders traced the origin of their Sanhedrin to this place, but it is
significant that on a previous occasion, at the suggestion of Jethro, Moses had also
appointed a "Seventy." The two events are not to be understood as supplementary
accounts of but one.
"Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow ..." (Numbers 11:18). The blessing promised
was not to be unmixed, for it would involve a judgment also.
"Ye shall eat ... for a whole month ... until it come out at your nostrils ..." (Numbers
11:19,20). Moses himself was incredulous that even God could do such a thing, as
indicated by his protest. However, Moses had enough faith to command the people
as God had said. Despite our conviction that sin must be attributed to Moses for his
attitude here, many commentators, including especially the Jewish family of writers,
"tend generally to exculpate (exonerate) him."[16]
"Is Jehovah's hand waxed short ...?" (Numbers 11:23). Here is one of the great
questions that abound in the O.T. The simple meaning of it: "Is anything too hard
for God to do?"
Plaut rendered Numbers 11:20 here, as follows; "Oh why did we ever leave
Egypt?"[17] It would be only a short time after this that God would declare that
whole generation unfit to enter the Promised Land. The feeding of the people with
quails is momentarily shelved at this point to make room for the parenthetical
account of the giving of God's Spirit to the Seventy.
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111. COKE, "Verse 16-17
Numbers 11:16-17. And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me— Though it
cannot be denied that the remonstrance of Moses was rather over-passionate, and
favoured much of human imperfection, yet, gracious and condescending, the Lord is
pleased to shew no signs of displeasure, but gratifies the request of Moses, by
ordering seventy persons of gravity and authority to attend him at the tabernacle;
where, promising to manifest himself, he assures Moses, that he will put upon them
some of the spirit which is given to him; that is, would endue them with the same
spirit of government, or with those gifts of wisdom, judgment, courage, &c.
bestowed upon Moses: for, the spirit is often put for the gifts of the spirit, or
spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:31. Galatians 3:5. To shew that Moses lost nothing
by this communication of the Spirit, the Jews make use of the similitude of a candle,
which, in giving light to others, loses none of its own light. The phrase, they shall
bear the burden of the people with thee, plainly alludes to Moses's complaint in the
11th and 14th verses, and signifies that they should take part of the fatigue arising
from the government of this unruly people. The rabbis make this the original
institution of their Sanhedrim; which, they say, lasted from Moses to the end of the
republic: but to this tradition of their's learned writers find it difficult to subscribe.
See Calmet's dissertation Sur la Police des Heb. Lowman thinks that these seventy
extraordinary elders were coadjutors "to Moses in his council, how to answer the
people's complaints; that they were a constant privy-council to the judge; a
considerable part of the states-general of the united tribes: so that all matters
judiciary, such especially as were more difficult, and were by appeal referred from
the inferior judges, belonged to their cognizance."
ELLICOTT, " (16) Seventy men of the elders of Israel . . . —We find mention made
of elders of the people in Exodus 3:16, and of officers (shoterim) in Exodus 5:16;
also of seventy elders in Exodus 24:1. Frequent mention is made in Scripture of the
number seventy—a number which is composed of the two sacred numbers seven
and ten—the former being the seal of the covenant, and the latter probably denoting
perfection. The seventy who were chosen on the present occasion may have
consisted of some of those who were appointed as judges at the suggestion of Jethro,
but there is no evidence of their identity with any persons previously selected.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy
men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and
officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that
they may stand there with thee.
Ver. 16. Gather unto me seventy men.] Here, say some, began the Sanhedrim, that
is, the great council of the Jews, consisting of seventy seniors and one president. It
continued till the time of Herod the Great, who took it away, and changed the form
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112. of it.
WHEDON, " 16. Whom thou knowest to be the elders — Something in addition to
mature age is evidently sought, namely, the qualities which properly belong to
advancing years — gravity, wisdom, and piety. Out of an existing class of elders the
seventy were to be chosen by Moses. See Exodus 24:1.
Officers — Hebrew, shoterim. These were not judges, (Deuteronomy 16:18,) but
writers who kept the genealogical registers on which all hereditary succession and
ancestral fame depended. Hence the office was fully as dignified as that of a judge.
In subsequent times the Levites, the scholastic tribe, supplied most of these scribes.
See Exodus 5:6-9, notes. These were brought unto the tabernacle, that they might be
first separated from secular employments and then be filled with the Spirit.
After this public inauguration there could be no doubt among the people as to their
authority. If this body of elders was designed to be a permanent council — the
Sanhedrim of the New Testament — it is remarkable that no further mention is
made of it in the Old Testament during the fifteen intervening centuries. Hence we
conclude that this senate was designed only to afford temporary relief to Moses
amid the extraordinary perplexities of the sojourn in the wilderness.
Verses 16-23
THE SEVENTY ELDERS APPOINTED — THE QUAILS PROMISED, Numbers
11:16-23.
Though Jehovah might have said to Moses, “My grace is sufficient for thee,” he
chose to give the sinking faith of his servant a visible prop in the election of a council
of seventy to share his responsibility. When the Lord stations a man at a post of
duty he fits him for it if he trust in him, and maintains him in it by raising up
coadjutors.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:16. To be elders — Whom thou by experience discernest to
be elders, not only in years and name, but also in wisdom and authority with the
people. And according to this constitution, the sanhedrim, or great council of the
Jews, which in after ages sat at Jerusalem, and was the highest court of judgment
among them, consisted of seventy men.
PETT, "Verses 16-23
Yahweh’s Response To Moses: The Appointment of the Seventy Elders and The
People Will Have Food (Numbers 11:16-23).
At Moses’ plea Yahweh graciously responded to both his problems, not by killing
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113. him, but by providing helpers for him and subsequently meat for the people. God
does not desert those who trust Him simply because they sometimes have doubts. If
we trust Him and come to Him God is never without an answer to our problems.
First He calmly tells us, as He did Moses, to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and
rather do something about it, then He explains that He too will do something about
it.
We should note the contrast between the seventy elders and the people. This is a
deliberate contrast. The giving of the Spirit is described like a breath of fresh air in
the midst of the people’s craving for flesh and its provision to their cost. Here on the
one hand are these men receiving the Spirit. And there on the other are the people
craving flesh. Both are blessed by Yahweh’s ruach (‘spirit, wind’ - the one by the
spirit, the other by the wind), but in the one case it is permanent and results in a
permanent transformation, in the other it results in greed and plague. This was due,
not to God’s perversity, but to the perversity of the people. God longs to bless all,
but only those who will receive it are truly blessed.
The structure of the first section is as follows:
a Moses to gather the seventy men (Numbers 11:16).
b Yahweh will endue them with the Spirit to help Moses
c The people are called because they said, ‘who will give us flesh to eat, it was well
with us in Egypt?’
c The people will be surfeited with flesh because they said, ‘why came we forth from
Egypt?’
b Can Yahweh provide food for all the people? (Numbers 11:21-22).
a Yahweh’s promise for both will come about (Numbers 11:23).
Numbers 11:16-17
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel,
whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them, and bring
them to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. And I will come
down and talk with you there. And I will take of the Spirit which is on you, and will
put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you bear
it not yourself alone.”
He told him to choose out seventy elders of Israel, men whom he knew to be true
and reliable elders, with officers over them (thus he must include the most senior
elders), and bring them to the Tent of meeting. The purpose was that they might
stand there with Moses before Yahweh, as those who would be his assistants. They
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114. were to be endued in order to perform the supervisory task that up to this time he
had borne alone.
The number seventy indicated divine perfection intensified (7x10) and would
demonstrate that they were chosen by God and that they represented the
patriarchate (the seventy) that had ‘entered Egypt’ when they too fled because of
shortage of food (Exodus 1). Here again ‘the seventy’ would be in authority over
Yahweh’s people.
Then, Yahweh promised, He would Himself ‘come down’ and talk with Moses there.
And He would take some of the Spirit that He had put on Moses and put it on them.
Thus fortified by the Spirit they would be able to help to bear the burden of the
people so that Moses need not bear it alone. This did not mean that somehow Moses
would lose some of the Spirit that was within him. It was a declaration to all that
these men would succeed because they had received something of the Spirit that
possessed Moses. Moses was like a burning flame. Fire could be taken from him
without him being diminished. It was still to Moses that all should look. Joshua
understood this rightly (Numbers 11:28). Where Joshua’s understanding failed was
in that he did not recognise that it was still open to Yahweh to work as He would,
and Moses’ yearning that all the people might have the Spirit.
There can be no real doubt that we are to see here the ‘Spirit of God’. It was He
Who possessed Moses. Now He would come on the selected elders too. God Himself
would possess them and guide them.
PULPIT, "And the Lord said unto Moses. The Divine dignity and goodness of this
answer, if not an absolutely conclusive testimony, are at least a very strong one, to
the genuineness of this record. Of what god, except the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, was it ever witnessed, or could it have been ever imagined, that he should
answer the passionate injustice of his servant with such forbearance and kindness?
The one thing in Moses' prayer which was reasonable he allowed at once; the rest he
passed over without answer or reproof, as though it had never been uttered. Gather
unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel. That the number seventy has a symbolic
significance in Scripture will hardly be denied (cf. Exodus 1:5; Daniel 9:2, Daniel
9:24; Luke 10:1), although it is probably futile to affix any precise meaning to it.
Perhaps the leading idea of seventy is fullness, as that of twelve is symmetry (see on
Exodus 15:27). The later Jews believed that there were seventy nations in the world.
There is no reason, except a reckless desire to confound the sacred narrative, to
identify this appointment with that narrated in Exodus 18:21, sq. and Deuteronomy
1:9, sq. The circumstances and the purposes appear quite distinct: those were
appointed to assist Moses in purely secular matters, to share his burden as a judge;
these to assist him in religious matters, to support him as a mediator; those used the
ordinary gifts of wisdom, discretion, and personal authority; these the
extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. It is more reasonable to suppose that these seventy
were the same men that went up into Mount Sinai with Moses, and saw the God of
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115. Israel, and ate of the consecrated meal of the covenant, about a year before. Unless
there was some decisive reason against it, an elder who had been chosen for that
high religious privilege could hardly fail to be chosen on this occasion also; an
interview with God himself, so mysteriously and awfully significant, must surely
have left an ineffaceable stamp of sanctity on any soul at all worthy of it. It would be
natural to suppose that while the present selection was made de novo, the
individuals selected were personally the same. Compare note on Deuteronomy 1:5,
and for "the elders of Israel" see on Exodus 3:16. Whom thou knowest to be elders
of the people, and officers over them. On the officers (Hebrew, shoterim), an ancient
order in the national organization of Israel, continued from the days of bondage, see
Exodus 5:6. The Targ. Pal. paraphrases the word shoterim by "who were set over
them in Mizraim." The Septuagint has hero ðñåóâṍôåñïé ôïõ͂ ëáïõ͂ êáé̀ ãñõììáôåé͂ ò
áõ̓ ôù͂ í, words so familiar to the reader of the Greek Gospels. The later Jews traced
back their Sanhedrim, or grand council of seventy, to this appointment, and found
their eiders and scribes in this verse. There was, however, no further historical
connection between the two bodies than this—that when the monarchy failed and
prophecy died out, the ecclesiastical leaders of the Jews modeled their institutions
upon, and adapted their titles to, this Divinely-ordered original.
BI 16-20, "Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders.
The answer of God to the appeals of men
I. The Lord’s answer to the appeal of his much-tried servant.
1. The number of the assistants.
2. Their selection.
3. The qualification imparted to them.
II. The Lord’s answer to the appeal of his perverse people.
1. Recognises the sinful character of their appeal.
2. Demands preparation for the granting of their appeal.
3. Promises the most abundant bestowment of that which they had so
passionately and sinfully desired.
Conclusion: Mark well—
1. The disgusting nature of the sins of gluttony and drunkenness.
2. The necessity of firmly controlling carnal desires. Even those animal
appetites which are lawful must be kept subordinate to higher things.
3. The necessity of submissiveness in prayer. (W. Jones.)
The seventy elders
I. The calling of the seventy elders is an instance of the organising action of
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116. the spirit of God.
1. A new want needed a remedy.
2. The remedy supplied.
3. The remedy for the want extraordinary.
4. The remedy had its counterpart in—
(1) The mission of the seventy disciples.
(2) The ordination of the seven deacons.
II. The holy spirit still carries on the same work.
1. The Church has new needs. She must pray as Moses prayed, and
realising the presence of the Holy Ghost, set herself to meet these new
demands on her energies, in scattered hamlet and crowded alley, where
Christ Himself would come.
2. “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets!” Each Christian is a
Spirit-bearer. Is he conscious of this dignity and responsibility? Each has
his special gifts. (W. Walters, M. A.)
Helpers for Moses
A gracious God and most sweet Father is moved with the complaint and
grief of His servant, pitying him and yielding presently helpers to bear this
burden with him that he may have more comfort. Who would not joy in so
sweet a judge, no sooner hearing but helping His servant oppressed with a
froward charge. Be we faithful then in our places ever, and if we be too weak
for them some way or other the Lord will help. These seventy men He will
have furnished with His Spirit, never placing any to do a duty to whom He
giveth not some measure of ability to do the same. But when it is said He
will take off the Spirit which is upon Moses and put upon them, we may not
think that He lessened His grace to Moses; but the meaning is, I will give to
them of the same Spirit a portion, whereof I have distributed to him so great
a measure; thine I will not diminish, and yet they shall have what shall be
fit. (Bp. Babington.)
Dainties for the people
O sweet God! Moses He will comfort by adding helpers unto him, and the
people also He will satisfy in giving them flesh which they so lusted for, and
that not ordinary flesh, nor gross meat, but quails, which to this day are
accounted dainties. And not for a meal or two, or a day or two, but a whole
month together, &c. How showeth this the truth of that Psalm which after in
his time was made (Psa_1:1-6.). Nay, how showeth this that whatsoever He
will, that can He do both in heaven and earth; and therefore blessed is the
man that putteth his trust in Him. Remember what you read in the holy
gospel (Mat_6:25). What dearth so great, what penury so pinching, wherein
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117. the Lord cannot help us either ordinarily or extraordinarily? Can He thus
glut His great host with dainty quails, and cannot He send you and yours
bread? Fear not, but cleave unto Him fast, and even past hope if the case
should be such, yet under hope believe all the Scriptures, and that He will
never leave you succourless that openeth His hand and filleth all things with
plenteousness. Only consider that many ways He ever exerciseth the faith of
His children and their patience, whose duty is to bear with contentment
what He sendeth, praying to Him to remember mercy, and to lay no more
upon us than we are able to bear, as He hath promised, use such means as
you can by just and honest labour or otherwise; and be assured, in goodness
He will step in when He seeth time. (Bp. Babington.)
17 I will come down and speak with you there,
and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that
is on you and put it on them. They will share the
burden of the people with you so that you will not
have to carry it alone.
BARNES, "Num_11:17
I will take of the spirit which is upon thee - Render rather separate from
the spirit, etc.; i. e. they shall have their portion in the same divine gift
which thou hast.
CLARKE, "I will take of the spirit which is upon thee - From this place
Origen and Theodoret take occasion to compare Moses to a lamp, at which
seventy others were lighted, without losing any of its brightness. To
convince Moses that God had sufficiently qualified him for the work which
he had given him to do, he tells him that of the gifts and graces which he has
given him he will qualify seventy persons to bear the charge with him. This
was probably intended as a gracious reproof. Query. Did not Moses lose a
measure of his gifts in this business? And is it not right that he whom God
has called to and qualified for some particular office, should lose those gifts
which he either undervalues or refuses to employ for God in the way
appointed? Is there not much reason to believe that many cases have
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118. occurred where the spiritual endowments of particular persons have been
taken away and given to others who made a better use of them? Hence the
propriety of that exhortation, Rev_3:11 : Hold that fast which thou hast, that
no man take thy crown. The gracious God never called a man to perform a
work without furnishing him with adequate strength; and to refuse to do it
on the pretense of inability is little short of rebellion against God. This
institution of the seventy persons to help Moses the rabbins consider as the
origin of their grand council called the Sanhedrin. But we find that a council
of seventy men, elders of Israel, had existed among the people a year before
this time. See Exo_24:9 (note); see the advice given to Jethro to Moses,
Exo_18:17 (note), etc., and the notes there.
GILL, "And I will come down and talk with thee there,.... Descend from
heaven, by some visible token of his power and presence, and in a friendly
manner converse with him face to face; which was an instance of great
condescension and grace, and especially when Moses had showed a very
froward peevish spirit; yet all is overlooked, and the Lord vouchsafes the
most intimate communion with him, and does him honour before the
people:
and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee; the spirit of government, and
the spirit of prophecy, the gifts of the spirit qualifying for these things, of
which Moses had a large measure:
and will put it upon them; that is, gifts of the same kind with his; not that
his gifts were diminished, or that properly speaking anything was taken
from Moses and given to the seventy elders; but from the same fountain and
fulness of the spirit Moses partook of, they were furnished with like gifts
and qualifications, he having not at all the less for what was communicated
to them; see 1Co_12:4; several of the Jewish writers, and particularly
Jarchi, illustrate it by the lamp in the golden candlestick in the sanctuary,
which was always burning, and at which all the rest were lighted, without
any diminution of its light at all:
and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not
thyself alone: assist in the government of them, take part in all weighty and
difficult matters, hear the complaints of the people, and bear a share of the
blame and reproach they at any time should cast upon their rulers.
HENRY, " God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the
employ, they should be made fit, else they might prove more a hindrance
than a help to Moses, Num_11:17. Though Moses had talked too boldly with
God, yet God does not therefore break off communion with him; he bears a
great deal with us, and we must with one another: I will come down (said
God) and talk with thee, when thou art more calm and composed; and I will
take of the same spirit of wisdom, and piety, and courage, that is upon thee,
and put it upon them. Not that Moses had the less of the Spirit for their
sharing, nor that they were hereby made equal with him; Moses was still
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119. unequalled (Deu_34:10), but they were clothed with a spirit of government
proportionable to their place, and with a spirit of prophecy to prove their
divine call to it, the government being a Theocracy. Note, (1.) Those whom
God employs in any service he qualifies for it, and those that are not in some
measure qualified cannot think themselves duly called. (2.) All good
qualifications are from God; every perfect gift is from the Father of lights.
ELLICOTT, " (17) And I will come down . . . —The cloud which hovered over the
Tabernacle appears to have descended to the entrance of it (Numbers 11:25).
(Comp. Exodus 33:9; Numbers 12:5; Deuteronomy 31:15).
I will take of the spirit which is upon thee . . . —These words do not imply that there
was any diminution of the gifts bestowed upon Moses, but that a portion of those
spiritual gifts was bestowed upon the seventy. Rashi compares the mode of bestowal
with the manner in which the other lamps of the Sanctuary were lighted at the
golden candlestick without diminishing the light from which theirs was taken.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will
take of the spirit which [is] upon thee, and will put [it] upon them; and they shall
bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear [it] not thyself alone.
Ver. 17. And I will take of the spirit,] i.e., I will bestow the same spirit upon them as
upon thee; and this shall be nothing at all to thy loss or disadvantage. Habet
Hispania montem ex sale magnum, de quo quantum demas, tantum accrescit.
Shall bear the burden of the people.] Who are in nothing more a burden than in
this, that with them áåé ôï ðáñïí âáñõ, (a) Praesens imperium semper grave, They
are ever grumbling at the present government, though never so gentle. Alleva
iugum, Ease the yoke that thy father put upon us, said they to Rehoboam, forgetting
the golden age they had lived in under his father Solomon. [1 Kings 12:4]
POOLE, " I will come down, not by local motion, but by my powerful presence and
operation. See Genesis 11:5 Exodus 34:5.
Will put it upon them, i.e. I will give the same Spirit to them which I have given to
thee. But as the Spirit was not conveyed to them from or through Moses, but
immediately from God, so the Spirit or its gifts were not by this means impaired in
Moses. The Spirit is here put for the gifts of the Spirit, as it is Numbers 27:18 Joel
2:28 John 7:39 Acts 19:2,6 1 Corinthians 14:12,32; and particularly for the Spirit of
prophecy, Numbers 11:25, whereby they were enabled, as Moses had been and still
was, to discern hidden and future things, and resolve doubtful and difficult cases,
which made them fit for government. It is observable, that God would not, and
therefore men should not, call any persons to any office for which they were not
sufficiently fit and qualified.
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120. WHEDON, " 17. I will come down — Not figuratively, but by a literal descent in the
pillar of cloud, as in Numbers 11:25. Chaldee, “I will manifest myself.” Targum of
Palestine, “I will be revealed in the glory of my shekinah.” There is no record of the
words of Jehovah to Moses on this occasion.
I will take of the spirit — The Hebrew for take is an unusual word here, signifying
to divide into portions. The elders were to share, but probably in a less degree, the
charismata, or special gifts of wisdom and administration which Moses possessed.
There was to be no diminution of the endowment of Moses. The Targum of Palestine
says: “I will amplify the spirit of prophecy that is upon thee, and bestow it upon
them.” Hence Origen and Theodoret take occasion to compare Moses to a lamp at
which seventy others were lighted without diminishing its lustre. Dr. Adam Clarke,
however, queries whether Moses did not lose a measure of his gifts at this time
because he had undervalued them, in accordance with the great law that a spiritual
gift unused or slighted declines.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:17. I will come down — By my powerful presence and
operation. I will put it on them — That is, I will give the same spirit to them which I
have given to thee. The spirit is here put for the gifts of the Spirit, and particularly
for the spirit of prophecy, whereby they were enabled, as Moses had been and still
was, to discern hidden and future things, and resolve doubtful and difficult cases,
which made them fit for government. It is observable that God would not, and
therefore men should not, call any persons to any office for which they were not
sufficiently qualified.
PULPIT, "I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them. The
Holy Spirit is one and indivisible. But in the language of Scripture "the Spirit" often
stands for the charismata, or gifts of the Spirit, and in this sense is freely spoken of
as belonging to this or that man. So the "spirit of Elijah" (2 Kings 2:9, 2 Kings
2:15), which was transferred to Elisha, as it were, by bequest. It was not, therefore,
the personal indwelling presence of the Holy Ghost in Moses which God caused him
to share with the seventy elders, for that can in no ease be a matter of transfer or of
arrangement, but simply those charismata or extraordinary gifts of the Spirit which
Moses had hitherto enjoyed alone as the prophet of Israel. It is strange that in the
face of the clear teaching of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13,
and in view of such cases as those of Saul (1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:1-24 :93)
and David (1 Samuel 16:13), any difficulty should have been felt about this passage.
They shall bear the burden of the people with thee. It does not appear how they
were to do this, nor is there any record of their work. Their gifts, however, were
spiritual, and we may probably assume that their usefulness lay in producing and
maintaining a proper religious tone among the people. The real difficulty which
stood in the way of Moses was not one of outward organization or of government,
for that had been amply provided for; it lay in the bad tone which prevailed among
120

121. the people, and threatened to destroy at any moment the very foundations of their
national hope and safety. We may see in these seventy not indeed a Sanhedrim to
exercise authority and discipline, but the first commencement of that prophetic
order which afterwards played so large a part in the religious history of Israel and
of the early Christian Church—an order designed kern the first to supplement by
the freedom and originality of their ministry the more formal and unvarying offices
of the priesthood. If this was the nature of their usefulness, it is not surprising that
they are never mentioned again; and it is observable that a similar obscurity hangs
over the activity of the prophets of the New Testament, who yet formed a most
important part of the gospel regime (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:29-32; Ephesians 2:20).
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in
preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat
meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If
only we had meat to eat! We were better off in
Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you
will eat it.
GILL, "And say thou unto the people,.... For what follows respects them, as
what goes before regarded himself:
sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; or prepare yourselves, as the
Targums of Onkelos, and Jonathan, either to receive mercies, or to meet the
Lord in the way of his judgments; so Jarchi interprets it,"prepare for
punishments,''for what is said should be, and what they had, was not as a
blessing, but in a way of punishment:
and ye shall eat flesh; which they lusted after, wept for, and could not be
easy without:
for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord; complaining of him, and which he
has taken notice of:
saying, who shall give us flesh to eat? for though they so earnestly desired it,
121

122. they despaired of it, and even called in question the power of God to give it:
for it was well with us in Egypt; where they had their fleshpots, as well as
their cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, Exo_16:3; but they
forgot how ill it went with them by reason of their hard bondage, when their
lives were made bitter by it, notwithstanding their fleshpots, and of which
there is not much reason to believe any great share came to them: like to
them were their posterity in later times, Jer_44:17,
therefore the Lord will give you flesh; to show his power:
and ye shall eat; to your shame and confusion, not for pleasure or profit.
HENRY 18-20, " Even the humour of the discontented people shall be
gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. They are ordered to
sanctify themselves (Num_11:18), that is, to put themselves into a posture
to receive such a proof of God's power as should be a token both of mercy
and judgment. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, Amo_4:12.
1. God promises (shall I say?) - he threatens rather, that they shall have
their fill of flesh, that for a month together they shall not only be fed, but
feasted, with flesh, besides their daily manna; and, if they have not a better
government of their appetites than now it appears they have they shall be
surfeited with it (Num_11:19, Num_11:20): You shall eat till it come out at
your nostrils, and become loathsome to you. See here, (1.) The vanity of all
the delights of sense; they will cloy, but not satisfy: spiritual pleasures are
the contrary. As the world passes away, so do the lusts of it, 1Jo_2:17. What
was greedily coveted in a little time comes to be nauseated. (2.) What
brutish sins (and worse than brutish) gluttony and drunkenness are; they
put a force upon nature, and make that the sickness of the body which
should be its health; they are sins that are their own punishments, and yet
not the worst that attend them. (3.) What a righteous thing it is with God to
make that loathsome to men which they have inordinately lusted after. God
could make them despise flesh as much as they had despised manna.
JAMISON, "K&D 18-20. "Jehovah would also relieve the complaining of the
people, and that in such a way that the murmurers should experience at the
same time the holiness of His judgments. The people were to sanctify
themselves for the next day, and were then to eat flesh (receive flesh to eat).
‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫דּ‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫ה‬ (as in Exo_19:10), to prepare themselves by purifications for the
revelation of the glory of God in the miraculous gift of flesh. Jehovah would
give them flesh, so that they should eat it not one day, or two, or five, or ten,
or twenty, but a whole month long (of “days,” as in Gen_29:14; Gen_41:1),
“till it come out of your nostrils, and become loathsome unto you,” as a
punishment for having despised Jehovah in the midst of them, in their
contempt of the manna given by God, and for having shown their regret at
leaving the land of Egypt in their longing for the provisions of that land.
122

123. CALVIN, "Verse 18
18.And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves. This is another part of the
answer, which is given respecting the matter in consideration, viz., that the people
should prepare themselves to satiate their greediness. Although the word ‫קדש‬ (26)
kadesh, signifies to prepare, yet its literal meaning seems to be most appropriate
here; I have therefore retained the word sanctify, which is, however, here used
ironically, for Moses does not exhort: them to purge themselves from all
defilement’s, and piously and sincerely to receive the grace of God, but he
chastises their profane and brutal gluttony. Others translate it simply, as if it
were said, Whet your teeth, and make ready your bellies: but, in my
judgment, there is a reproof implied, because they are polluted by a foul and
wicked desire, so as to be incapable of receiving God ’s paternal favor: for “ye
shall eat flesh” follows, “because your weeping and complaining has reached
the ears of God;” by which words he signifies that by their importunate cries
they had provoked God’s anger, so that they should devour none but deadly
food. And soon afterwards it is stated more clearly that by their insolence
they had deserved to be destroyed by the bounty of God. For “a whole
month,” he says, ye shall gormandize, “till it come out of your nostrils, and it
be loathsome unto you.” Thus he compares them to those guttlers who so
overwhelm themselves with gluttony, that they are obliged soon afterwards
to vomit what they have eaten too greedily, or who abominate the taste of
their superfluous luxuries, as if they were something filthy. This is what is
meant by to “come out,” or to be blown out, “at the nostrils.” ‫זרא‬ (27) tzara,
which we have translated abomination, properly means dispersion; but Moses
indicates by it that they shall vomit, or spit it out, like something unfit to be
swallowed. If any should object that it is said in Psalms 78:30, “They were not yet
estranged from their lust:” this is easily solved by understanding that their
unrestrained gluttony is there rebuked, (28) as if he called them guttlers
(gurgites,) whom no abundance can suffice to satisfy. Therefore the Prophet says,
that although they were bursting with excess, they were not satiated; but were so
inflamed by their boundless voracity, that God’s vengeance could alone repress
it. But the reason alleged for this is especially to be observed, “because they
had rejected God, who was in the midst of them.” By these words, the excuse
of error or inadvertency is barred; for if, for the purpose of proving their
patience God had withdrawn His power, the terror which they conceived at
His absence might, perhaps, have been excusable; but now, when they knew
by sure experience that their means of subsistence were supplied by Him,
123

124. they betray their deliberate wickedness by despising His present beneficence.
For that God was in the midst of them is equivalent to His giving manifest
tokens both of His infinite power and His paternal favor. These words show
us that the more immediately God manifests His grace to us, the more
inexcusable we are, if we disparage it when it is thus liberally offered to us.
What follows might appear not to deserve severe reproof, viz., that they
“wept before God;” but the enormity of the sin is specified directly
afterwards, i.e. that they were vexed by their departure from Egypt: for this
was not merely to repudiate the deliverance, which they had so greatly
longed for, but to quarrel with God, because He had listened to their cry, and
had condescended to redeem them from their wretched and lost estate.
COKE, "Numbers 11:18. Say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves —
Houbigant well observes, that the original word here might, with propriety, be
rendered, be ye ready: the word is so used Jeremiah 6:4; Jeremiah 12:3; Jeremiah
51:28. Having answered the request of Moses in the former verses, the Lord now
proceeds to answer that of the people.
ELLICOTT, "(18) Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow. —(Comp. Exodus
19:10.) The Israelites were required to sanctify themselves by purification for the
more immediate manifestation of the Divine presence, although their request was a
sinful one, and was granted in judgment as well as—or even more than—in mercy.
Comp. Psalms 106:15 : “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their
soul.”
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves
against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the
LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for [it was] well with us in
Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Ver. 18. Sanctify yourselves.] Ironice dictum; or, Sanctify; that is, Prepare
yourselves for the day of slaughter, as in Jeremiah 12:3.
For ye have wept in the ears.] Tears, of what sort soever, have a voice in
them, [Psalms 39:12] as blood hath. [Genesis 4:10]
124

125. For it was well with us in Egypt.] Such is the murmuring of those
malcontents, that say, It was a merry world before there was so much
preaching and teaching.
And ye shall eat.] Flesh with a vengeance; which ye shall eat on earth, but
digest in hell. (a)
POOLE, " Sanctify yourselves, i.e. prepare yourselves, either to receive the
miraculous blessings of God, the flesh you desire; or rather,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, in the way of his judgments, and to
receive the punishment which God will inflict upon you; for it is evident,
from Numbers 18:20, that God answered them with a curse instead of a
blessing. Prepare yourselves by true repentance, that you may either obtain
some mitigation of the plague, or, whilst your bodies are destroyed by the
flesh you desire and eat, Numbers 11:33,34, your souls may be saved from
the wrath of God. Sanctifying is oft used for preparing, as Jeremiah 6:4 12:3
51:28.
In the ears of the Lord; not secretly in your closets, but openly and
impudently in the doors of your tents, Numbers 11:10, calling heaven and
earth to witness your cries and complaints.
WHEDON, " 18. Sanctify yourselves — As a preparation for this extraordinary
manifestation of the Holy One all physical and ceremonial defilement was to be put
away from their clothes and persons. See Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:10, notes.
For it was well with us in Egypt — This declared superiority of condition beneath
the crushing yoke of Pharaoh to their present elevation in the service of the Lord,
indicates a depth of moral degradation and spiritual stupor which provokes his just
anger.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:18. Sanctify yourselves — Prepare to meet thy God, O
Israel, in the way of his judgments. Prepare yourselves by true repentance, that you
may either obtain some mitigation of the plague, or, while your bodies are destroyed
by the flesh you desire and eat, your souls may be saved from the wrath of God.
125

126. Sanctifying is often used for preparing, as Jeremiah 6:4; Jeremiah 12:3. In the ears
of the Lord — Not secretly in your closets, but openly and impudently in the doors
of your tents, calling heaven and earth to witness.
PETT, "Numbers 11:18
“And you say to the people, “Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you
shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, ‘Who shall
give us flesh to eat, for it was well with us in Egypt? ’ Therefore Yahweh will
give you flesh, and you shall eat.”
Then he was to call the people together and call on them to ‘sanctify
themselves’ ready for the next day when He would act and provide them with
meat. That is, they had to wash their clothing and ensure that they were
ritually clean. By doing this they were made to recognise that what followed
did come from Yahweh. They could only receive it by preparing themselves.
God wanted this to be a spiritual experience for them which would then turn
them to the things of the Spirit.
So Moses must not allow them to get away scot free. They were to be made
aware that God knew of their behaviour. When they had wept they had wept
in the ears of Yahweh. He had been fully aware of their weeping, and the
true reason that lay behind it. They had said, “who will give us flesh to eat
for it was well with us in Egypt” ’. They had turned away from God’s
purposes for them, back to Egypt. Hopefully when they heard this they would
feel ashamed, For the truth was that it had not been well with them in Egypt.
The Egyptians had not come to them saying, ‘Here you are, have as much
meat as you want’. But now Yahweh would. Yahweh would give them flesh
to eat.
PULPIT, "Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. By certain ablutions, and by
avoidance of legal pollution (see Exodus 19:10, Exodus 19:14, Exodus 19:15).
The people were to prepare themselves as for some revelation of God's
holiness and majesty. In truth it was for a revelation of his wrath, and of the
126

127. bitter consequences of sin. There is about the words, as interpreted by the
result, a depth of very terrible meaning; it was as though a traitor,
unknowing of his doom, were bidden to a grand ceremonial on the morrow,
which ceremonial should be his own execution. For it was well with us in
Egypt. These false and wicked words, in which the base ingratitude of the
people reached its highest pitch, are repeated to them in the message of God
with a quiet sternness which gave no sign to their callous ears of the wrath
they had aroused.
19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two
days, or five, ten or twenty days,
GILL, "Ye shall not eat one day,.... Only, as in Exo_16:12,
nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even thirty days,
a whole month, as in Num_11:20.
PETT, "Numbers 11:19-20
“You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor
twenty days, but a whole moon period, until it comes out at your nostrils,
and it is loathsome to you, because you have rejected Yahweh who is among
you, and have wept before him, saying, ‘Why did we come forth out of
Egypt?’ ”
127

128. 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out
of your nostrils and you loathe it—because
you have rejected the Lord, who is among you,
and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did
we ever leave Egypt?”
GILL, "But even a whole month,.... So long the Israelites continued at Taberah or
Kibrothhattaavah, as the Jews (o) conclude from this clause:
until it come out at your nostrils; being vomited up, through a nausea of it, the
stomach being overfilled and glutted with it; in which case, it will make its way
through the nostrils, as well as out of the mouth:
and it be loathsome unto you; being surfeited with it; or it shall be for "dispersion"
(p), scattered about from the mouth and nostrils:
because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you; who dwelt in the
tabernacle that was in the midst of them, whom they despised by treating the
manna with contempt he so plentifully spread about their camp, and by distrusting
his power to give them flesh, and by murmuring and complaining against him on
the account of their having none: the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan
are,"because ye have loathed the Word of the Lord, whose Shechinah (or the glory
of whose Shechinah, as Jonathan) dwelleth among you;''the essential Word, and
who was figured by the manna they tasted and despised:
and have wept before him; complaining of him, and murmuring against him:
saying, why came we forth out of Egypt? suggesting it would have been better for
them if they had stayed there; thus reflecting on the wisdom, power, and goodness
128

129. of God, displayed in the deliverance of them, and for which they had the utmost
reason to be thankful.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:20 [But] even a whole month, until it come out at your
nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the
LORD which [is] among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came
we forth out of Egypt?
Ver. 20. But even a whole month.] Deus saepe dat iratus quod negat
propitius. Patientia Dei quo diuturnior, eo minacior -
“ Poena venit gravior quo magis sera venit. ”
God’s forbearance is no quittance: fatted beasts are but fitted for the
slaughter: wicked men are killed with kindnesses: "Ease slayeth the fool."
[Proverbs 1:32]
POOLE, " Till it come out at your nostrils; which meat loathed and violently
vomited up frequently doth;
and it be loathsome unto you, being glutted with the abundance of it. Thus
God destroys them by granting their desires, and turns even their blessings
into curses; whilst he deals much more favourably with Moses, though he
also fell into the same sin with the people, i.e. impatience and murmuring.
But God will make a great difference between persons and persons, and
between Moses’s sins of infirmity and the people’s presumptuous and oft-
repeated provocations.
Ye have despised the Lord, i.e. you have lightly esteemed his bounty and
manifold blessings in manna and other things, and have preferred the leeks,
onions, &c. of Egypt before them all; you have slighted and distrusted his
promises and providence after so long and large experience of it.
Which is among you; who is present and resident with you to observe all
129

130. your carriages, and to punish your offences. This is added as a great
aggravation of the crime, to sin in the presence of the Judge.
Why came we forth out of Egypt? Why did God do us such an injury? Why
did we so foolishly follow and obey him in coming forth?
WHEDON, " 20. Until it come out at your nostrils — We cannot agree with
Bishop Patrick that this is a prediction of copious vomiting, but rather that so great
a quantity would be eaten day after day that the digestive power would fail, and the
stench of the foul stomach would pour forth through the nose.
Says the Targum of Palestine, “Until the smell of it come forth from your nostrils.”
Loathsome — Offensive even to themselves. Because ye…
despised the Lord — Complaining of providential allotments may include contempt
of God. Great is the guilt of grumblers!
Which is among you — The Chaldee elucidates the heinousness of the sin: “whose
divine majesty dwells among you,” in the shekinah. Under Tiberius the offence of
majestas (treason) was extended to all acts and words which might appear to be
disrespectful to the emperor.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:20. Until it come out at your nostrils — That is, till
your impatient appetites be glutted; and by another instance of divine power, you be
convinced to your shame how irreligiously, distrustfully, and ungratefully you have
acted toward God amidst all his merciful providences toward you. The expression
presents a very strong, though disagreeable idea of satiety and surfeit, when the
overloaded stomach disburdens itself at the mouth and nostrils. Ye have despised
the Lord — You have lightly esteemed his bounty and manifold blessings; you have
slighted and distrusted his promises and providence after so long and large
experience of it. The Lord who is among you — Who is present and resident with
you, to observe all your carriage, and to punish your offences. This is added as a
great aggravation of the crime, to sin in the presence of the judge. Why came we
forth out of Egypt? — Why did God do us such an injury? Why did we so foolishly
obey him in coming forth?
PULPIT, "But even a whole month. There is some little difficulty about these
words, because the Israelites do not seem to have made a long stay at
130

131. Kibroth-Hattaavah, and the miraculous supply does not seem to have
followed them. The words are words of stern irony and displeasure, and need
not be literally pressed: it was enough that animal food was given them in
quantity sufficient to have gorged the whole nation for a month, if they had
eared to go on eating it (see below on Numbers 11:33).
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six
hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I
will give them meat to eat for a whole
month!’
GILL, "And Moses said,.... By way of objection to what God had promised,
distrusting his power to perform:
the people amongst whom I am; among whom he dwelt, of whom he was a part,
and over whom he was a ruler:
are six hundred thousand footmen; that were able to travel on foot, and were fit for
war: this was the number of them when they came out of Egypt, Exo_12:37; they
amounted in their last numbering to 3,550 more, which lesser number is here
omitted, as Aben Ezra and Jarchi observe, and only the round number given: some
say that all above the six hundred thousand were destroyed by the fire at Taberah,
Num_11:1,
and thou hast said, one will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month; this
Moses could not tell how to credit.
131

132. HENRY 21-23, " Moses objects the improbability of making good this word,
Num_11:21, Num_11:22. It is an objection like that which the disciples made, Mar_
8:4, Whence can a man satisfy these men? Some excuse Moses here, and construe
what he says as only a modest enquiry which way the supply must be expected; but
it savours too much of diffidence and distrust of God to be justified. He objects the
number of the people, as if he that provided bread for them all could not, by the
same unlimited power, provide flesh too. He reckons it must be the flesh either of
beasts or fishes, because they are the most bulky animals, little thinking that the
flesh of birds, little birds, should serve the purpose. God sees not as man sees, but
his thoughts are above ours. He objects the greediness of the people's desires in that
word, to suffice them. Note, Even true and great believers sometimes find it hard to
trust God under the discouragements of second causes, and against hope to believe
in hope. Moses himself could scarcely forbear saying, Can God furnish a table in the
wilderness? when this had become the common cry. No doubt this was his
infirmity.
3. God gives a short but sufficient answer to the objection in that question, Has
the Lord's hand waxed short? Num_11:23. If Moses had remembered the years of
the right hand of the Most High, he would not have started all these difficulties;
therefore God reminds him of them, intimating that this objection reflected upon
the divine power, of which he himself had been so often, not only the witness, but
the instrument. Had he forgotten what wonders the divine power had wrought for
that people, when it inflicted the plagues of Egypt, divided the sea, broached the
rock, and rained bread from heaven? Had that power abated? Was God weaker than
he used to be? Or was he tired with what he had done? Whatever our unbelieving
hearts may suggest to the contrary, it is certain, (1.) That God's hand is not short;
his power cannot be restrained in the exerting of itself by any thing but his own
will; with him nothing is impossible. That hand is not short which measures the
waters, metes out the heavens (Isa_40:12), and grasps the winds, Pro_30:4. (2.)
That it has not waxed short. He is as strong as ever he was, fainteth not, neither is
weary. And this is sufficient to silence all our distrusts when means fail us, Is any
thing too hard for the Lord? God here brings Moses to this first principle, sets him
back in his lesson, to learn the ancient name of God, The Lord God Almighty, and
puts the proof upon the issue: Thou shalt see whether my word shall come to pass
or not. This magnifies God's word above all his name, that his works never come
short of it. If he speaks, it is done.
132

133. JAMISON 21-23, "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 Num_20:10). It was,
therefore, sharply reproved, but not punished.
K&D 21-23, "When Moses thereupon expressed his amazement at the promise of
God to provide flesh for 600,000 men for a whole month long even to satiety, and
said, “Shall flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish
of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? ” he was answered by the
words, “Is the arm of Jehovah too short (i.e., does it not reach far enough; is it too
weak and powerless)? Thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass
unto thee or not.”
CALVIN, "21.And Moses said, The people among whom I am, are six hundred
thousand. Although Moses’ object was right, yet he fell into unbelief, and
thus stumbled at the very threshold. His pious solicitude indeed impelled him
to doubt; because he feared that God’s holy name would be exposed to
derision and contumely, if he should send away empty those to whom he had
promised food. But it seemed to him incredible that so mighty a multitude
should be sufficiently supplied with flesh. When he calls them “six hundred
thousand,” he either does not calculate their numbers exactly, or indicates
that some had died since their departure, when he had numbered the people.
(Exodus 14:0.) Yet it is probable that he referred to the recent census, in
which they were found to be 603,550, (Numbers 1:46;) but for the sake of
brevity he put the sum in the gross, as he does elsewhere, omitting the 3550.
(Exodus 12:37.) By speaking of foot-men, he means the men, and thus
excepts the women and. children. Assuredly such a multitude might astonish
him, or, at any rate, might inspire him with alarm, so that he should mistrust
the promise. His doubt, however, was wrong in two respects; first, because he
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134. did not simply trust, as if he were not assured that God was true in all His
words; and, secondly, because he improperly allowed his mind to measure
God’s inestimable power by his own senses. Let us learn, therefore, that, as
soon as God has spoken, we should embrace, without discussion, whatever
has proceeded out of His mouth; and so likewise let us learn to humble
ourselves, and our own minds, and at the same time to rise by faith above
the world, and our natural reason; so that no absurdity, which the flesh may
suggest to us, should prevent us from certainly concluding that whatever God
has promised He will, by His might, perform. For it is a most incorrect
calculation to bind down God’s doings to ordinary standards; as if His power
were not more extensive than our minds can reach. We must, therefore,
carefully take notice of the rebuke, whereby God so corrected Moses at once,
that it ought to prevent and to cure all diseases of distrust in us. For the
immensity of God’s hand convicts the folly of those who would subject it to
their own imaginations and rules. For, even although God should not stretch
forth His hand, He holds heaven and earth in its “hollow,” as it is said in
Isaiah 40:12. What madness, then, is it to seek to grasp by our own senses,
and, as it were, to imprison that hand which is greater than a hundred
worlds! As soon, therefore, as distrust on the score of difficulties begins to
take possession of our minds, let this conclusion be remembered, that the
promises of God do not exceed the measure of His power to accomplish
effectually whatever He has declared. This question, however, “Is the Lord’s
hand waxed short?” may be explained in two ways: for the old interpreter
(29) has rendered it, “Is God’s hand weak?” But God seems to adduce the
proof, whereby He had borne witness to His power, not only in the creation
of heaven and earth, but also in so many recent miracles; as if to rebuke the
ingratitude of Moses, who had profited so little by these most striking
lessons: for Isaiah uses the same word in this sense, where he says: “Behold,
the Lord’s hand is not shortened.” (Isaiah 59:1.) Moses is unquestionably
exalting the blessings received on former occasions, wherein the people had
experienced the saving power of God. I have retained the future tense of the
verb, (30) since it does not injure the sense. What is said amounts to this,
Will God’s hand be weaker than usual, so as not to put forth its power
already known?
134

135. COKE, "Numbers 11:21. And Moses said, The people amongst whom I am —
There is a striking similarity between the present passage and the account we have
in the Evangelists of our Saviour's feeding the multitude with the five loaves and
two fishes. See particularly John 6:5; John 6:71.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I [am],
[are] six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them
flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
Ver. 21. Six hundred thousand footmen.] In the conquest of Canaan, there is
no mention of horsemen. The adversaries, both Egyptians and Canaanites,
had horses and chariots; not so this people of Israel. See Psalms 33:17.
POOLE, "Six hundred thousand footmen, fit for war, Exodus 12:37, besides
women, children, &c. That Moses speaks this as doubting or distrusting God ’s
words is evident enough from Numbers 11:22,23. And that Moses was not
remarkably punished for this as he was afterward for the same sin, Num 20
next to God’s good pleasure may be imputed to the different circumstances
of this and that sin: this was the first great offence of this kind, and therefore
more easily passed by; that was after warning, and against more light and
experience. This seems to have been spoken secretly in Moses ’s breast; that
openly and publicly before the people, and to their scandal, and therefore it
was fit to be openly and severely punished to prevent the contagion of that
example.
WHEDON, "21. Six hundred thousand footmen — This, in round numbers, is the
census of men fit for military service. See Numbers 1:21-46, notes. Hence the entire
population must have exceeded two millions. “In view of the demands of such an
immense host the faith of Moses seems to have wavered. Either from the
discomposure of his spirit by reason of the affronts of the people, or from a fear that
they might be commanded to feed upon the cattle required for sacrifice, or from
sheer incredulity, he is prompted to enquire how it can be possible that so many
mouths should be fed with flesh for a whole month together.” — Bush. Reason looks
at natural causes alone. Faith brings God into the scene, and therefore knows
absolutely nothing of difficulties; yea, she laughs at impossibilities.
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136. BENSON, "Numbers 11:21. Six hundred thousand footmen — Fit for war,
besides women and children. That Moses speaks this as distrusting God’s word, is
evident; and that Moses was not remarkably punished for this as he was afterward
for the same sin, (Numbers 20.,) may be imputed to the different circumstances of
this and that sin; this was the first offence of the kind, and therefore more easily
passed by; that was after warning, and against more light and experience. This
seems to have been spoken secretly; that openly, before the people; and therefore it
was fit to be openly and severely punished, to prevent the contagion of that example.
PETT, "Numbers 11:21
‘And Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred ’eleph
footmen, and you have said, ‘I will give them flesh, that they may eat a
whole month.’ Shall flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them? Or
shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? ” ’
Moses could not believe his ears. Where was Yahweh going to get so much
meat from? Were there not six hundred units of foot men to be fed, to say
nothing of their families? And yet Yahweh had promised that they would
have food for a whole month. Would it mean killing their flocks and herds?
That was something that they did not wish to do. They would need those
when they entered the land. Or were there enough fish available in the
nearest sea to meet their needs? He was clutching at straws. He did not
believe that God could do it. How quickly even Moses had forgotten what
God had done in Egypt.
PULPIT, "And Moses said. Moses had not recovered from the impatient and
despairing temper into which the ill-behaviour of the people had betrayed
him. He could not really have doubted the Divine power to do this, after
what he had seen in the desert of Sin (Exodus 16:13), but he spoke
petulantly, and indeed insolently, out of the misery which was yet in his
heart.
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137. 22 Would they have enough if flocks and
herds were slaughtered for them? Would they
have enough if all the fish in the sea were
caught for them?”
CLARKE, "Shall the flocks and the herds be slain - There is certainly a
considerable measure of weakness and unbelief manifested in the complaints and
questions of Moses on this occasion; but his conduct appears at the same time so
very simple, honest, and affectionate, that we cannot but admire it, while we
wonder that he had not stronger confidence in that God whose miracles he had so
often witnessed in Egypt.
GILL, "Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them?....
Suggesting that if all their cattle, their sheep, and oxen were killed, which they and
the mixed multitude brought out of Egypt, they would not be sufficient for them to
live upon a whole month; and intimating also, that it would be an unwise thing, and
very improper, to slay them all, were they sufficient, since then they would have
none for sacrifice, or to breed when they came into the land of Canaan; the Targum
of Jonathan is,"shall the sheep that are in Arabia and the oxen that are in Nabatea
be slain for them, and be sufficient for them?"
or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them? of the
great sea, as Jonathan; which, to gather together, is, humanly speaking, impossible;
indeed, if it could be done, they would not suffice such a number of people a month
together: Moses takes notice only of the flesh of beasts and of fishes, and seems not
to have thought of the flesh of fowls with which, and not the other, the Lord
afterwards fed them a whole month.
137

138. ELLICOTT, "Verse 22
(22) Shall the flocks and the herds . .?—Rather, Shall flocks and herds . .? The
definite article is not used here, nor the possessive pronoun, as elsewhere, where the
flocks and herds of the Israelites are denoted. (Comp. Exodus 10:9; Exodus 34:3;
Deuteronomy 12:6.) There is no evidence, therefore, that Moses alluded exclusively,
or even primarily, to the flocks and herds which the Israelites had brought out of
Egypt. Moreover, a large number of the sheep and goats must have been recently
slain at the Passover. Whether the encampment was, or was not within an easy
distance of the ֶlanitic Gulf, the gathering together of the fish of the sea in
sufficient quantities to satisfy such a multitude for so long a time would
require a miraculous agency; and the same agency could also bring together
from unknown sources flocks and herds. The expression may be regarded as
a form of natural hyperbole.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to
suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to
suffice them?
Ver. 22. Or shall all the fish of the sea.] Moses forgat, belike, the fowls of the
air, but God sent them such a drift of quails, as Moses dreamed not of: he fed
them with meat of kings, bread of angels.
PULPIT, "Shall the flocks and herds be slain? Which they had brought out of
Egypt with them (see on Exodus 12:32), and which no doubt were carefully
husbanded, partly in order to supply them with milk and other produce,
partly in order to maintain the sacrifices of the law. All the fish of the sea. A
wild expression from which nothing can be fairly argued as to the present
position of the camp.
138

139. 23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s
arm too short? Now you will see whether or
not what I say will come true for you.”
CLARKE, "Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? - Hast thou forgotten the miracles
which I have already performed? or thinkest thou that my power is decreased? The
power that is unlimited can never be diminished.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses,.... In answer to his objection, without
upbraiding him with his sin of unbelief:
is the Lord's hand waxed short? or his power diminished since the creation, when
he formed all things out of nothing, and what is it then he is not able to do? or
since he wrought the wonders in Egypt, divided the Red sea, rained down manna
from heaven, and smote the rock at Horeb, from whence waters flowed sufficient for
all this people, and their flocks and herds; and he that did all this could give them
flesh that would suffice them a whole month, see Isa_59:1,
thou shall see now whether my words shall come to pass unto thee or no; whether I
am able to make good my promise; a short time will decide it, it shall be seen
presently whether I am and will do what I have said
COKE, "Numbers 11:23. Is the Lord's hand waxed short? — That is to say, Is the
divine power diminished?—Have I lost any thing of my power since I created the
universe?
REFLECTIONS.—God answers the requests both of Moses and of the people, but
with very different regards; Moses in mercy, the people in judgment.
1. Moses receives an instance of God's mercy. He does not upbraid his hastiness, but
grants his petition. He is commanded to choose seventy elders, the most approved
139

140. for wisdom, and God will strengthen them for their office, to bear with him the
burden of the people. Note; (1.) None can reasonably conclude they are called to an
office who are not qualified for it. (2.) Government is of divine institution, and we
must be obedient for conscience sake, not only to the king as supreme, but unto
every magistrate who bears with him the burden.
2. The people's request is gratified; better perhaps, for them, had it been denied.
Gifts in anger are judgments in disguise. They shall not only have enough to satisfy,
but to surfeit: Note; (1.) Evil desire and loathing are nearly allied. (2.) The
indulgence of brutal appetite brings its own punishment along with it.
3. Moses expresses some distrust how this should be done for such a multitude. The
strongest faith may be shaken by indulging vain reasonings; but God silences his
doubts with a convincing argument. His almighty power can effect whatever his
grace promises. He who divided the sea, and opened the windows of heaven, is able
to give them flesh also. Let God's people be comforted in every trial, that his hand is
not shortened that it cannot save; and be encouraged to pray, for his ear is not
heavy that it cannot hear.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD ’S hand
waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto
thee or not.
Ver. 23. And the Lord said unto Moses.] God bears with Moses here; which
afterwards he did not, [Numbers 20:12] because then he showed his distrust
before the people. God will not pass by the scandalous practices of his own
people without a sensible check.
Is the Lord’s hand shortened.] Moses thought God had made an unadvised
promise, and prays him to consider, that the people were so many thousand,
and that the flocks and herds would not suffice them. But God answers here,
that he is never nonplussed.
WHEDON, "23. Is the Lord’s hand waxed short — The hand is the instrument,
and hence the symbol, of power. To say that a person’s hand is short is, in Hebrew
conception, to say that he is impotent. Among the modern Arabs and Persians a long
hand denotes strength, a short hand weakness. When the idea of omnipotence as
available for human necessities in answer to prayer drops out of the mind, unbelief
enters. Hence Jesus says to the blind men, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”
140

141. The burden of Paul’s epistles and prayers is, that believers “may know the
exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe.” Ephesians 1:19. It is of
the utmost importance to all Christians, especially to all preachers, to keep the
almightiness of God ever before the soul. This entire verse is a rebuke to the
littleness of Moses’s faith.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:23. Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? — Is the divine
power diminished? Isaiah 50:2; Isaiah 59:1. What has not God done to convince
mankind that his power is always unlimited? And yet man is still ready to fall into
the weakness of thinking that there are circumstances in which the power of God
cannot afford relief or deliverance, but must, as it were, remain inactive.
PETT, "Numbers 11:23
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is Yahweh’s hand made short? Now shall you
see whether my word shall come about to you or not. ’
Yahweh challenged him in return. Did he really think that Yahweh ’s arm had
been foreshortened? Did he really think that anything was too hard for Him?
Let him wait and see. He would soon see whether Yahweh ’s promise came
about or not.
BI 23, "Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?
God’s challenge to the faith and co-operation of His people
I. These words have special reference to a divinely-revealed purpose which staggers
human reason.
1. Let us look at this purpose. “God hath sent His Son into the world,. . . that
the world through Him might be saved. ”
2. The difficulties in the way of this gracious purpose, which excite men ’s fears.
There is the inveterate carnality of the human heart, the stubborn resistance of
the human will to the Divine; there is the stolid indifference ,of great masses in
Christian lands to the practical duties and claims of religion; and the growing
scepticism of the day regarding the verities of the gospel. Consider also the
prevalence of idolatrous systems and heathen superstitions among great masses
of mankind. Take also the subtle rationalism and keen-witted infidelity which
prevail in civilised and semi-Christianised countries. It requires strong faith in a
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142. man to calmly survey this formidable host of evil in the world and then take his
stand by the side of Christ, confident that His cause will triumph.
II. We have in these words an assertion of divine power which warrants human
confidence. God’s purpose is a promise. He stakes His character on the fulfilment of
His Word.
1. He cannot forget.
2. He cannot fail through insincerity.
3. He cannot fail through inadequate power to perform.
III. In these words we have God’s challenge to the earnest faith, prayer, and co-
operation of his people.
1. The true attitude of the Christian labourer or the Church is to stand, with one
hand of believing prayer taking hold of God, and the other hand of loving labour
taking hold of fallen man, that the fallen may be raised, and the lost saved.
2. When we are ready for a blessing, God will not fail to bestow it. ( John
Innocent.)
The glorious right hand of God
I. With regard to the church as a whole, how often is it true that she so behaveth
herself as if she had a question in her mind as to whether the Lord ’s hand had
waxed short? The mass of us would be afraid to go out trusting in God to supply
our needs. We should need first that everything should be prepared for us, and that
the way should be paved; but we are not ready to leap as champions upon the wall
of the citadel, leading the forlorn hope and planting the standard where it never
stood before. No, we can follow in the track of others. We have few Careys and few
Knibbs, few men who can go first and foremost saying, “This is God’s cause;
Jehovah is the only God, and in the name of the Eternal let the idols be abolished. ”
Oh, for more anointed ones to preach the gospel believing in its intrinsic might,
assured that where it is preached faithfully, the Spirit of God is never absent! O
Zion! get thee up, get thee up! Count no more thy hosts, for their strength is thy
weakness; measure no longer thy wealth, for thy wealth has often been thy poverty,
and thy poverty thy wealth; think not of the learning or the eloquence of thy
ministers and missionaries, for full often these things do but stand in the way of the
Eternal God. But come thou forth in simple confidence in His promise, and thou
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143. shalt see whether He will not do according to His Word.
II. When believers doubt their God with regard to providence, the question might
well be asked of them, “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” I do not doubt that I am
speaking to some who have had many losses and crosses in their business. Instead
of getting forward they are going back, and perhaps even bankruptcy stares them in
the face. Or possibly, being hard-working men, they may have been long out of
employment, and nothing seems now to be before their eyes but the starvation of
themselves and their little ones. It is hard to bear this. But dost thou doubt, O
believer, dost thou doubt as to whether God will fulfil His promise wherein He said,
“His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his
waters shall be sure”? Thy God heareth the young ravens when they cry, and giveth
liberally to all the creatures that His hands hath made, and will He forget His sons
and His daughters—His people bought with blood, His own peculiar heritage? No;
dare to believe Him now. His hand has not waxed short. Please not Satan, and vex
not thyself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of Him. Say, “My Father,
Thou wilt hear my cry; Thou wilt supply all my needs ”; and according to thy faith,
so shall it be done unto thee.
III. There is a third way by which this question might be very naturally suggested,
and that is when a man who has faith in christ is exercised with doubts and fears
with regard to his own final perseverance or his own present acceptance in Christ.
IV. This is a question which I may well ask of any here present who are convinced
of sin, but are afraid to trust their souls now, at this very hour, in the hand of a
loving Saviour. “Oh, He cannot save me, I am so guilty, so callous! Could I repent
as I ought, could I but feel as I ought, then He could save me; but I am naked and
poor and miserable. How can He clothe, enrich, and bless me? I am cast out from
His presence. I have grieved away His Spirit; I have sinned against light and
knowledge—against mercy—against constant grace received. He cannot save me.”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord ’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now
whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not. ” Did He not save the chief of
sinners, Saul of Tarsus? Why, then, can He not save you? Is it not written, “The
blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanseth us from all sin ”? Has that blood lost its
efficacy?
V. And you say, do you, that God will not avenge your sins upon you, that ye may
go on in your iniquities and yet meet with no punishment; that ye may reject Christ
and do it safely. Well, soul,” thou shalt see whether His word shall come to pass or
not.” But let me tell thee His hand is not waxed short; He is as strong to punish as
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144. when He bade the floods cover the earth; as powerful to avenge as when He rained
hail out of heaven upon the cities of the plain. He is to-day as mighty to overtake
and punish His enemies as when He sent the angel through the midst of Egypt, or
afterwards smote the hosts of Sennacherib. Thou shalt see whether He will keep His
word or not. Go on in the neglect of His great salvation; go to thy dying bed, and
buoy thyself up with the false hope that there is no hereafter; but, sinner, thou shalt
see; thou shalt see. This point in dispute shall not long be a matter of question to
be cavilled at on the one side, and to be taught with tears on the other. ( C. H.
Spurgeon.)
A strange question
It is a singular thing that such a question as this should ever be asked at all: “Has
the Lord’s hand waxed short?” If we look anywhere and everywhere, apart from the
conduct of man, there is nothing to suggest the suspicion.
1. Look to God’s creation! Is there anything there which would make you say,
“Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” What pillar of the heavens hath begun to
reel? What curtain of the sky hath been rent or moth-eaten? Have the
foundations of the earth begun to start? Hath the sun grown dim with age? or
have the starry lamps flickered or gone out in darkness? Are there signs of
decay to-day upon the face of God’s creation? Have not howling tempests, the
yawning ocean, and death-bearing hurricanes, asserted but yesterday their
undiminished might? Say, is not the green earth as full of vitality, as ready to
yield us harvests now, as it ever hath been? Do the showers fall less frequently?
No; journey where you will, you will see God as potent upon the face of the
earth, and in the very bowels of the globe, as He was when He first said, “Let
there be light and there was light. ” There is nothing which would tempt us to
the surmise or the suspicion that the Lord ’s hand hath waxed short.
2. And look ye too in providence; is there aught there that would suggest the
question? Are not His prophecies still fulfilled? Does He not cause all things to
work together for good? Do the cattle on a thousand hills low out to Him for
hunger? Do you meet with the skeletons of birds that have fallen to the ground
from famine? Doth He neglect to give to the fish their food, or do the sea-
monsters die? Doth not God still open His hand and supply the want of every
living thing? Is He less bounteous to-day than He was in the time of Adam? Is
not the cornucopia still as full? Doth He not still scatter mercies with both His
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145. hands right lavishly? Are there any tokens in providence any more than in
nature, that God’s arm hath waxed short?
3. And look ye too in the matter of grace; is there any token in She work of
grace that God’s power is failing? Are not sinners still saved? Are not profligates
still reclaimed? Are not drunkards still uplifted from their sties to sit upon the
throne with princes? Is not the Word of God still quick and powerful, sharper
than any two-edged sword? Where have ye seen the sword of the Lord snapped
in twain? When hath God assayed to melt a h-art and failed in the attempt?
Which of His people has found the riches of His grace drained dry? Which of
His children has had to mourn that the unsearchable riches of Christ had failed
to supply his need? How is it, then, that such a question as this ever came from
the lips of God Himself? What could there have been that should lead Him or
any of His creatures to say, “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” We answer, there
is but one creature that God has made that ever doubts Him. The little sparrows
doubt not: though they have no barn nor field, yet they sweetly sing at night as
they go to their roosts, though they know not where to-morrow ’s meal shall be
found. The very cattle trust Him; and even in days of drought, ye have seen
them when they pant for thirst, how they expect the water; how the very first
token of it makes them show in their very animal frame, by some dumb
language, that they felt that God would not leave them to perish. The angels
never doubt Him, nor the devils either: devils believe and tremble. But it was
left for man, the most favoured of all creatures, to mistrust his God. This high,
this black, this infamous sin of doubting the power and faithfulness of Jehovah,
was reserved for the fallen race of rebellious Adam; and we alone, out of all the
beings that God has ever fashioned, dishonour Him by unbelief and tarnish His
honour by mistrust. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
No failure of Tower with God
Amongst all the gods of the heathen Jupiter was in the greatest esteem, as the
father and king of gods and was called Jupiter, quasi juvans pater, a helping father,
yet (as the poets feign) be wept when he could not set Sarpedon at liberty; such
was the imbecility and impotency of this master-god of the heathen. But the hand
of our God is never shortened that it cannot help, He is ever able to relieve us,
always ready to deliver us. Amongst all the gods there is none like unto Him, none
can do like unto His works, He is God Omnipotent. ( J. Spencer.)
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146. 24 So Moses went out and told the people
what the Lord had said. He brought together
seventy of their elders and had them stand
around the tent.
GILL, "And Moses went out,.... Either out of his own tent, about which the people
assembled, complaining and weeping, Num_11:10; or rather, as Aben Ezra, out of
the tabernacle of the congregation, and the sanctuary where he had been conversing
with God, about the affairs complained of both by the people and by himself; so the
Targum of Jonathan says, he went out of the tabernacle, the house of the Shechinah
or divine Majesty:
and told the people of the words of the Lord; what he had ordered him to do for his
ease in the government of them, and how he had promised to give them flesh on
the morrow:
and gathered the seventy men of the elders of Israel; sent for them by name, and
ordered them to assemble at such a time and place; and though two of them came
not, after mentioned, Num_11:26, yet the full number of seventy is given:
and set them round about the tabernacle; they seem to be set not promiscuously in
a body together, but distinctly, one by another, in a circular form; that they might
be seen, observed, and taken notice of by the people that came about the
tabernacle, who they were, what were done to them, and what befell them.
HENRY 24-25have here the performance of God's word to Moses, that he should
146

147. have help in the government of Israel.
I. Here is the case of the seventy privy-counsellors in general. Moses, though a
little disturbed by the tumult of the people, yet was thoroughly composed by the
communion he had with God, and soon came to himself again. And according as the
matter was concerted, 1. He did his part; he presented the seventy elders before the
Lord, round the tabernacle (Num_11:24), that they might there stand ready to
receive the grace of God, in the place where he manifested himself, and that the
people also might be witnesses of their solemn call. Note, Those that expect favour
from God must humbly offer themselves and their service to him. 2. God was not
wanting to do his part. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders (Num_11:25),
which enabled those whose capacities and education set them but on a level with
their neighbours of a sudden to say and do that which was extraordinary, and
which proved them to be actuated by divine inspiration: they prophesied, and did
not cease all that day, and (some think) only that day. They discoursed to the
people of the things of God, and perhaps commented upon the law they had lately
received with admirable clearness, and fulness, and readiness, and aptness of
expression, so that all who heard them might see and say that God was with them
of a truth; see 1Co_14:24, 1Co_14:25. Thus, long afterwards, Saul was marked for
the government by the gift of prophecy, which came upon him for a day and a
night, 1Sa_10:6, 1Sa_10:11. When Moses was to fetch Israel out of Egypt, Aaron was
appointed to be his prophet, Exo_7:1. But, now that God had called Aaron to other
work, in his room Moses has seventy prophets to attend him. Note, Those are fittest
to rule in God's Israel that are well acquainted with divine things and are apt to
teach to edification.
JAMISON, "Moses ... gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, etc. —
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.
K&D, "After receiving from the Lord this reply to his complaint. Moses went out
(sc., “of the tabernacle,” where he had laid his complaint before the Lord) into the
camp; and having made known to the people the will of God, gathered together
seventy men of the elders of the people, and directed them to station themselves
around the tabernacle. “Around the tabernacle,” does not signify in this passage on
147

148. all four sides, but in a semicircle around the front of the tabernacle; the verb is used
in this sense in Num_21:4, when it is applied to the march round Edom.
CALVIN, "24.And Moses went out and told the people the words. We here see
how greatly Moses profited by his brief rebuke, for he now actively sets
about what he was commanded. Doubt had given him a check, so that he
stopped in the middle of his course; whereas he now testifies by the
promptitude of his obedience that his distrust is overcome. For just as
unbelief discourages men, so that they sink down into inactivity, so faith
inspires both body and mind with rigor for the effectual discharge of their
duties.
Although the narrative does not expressly state that he spoke to them
respecting the flesh, it declares in general terms that he omitted nothing;
and, indeed, it would have been very inappropriate to speak only of the
Seventy Elders, when the origin of all the evil had been the craving for flesh.
Briefly stating, then, that he had reported the commands of God to the
people, he includes both parts of the matter, the second of which he then
follows up. And, first, he says that the elders were called to the Tabernacle,
that they might there be appointed rulers and officers. When be states that
they were “set round about,” I do not interpret the words so precisely as to
suppose that eighteen were ranged on each side, and, of the rest, half were
placed before the court, and half behind the Tabernacle; but that they were
so arranged, as to surround some part of the Tabernacle. Now, this was
equivalent to their being set before God, so that they might hereafter exercise
their office with more authority, as being sent by Him; and at the same time
that they might devote themselves to God, and dedicate themselves to His
service; and also, that being invested with the necessary endowments, they
might bear the tokens of their calling. For this reason, it is soon afterwards
added, that enough of the spirit of Moses was given them for the discharge of
their official duties; for, although Moses by God’s command had chosen men
of approved virtue and experience, yet He would have them prepared anew,
in order that their call might be effectual. When they are said to have
“prophesied,” this was a visible sign of the gift of the Spirit, which,
nevertheless, had reference to a different object; for they were not appointed
148

149. to be. prophets, though God would testify by this outward mark that they
were new men, in order that the people might receive them with greater
reverence. In my opinion, however, prophecy here is equivalent to a special
faculty of discoursing magnificently of secret things or mysteries. We know
that poets were called prophets by profane writers, (31) because poetry itself
savors of inspiration ( ἐ‫םטןץףיבףל‬ὸ‫;)ם‬ in the same way that extraordinary
ability, (32) in which the afflatus of the Spirit shone forth, obtained the
name of prophecy. Thus, the gift of prophecy in Saul was a kind of mark of
royalty; so that he might not ascend the throne without credentials. (1
Samuel 10:10.) Thus, then, this Spirit of Prophecy was only accorded to these
persons for a short time; since it was sufficient that they should be once
marked out by God: for so I understand what Moses says afterwards, “and
they added not.” (33) it is too forced an interpretation to refer it, as some
do, to the past. I confess, indeed, that they were not previously prophets; but
I have no doubt but that Moses here indicates that the gift was a temporary
one: as we are also told in the case of Saul: for, as soon as this token of
God’s grace had manifested itself in him, (34) he ceased to prophesy. The
meaning, therefore, is that their call was thus substantiated for a short
period, so that this unusual circumstance should awaken the more
admiration.
COFFMAN, ""And Moses went out, and told the people the words of Jehovah:
and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round
about the tent. And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and spake unto him,
and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders:
and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied,
but they did so no more."
"And Moses went out ..." (Numbers 11:24). It is not stated in this chapter
that Moses went into the tabernacle to register his complaint; but the
statement here that "he went out," "obviously implies that he did."[18]
"Round about the Tent ..." (Numbers 11:24). "This does not mean on all four
sides, but in a semi-circle in front of the Tent."[19]
149

150. "They prophesied, but they did so no more ..." (Numbers 11:25). The diverse
opinions about this verse are a bit perplexing, but we feel perfectly safe in
receiving the meaning to be as it is in our version. Wade noted that, "Their
gift was only temporary."[20] "The gift was temporary, solely to mark their
entrance into their sacred office."[21] Unger also pointed out that the Hebrew
here literally has, "and added not"; and from this Owen gave as an alternate
meaning of the passage that: "They prophesied only that which the Spirit
gave them and did not add anything to it."[22]
ELLICOTT, " (24) And Moses went out . . . —i.e., as it should seem, from the
tabernacle of the congregation, where he had been conversing with God.
Round about the tabernacle.—This does not necessarily imply that the seventy men
were placed so that they surrounded the whole of the tent of meeting. Comp. Exodus
7:24, where the word means on both sides of the river; also Job 29:5, where the
same word is rendered about.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words
of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and
set them round about the tabernacle.
Ver. 24. And set them roundabout the tabernacle.] That the fear of the Lord
might be upon them, &c., [2 Chronicles 19:6-7] and that they might carry
themselves worthy of God, who had set them in places of judicature. To the
company of the Areopagites (judges in Athens) none were admitted, but
wise, wealthy, and noble men, famous for good life and innoceney. Nay, men
whose behaviour was intolerable, after they were chosen into the college of
the Areopagites, abhorring and blushing at their former disposition, changed
their natures and embraced virtue. (a)
POOLE, " Moses went out of the tabernacle, into which he entered to receive
God’s answers from the mercy-seat, Numbers 7:89.
150

151. The seventy men, either they are called seventy from the stated number,
though two of them were lacking, Numbers 11:26, as the apostles are called
the twelve, Matthew 26:20, when one of that number was absent; or he is
said to have gathered them, when he gave command to gather them.
Round about the tabernacle; partly, that the awe of God might be imprinted
upon their hearts, that they might more seriously undertake and more
faithfully manage their high employment; partly, to gain them the more
authority and respect from the people; and principally, because that was the
place where God manifested himself, and gave his blessings, and therefore
there he would bestow his Spirit upon them.
WHEDON, " THE SEVENTY ELDERS ARE APPOINTED AND QUALIFIED,
Numbers 11:24-30.
24. Moses… told the people — In order to quiet their murmurings, not to secure
a popular election of the seventy. Moses was the sole judge of their fitness. See
Numbers 11:16, note.
Round about the tabernacle — Why the elders were assembled around the
tabernacle and not at the door, the usual place of important gatherings, is unknown.
This unique place was in keeping with the unique purpose of the meeting.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:24. Moses went out — Either from the sanctuary, into
which he had entered to receive God’s answers from the mercy-seat, or he went out
from his tent to the people. And gathered the seventy men — They are called
seventy from the stated number, though two of them were lacking, as the apostles
are called the twelve, (Matthew 26:20,) when one of that number was absent. Round
the tabernacle — Partly that the awe of God might be imprinted upon their hearts,
that they might more seriously undertake, and more faithfully manage their high
employment; but principally, because that was the place where God manifested
himself, and therefore there he would bestow his Spirit upon them.
PETT, "Verses 24-30
The Enduing of the Seventy Elders (Numbers 11:24-35).
151

152. The purpose of God in providing the seventy elders would seem to be in
order to act as an advisory and supporting council to Moses, and to supervise
various sections of the people on his behalf, for different levels of authority
were already in place for mundane purposes (Exodus 18:25). This was also
why they were to have officers over them, so that a small group could act
when necessary. He was no longer to have sole responsibility for the
leadership of the people.
The inner structure is as follows:
a The seventy go from the camp to the Dwellingplace with Moses (Numbers
11:24).
b The Spirit comes on them and they prophesy (Numbers 11:25).
c Two men in the camp Eldad and Medad prophesy (Numbers 11:26).
c The young man tells Moses that Eldad and Medad prophesy (Numbers
11:27)
b Joshua is jealous for Moses and Moses says, ‘Would that all Yahweh’s
people prophesy’ (Numbers 11:28-29).
a Moses and the seventy return to the camp from the Dwellingplace
(Numbers 11:30).
Numbers 11:24
‘And Moses went out, and told the people the words of Yahweh, and he
gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about
the Tent.’
As ever Moses obeyed Yahweh. Firstly he informed the whole people of what
Yahweh had said, and then he elected out and appointed the seventy elders.
152

153. Having done so he brought them round the Tent of meeting, Yahweh ’s
Dwellingplace.
There is an interesting spiritual contrast here. The people were told that they
would receive flesh but the elders would receive the Spirit, and the people
were not jealous. As far as they were concerned the elders could have the
Spirit if they could have the flesh! It illustrated their state of heart.
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and
spoke with him, and he took some of the
power of the Spirit that was on him and put it
on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested
on them, they prophesied—but did not do so
again.
BARNES, "Num_11:25
They prophesied - i. e. under the extraordinary impulse of the Holy Spirit they
uttered forth the praises of God, or declared His will. Compare the marginal
references.
And did not cease - Rather, and added not, i. e. they prophesied at this time only
and not afterward. The sign was granted on the occasion of their appointment to
accredit them in their office; it was not continued, because their proper function
was to be that of governing not prophesying.
153

154. CLARKE, "When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied - By prophesying
here we are to understand their performing those civil and sacred functions for
which they were qualified; exhorting the people to quiet and peaceable submission,
to trust and confidence in the goodness and providence of God, would make no
small part of the duties of their new office. The ideal meaning of the word ‫נבא‬ naba
is to pray, entreat, etc. The prophet is called ‫נביא‬ nabi, because he prays,
supplicates, in reference to God; exhorts, entreats, in reference to man. See
on Gen_20:7 (note).
GILL, "And the Lord came down in a cloud,.... In a cloud of glory, or a
glorious one, as the Targums; either in the same that went before the people
in the wilderness, or in one distinct from it, and only used on this occasion,
as a visible token of the presence of God:
and spake unto him; to Moses, talked with him, as he said he would, Num_
11:17,
and took of the Spirit which was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy
elders; See Gill on Num_11:17,
and it came to pass that when the Spirit rested upon them they prophesied;
either they sung the praises of God, which is sometimes the sense of
prophesying, 1Ch_25:1; blessing God for the honour done them, and the gift
bestowed on them; or they opened and explained the laws of God, in virtue
of the gifts they had received, according to which they were to assist Moses
in the government of the people, or they foretold things come: the Jews say
they prophesied of the quails, but that is not very likely:
and did not cease; from prophesying; the spirit of prophecy continued with
them, which, in some cases, might be necessary: or, they ceased not to
prophesy all that day, though they afterwards did: and in the Hebrew text it
is, "they added not" (q), that is, to prophesy, and Jarchi says they only
prophesied that day, as it is interpreted in an ancient book of theirs, called
Siphre: wherefore this spirit of prophecy is thought only to be given them as
a temporary thing, for the confirmation of their having received the spirit of
government, or gifts qualifying them for that, and to make them respectable
among the people, and to show that they were appointed it by divine
authority, and that this was not a device of Moses to ease himself.
JAMISON, "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 1Sa_
154

155. 19:24), or that these were permanent gifts, which qualified them in an
eminent degree for discharging the duty of public magistrates.
K&D, "Num_11:25
Jehovah then came down in the cloud, which soared on high above the
tabernacle, and now came down to the door of it (Num_12:5; Exo_33:9;
Deu_31:15). The statement in ch. Num_9:18., and Exo_40:37-38, that the
cloud dwelt (‫ן‬ ַ‫כ‬ ָ‫)שׁ‬ above the dwelling of the tabernacle during the time of
encampment, can be reconciled with this without any difficulty; since the
only idea that we can form of this “dwelling upon it” is, that the cloud stood
still, soaring in quietness above the tabernacle, without moving to and fro
like a cloud driven by the wind. There is no such discrepancy, therefore, as
Knobel finds in these statements. When Jehovah had come down, He spoke
to Moses, sc., to explain to him and to the elders what was about to be done,
and then laid upon the seventy elders of the Spirit which was upon him. We
are not to understand this as implying, that the fulness of the Spirit
possessed by Moses was diminished in consequence; still less to regard it,
with Calvin, as signum indignationis, or nota ignominiae, which God
intended to stamp upon him. For the Spirit of God is not something
material, which is diminished by being divided, but resembles a flame of
fire, which does not decrease in intensity, but increases rather by extension.
As Theodoret observed, “Just as a person who kindles a thousand flames
from one, does not lessen the first, whilst he communicates light to the
others, so God did not diminish the grace imparted to Moses by the fact that
He communicated of it to the seventy.” God did this to show to Moses, as
well as to the whole nation, that the Spirit which Moses had received was
perfectly sufficient for the performance of the duties of his office, and that
no supernatural increase of that Spirit was needed, but simply a
strengthening of the natural powers of Moses by the support of men who,
when endowed with the power of the Spirit that was taken from him, would
help him to bear the burden of his office. We have no description of the way
in which this transference took place; it is therefore impossible to
determine whether it was effected by a sign which would strike the outward
senses, or passed altogether within the sphere of the Spirit's life, in a
manner which corresponded to the nature of the Spirit itself. In any case,
however, it must have been effected in such a way, that Moses and the
elders received a convincing proof of the reality of the affair. When the
Spirit descended upon the elders, “they prophesied, and did not add;” i.e.,
they did not repeat the prophesyings any further. ‫פוּ‬ ְ‫ָס‬‫י‬ ‫ֹא‬ ‫ל‬ ְ‫ו‬ is rendered
correctly by the lxx, καὶ οὐκ ἔτι προσέθεντο; the rendering supported by the
Vulgate and Onkelos, nec ultro cessaverunt (“and ceased not”), is incorrect.
‫א‬ ֵ‫ַבּ‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫,ה‬ “to prophesy,” is to be understood generally, and especially here, not
as the foretelling of future things, but as speaking in an ecstatic and
elevated state of mind, under the impulse and inspiration of the Spirit of
God, just like the “speaking with tongues,” which frequently followed the
gift of the Holy Ghost in the days of the apostles. But we are not to infer
155

156. from the fact, that the prophesying was not repeated, that the Spirit
therefore departed from them after this one extraordinary manifestation.
This miraculous manifestation of the Spirit was intended simply to give to
the whole nation the visible proof that God had endowed them with His
Spirit, as helpers of Moses, and had given them the authority required for
the exercise of their calling.
COKE, "Numbers 11:25. When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied—
Concerning the meaning of the word prophet, we have spoken in the note on
Genesis 20:7. To prophesy, says Dr. Hammond, is a large word; and, besides the
foretelling of future events, which is the ordinary notion of it, it signifies,
SECONDLY, To work miracles; as when it is said of Elisha's body, that, being dead,
it prophesied. Compare Ecclesiassicus, Ecclesiassicus 48: 13 with 2 Kings 13:21.
THIRDLY, To declare the will of God to any, by revelation or mission from him:
and grammarians have observed, that the word naturally signifies no more than
this, of speaking from, or in the stead of another, i.e. of God; in which sense, as
Christ's prophetic office consisted in revealing the will of God to the world, so all,
who have in any degree done the like, are styled prophets; all who have taught men
their duties towards God and each other. Thus, when, Exodus 7:1. God said to
Moses, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy
prophet; the meaning is, that what God commanded, or should command Moses,
Moses should (as God to a prophet, — the oracle to the ‫)ץנןצחפחע‬ deliver to Aaron
concerning Pharaoh; and Aaron should go as a prophet sent from God, and deliver
it to Pharaoh: he shall be thy spokesman; he shall be to thee instead of a mouth.
Exodus 4:16. FOURTHLY, It signifies to expound or interpret Scripture; as in 1
Corinthians 14:1; 1 Corinthians 14:40. FIFTHLY, It is sometimes used to signify
wild, raving, mad behaviour, or such speaking as the ‫,וםטוןי‬ or enthusiasts among
the heathen, men possessed of diabolic feelings, were wont to use: so, when the evil
spirit came upon Saul, he prophesied in the midst of the house; and, in the same
fury, cast the javelin at David, 1 Samuel 18:10-11. The reason of this is clear:
because prophets did ordinarily both speak and act in a manner far different from
the ordinary practice of other men; and accordingly were, by many who looked on
them, thought to be mad. So the prophet sent by Elisha to anoint Jehu is called this
mad fellow. 2 Kings 9:11. SIXTHLY, It signifies singing and praising God; forming
of divine hymns, and singing them to God. Thus, 1 Samuel 10:5-6. Thou shalt meet a
company—a college of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery,
and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp before them; and they shall prophesy: (where
the Chaldee paraphrase reads, shall sing,) and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon
thee, and thou shalt prophesy: where the Chaldee hath it, and thou shalt praise with
them. So 1 Chronicles 25:1. David separated the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of
Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, &c. and this, most probably, is the
meaning of the word here; for, as, 1 Samuel 10:6. Saul's prophesying was to be an
effect of the Spirit of God coming upon him, and was a sign of his being set apart by
God for the kingly office, and furnished with abilities for it, which is called turning
him into another man; so here God takes of the spirit which was upon Moses,—that
is, the spirit of government with which he was endued, and gives it unto the seventy.
156

157. And when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied; where, as the other
circumstance agrees, i.e. the giving them the spirit, and fitting them for their office
by that means, so the evidence of it, their prophesying, may agree also: though
wherein their prophesying consisted is no where determined in Scripture. This only
is unquestioned, that it was some extraordinary act: a testimony that the Spirit of
God, in some extra-ordinary manner, rested upon them; and as such was discernible
to all, and so fit to authorise them in the eyes of others as by miracle, and to declare
to all that they were assumed to this office. To this notion of prophesying, Luke 1:67
must be interpreted: Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied; i.e.
was stirred up in a very extraordinary manner, by the Spirit of God, to compose the
divine hymn immediately following. See Hammond's note on the place.
And did not cease— The Hebrew here is ‫ולא‬ ‫יספו‬ velo iasapu, which signifies
properly, and they added not; i.e. say some commentators, they prophesied not after
that day. This, it must be owned, seems but an aukward mode of expression, and
would therefore incline one to follow, with Houbigant, the reading of the Samaritan,
which instead of ‫,יספו‬ reads ‫,יאספו‬ (they were gathered,) and places the full stop after
prophesied; so as to understand it thus: when the spirit rested upon them, they
prophesied. But two of the men were not gathered together, or assembled, but
remained in the camp; that is to say, two men who had not assembled with the rest
at the tabernacle, but were left in the camp, were also endued with the gift of
prophesy. In confirmation of this criticism, Houbigant shews the impropriety both
of our version and of that mentioned at the beginning of this note, which, indeed,
must be very obvious to most readers. Many conjectures have been offered why
these two men remained in the camp; but as this can only be conjecture, we shall not
take up room on the subject: sickness, or some legal defilement, might probably
hinder their approach to the tabernacle.
ELLICOTT, " (25) In a cloud.—Hebrew, In the cloud.
And gave it unto . . . —Better, and put it upon, as in Leviticus 2:15.
They prophesied, and did not cease.—Better, they prophesied, but did so no more.
Comp. Genesis 8:12; Exodus 11:6; 2 Samuel 2:28; so the LXX. The word prophesy
does not necessarily denote the prediction of future events. It is elsewhere employed
to denote the celebration of the praises of God, either with the voice or with
instruments of music. (Comp. 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Kings 18:29; 1 Chronicles 25:1-3;
Jeremiah 29:26.)
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto
him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] unto the seventy
elders: and it came to pass, [that], when the spirit rested upon them, they
prophesied, and did not cease.
157

158. Ver. 25. Took of the spirit.] {See Trapp on "Numbers 11:17"}
They prophesied.] Nec praedicendo, nec praedicando; but by uttering grave and
wise sentences, apothegms, or counsels, as Moses did, concerning the public affairs
of Israel; by political and prudential speaking of things appertaining to government.
POOLE, " Rested upon them, i.e. not only moved them for a time, but took up his
settled abode with them, because the use and end of this gift was not temporary, but
perpetual; they prophesied, i.e. discoursed of the word and works of God in a
singular and marvellous manner, as the prophets did. So this word is used 1 Samuel
10:5,6 Joe 2:28 Acts 2:17 1 Corinthians 14:3. Yet were they not hereby constituted
prophets or teachers, but civil magistrates and rulers, who together with the Spirit
of government, which is here sufficiently implied, received also the Spirit of
prophecy, as a sign and seal, both to themselves and to the people, that God had
called them to that employment, and would be with them in it, as it was with Saul
upon the same occasion, 1 Samuel 10:10.
Did not cease, either for that day; they continued in that exercise all that day, and, it
may be, all the night too, as it is said of Saul, 1 Samuel 19:24; or afterwards also, to
note that this was a continued gift conferred upon them, to enable them the better to
discharge their magistracy; which was more expedient for them than for the rulers
of other people, because the Jews were under a theocracy, or the government of
God, and even their civil controversies were decided out of that word of God which
the prophets expounded; and in their wilderness condition they had frequent
occasions of seeking counsel from God, which was the work of prophets, and they
were to determine all things agreeably to the mind and will of God, which therefore
they were obliged to study. Others translate the words, and they added not; so the
sense is, They prophesied only this day for an assurance of vocation to and due
qualification for their work, but afterwards they prophesied no more; the gift of
prophecy ceased in them, and only the Spirit of government rested upon them.
WHEDON, " 25. In a cloud — Literally, in the cloud. This visible symbol of
Jehovah’s presence, which stood above the tabernacle, descended and encompassed
it and the seventy elders, and thus was the vehicle of the Spirit to them as the breath
of Jesus was to the disciples. John 20:22.
And spake unto him — The communication is not recorded, perhaps because it was
private.
They prophesied — The word ‫,נבא‬ to bubble up, occurs here the first time in the
Bible. Its most common use is of inspired human discourse. It is chiefly in the
passive voice, implying that the prophet is not so much the speaker as the one
through whom the divine afflatus, which possesses his faculties, speaks. Thus in the
Greek we have the passive form of the verb ‫,לבםפוץוףטבי‬ to divine, like ‫,לביםוףטבי‬ to
158

159. be mad, and in the Latin vaticinari, to foretell. Hence prophecy has been regarded
by all these peoples as beyond the range of the human mind, and as the work of God
subsidizing human organs. This extraordinary utterance may not be limited to the
prediction of future events: it may be employed in rebuke, testimony, instruction,
exhortation, or comforting, 1 Corinthians 14:3 . The Holy Spirit always loosens the
tongue. It is fitting that the gift of speech, the crowning faculty of man as
distinguished from the brutes, should be monopolized by its Giver when he takes
exclusive possession of the body and soul as his temple. See 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Samuel
19:20-23, notes; Acts 2:18; Acts 19:6. Under the Christian dispensation one in
possession of the fulness of the Spirit naturally expresses himself in elevated
language, or song. Ephesians 5:18-19. For the difference between the operations of
the Spirit before the day of Pentecost and afterward, see Numbers 27:18, note.
And did not cease — The Septuagint literally and correctly translates this by ‫ןץך‬ ‫ךבי‬
‫נסןףוטוםפן‬ ‫,ופי‬ and they did not add, (to prophecy.) They prophesied one day and
ceased. Thus the R.V. This was sufficient to impress the people with their divine
vocation to an office in which administration and not prophecy was the great
function. The Targums, the Vulgate, and the Chaldee all read, they ceased not. This
is explained by stone as a perpetual prophetic endowment, and by Patrick and
others as covering only the time in which the elders surrounded the tabernacle.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:25. Rested on them — Not only moved them for a time, but
took up his settled abode with them, because the use and end of this gift were
perpetual. They prophesied — Discoursed of the word and works of God in a
marvellous manner, as the prophets did. So this word is used, 1 Samuel 10:5-6; Joel
2:28; 1 Corinthians 14:3. Yet were they not hereby constituted teachers, but civil
magistrates, who, together with the spirit of government, received also the spirit of
prophecy, as a sign and seal, both to themselves and to the people, that God had
called them to that employment. They did not cease — Either for that day,
continuing in that exercise all that day, and, it may be, all the night too, as it is said
of Saul, 1 Samuel 19:24; or, afterward also. For this was a continued gift, conferred
upon them to enable them the better to discharge their magistracy; which was more
expedient for them than for the rulers of other people, because the Jews were under
a theocracy, or the government of God, and even their civil controversies were
decided out of that word of God which the prophets expounded.
PETT, "Numbers 11:25
‘And Yahweh came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that
was on him, and put it on the seventy elders. And it came about that, when the
Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.’
Then Yahweh Himself came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Moses was still
pre-eminent. And He took from him something of the Spirit that was on him, and
159

160. put it on the seventy elders. The evidence of what had happened was revealed in
that they ‘prophesied’. It is in vain for us to attempt to fully explain either the one
or the other. Had it been in ‘tongues’ it would surely have been stated. But it is
doubtful. It was not to people of strange tongues that these men would speak, but
with Israel. Rather they spoke in a way which made it clear to all that the Spirit was
speaking through them, although what they said was not recorded. We may
probably assume that it was in praise of Yahweh. However, they did not become
prophets. It was a once for all occurrence. ‘They did so no more’. But it was now
clear to all that these were Yahweh’s men, empowered and illuminated by Him.
Compare for a similar situation and experience 1 Samuel 10:6-13; 1 Samuel
19:20-24; Joel 2:28.
Nor can we apply this experience specifically to all believers as though all must have
the same manifestations. The Spirit of Yahweh coming down in the Old Testament
in visibly manifested form was always on specific men appointed to serve in specific
functions, it was never an overall blessing. These men had been empowered for the
task in hand. What it does promise us is that when we are appointed by Him to a
task, He will always provide whatever power of the Spirit is needed.
PULPIT, "The Lord came down in a cloud, i.e; in the cloud which was the symbol of
his perpetual presence with. them. At other times this cloud dwelt ( ‫ן‬ַ‫כ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ) above the
tabernacle, soaring steadily above it in the clear air; but on certain occasions, for
greater impressiveness, the cloud came down and filled the tabernacle, or at any
rate the entrance of it, while Moses stood without (cf. Numbers 12:5 and Exodus
33:9; Exodus 40:35). Took of the spirit which was upon him. Not certainly in anger,
or by way of diminishing the fullness of the spirit which was in Moses, but in order
that the seventy might participate, and be known to participate, in a gift originally
and specially given to Moses. The whole intention of the ceremonial was to declare
in the most unmistakable way that the gifts of the seventy were to be exercised only
in union with and in subordination to the mediator of Israel. The Targums are
substantially correct in their paraphrase: "The Lord made enlargement of the spirit
that was upon him, and imparted to the seventy men, the eiders." Theodoret very
happily observes on this passage, "Just as a man who kindles a thousand flames
from one does not lessen the first in communicating light to the others, so God did
not diminish the grace imparted to Moses by the fact that he communicated of it to
the seventy." They prophesied. The phenomenon here mentioned for the first time
was no doubt an ecstatic utterance, not exactly beyond the control, but certainly
beyond the origination, of those who prophesied. It must not be confounded with
that state of calm, spiritual exaltation in which such men as Isaac and Jacob spake
concerning things to come (Hebrews 11:20; cf. Genesis 27:29; Genesis 49:28). The
Hebrew ‫אוּ‬ ְ‫ַבּ‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ִ‫י‬ means literally "were caused to pour forth," and the fundamental
idea is that those affected became for the time being vents for the audible utterance
of thoughts and expressions which were not theirs, but the Holy Ghost's. Compare
the thought in Job 20-32:18 , and the case of Saul and his messengers, as above. As to
the matter of these prophesyings, we may probably conclude that they were of the
160

161. same nature as the ecstatic utterances of the tongues on the day of Pentecost and
afterwards; not "prophecy" in the ordinary sense, but inspired glorification of God,
and declaration of his wonderful works (Acts 2:4, Acts 2:11). And did not cease.
Rather, "did not add," or "repeat." ‫פוּ‬ ְ‫ָס‬‫י‬ ‫ֹא‬‫ל‬ ְ‫.ו‬ Septuagint, ‫ךב‬̀‫י‬ ïõ̓ ê å̓́ôé ðñïóǻèåíôï. The
ecstatic utterance did not continue or reappear. The New Testament history no
doubt supplies us with the explanation of this. The supernatural sign thus accorded
was of little use in itself, and was of much danger, because it attracted to its
exhibition an attention which was rather due to more inward and spiritual things.
As a sign it was sufficient that it should be once unmistakably manifested before all
the people. (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:22; 1 Corinthians 13:8). The permanent charisma
of the Holy Spirit which the seventy received and retained from this time forth was
no doubt the á̓ íôéëḉøéò or êõâåñíḉóéò of 1 Corinthians 12:28; the gift of "help" or
"governance," not in temporal matters, but in the religious education and direction
of the people.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad
and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were
listed among the elders, but did not go out to the
tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they
prophesied in the camp.
BARNES, "Num_11:26
Of them that were written - i. e. enrolled among the Seventy. The
expression points to a regular appointment duly recorded and permanent.
GILL, "But there remained two of the men in the camp,.... Of the seventy
who were summoned, that came not out of the camp of Israel to the
tabernacle when the rest did:
the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: who,
according to the Targum of Jonathan, were brethren of Moses by his
mother's side; for it says, they were the sons of Elizaphan the son of Parnac,
whom Jochebed the daughter of Levi brought forth at the time that Amram
161

162. her husband dismissed her, and she was married to him before she brought
forth Moses; but it is elsewhere said (r), that Elizaphan married her after
the death of Amram; and Eldad and Medad were born unto them:
and the Spirit rested upon them; as it did upon the rest of the seventy that
came to the tabernacle; these two had the same gifts of the Spirit bestowed
upon them as they had:
and they were of them that were written; among the seventy whose names
were put down in the summons Moses gave them to attend the tabernacle;
for as for the notion of the Jews about schedules and pieces of paper put
into an urn to draw lots with, there is no foundation in the text:
but went not out unto the tabernacle; out of the camp to it, when they were
summoned to come together; which they declined, as is commonly said, out
of modesty, thinking themselves unfit for such an high office; and therefore,
as Saul hid himself among the stuff when he was about to be chosen king, so
did they, or something like it: the Targum of Jonathan is express for it,
which adds, because they hid themselves to flee from government; but the
Spirit of God found them out, and filled them with his gifts, and constrained
them to prophesy, whereby they were discovered:
and they prophesied in the camp; perhaps in a private manner, it may be in
their own houses; which, how it came to be known is after related: what
they prophesied of cannot be said; according to the Targums of Jonathan
and Jerusalem, and other Jewish writers (s), they prophesied of the quails,
and of the death of Moses, and the succession of Joshua, of Gog and Magog,
and their armies, and of their destruction by the Messiah, and of the
resurrection of the dead; but these are things not to be depended on.
HENRY 26-28, "Here is the particular case of two of them, Eldad and
Medad, probably two brothers.
1. They were nominated by Moses to be assistants in the government, but
they went not out unto the tabernacle as the rest did, Num_11:26. Calvin
conjectures that the summons was sent them, but that it did not find them,
they being somewhere out of the way; so that, though they were written, yet
they were not called. Most think that they declined coming to the tabernacle
out of an excess of modesty and humility; being sensible of their own
weakness and unworthiness, they desired to be excused from coming into
the government. Their principle was their praise, but their practice in not
obeying orders was their fault.
2. The Spirit of God found them out in the camp, where they were hidden
among the stuff, and there they prophesied, that is, they exercised their gift
of praying, preaching, and praising God, in some private tent. Note, The
Spirit of God is not tied to the tabernacle, but, like the wind, blows where he
listeth, Joh_3:8. Whither can we go from that Spirit? There was a special
providence in it that these two should be absent, for thus it appeared that it
was indeed a divine Spirit which the elders were actuated by, and that
Moses gave them not that Spirit, but God himself. They modestly declined
162

163. preferment, but God forced it upon them; nay, they have the honour of
being named, which the rest have not: for those that humble themselves
shall be exalted, and those are most fit for government who are least
ambitious of it.
3. Information of this was given to Moses (Num_11:27): “Eldad and
Medad do prophesy in the camp; there is a conventicle in such a tent, and
Eldad and Medad are holding forth there, from under the inspection and
presidency of Moses, and out of the communion of the rest of the elders.”
Whoever the person was that brought the tidings, he seems to have looked
upon it as an irregularity.
4. Joshua moved to have them silenced: My lord Moses, forbid them,
Num_11:28. It is probable that Joshua himself was one of the seventy, which
made him the more jealous for the honour of their order. He takes it for
granted that they were not under any necessitating impulse, for the spirit of
the prophets is subject to the prophets, and therefore he would have them
either not to prophesy at all or to come to the tabernacle and prophesy in
concert with the rest. He does not desire that they should be punished for
what they had done, but only restrained for the future. This motion he made
from a good principle, not out of any personal dislike to Eldad and Medad,
but out of an honest zeal for that which he apprehended to be the unity of
the church, and concern for the honour of God and Moses.
JAMISON 26-29, "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 (Mar_9:39).
K&D, "Num_11:26
But in order to prove to the whole congregation that the Spirit of the Lord
was working there, the Spirit came not only upon the elders assembled
round Moses, and in front of the tabernacle, but also upon two of the
persons who had been chosen, viz., Eldad and Medad, who had remained
behind in the camp, for some reason that is not reported, so that they also
prophesied. “Them that were written,” conscripti, for “called,” because the
calling of the elders generally took place in writing, from which we may see
how thoroughly the Israelites had acquired the art of writing in Egypt.
CALVIN, "26.But there remained two of the men in the camp. It is not certain why
they had not appeared amongst the others. I do not at all doubt but that they were
called for by Moses; nor would they have been endued with the same grace of the
Spirit as the others, if through idleness or contempt they had not come at the time
appointed. We may, therefore, probably infer that they did not actually receive the
invitation, because they could not be found; and hence it arose that God excused
163

164. their ignorance. Still, however, it must be observed that they were kept back by the
secret counsel of God, that His grace might be made known by this illustrious proof
amongst the common people in general, when they were not all eye-witnesses of it:
for the greater portion of them had not assembled at the Tabernacle. In
ordertherefore, that its fame might spread more widely, and might reach even to the
most lowly, God chose that this new and extraordinary gift of His Spirit should be
conspicuous in the midst of the camp, lest any of the dullest and grossest among
them should pretend to be ignorant of it. In fact, it is plain that they were all
aroused by the miracle; for the “young man,” who is spoken of, would not have run
to bear the incredible news to Moses, unless struck by the novelty of the case.
COFFMAN, ""But there remained two men in the camp, the name of one was
Eldad, and the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were of
them that were written, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in
the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad
do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of
his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said
unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were
prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them! And Moses gat him into the
camp, he and the elders of Israel."
"There remained in the camp ... Eldad ... Medad ... of them that were written ..."
(Numbers 11:26). We do not know why these two were not with the others before
the Tent, for they were "written among them," meaning that they surely belonged.
Amazingly, their absence did not prevent their also receiving the blessing.
Perhaps one reason for the inclusion of this incident by the Divine author was the
typical nature of the response of Moses. Moses' unselfish forgiveness of others and
his total lack of any desire for the glory of men were indeed typical of those same
wonderful qualities in the Saviour himself. In a similar way, the disciples of John
the Baptist were jealous for their leader and complained that the Lord's disciples
were baptizing more people than were the followers of John the Baptist. The traits
of men appear to be the same in all ages.
The efforts of Biblical critics who find in two accounts of the appointing of seventy
men what they call "divergent accounts" of but one event "are unfounded and
untrue."[23]
COKE, "Numbers 11:26. Eldad, and—Medad: and the spirit rested upon them,
&c.— Mr. Saurin observes, that this prophecy of Eldad and Medad has given
handle to an impostor to forge a work under the name of the former: the author of
the Book of Hermes says, he borrowed an oracle from thence. Witsius is of opinion,
that St. James had the answer of Moses, Numbers 11:29 in view, when he made use
of those difficult expressions in his epistle, ch. Numbers 4:5-6. Do ye think that the
164

165. Scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? but he giveth
more grace. Witsius cannot find, in any part of the Scripture, these words, unless in
the case we are now upon; and he thus paraphrases St. James's words: "Do you
imagine that the Spirit, which regenerates us, stirs us up to envy, or other passions
of the like nature?—On the contrary, it affords us fresh occasion of thankfulness,
and inspires us with new pleasure, when our neighbours receive its gifts as well as
we: of this Moses is an instance, when he said, Art thou jealous on my account? I
wish that all the Lord's people were prophets."
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:26 But there remained two [of the] men in the camp, the
name of the one [was] Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested
upon them; and they [were] of them that were written, but went not out unto the
tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
Ver. 26. But there remained two of the men.] Being stayed by some lawful occasion,
as in 1 Samuel 20:26, Jeremiah 36:5, or haply out of sense of their own insufficiency,
as in 1 Samuel 10:22. Howsoever, hereby it appeared to all the people that these
seventy seniors were set apart by God for the service.
And they prophesied in the camp.] Hermas, in his book called "Pastor" (chap. ii.),
mentioneth a book of their prophesy, and citeth these words, "The Lord is near to
all those that turn unto him, as it is written in Eldad and Medad, who prophesied in
the wilderness to the people." But this book of Hermas is of small credit.
POOLE, " In the camp; not going to the tabernacle, as the rest did; either modestly
declining that high employment from a tremble sense of their own insufficiency, as
Saul did, 1 Samuel 10:22; or not having sufficient or seasonable notice to repair
thither; or, being detained in the camp and in their dwellings, whether by
uncleanness, or sickness, or some urgent occasion, not without God’s special
providence, that so the miracle might be more evident, and their call and authority
more unquestionable, to all the people.
Were written, to wit, in a book or paper, by Moses, who by God’s direction
nominated the fittest and worthiest persons.
WHEDON, " 26. But there remained two — For reasons satisfactory to the Lord,
perhaps from excessive reserve and self-distrust, certainly not from obstinacy,
Eldad and Medad did not go to the tabernacle, though they were of them that were
written in the roll of the elect seventy. But the Spirit found them out and endowed
them. The fire shut up in their bones finds a vent through their lips.
Went not out unto the tabernacle — This is by no means a proof that the tabernacle
was at this time outside of the camp. “If a gentleman goes out of his yard into his
165

166. house, it does not follow that his house is not in the yard. The camp, considered as
the abode of the people, had its limits within as well as without. An open space, such
as reverence required, separated the tents of the people from the tent of God; and
this must be traversed in passing from one to the other. It was just as natural to
distinguish the camp from the sacred enclosure of the tabernacle as it is for a person
in New York city to speak of driving out to Central Park, which is nevertheless
within the city limits.” — Dr. W.H. Green. There was, for a short time, at the foot of
Mount Sinai, a tabernacle without the camp. See Exodus 33:7-11. This was because
the sin of the golden calf ruptured the covenant and put an end to all proceedings
under it. Without going on to construct the tabernacle according to the
specifications given him, Moses sets before the eyes of the people a visible sign of
their altered relation to Jehovah by pitching a provisional tabernacle some distance
outside the camp, signifying that he would not dwell in the midst of them. But when
THE TABERNACLE was built out of the gifts of Israel it was located in the midst
of the camp. How wide of the truth is the assertion of Professor W.R. Smith, that
Ezekiel paved the way for the sanctuary being located in the midst of the people!
They prophesied in the camp — This was deemed an irregularity and an infraction
of good order. The unity of the Church in the wilderness was in danger of
destruction by this independent centre of prophetic inspiration and authority
separate from Moses and the tabernacle.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:26. In the camp — Not going to the tabernacle, as the rest
did, either not having seasonable notice to repair thither, or, being detained in the
camp by sickness, or some urgent occasion, not without God’s special providence,
that so the miracle might be more evident. They were of them that were written —
In a book or paper by Moses, who, by God’s direction, nominated the fittest
persons.
PETT, "Numbers 11:26
‘But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the
name of the other Medad, and the Spirit rested on them, and they were of those who
were written, but had not gone out to the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp.’
But two of the men whose names Moses had caused to be written down as of the
seventy (an evidence of his practise to write things down) were named Eldad and
Medad. For some reason they had not gone out to the Tent. Possibly on the
particular day Moses’ messengers had been unable to find them because they were
busy fulfilling their responsibilities somewhere in the camp. But Yahweh knew
where they were (we need not fear, He always knows where we are), and the Spirit
also came on them and they prophesied in the camp. God ensured that the number
was complete, and that not one was lacking. This also emphasises that the
experience was not one aroused by the atmosphere in which they had gathered.
166

167. PULPIT, "There remained two of the men in the camp. No reason is here given why
they did not accompany the rest to the tabernacle; but as they did not thereby forfeit
the gift designed for them, it is certain that some necessity or duty detained them.
They were of them that were written. This incidental notice shows how usual the
practice of writing was, at any rate with Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22). And they prophesied in the camp. As a sign that they
too had received the charisma from the Lord. Seeing that it was the work of the
Holy Spirit, there was of course nothing really more wonderful in their case than in
the ease of the others, but no doubt it seemed so. That men in the camp, and away
from the visible center and scene of Divine manifestations, should be accessible to
the heavenly afflatus was a vast astonishment to an ignorant people. We may
compare the surprise felt by the Jewish Christians when the sign of tongues was
shown among the Gentiles (Acts 10:45, Acts 10:46).
27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and
Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
CLARKE, "Eldad and Medad do prophesy, etc. -
Eldad, they said, and Medad there,
Irregularly bold,
By Moses uncommission’d, dare
A separate meeting hold!
And still whom none but heaven will own.
Men whom the world decry,
Men authorized by God alone,
Presume to prophesy!
GILL, "And there ran a young man,.... From the camp to the tabernacle,
who had heard Eldad and Medad prophesy; which he thought was not right,
being done without the knowledge and approbation of Moses, and in a
private tent in the tabernacle, not among the elders, but the common
167

168. people: who this young than was is not material to know; some of the
Rabbins, as Jarchi says, affirm he was Gershon the son of Moses; whoever
he was, no doubt, it was with a good design, consulting the glory of God and
the honour of Moses, and therefore in great haste ran to him with the
information:
and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp; who
seem by this, to be persons well known, and of some note and figure; since
not only the young man could call them by their names, but there needed no
other description of them to Moses and those with him.
K&D, "Num_11:27-28
This phenomenon in the camp itself produced such excitement, that a boy
(‫ר‬ַ‫ַע‬‫נּ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ with the article like ‫יט‬ ִ‫ל‬ ָ‫פּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ in Gen_14:13) reported the thing to Moses,
whereupon Joshua requested Moses to prohibit the two from prophesying.
Joshua felt himself warranted in doing this, because he had been Moses'
servant from his youth up (see at Exo_17:9), and in this capacity he
regarded the prophesying of these men in the camp as detracting from the
authority of his lord, since they had not received this gift from Moses, at
least not through his mediation. Joshua was jealous for the honour of
Moses, just as the disciples of Jesus, in Mar_9:38-39, were for the honour of
their Lord; and he was reproved by Moses, as the latter afterwards were by
Christ.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said,
Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
Ver. 27. And there ran a young man.] Three manner of persons, said Mr Latimer,
can make no credible information: (1.) Adversaries and enemies; (2.) Ignorant
persons and without judgment; (3.) Whisperers and blowers in men’s ears, that will
utter in secret more than they dare avow openly.
BENSON, "Verse 27-28
Numbers 11:27-28. There ran a young man and told Moses — Fearing lest his
authority should be diminished by their prophesying, and thereby taking power to
themselves without his consent. Joshua, the servant of Moses — Who ministered to
him as his constant attendant. One of his young men — Hebrew, ‫,מבחריו‬
mibechuraiv, one of his chosen ones; which may be emphatically added to signify
that even great and good men may mistake about the works of God. My lord Moses,
forbid them — It would seem that he thought their prophesying or teaching in the
camp tended to make those gifts common, and to disparage Moses in the eyes of the
people; or, perhaps, he thought it tended to breed a schism, by calling the people
away from the tabernacle, the appointed place of public worship, where the rest of
the seventy elders were regularly assembled. Thus the disciples forbade one who
168

169. cast out devils in Christ’s name, because he followed not with them, Luke 9:49-50 .
PETT, "Numbers 11:27
‘And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are
prophesying in the camp!”
The phenomenon was so striking that a youth ran from the camp to tell
Moses. Moses had many who were loyal to him and jealous for his reputation
and standing. And the youth told him that Eldad and Medad were
prophesying in the camp. Possibly he feared treachery and a rival ministry to
that of Moses.
PULPIT, "And there ran a young man. Literally, "the young man," — ‫ר‬ַ‫ַﬠ‬‫נּ‬ַ‫ה‬ ; ï̔
íåáíé̔ óêïò, Septuagint,—by which some understand the young men of the camp
collectively, but this is doubtful in grammar and unsatisfactory in sense. If this book
was compiled from previous records, of which there are many apparent traces, we
may suppose that the name of this young man was there given, but here for some
reason omitted.
BI 27-30, "Eldad and Medad do prophesy.
Eldad and Medad
Eldad and Medad seem instances of unlicensed preaching and prophesying;
and this, at a time of scanty knowledge and rare spiritual illumination, was
not without its dangers. So thought Joshua, and, jealous for Moses’
supremacy, besought him to rebuke them. But the great prophet, wholly
wanting in the thought of self, rebuked Joshua instead. “Enviest thou,” he
said, “for my sake?” and then added, in words of noble hyperbole, “Would
God that all the Lord’s people were prophets!”
I. The first thought that occurs to us in reading this scene is the good, felt by
the greatest, of zeal and enthusiasm. And the second is, how to discover it,
how to encourage it in God’s service. But then comes the further question,
Have these men the prophet’s capacity? Have they that primary want, the
prophet’s faith? Have they fire, perseverance, and courage?
1. The prophet’s faith. Take away from the prophet this faith in the living
God, speaking to him, teaching him, encouraging him, in the midst of
life’s sorrows and temptations, and he is nothing. Give him that belief,
and his confidence, his courage is unshaken.
2. There is the prophet’s belief in the moral order underlying the
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170. established order of things, as the only safe and sure foundation on
which peace and prosperity in a nation can be built.
II. The prophetic message, however varied its tone, however startling its
communication, is always in substance, as of old, the same: “He hath
showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
III. Would that the people of the Lord were all prophets! Would that we had
all more of the fire of enthusiasm, leading us to go forth and act, and learn
in acting, not waiting till we have solved all doubts or perfected some
scheme of action!
IV. Zeal may often make mistakes, but it is better than no zeal. Truth is not
merely correctness, accuracy, the absence of error, nor even the knowledge
of the laws of nature. It is also the recognition of the moral and spiritual
bases of life, and the desire to promote and teach these among men. (A. G.
Butler, D. D.)
Noble to the core
I do not agree with those who think that there was any diminution of the
spirit that rested upon Moses. It is very difficult to speak of the subdivision
of spirit. You cannot draw it off from one man to others, as you draw off
water. The whole Spirit of God is in each man, waiting to fill him to the
uttermost of his capacity. It seems to me, therefore, that nothing more is
intended than to affirm that the seventy were “clothed upon” with the same
kind of spiritual force as that which rested upon Moses. For sixty-eight of
them the power of utterance was only spasmodic and temporary. “They
prophesied, but they did so no more.” Emblems are they of those who,
beneath some special influence like that which cast Saul down among the
prophets, suddenly break out into speech and act, and give promises not
destined to be fulfilled. Two, however, of the selected number, who, for
some reason, had remained in the camp, suddenly became conscious of
their reception of that same spirit, and they, too, broke out into prophecy
and appeared to have continued to do so. Instantly a young man, jealous for
the honour of Moses, carried to him the startling tidings, “Eldad and Medad
do prophesy in the camp”; and as he heard the announcement Joshua,
equally chivalrous, exclaimed, “My lord Moses, forbid them!” eliciting the
magnificent answer, “Art thou jealous for my sake? Would God that all the
Lord’s people were prophets—that the Lord would put His Spirit upon
them!” It was as if he said, “Do you think that I alone am the channel
through which the Divine influences can pour? Do you suppose that the
supplies in the being of God are so meagre, that He must stint what He gives
through me, when He gives through others? If it should please Him to
create new stars, must He rob the sun of its light to give them brilliance? Is
the gratification of a mean motive of vanity a matter of any moment to me,
who have gazed on the face of God? Besides, what am I, or what is my
position, amongst this people, compared with the benefit which would
accrue to them, and the glory which would redound to God, if He did for
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171. each of them all that He has done for me?” This is the spirit of true
magnanimity. A spirit of self aggrandisement is set on retaining its exclusive
position as the sole depository of the Divine blessing, and this has the
certain effect of forfeiting it, so that fresh supplies cease to pass through.
There is no test more searching than this. Am I as eager for God’s kingdom
to come through others as through myself? And yet, in so far as we fall short
of that position, do we not betray the earthly ingredients which have
mingled, and mingle still, in our holy service? (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Young men are ordinarily rash in judging others
The doctrine from hence is that young men are ordinarily rash in judging
others, yea, more rash than elder men, and consequently more apt to judge
amiss, and to give evil counsel and sentence of such things as are well done.
Such were Rehoboam’s green heads; they gave green counsel, and such as
cost him the loss of the greatest part of his kingdom (1Ki_12:8; 1Ki_
12:13-14). The reasons are plain. First, age and years bring experience and
ripeness of judgment and so wisdom. Youth is as green timber; age as that
which is seasoned (Job_32:7). Again, their affections being hotter and
stronger are more inconstant and unbridled, realty to run into extremities,
as untamed heifers not used to the yoke. Lastly, they put far from them the
evil day; they think themselves privileged by their age, and make account
they have time enough hereafter to enter into better courses. The uses:
1. This teacheth us not to rest in the judgment, nor to follow the counsel
of young men, except they have old men’s gifts and graces in them. For
touching gifts, it is true which Elihu testifieth (Job_32:9).
2. Let young men suffer their elders to speak before them, especially in
censuring things that are strange.
3. Seeing rashness and unadvisedness are specially incident to youth, let
them learn to season their years with the Word of God, let them make it
their meditation, whereby they may repress such hot and hasty and
headstrong passions. (W. Attersoll.)
Enviest thou for my sake?—
The increase of the Redeemer’s kingdom
Moses had no share in the narrow feelings which Joshua had displayed,
feelings of envy and jealous. He had no wish to engross the distinctions of
Israel, but, on the contrary, he would have greatly rejoiced had all the
congregation been richly endowed from above, though he himself might
have ceased to have been conspicuous in Israel. We consider that the
lawgiver Moses, when so finely reproving Joshua for envying for his sake, is
worthy of being admired and earnestly imitated; for that, in thus showing
himself above all littleness of mind and contempt of this world, so that God
might be magnified and His cause advanced, he reached a point of moral
heroism—aye, far loftier than that at which he stood when, in the exercise of
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172. superhuman power, he bade darkness cover the land of Egypt, or the waters
of the Red Sea divide before Israel. We are not bound to expatiate at any
length on the magnanimity thus displayed by Moses. We have adopted the
instance in order to show you how direct a parallel may be found in the
history of the forerunner of our Lord, John the Baptist. So soon as the
Saviour entered on the ministry, the great office of John was at an end.
John still continued to baptize, and thus prepare men for the disclosures of
that fuller revelation with which Christ was charged. In this way the
ministry of our Lord and that of His forerunner were for a while discharged
together; though, inasmuch as Christ wrought miracles, and John did not,
there was quickly, as might be expected, more attendance on the preaching
of the Redeemer than on that of the Baptist. Now, this appears exactly the
point when in truth John’s disciples, who, like Joshua, were jealous of the
honour of their Master, thought Jesus intrenching upon his province. But,
however galling it might be to his followers thus to see their master
neglected, to John himself it was matter of great gladness that He whom he
had heralded was thus drawing all men towards Him. And the Baptist takes
occasion to assure his disciples that what had moved their jealousy and
displeasure was but the beginning—the first display of a growing spirit to
which no bounds could be set. They were not to imagine that there could be
any alteration in the relative positions of Jesus and John; nor that John
would ever take that part of which, in strange forgetfulness of his own
sayings, they seemed to wish to come to pass. On the contrary, he wished
them distinctly to understand that, being only of earth—a mere man like one
of themselves—he must decline in importance, and at length shrink
altogether into insignificance. Whereas Christ, as coming from above, and
therefore being above all—possessing a Divine nature as well as a human,
and consequently liable to no decay—would go on discharging His high
office, enlarging His sway according to the prediction of Isaiah, “To the
increase of His government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom.” And all this gradual fading away of
himself, and this continued exaltation of Christ, the Baptist gathers into one
powerful and comprehensive sentence, saying of our blessed Lord, “He
must increase, but I must decrease.” And now consider more distinctly how
character was here put to the proof; or in what respects either Moses or
John deserve imitation. The truth is, that it is natural to all of us to envy the
growing reputation of others; and to be jealous where it seems likely to
trench upon our own. The courtier, for example, who has long sought to
stand high in the favour of his sovereign; and who perceives that a younger
candidate, who has just entered the field, is fast outstripping him, so that
the probability is that he will soon be widely distanced; we cannot marvel if
he regard the youthful competitor with irritated feelings in place of
generously rejoicing in his rapid success. It would be a very fine instance of
magnanimity if this courtier were to cede gracefully the place to his rival,
and offer him, with marks of sincerity which could not be mistaken, his
congratulations on having passed him in the race. But we could not look for
such magnanimity. The case, however, is widely different when it is in the
service of God, and not of an earthly king, that the two men engage. Here by
the very nature of the service, the grand thing aimed at is the glory of God
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173. and not personal aggrandisement; and there is therefore ground for
expecting that if God’s glory be promoted, there will be gladness of heart in
all Christians, whoever the agent who has been specially honoured. But,
alas! for the infirmity of human nature; there is no room for questioning
that even Christians can be jealous of each other, and feel it a sore trial
when they are distanced and eclipsed in being instrumental in promoting
Christianity. We are far enough from regarding it as a matter of course, that
a veteran in the missionary work would feel contented and pleased at seeing
that work which had gone on so slowly with himself, progress with amazing
rapidity when undertaken by a younger labourer; on the contrary, arguing
from the known tendencies of our nature, we assume that he must have had
a hard battle with himself before he could really rejoice in the sudden
advance of Christianity; and we should regard him as having won, through
the assistance of Divine grace, a noble victory over some of the strongest
cravings of the heart when he frankly bade the stripling, God speed! and
rejoiced as he saw the idols fall prostrate before him. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
All God’s people must beware of envy
Envy is an affection compounded of sorrow and malice. For such persons
are malicious, always repining and grudging at the gifts of God bestowed
upon others, and, as it were, look asquint at them (as Gen_26:12-14; Gen_
26:27; Gen_30:1; Gen_31:1; Mar_9:38; Joh_3:26-27).
1. Because it is a fruit of the flesh (Gal_5:21), as carnal grief and hatred
are, of which it is compounded: for it maketh men repine at the
prosperity of others, and that which is worst of all, to hate the persons
that have those gifts. This appeareth in the Pharisees (Mat_27:18).
2. God bestoweth His gifts where He will, and to whom He will, and in
what measure He will (Mat_20:15).
3. It procureth the wrath of God, and is never left without punishment,
as appeareth in the next chapter, where Miriam, the sister of Moses, is
stricken with the leprosy, because she envied the gifts of Moses; God
showing thereby how greatly He detested this sin.
4. Whatsoever is bestowed upon any member, is bestowed upon the
whole body (1Co_12:1-31.). Whatsoever is given to any part, is giving for
the benefit of the whole Church: why, then, should we envy any, seeing
we have our portion in it?
5. It is a devilish vice; it is worse than fleshly, and yet if it were no more,
it were sufficient to make us to detest it: and it transformeth us into the
image of Satan, who envied the happiness of our first parents in the
garden (Gen_3:5). So Cain was of that evil one (1Jn_3:12), and envied his
brother, because God accepted him and his sacrifice (Gen_4:5).
6. It crosseth and controlleth the wisdom of God in the distribution of
His gifts and graces, as if God had done them wrong and been too good to
others: we can challenge nothing as due to ourselves, but whatsoever we
have we have it freely: howbeit, the envious like not His administration,
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174. but dislike that others should enjoy that which they want.
7. It is against the rule of charity which rejoiceth at the good of others
(1Co_13:1-13.), and is ready to bestow and communicate good things
where is want of them. So, then, where envy is, there charity is not; and
where charity is, there envy is not.
Uses:
1. This teacheth us that all are subject to this evil, even they that are
godly, and in a great measure sanctified, are apt to envy at others
excelling in the graces of God. The best things are subject to be abused
through our corruption.
2. It serveth to reprove many malicious persons: some envy others
temporal blessings: others envy them the grace of God. If they have more
knowledge than themselves they cannot abide them, but speak all
manner of evil against them. Hence it is that Solomon opposeth envy and
the fear of God as things that cannot possibly stand together (Pro_23:17),
and in another place a sound heart and envy (Pro_14:30).
3. Let us use all holy and sanctified means to prevent it, or to purge it
away if it has seized upon us. Store of charity and humility tempered
together will make a notable defence and preservative against this
malady. (W. Attersoll.)
Needless envy
Moses wondered that Joshua should be so excited about this matter. He
correctly estimated the young man’s temper; he said, This is envy: why this
envy, Joshua? is it for my sake that thou art making a grievous
miscalculation of my spirit? do not be envious on my account. Contrast the
spirit of Moses with the spirit of Joshua. From the greater expect more.
Thus is the quality of men revealed. Our judgments are ourselves put into
words. Not that this was necessarily what might be termed the most wicked
jealousy or envy. There is a kind of envy that may be regarded as almost
chivalrous. That may be the most dangerous envy of all. Let us get at the
root of this matter. Moses certainly delivered himself from all imputations
of the kind, for instead of wanting the prophecy to be confined to himself he
would have it multiplied over the whole host of the people of God. Great
men do not want to be great at the expense of others. The text, though an
inquiry, is as much a revelation of the quality of Moses as it is of the quality
of Joshua. The most dangerous envy is often envy by proxy. Two men are at
deadly feud; circumstances arise which lead to explanation; explanation
leads to adjustment; adjustment soon becomes hearty reconciliation; the
two principals are satisfied. But what is all this tumult in the air? what all
this petty criticism? The two principals are satisfied, but there are others
that are fighting the battle over again, and professedly in the name of one of
the reconciled men or the other. This is folly. We should rather anticipate
reconciliation and make the most of it than say, through wickedness of
heart, Though you may be satisfied, we are not, and we mean to continue
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175. the battle. That may be high temper, but it is the temper of the devil. Along
the same line of illustration we come upon over-zeal. The Jehua rose up a
million thick on the road. What are they doing? Converting men by force.
They are going to stand this no longer; if men will not go to church, then
they shall go to gaol; if men will not obey spontaneously, they shall obey
coercively; they shall have no longer any parleying with the enemy. The only
compulsion that is as everlasting as it is beneficent is the compulsion of
persuasion. “Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” Herein is
the dignity and herein is the assured duration of the kingdom of Christ; it is
a kingdom of light and love and truth and reason. Love is the everlasting—
and I will add, is the invincible—law. What was Joshua’s motive? Was he
afraid that other men would rise and be as lofty as Moses? That was not the
view which Moses himself took of the occasion. Moses was not afraid of
competition. Moses proved his right to the leadership by the nobleness of
his spirit. Would God that this proof of Divine election attended all our
policy! No man can pull you down but yourself. Moses knew that what was
lacking in appreciation of himself would be made up in proportion as the
people themselves became prophets. The more the people prophesied the
more they would appreciate Moses. They would know what he had to bear;
what occasional torment of soul. Have pity upon one another; believe, and
be kind, and hope; let the devil do all the bad work, you get to your knees
and to the work of brotherly sympathy and help. Moses saw what Joshua did
not discern. Moses saw that it is part of the prophet’s function to make
other people prophets. Great men are not sent to create little men.
Wherever there is a great prophet there will be a prophetic church; the
whole level of life and thought will be elevated. Not that the leader can
always command this kind of evidence and credential. It may come after his
death. Some men have to die that they may be known. Great men are
inspirations, not discouragements. That is the difference between real
greatness and factitious greatness. Where there is real greatness it acts as
an inspiration, as a welcome; there is a benign and generous hospitality
about it. Real greatness can condescend without appearing to stoop; real
greatness can be humble without being oppressive to those to whom it bows
itself; real greatness encourages rising power just as the sun encourages
every flower in the garden. The Church of Christ is not afraid of rival
institutions. The Church says, “Enviest thou for my sake?”—nothing can put
me down; I am founded by Christ, saith the Church, I am built upon a rock;
the gates of hell cannot prevail against me—“Enviest thou for my sake?”—
cease thine envying, it is wasted energy. We are building up all kinds of rival
institutions, and yet the Church rises above them all. Let the Church have
time and opportunity to utter her gospel and declare herself; and let her be
faithful to her own charter, and all will be well. Truth always wins, and wins
often at once; not in the palpable and vulgar way called winning, but by a
subtle, profound, mysterious, eternal way that asks ages by which to justify
its certainty and its completeness. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets.
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176. The prophet’s work
The prophets were not mainly foretellers of future events, but interpreters
and forthtellers of God’s will; not minute historical soothsayers, but
essentially patriots, statesmen, moral teacher,, chosen vessels of spiritual
revelation. In each of their duties they were great. As statesmen they were
intensely practical, gloriously fearless; seeing that there was no distinction
between national and individual morality; recognising that what is morally
wrong can never be politically right. As patriots they were men of the
people; pleading against oppression, robbery, and wrong; braving the anger
of corrupted multitudes; reproving the crimes of guilty kings. As spiritual
teachers they fostered in Israel the conviction of their lofty destiny by
upholding the majesty of God’s law, by preserving the authority of His
worship, by pointing to the revelation of His Son. In each of these functions
they have an eternal value for the human race. Every reformation has been
effected by following in the path which they trod as pioneers. The Hebrew
prophets were marked by three great characteristics—Heroic Faith,
Unswerving Hope, and Absolute Belief in Righteousness.
1. I shall name their heroic faith. “All men have not faith.” They either
openly deny and disbelieve, or more often saying they believe act as
though they did not. They are cowed by the power of wickedness, or
tempted by its seductions. If they begin to make an effort for good, they
fling up the contest as soon as they find that it will compromise their
interests. Most often they will brave no danger, expose no falsehood,
stand up against no wrong; they will spread their sails to every veering
breeze; they will swim with the stream; they will look on success and
popularity as the ends of living and the tests of truth. Not so the
prophets. They will not be deceived by the vain shows of the world, nor
seduced by its bribes, nor blunt the edge of their moral sense with its
manifold conventions. Terror will not daunt, nor flattery lure them.
Through lives of loss and persecution they will go on with an intense and
quiet perseverance, which no success will cause them to relax, and no
reverse subdue. They will devote every energy and possession to the
cause of God, and the service of the most helpless of mankind.
2. They saw beyond. Over and around them towered the colossal
kingdoms of the heathen. The giant forms of empires around them were
but on their way to ruin, because they were not founded on
righteousness. Kings, priests and mobs might be against them; they were
but vain and idle men (Jer_1:17-19). And if they had the faith which
looked beyond the little grandeurs of men, they also had the hope which
looked beyond their sorrows, and this hope spread outwards in ever-
widening circles. Amid the apostacy of Israel they always prophesied
that Israel should not be utterly destroyed. And this hope was
concentrated in their greatest and most unfaltering prophecy of an
Anointed Deliverer, a coming Saviour for all mankind: a Man who
should be “a hiding-place from the wind; and a covert from the tempest;
the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
3. The third great characteristic of the Hebrew prophets is their sense
that the very end and aim of all religion is simply righteousness: that
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177. there is an abysmal difference between a mere correct worship and a
living faith. Such was the spirit of the prophets. Let us conclude by
considering the way in which we too, in our measure, are called to share
in their spirit, and to continue their work.
(1) We must try to do so, first, by escaping the average. He who has an
unswerving faith in a few great moral principles to which, through
evil report and good report, he clings; he who will only look on
opinions and practices as he believes they must appear in the sight
and before the tribunal of God; he who in politics knows no principle
but truth and right; he who in the path of duty is indifferent to human
praise or human blame; he who will stand firm when others fail; he
who because the house of his life is built on a rock will do what God
has given him to do, and say what God has given him to say, holding
his own against chances and accident, against popular clamour and
popular favour, against the anger and prejudices of the circle among
whom he moves, that is the true prophet, that is the strong Christian
man.
(2) And as ours should be the aim of the prophet, ours should be the
qualities of his mind and heart. Something at least we must have of
their enthusiasm, something of their devotion, something of their
indignation against wrong; something, too, of their courage.
(Archdeacon Farrar.)
God calls all His people to be prophets
As of old, He calls His Gideon from the threshing-floor, and His Amos from
the sycamore fruit; His Moses from the flocks; His Matthew from the
receipt of custom; His John from the priestly family; His Peter from the
fishing-net, and His Paul from the rabbi’s school; so now He calls us from
the farm and from the merchandise, from the shop and from the office,
from the profession and from the trade, from the priest’s pulpit and from
the servants’ hall. He calls us in boyhood, He calls us in manhood, He calls
us in old age. In His sight there is not an inch-high difference between the
stage on which the prince and the stage on which the pauper plays his part.
Both alike are called, and called only to be good men and true, brave and
faithful. Both have a like mission, and both alike shall, if they do Christ’s
work, receive His hundred-fold reward. The boy at school who will not join
in the bad language of his companions; the soldier in the barracks who will
kneel down and pray, though all his comrades jeer; the tradesman who will
hold out against a dishonest custom of his guild the tenant who in the teeth
of his interests will give his vote at the dictates of conscience; the
Churchman who for truth’s sake will try to break the tyrannous fetters of
false opinion; the philanthropist who will bear the unscrupulous taunts of
the base, because he denounces a nation’s guilt—these, too, have in them
something of the prophet. They help to save the world from corruption and
society from spiritual death. This was the example that Christ set us all.
That man is most a prophet of Christ who loves Him best. And he loves Him
best who keeps His commandments. His commandments were but two:
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178. Love God; Love one another. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
Monopoly and freedom in religious teaching
I. A protest against monopoly in religious teaching.
1. The prevalence of this monopoly.
2. The causes of this monopoly.
(1) Love of power.
(2) The love of money.
3. The iniquity of this monopoly. What arrogancy! Is not one mind as
near the fountain of knowledge, the source of inspiration, as another?
II. An authority for freedom in religious teaching.
1. All the Lord’s people ought to be teachers. The possession of superior
knowledge implies the obligation to disseminate it.
2. All the Lord’s people might be teachers. All that is wanted is “that the
Lord would put His Spirit upon them”; and this Spirit is free alike to all.
(Homilist.)
The Spirit given to all
“Would God,” was the longing of Moses, “that all the Lord’s people were
prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” His desire
was fulfilled at Pentecost, and is realised now. Every believer possesses the
Holy Spirit, not for his own spiritual life only, but to be a witness for Christ,
as were the hundred and twenty at Pentecost. Equally does the charge to
publish the glad tidings, and the promise of adequate power come to every
one, according to that closing command of inspiration, “Let him that
heareth say, Come!” Nay, more, the tongue of fire, the gift of utterance in its
fitting measure, is always bestowed upon the kindled heart. Every one who
seeks humbly and prayerfully to be a witness for Christ, in the home, in the
ways of toil, in the spheres of infer-course, in the house of prayer, by the
printed page, with the lips, and by the life, every such faithful disciple of the
living Master shall receive His promised gift, the Pentecostal power of the
Holy Ghost! (J. G. Butler, D. D.)
Divine inspiration
In different forms and in different degrees that noble wish was fulfilled. The
acts of the hero, the songs of the poet, the skill of the artificer, Samson’s
strength, the music of David, the architecture of Bezaleel and Solomon, are
all ascribed to the inspiration of the Divine Spirit. It was not a holy tribe,
but holy men of every tribe, that spake as they were moved, carried to and
fro out of themselves, by the Spirit of God. The prophets, of whom this
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179. might be said, in the strictest sense, were confined to no family or caste,
station, or sex. They rose, indeed, above their countrymen; their words
were to their countrymen, in a peculiar sense, the words of God. But they
were to be found everywhere. Like the springs of their own land, there was
no hill or valley where the prophetic gift might not be expected to break
forth. Miriam and Deborah, no less than Moses and Barak; in Judah and in
Ephraim, no less than in Levi; in Tekoah and Gilead, and, as the climax of
all, in Nazareth, no less than in Shiloh and Jerusalem, God’s present
counsel might be looked for. By this constant attitude of expectation, if one
may so call it, the ears of the whole nation were kept open for the
intimations of the Divine Ruler, under whom they lived. None knew
beforehand who would be called . . . In the dead of night, as to Samuel; in
the ploughing of the field, as Elisha: in the gathering of the sycamore figs, as
to Amos; the call might come . . . Moses was but the beginning; he was not,
he could not be the end. (Dean Stanley.)
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide
since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord,
stop them!”
CLARKE, "My lord Moses, forbid them -
How often have I blindly done
What zealous Joshua did,
Impatient to the rulers run,
And cried, “My lords, forbid!
Silence the schismatics, constrain
Their thoughts with ours t’ agree,
And sacrifice the souls of men
To idol unity!”
GILL, "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses,.... That waited
upon him, and ministered to him, and executed his orders, especially in
civil things, and was to be his successor:
one of his young men; not that Joshua was a young man in age, for he must
be now between fifty and sixty years of age; see Gill on Exo_33:11; nor does
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180. the word necessarily suppose that those men were young among whom
Joshua was; but choice excellent persons, the principal servants of Moses,
at the head of whom Joshua was being his prime minister: the Targum of
Onkelos and the Syriac version render it, "from his youth", joining it with
the word servant, as if he was the servant of Moses from his youth, or ever
since he was a young man; but Moses had not been out of Midian but about
two years, where he had kept his father's sheep; however, he
answered and said, my lord Moses, forbid them; prophesying, restrain them
from it, suffer them not to go on in it; he would have him exert his authority
as the chief magistrate, which he thought was affected by their prophesying
without his knowledge and consent; and because a word from the root here
used signifies a prison, some here interpret it,"put them in prison,''which is
a sense Jarchi mentions; but it can hardly be thought that Joshua meant
that such rigorous measures should be taken, only that they should be
rebuked for what they had done, and be charged for the future to be silent.
CALVIN, "28.And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses. It is obvious that
this foolish and preposterous jealousy arose from a good source. Joshua saw that
Moses was so preeminent above all others, as to be justly deemed, after God, the
head of the people; he feared, therefore, lest, if any portion of his superiority should
be withdrawn, the grace of God would be dispelled and lost. We know, too, that
almost every change is injurious, and apt to give a shock to public affairs. In
asserting, then, the rights of Moses, he desired, as far as he could, to consult the
welfare of all; but the excess of his zeal had some alloy in it, in consequence of the
immoderate affection and love which he bore to Moses; just as it often happens to
ourselves, that although our desires have a right object, they still go astray into
erroneous feelings. So, then, let us learn to revere the most illustrious servants of
Christ, as that God alone should be supreme; and that He, who is far above all,
should still maintain His pre-eminence. And this will be the case, if we hold fast to
the principle, that although “there are diversities of gifts,” yet there is but one Spirit
from whom they flow; and although there are “differences of administrations,” yet
but one Lord who must be served, (1 Corinthians 12:4;) which also Paul confirms
elsewhere, where he teaches us that the gifts are so distributed as that no individual
should have all, but each
“according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:7.)
COKE, "Verse 28-29
Numbers 11:28-29. Joshua—the servant of Moses, &c.— See Exodus 33:11. Joshua,
it should seem, thought that these men's prophesying, or teaching in the camp,
tended to make those gifts common, and to disparage Moses in the eyes of the
people: or, perhaps, he thought that it tended to breed a schism, by calling the
people away from the tabernacle, the appointed place of meeting, where the rest of
180

181. the seventy elders were regularly assembled. Thus the disciples forbad one who cast
out devils in Christ's name, because he followed not with them; Luke 9:49-50 and it
appears, from the answer both of Moses and of Christ, as if some degree of jealousy
rested in the heart of Joshua, as well as of the disciples. Enviest thou for my sake?
says Moses; or, rather, art thou jealous on my account? "art thou afraid that their
exercise of these prophetic gifts should be a diminution of my honour?"—Would
God that all the Lord's people were prophets, &c.—"would to God that they were
all inspired to sing the praises of Jehovah, to recommend holiness and religion one
to another!"—How excellent an answer! How characteristic of the good man! who
will not only set others an example of holiness, but will rejoice to see holiness and
piety prevail in the world; who will not only wish that all the Lord's people were
prophets, but will contribute, as much as he can, towards enabling them to be so:
not envying the blessings which God bestows upon others; but, on the contrary, glad
to see the glory of God promoted, either by himself, or any of his fellow-creatures.
REFLECTIONS.—Moses obeys the divine mandate, and having told the people the
words of the Lord, he gathers the elders before the tabernacle, and the glory of the
Lord appears. God never fails to meet those who are found waiting upon him. As
they were selected by his order, he furnishes them for their place, bestowing upon
them a portion of that spirit which rested on Moses; not diminishing his gifts, but
increasing theirs. Grace is an inexhaustible fountain; no man has the less, because of
others who partake with him. Hereupon they prophesied. But Joshua, jealous for
Moses's honour, is ready to condemn and silence them for irregularity. Note; (1.)
The gifts and graces of others are too often the occasion of envy to us. (2.) What we
may think irregular for ourselves, we should not be too hasty to condemn in others.
(3.) If men prophesy in the name of Jesus, and souls are edified, we should therein
rejoice, though they may not follow with us. (4.) If others increase in usefulness, and
we decrease, yet so as the cause prospers, we should be willing to be the last and the
least. If God be glorified, that is enough.
ELLICOTT, " (28) My lord Moses, forbid them.—The motive which prompted
Joshua in making this request appears to have been similar to that which led St.
John to forbid the man to cast out devils who did not follow with the Apostles (Mark
9:38-39; Luke 9:49-50). But as the man did not cast out devils in his own name, but
in that of Christ, so in this case Eldad and Medad prophesied in virtue of the spirit
which rested upon them from above, of which the Holy Ghost, not Moses, was the
giver. The motives which deterred Eldad and Medad from going to the tent of
meeting are unknown. The history teaches the freeness and the sovereignty of the
Holy Spirit’s influences, as afterwards did that of Cornelius, when the Holy Ghost
fell upon him and upon those who were with him, previously to the reception of
baptism, and they spoke with tongues and magnified God (Acts 10:44-48).
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, [one] of
his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
181

182. Ver. 28. My lord Moses, forbid.] Thus, "the spirit that is in us lusteth to envy."
[James 4:5] Nero omnium erat aemulus, qui quoquo mode animum vulgi moverint,
Nero envied every man that excelled.
POOLE, "One of his young men, or one of his choice ministers, a chosen or excellent
person; which may be emphatically added, to note that even great and good men
may mistake and misjudge about the works of God. Or, from his youth, as the
words will bear, and the Chaldee, Syriac, &c. render it. So it may be added as a
reason why Joshua above others were concerned for Moses’s honour and authority.
He feared either schism or sedition, or that by their usurpation of authority
independently upon Moses, and separately from him, his power and esteem might
be lessened, as the next words show.
WHEDON, "Verse 28
28. Joshua — See Exodus 17:9, and the Introduction to the Book of Joshua, page 7.
My lord — This title of respect is applied to Moses by Aaron in Numbers 12:11, and
by the people in Numbers 32:25.
Forbid them — This is the beginning of religious intolerance for nonconformity in
worship.
PETT, "Numbers 11:28
‘And Joshua, the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men,
answered and said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.”
Joshua who was with him, as he ever was because he was his loyal ‘servant’, and
who was also one of the seventy (one of his chosen men), immediately stood up for
his master. He turned loyally to Moses and called on him to forbid them. Moses
must ensure that he maintained his authority.
PULPIT, "Joshua the son of Nun. See on Exodus 17:9. As before, he is called Joshua
by anticipation. One of his young men. This implies that there were others who to
some extent shared his duties towards Moses; but that Joshua stood in a peculiar
relation to his master is evident from Exodus 24:13 and Exodus 32:17, as well as
from this passage itself. My lord Moses, forbid them. Probably he did not know that
they had been enrolled, and he was naturally jealous for the honour of Moses—a
jealousy which was not at all unnecessary, as the events of the next chapter proved.
The prophesying of Eldad and Medad in the camp might well seem like the setting
up of an independent authority, not in harmony with that of Moses.
182

183. 29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my
sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were
prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit
on them!”
BARNES, "Num_11:29
Enviest thou for my sake? - (Compare Mar_9:38 ff) The other members of
the Seventy had been with Moses (compare Num_6:16, Num_6:24-25) when
the gift of prophecy was bestowed on them. They received “of the spirit that
was upon him,” and exercised their office visibly through and for him.
Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp seemed to Joshua to be acting
independently, and so establishing a separate center of authority.
CLARKE, "Enviest thou for my sake? -
Moses, the minister of God,
Rebukes our partial love,
Who envy at the gifts bestow’d
On those we disapprove.
We do not our own spirit know,
Who wish to see suppress’d
The men that Jesu’s spirit show,
The men whom God hath bless’d.
Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets -
Shall we the Spirit’s course restrain,
Or quench the heavenly fire?
Let God his messengers ordain,
And whom he will inspire.
Blow as he list, the Spirit’s choice
Of instruments we bless;
We will, if Christ be preached, rejoice,
And wish the word success.
Can all be prophets then? are all
Commission’d from above?
183

184. No; but whome’er the Lord shall call
We joyfully approve.
O that the Church might all receive
The spirit of prophecy,
And all in Christ accepted live,
And all in Jesus die!
Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures, by Charles
Wesley, M. A., and Presbyter of the Church of England. Bristol, 1762. 2 vols.
12mo.
These sentiments are the more particularly remarkable as they come from
one who was sufficiently bigoted to what was called ecclesiastical orders
and regularity.
GILL, "Moses said unto him, enviest thou for my sake?.... Lest his authority
should be weakened, and his honour lessened, because they began not to
prophesy in his presence, and at the tabernacle, and among the rest of the
elders, and so seemed not to have received of the Spirit that was upon him,
and to be independent of him:
would God that all the Lord's people were prophets; this is not to he
understood in the most absolute sense, as if Moses wished that every
individual person among the people of Israel were prophets, as the word
may signify a set and order of men, and an office in the church or state, as
ministers of the word extraordinary or ordinary; for then there would be
none to prophesy to, or to teach and instruct; and so likewise not rulers, or
helps and assistants in government, for then there would be none to be
governed; but it is to be taken comparatively, and is designed to show how
far Moses was from an envious spirit at the gifts of others, that he could
wish, if it was the will of God, and consistent with the order of things, that
every man had as great or greater gifts than he had, qualifying them for
public service and usefulness; such was the modesty and meekness of
Moses: there is a sense indeed, in which all the Lord's people, all good men,
are and should be prophets, and for which by the grace of the Spirit of God
they are qualified; and should act as such, by praying and singing praises,
which are sometimes meant by prophesying, and by spiritual conferences in
private with one another, building up each other on their most holy faith,
and by teaching and instructing all under their care in their families:
and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them; the gifts of it, which are
necessary to fit men for public service in church or state, or for private
usefulness, 1Co_12:7.
HENRY 29, "Moses rejected the motion, and reproved him that made it (v.
29): “Enviest thou for my sake? Thou knowest not what manner of spirit
thou art of.” Though Joshua was Moses's particular friend and confidant,
though he said this out of a respect to Moses, whose honour he was very loth
184

185. to see lessened by the call of those elders, yet Moses reproves him, and in
him all that show such a spirit. (1.) We must not secretly grieve at the gifts,
graces, and usefulness of others. It was the fault of John's disciples that they
envied Christ's honour because it shaded their master's, Joh_3:26, etc. (2.)
We must not be transported into heats against the weaknesses and
infirmities of others. Granting that Eldad and Medad were guilty of an
irregularity, yet Joshua was too quick and too warm upon them. Our zeal
must always be tempered with the meekness of wisdom: the righteousness
of God needs not the wrath of man, Jam_1:20. (3.) We must not make even
the best and most useful men heads of a party. Paul would not have his
name made use of to patronise a faction, 1Co_1:12, 1Co_1:13. (4.) We must
not be forward to condemn and silence those that differ from us, as if they
did not follow Christ because they do not follow him with us, Mar_9:38.
Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned, or restrain any from doing
good because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses was of another
spirit; so far from silencing these two, and quenching the Spirit in them, he
wished all the Lord's people were prophets, that is, that he would put his
Spirit upon them. Not that he would have any set up for prophets that were
not duly qualified, or that he expected that the Spirit of prophecy should be
made thus common; but thus he expresses the love and esteem he had for
all the Lord's people, the complacency he took in the gifts of others, and
how far he was from being displeased at Eldad and Medad's prophesying
from under his eye. Such an excellent spirit as this blessed Paul was of,
rejoicing that Christ was preached, though it was by those who therein
intended to add affliction to his bonds, Phi_1:16. We ought to be pleased
that God is served and glorified, and good done, though to the lessening of
our credit and the credit of our way.
K&D, "Num_11:29
Moses replied, “Art thou jealous for me? Would that all the Lord's people
were prophets, that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!” As a true
servant of God, who sought not his own glory, but the glory of his God, and
the spread of His kingdom, Moses rejoiced in this manifestation of the
Spirit of God in the midst of the nation, and desired that all might become
partakers of this grace.
CALVIN, "29.And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? This may be
understood in two different ways. Some take it, as if Moses had said, It is no
business of yours, if I have suffered any loss: and if anything is taken from me, it
would be mine and not yours to grieve and grudge; but I think Moses spoke more
simply, as if he had said, Behold, how differently I feel from you; for I, whose cause
you suppose yourselves to be promoting, should desire that all were endowed with
the spirit of prophecy. So was that foolish jealousy admirably rebuked, which would
put a restraint upon God’s blessing, so greatly to be desired by every pious mind. At
the same time, we fully perceive the gentleness and humility of Moses, whom no
ambition, nor consideration of his personal dignity, prevents from willingly
admitting the very lowliest into companionship with himself. If any should object
185

186. that it is God’s pleasure, in order to enhance the excellency of the gift, that there
should be but few prophets in the Church, and consequently that Moses
inconsiderately sought for that, which is in repugnance to God’s counsel in this
matter, the reply is easy, that, al — though the saints acquiesce in His ordinary
dispensations, and are persuaded that the arrangement, which He makes, is the best,
yet that it is an act of piety in them to desire to communicate with all others what is
given to themselves, so as to be anxious rather to be last of all, than to begrudge
perfection to their brethren. In sum, Moses declares that nothing would be more
gratifying to him, than that God should diffuse the grace of the spirit of prophecy
amongst the whole people, so that all should be partakers of it, from the least to the
greatest.
ELLICOTT, "(29) Enviest thou for my sake?-Better, Art thou zealous for me? or,
Art thou displeased on my account? (Comp. Numbers 25:13; 1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings
19:14.)
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake?
would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, [and] that the LORD would
put his spirit upon them!
Ver. 29. That all the Lord’s people.] This is not meant of a sacrifically teaching
others, but a political discoursing unto others. {See Trapp on "Numbers 11:25"}
POOLE, " Enviest thou; art thou grieved because the gifts and graces of God are
imparted to others besides me? Compare John 3:26. He saith
prophets, not rulers, for that he knew was absurd and impossible.
WHEDON, " 29. Enviest thou for my sake — Do you think this act is derogatory to
my dignity, and disrespectful to my office as the human head of Israel?
All… were prophets — This strongly expressed wish evinces the unselfishness of
Moses, his freedom from unholy ambition, and his desire for the spiritual well-being
of all the people.
Put his Spirit upon them — This may be regarded as prophetic of the dispensation
more distinctly announced by Joel, (Joel 2:28,) proclaimed by John the Baptist as at
hand, (Matthew 3:11,) promised by Jesus Christ, (John 14:16,) and ushered in by
the coming of the Comforter on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2. All who enjoy the
fulness of the Spirit most earnestly desire the universal diffusion of this unspeakable
gift — “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Compare John 4:14; John
7:37-39; Ephesians 3:19; Ephesians 5:18. This desire of Moses, in view of the
186

187. spiritual desolation of the world, even in Israel, is only an anticipatory outbreaking
of the prayer for more labourers which Jesus taught his disciples. Matthew 9:37-38,
notes.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:29. Enviest thou for my sake? — Art thou grieved because
the gifts and graces of God’s Spirit are imparted to others besides me? Or rather,
Art thou jealous for my sake? Art thou afraid that their exercising these prophetic
gifts will be a diminution of my honour? Would God that all the Lord’s people were
prophets — That they were all so inspired by his Spirit as to be enabled to speak to
his praise, and to the edification of others! He saith prophets, not rulers, for that, he
knew, could not be. Thus we see, though Joshua was Moses’s particular friend and
confidant, and though he said this out of respect for Moses, whose honour he was
very unwilling to see lessened by the call of those elders, yet Moses reproves him, as
Christ did the disciples on the occasion just mentioned, and, in him, all who are of
such a spirit. “We must take care,” says Henry, “that we do not secretly grieve at
the gifts, graces, or usefulness of others, and that we be not forward to condemn and
silence those that differ from us, as if they did not follow Christ, because they do not
follow him with us. Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned? or restrain any
from doing good because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses was of
another spirit; so far from silencing these two, and quenching the spirit in them, he
wishes that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that he would put his Spirit
upon them. Not that he would have had any to set up for prophets who were not
duly qualified; or that he expected the spirit of prophecy to be made thus common;
but he thus expresseth the love and esteem he had for all the Lord’s people, the
complacency he took in the gifts of others, and how far he was from being
displeased at Eldad and Medad’s prophesying from under his eye. Such an excellent
spirit as this blessed Paul was of; rejoicing that Christ was preached, though it were
by those who therein intended to add affliction to his bonds, Philippians 1:16. We
ought to be pleased that God is served and glorified, and good done, though to the
lessening of our credit and the credit of our way.”
PETT, "Numbers 11:29
‘And Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all Yahweh’s
people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
But Moses knew that it was of Yahweh. He was not concerned for his own position,
only for what was to the glory of Yahweh. And he turned to Joshua and assured him
that he did not need to seek to defend Moses’ position when God was at work.
Indeed his longing was that all Yahweh’s people might be prophets and that
Yahweh would put His Spirit on them all. Burdened with their constant yearning
for flesh to eat he would have loved it if only their yearning had been for the Spirit.
If only all of them had wanted to supplant him as prophets in the will of Yahweh,
his problems would be no more.
187

188. PULPIT, "Enviest thou for my sake? In this answer speaks for once "the meekest of
men." It was his sad fate that his position as representative of God obliged him to
see repressed with terrible visitations any rebellion against his sole and absolute
authority. But he was devoid of personal ambition at all times, and at this time
weary and disgusted with the responsibility of ruling such a people. How much
more for the glory of God, and for his own peace, would it be if not only these, but
all the people, shared the gifts of the Spirit! Mark 9:38, Mark 9:39 presents a
partial, but still a striking, parallel.
30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned
to the camp.
GILL, "And Moses got him into the camp,.... From the door of the
tabernacle, where he had been settling the elders in their office, and now
betook himself to the camp of Israel, perhaps to look more particularly into
the affair of Eldad and Medad, and settle that, and put them among the
elders; for they were of them that were written, whose names were put
down for elders in the paper Moses had written for that purpose, and in the
summons that were given; or more generally to do public business, to
exercise rule and government, with this new assistance granted him, as
follows:
he and the elders of Israel; he went in company with them, to impart to
them the honour and glory they were to share with him in the government,
as Aben Ezra observes; or they went together, to observe what would be
done for the people, according to the promise of the Lord, to give them
flesh; who had made good his word to Moses, by taking of his Spirit and
putting it on seventy men for his assistance; the other remained to be done,
and was done as follows.
HENRY, "6. The elders, now newly ordained, immediately entered upon
their administration (Num_11:30); when their call was sufficiently attested
by their prophesying, they went with Moses to the camp, and applied
themselves to business. Having received the gift, they ministered the same
as good stewards. And now Moses was pleased that he had so many to share
with him in his work and honour. And, (1.) Let the testimony of Moses be
188

189. credited by those who desire to be in power, that government is a burden. It
is a burden of care and trouble to those who make conscience of the duty of
it; and to those who do not it will prove a heavier burden in the day of
account, when they fall under the doom of the unprofitable servant that
buried his talent. (2.) Let the example of Moses be imitated by those that are
in power; let them not despise the advice and assistance of others, but
desire it, and be thankful for it, not coveting to monopolize wisdom and
power. In the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
K&D, "Num_11:30
Moses returned with the elders into the camp, sc., from the tabernacle,
which stood upon an open space in the midst of the camp, at some distance
from the tents of the Levites and the rest of the tribes of Israel, which were
pitched around it, so that whoever wished to go to it, had first of all to go out
of his tent.
(Note: For the purpose of overthrowing the historical character of this
marvellous event, the critics, from Vater to Knobel, have identified the
appointment of the seventy elders to support Moses with the judicial
institute established at Sinai by the advice of Jethro (Ex 18), and adduce
the obvious differences between these two entirely different institutions
as arguments for the supposed diversity of documents and legends. But
what ground is there for identifying things so totally different from one
another? The assertion of Knobel, that in Deu_1:9-18, Moses “evidently”
refers to both events (Ex 18 and Num 11), is unfounded and untrue. Or
are the same official duties and rank assigned to the elders who were
chosen as judges in Ex 18, as to the seventy elders who were called by
God, and endowed with His Spirit, that they might help Moses to govern
the people who had rebelled against him and against Jehovah on account
of the want of flesh, and to restore and uphold the authority of Moses as
the divinely chosen leader of Israel, which had been shaken thereby?
Can the judges of a land be identified without reserve with the executive
of the land? The mere fact, that this executive court was chosen, like the
judges, from the whole body of elders, does not warrant us in identifying
the two institutions. Nor does it follow from the fact, that at Sinai
seventy of the elders of Israel ascended the mountain with Moses, Aaron,
and his sons, and there saw God (Exo_24:9.), that the seventy persons
chosen here were the same as the seventy mentioned there. The
sameness of the numbers does not prove that the persons were the same,
but simply that the number seventy was the most suitable, on account of
its historical and symbolical significance, to form a representation of the
whole body of the people. For a further refutation of this futile objection,
see Ranke, Unterss. b. d. Pent. II. pp. 183ff.)
No account has been handed down of the further action of this committee
of elders. It is impossible to determine, therefore, in what way they assisted
Moses in bearing the burden of governing the people. All that can be
regarded as following unquestionably from the purpose given here is, that
they did not form a permanent body, which continued from the time of
Moses to the Captivity, and after the Captivity was revived again in the
189

190. Sanhedrim, as Talmudists, Rabbins, and many of the earlier theologians
suppose (see Selden de Synedriis, l. i. c. 14, ii. c. 4; Jo. Marckii sylloge
dissertatt. phil. theol. ad V. T. exercit. 12, pp. 343ff.). On the opposite side
vid., Relandi Antiquitates, ss. ii. 7, 3; Carpz. apparat. pp. 573f., etc.
CALVIN, "30.And Moses gat him into the camp. Although, after the appointment of
the Seventy, all betook themselves to their own stations and dwelling-places, yet
there is no doubt but that they were all forewarned of the approaching miracle, so
as to be universally attentive to the event, which is presently related. When it is said
that it was “a wind of the Lord” which brought the quails, there was no other
reason for this than that God might openly manifest that all things under heaven are
subject to His dominion, and are ready to obey Him. He might, indeed, have created
the quails at will (nutu,) just as He rained the manna from heaven; nor was it
natural that by the force of the winds such an abundance of birds should be east,
and heaped together in one place; but by using the aid of the wind He confirmed
what is written in Psalms 104:3, that “He maketh the winds his messengers (35) and
they bear him on their wings;” because in their swiftness they rapidly bear His
commandments from the east to the west. Now, although it is true in the abstract
that the winds come from Him, so that they are only His breath, and that the air
cannot be stirred in the slightest degree except at His will, still an extraordinary
miracle is here specified, as before in the passage of the Red Sea. The Prophet in the
Psalm goes further:
“He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven; and by his power he brought in the
south wind,” (Psalms 78:26,)
in which words He signifies that the whole air was shaken, since the winds suddenly
arose from different quarters, which covered the earth in all directions with an
immense multitude of the birds.
When he says that the earth was filled “as it were a day’s journey,” I do not
understand it as if the dead birds lay at so great a distance, but that they occupied
such a space of ground in thick heaps, and, in fact, continuously. And this also we
gather from the Psalm, where the Prophet says, that they fell “in the midst of their
camp,” and were carried to their tents round about. (Psalms 78:28.) What is added,
as to their being “two cubits high,” I do not interpret, as some do, (36) that they did
not fly above two cubits from the ground, so as to be more easily taken with the
hand; but that there was such a mass of them, that every one might carry away as
much as he would. For to this also do those magnificent descriptions in the Psalm
relate, whereby the miracle is extolled:
“He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and leathered fowls, like as the sand of the
sea.” (Psalms 78:27.)
190

191. But how “they spread them abroad — round about,” (37) is not very clear to me;
unless, perhaps, they were placed in cages or coops, and daily taken out for food.
PETT, "Numbers 11:30
‘And Moses took himself him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.’
Then Moses and all the elders left the Tent and returned to the camp. There was
clearly a sense in which the Dwellingplace was seen as separate from the camp even
though it was in its midst. It was holy ground. To enter it was for a while to leave
the camp. But while they left the Dwellingplace the Spirit of Yahweh still remained
on them. They returned to the camp with the Spirit, to a camp whose only thought
was the flesh.
In the same way we can enter ‘the heavenly places’ when we pray. Our bodies may
remain on earth, but we in our spirits move into God’s domain. Indeed Paul could
tells us that those who walk with Him walk constantly in heavenly places where we
are seated in Christ (Ephesians 2:6), for we are to ‘pray without ceasing’. And so, as
with the seventy, the Spirit will continue with us and never leave us. We walk in
Heaven while we walk on earth.
PULPIT, "Moses gat him into the camp. Although the tabernacle stood in the midst
of the camp, yet it was practically separated from the tents of the other tribes by an
open space and by the encampments of the Levites. There is, therefore, no ground
for inferring from this and similar expressions that the record really belongs to a
time when the tabernacle was pitched outside the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove
quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two
cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a
day’s walk in any direction.
BARNES, "Num_11:31
191

192. The southeast wind, which blew from the neighboring Elanitic gulf of the
Red Sea, brought the quails Exo_16:13.
Two cubits high - Better, “two cubits above the face of the ground:” i. e.
the quails, wearied with their long flight, flew about breast high, and were
easily secured by the people, who spread them all abroad for themselves
Num_11:32, in order to salt and dry them. The quail habitually flies with the
wind, and low.
CLARKE, "A wind from the Lord - An extraordinary one, not the effect of
a natural cause. And brought quails, a bird which in great companies visits
Egypt about the time of the year, March or April, at which the circumstance
marked here took place. Mr. Hasselquist, the friend and pupil of the famous
Linnaeus, saw many of them about this time of the year, when he was in
Egypt. See his Travels, p. 209.
Two cubits high upon the face of the earth - We may consider the quails as
flying within two cubits of the ground; so that the Israelites could easily take
as many of them as they wished, while flying within the reach of their hands
or their clubs. The common notion is, that the quails were brought round
about the camp, and fell there in such multitudes as to lie two feet thick
upon the ground; but the Hebrew will not bear this version. The Vulgate has
expressed the sense, Volabantque in aere duobus cubitis altitudine super
terram. “And they flew in the air, two cubits high above the ground.”
GILL, "As soon as Moses had returned with the elders into the camp, God
fulfilled His second promise. “A wind arose from Jehovah, and brought
quails (salvim, see Exo_16:13) over from the sea, and threw them over the
camp about a day's journey wide from here and there (i.e., on both sides),
in the neighbourhood of the camp, and about two cubits above the
surface.” The wind was a south-east wind (Psa_78:26), which blew from the
Arabian Gulf and brought the quails - which fly northwards in the spring
from the interior of Africa in very great numbers - from the sea to the
Israelites. ‫,גּוּז‬ which only occurs here and in the Psalm of Moses (Psa_
90:10), signifies to drive over, in Arabic and Syriac to pass over, not “to cut
off,” as the Rabbins suppose: the wind cut off the quails from the sea. ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ָט‬‫נ‬, to
throw them scattered about (Exo_29:5; Exo_31:12; Exo_32:4). The idea is
not that the wind caused the flock of quails to spread itself out as much as
two days' journey over the camp, and to fly about two cubits above the
surface of the ground; so that, being exhausted with their flight across the
sea, they fell partly into the hands of the Israelites and partly upon the
ground, as Knobel follows the Vulgate (volabant in a‫כ‬re duobus cubitis
altitudine super terram) and many of the Rabbins in supposing: for ‫ֶה‬‫נ‬ֲ‫ח‬ ַ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬
‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ָט‬‫נ‬ does not mean to cause to fly or spread out over the camp, but to
throw over or upon the camp. The words cannot therefore be understood in
any other way than they are in Psa_78:27-28, viz., that the wind threw them
about over the camp, so that they fell upon the ground a day's journey on
192

193. either side of it, and that in such numbers that they lay, of course not for the
whole distance mentioned, but in places about the camp, as much as two
cubits deep. It is only in this sense of the words, that the people could
possibly gather quails the whole of that day, the whole night, and the whole
of the next day, in such quantities that he who had gathered but little had
collected ten homers. A homer, the largest measure of capacity among the
Hebrews, which contained ten ephahs, held, according to the lower
reckoning of Thenius, 10,143 Parisian inches, or about two bushels Dresden
measure. By this enormous quantity, which so immensely surpassed the
natural size of the flocks of quails, God purposed to show the people His
power, to give them flesh not for one day or several days, but for a whole
month, both to put to shame their unbelief, and also to punish their
greediness. As they could not eat this quantity all at once, they spread them
round the camp to dry in the sun, in the same manner in which the
Egyptians are in the habit of drying fish (Herod. ii. 77).
HENRY 31-35, "God, having performed his promise to Moses by giving him
assessors in the government, thereby proving the power he has over the
spirits of men by his Spirit, he here performs his promise to the people by
giving them flesh, proving thereby his power over the inferior creatures and
his dominion in the kingdom of nature. Observe, 1. How the people were
gratified with flesh in abundance: A wind (a south-east wind, as appears,
Psa_78:26) brought quails, Num_11:31. It is uncertain what sort of animals
they were; the psalmist calls them feathered fowl, or fowl of wing. The
learned bishop Patrick inclines to agree with some modern writers, who
think they were locusts, a delicious sort of food well known in those parts,
the rather because they were brought with a wind, lay in heaps, and were
dried in the sun for use. Whatever they were, they answered the intention,
they served for a month's feast for Israel, such an indulgent Father was God
to his froward family. Locusts, that had been a plague to fruitful Egypt,
feeding upon the fruits, were a blessing to a barren wilderness, being
themselves fed upon. 2. How greedy they were of this flesh that God sent
them. They flew upon the spoil with an unsatiable appetite, not regarding
what Moses had told them from God, that they would surfeit upon it, Num_
11:32. Two days and a night they were at it, gathering flesh, till every master
of a family had brought home ten homers (that is, ten ass-loads) at least.
David longed for the water of the well of Bethlehem, but would not drink it
when he had it, because it was obtained by venturing; much more reason
these Israelites had to refuse this flesh, which was obtained by murmuring,
and which, they might easily perceive, by what Moses said, was given them
in anger; but those that are under the power of a carnal mind will have their
lusts fulfilled, though it be to the certain damage and ruin of their precious
souls. 3. How dearly they paid for their feasts, when it came into the
reckoning: The Lord smote them with a very great plague (Num_11:33),
some bodily disease, which probably was the effect of their surfeit, and was
the death of many of them, and those, it is likely, the ringleaders in the
mutiny. Note, God often grants the desires of his own people in love. He
gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul, Psa_106:15. By
193

194. all that was said to them they were not estranged from their lusts, and
therefore, while the meat was in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon
them, Psa_78:30, Psa_78:31. What we inordinately desire, if we obtain it
(we have reason to fear), will be some way or other a grief and cross to us.
God satiated them first, and then plagued them, (1.) To save the reputation
of his own power, that it might not be said, “He would not have cut them off
had he been able to supply them.” And, (2.) To show us the meaning of the
prosperity of sinners; it is their preparation for ruin, they are fed as an ox
for the slaughter. Lastly, The remembrance of this is preserved in the name
given to the place, Num_11:34. Moses called it Kibroth-hattaavah, the
graves of lusters or of lust. And well it had been if these graves of Israel's
lusters had proved the graves of Israel's lust: the warning was designed to
be so, but it had not its due effect, for it follows (Psa_78:32), For all this,
they sinned still.
JAMISON 31-35, "There went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought
quails from the sea, etc. — These migratory birds (see on Exo_16:13) were
on their journey from Egypt, when “the wind from the Lord,” an east wind
(Psa_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 (Psa_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].
K&D, "As soon as Moses had returned with the elders into the camp, God
fulfilled His second promise. “A wind arose from Jehovah, and brought
quails (salvim, see Exo_16:13) over from the sea, and threw them over the
camp about a day's journey wide from here and there (i.e., on both sides),
in the neighbourhood of the camp, and about two cubits above the
194

195. surface.” The wind was a south-east wind (Psa_78:26), which blew from the
Arabian Gulf and brought the quails - which fly northwards in the spring
from the interior of Africa in very great numbers - from the sea to the
Israelites. ‫,גּוּז‬ which only occurs here and in the Psalm of Moses (Psa_
90:10), signifies to drive over, in Arabic and Syriac to pass over, not “to cut
off,” as the Rabbins suppose: the wind cut off the quails from the sea. ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ָט‬‫נ‬, to
throw them scattered about (Exo_29:5; Exo_31:12; Exo_32:4). The idea is
not that the wind caused the flock of quails to spread itself out as much as
two days' journey over the camp, and to fly about two cubits above the
surface of the ground; so that, being exhausted with their flight across the
sea, they fell partly into the hands of the Israelites and partly upon the
ground, as Knobel follows the Vulgate (volabant in a‫כ‬re duobus cubitis
altitudine super terram) and many of the Rabbins in supposing: for ‫ֶה‬‫נ‬ֲ‫ח‬ ַ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬
‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ָט‬‫נ‬ does not mean to cause to fly or spread out over the camp, but to
throw over or upon the camp. The words cannot therefore be understood in
any other way than they are in Psa_78:27-28, viz., that the wind threw them
about over the camp, so that they fell upon the ground a day's journey on
either side of it, and that in such numbers that they lay, of course not for the
whole distance mentioned, but in places about the camp, as much as two
cubits deep. It is only in this sense of the words, that the people could
possibly gather quails the whole of that day, the whole night, and the whole
of the next day, in such quantities that he who had gathered but little had
collected ten homers. A homer, the largest measure of capacity among the
Hebrews, which contained ten ephahs, held, according to the lower
reckoning of Thenius, 10,143 Parisian inches, or about two bushels Dresden
measure. By this enormous quantity, which so immensely surpassed the
natural size of the flocks of quails, God purposed to show the people His
power, to give them flesh not for one day or several days, but for a whole
month, both to put to shame their unbelief, and also to punish their
greediness. As they could not eat this quantity all at once, they spread them
round the camp to dry in the sun, in the same manner in which the
Egyptians are in the habit of drying fish (Herod. ii. 77).
COFFMAN, ""And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and brought quails
from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and a
day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above
the face of the earth. And the people rose up all that day, and all that night, and all
the next day, and gathered the quaffs: he that gathered least gathered ten homers:
and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. While the
flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of Jehovah was
kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague.
And the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried
the people that lusted. From Kibrothhattaavah the people journeyed unto Hazeroth;
and they abode at Hazeroth."
"Two cubits above the face of the earth ..." (Numbers 11:31). "If we suppose that
195

196. they were drifted by the wind into heaps, which in places reached the height of two
cubits, that would satisfy the exigencies of the text."[24] The exact meaning of the
text here is somewhat uncertain, and Cook thought that the reference to two cubits
described the height "at which the birds, exhausted from long flight, flew above the
ground."[25]
"Ten homers ..." (Numbers 11:32). The exact size of this measure is not known.
Whitelaw gave it as 5 1/2 bushels, Plaut as 10 bushels, and others as "a donkey's
load." The meaning is clear that they had more than enough!
"Ere it was chewed ..." (Numbers 11:33). As noted above, this paragraph is of
uncertain meaning in places, and since this verse seems to be opposed to the promise
of God that the people would "eat the flesh" for a whole month, it is best to take the
meaning here as that given by Gray: "Ere it ran short ..."[26] with the meaning,
"before their supply ran short, or before they ran out of quails."
"There went forth a wind from Jehovah ..." (Numbers 11:31). Because the natural
agency that the Lord used in this wonder is here stated, some are unwilling to see
anything miraculous in this whole event, but the supernatural element surely
appears in the timing and the extent of this fantastic number of quails, and also in
the divine judgment that resulted in the death of a great many of the lustful people.
"Kibroth-hattaavah" means "graves of lust,"[27] the same being the name which
the people gave to this encampment. There seems to have been a propensity in Israel
to perpetuate their unpleasant memories, as it will also be remembered that they
christened Marah (which meant bitter) after the bitter waters they found there,
despite the fact that the Lord sweetened those waters. Could they not have named
some such place, "God's Answer to Prayer" or some other more appropriate name?
The underlying theme of all these chapters is the utter unwillingness, or inability, of
Israel to accept inconvenience and hardship and to manifest an attitude of
happiness in the service of God. Alas, there are some people still like that today.
COKE. "Verse 31-32
Numbers 11:31-32. And there went forth a wind from the Lord, &c.— See Exodus
16:13. As we have met with no commentator who has explained this passage so well
and fully as the author of the observations, we here subjoin his very judicious and
entertaining remarks. The famous Ludolphus, and after him Bishop Patrick, and
the late Bishop of Clogher, believed that they were locusts and not quails, which the
children of Israel ate in the wilderness. Dr. Shaw strongly argues the contrary; but
he takes no notice of the difficulties which induced Patrick to suppose they were
locusts, and which he gives an account of in his comment on this passage. These are
their coming with a wind; their immense quantities, covering a circle of thirty or
forty miles diameter, two cubits thick;—their being spread in the sun for drying,
which, he says, would have been preposterous if they had been quails: for it would
196

197. have made them stink the sooner. Interpreters, therefore, he thinks, pass over this
circumstance in silence; whereas all authors say, that this is the principal way of
preparing locusts, to keep them for a month or more, when they are boiled, or
otherwise dressed. These difficulties, or at least the two last, appear pressing;
nevertheless, I have met with several passages in books of travels, which I shall here
give an account of, that may soften them: the reader may think they do more. "No
interpreters," complains the bishop, "supposing they were quails, account for the
spreading them out in the sun." Perhaps they have not. Let me then translate a
passage from Maillet, (let. 4: p. 130.) which relates to a little island that covers one
of the ports of Alexandria. "It is on this island, which lies farther into the sea than
the main land of Egypt, that the birds annually alight, which come hither for refuge
in autumn, to avoid the severity of the cold of our winters in Europe. There is so
large a quantity of all sorts taken there, that, after these little birds have been
stripped of their feathers, and buried in the burning sands for about half a quarter
of an hour, they are worth but two sols the pound. The crews of those vessels, which,
in that season, lie in the harbour of Alexandria, have no other meat allowed them."
Among other refugees of that time, Maillet, in his ninth letter, p. 21 expressly
mentions quails; which are therefore, I suppose, treated after this manner. This
passage then does what, according to the bishop, no commentator has done; it
explains the design of spreading these creatures, supposing they were quails, round
about the camp:—it was to dry them in the burning sands, in order to preserve
them for use. So Maillet tells us (let. 11: p. 110.) of their drying fish in the sun in
Egypt, as well as of their preserving others by means of pickle. Other authors speak
of some of the Arabs drying camel's flesh in the sun and wind, which, though it be
not at all salted, will, if kept dry, remain good a long while; and which oftentimes, to
save themselves the trouble of dressing, they will eat raw. This is what St. Jerome
may be supposed to refer to, in vita Malchi Monachi, when he calls the food of the
Arabs, carnes semicrudae, half-dressed flesh.
This drying of flesh, then, in the sun, is not so preposterous as the bishop imagined.
On the other hand, none of the authors I have met with, who speak of the way of
preserving locusts in the east, so far as I can recollect, give any account of drying
them in the sun. They are, according to Pellow, first purged with water and salt,
boiled in new pickle, and then laid up in dry salt. So Dr. Russel says, "The Arabs eat
these insects when fresh, and also salt them up as a delicacy."
Their immense quantities also forbad the bishop's believing they were quails: and,
in truth, he represents this difficulty in all its force; perhaps too forcibly. A circle of
forty miles in diameter, all covered with quails, to the depth of more than forty-
three inches, is, without doubt, a startling representation of the matter: I would beg
leave to add, that the like quantity of locusts would have been very extraordinary.
But then this is not the representation of Scripture: it doth not even agree with it;
for such a quantity of either quails or locusts would have made the clearing of places
for the spreading them out, and the passing of Israel up and down in the
neighbourhood of the camp, very fatiguing, which is not supposed.
197

198. Josephus, Antiq. lib. iii. c. 1. supposes that they were quails, which, he says, are in
greater numbers thereabouts than any other kind of bird; and that, having crossed
the sea to the camp of Israel, they, who in common fly nearer to the ground than
most other birds, flew so low, through the fatigue of their passage, as to be within
reach of the Israelites. This explains what he thought was meant by the two cubits
from the face of the earth—their flying within three or four feet of the ground. And
when I read Dr. Shaw's account (p. 236.) of the way in which the Arabs frequently
catch birds, which they have tired, viz. by running in upon them, and knocking
them down with their zerwattys, or bludgeons, as we should call them, (in which
account the doctor mentions the quail, along with the wood-cock, the rhaad, the
kitawiah, and the partridge,) methinks I almost see the Israelites before me,
pursuing the poor, fatigued, and languid quails.
This is, indeed, a laborious method of catching these birds, and not that which is
now used in Egypt; for Egmont and Heyman (vol. 2: p. 206.) tell us, that, in a walk
on the shore of Egypt, they saw a sandy plain, several leagues in extent, and covered
with reeds, without the least verdure; between which reeds they observed many nets
placed for catching quails, which come over in large flights from Europe, during the
month of September. If the ancient Egyptians made use of the same method of
catching quails which they now practise on those shores, yet Israel, in the
wilderness, without these conveniencies, must of course make use of that inartificial
and laborious way of catching them above described. The Arabs of Barbary, who
have not many conveniencies, do the same thing still.
Bishop Patrick supposes a day's journey to be sixteen or twenty miles, and thence
draws his circle with a radius of that length: but Dr. Shaw, on another occasion, (p.
319.) makes a day's journey but ten miles, which would make a circle of twenty
miles diameter; and as the text evidently designs to express it very indeterminately,
as it were a day's journey, it might be much less. But it does not appear to me at all
necessary to suppose the text intended their covering a circular, or nearly a circular
piece of ground, but only that these creatures appeared on both sides of the camp of
Israel, about a day's journey. The same word is used, Exodus 7:24 where round
about can only mean on each side of the river; and so it may be a little illustrated by
what Dr. Shaw tells us (p. 409.) of three flights of storks, which he saw when at
anchor under mount Carmel, some of which were more scattered, others more
compact and closer; and each of which took up more than three hours in passing,
and extended itself more than half a mile in breadth. Had the flight of quails been
no greater than these, it might have been thought, like them, to have been
accidental; but so unusual a flock as to extend fifteen or twenty miles in breadth,
and to be two days and one night in passing, and this in consequence of the
declaration of Moses, plainly determined that the finger of God was there.
A third difficulty with the bishop was, their being brought by a wind. A hot
southerly wind, it is supposed, brings the locusts; and why quails might not be
brought by the instrumentality of a like wind, or what difficulty there is in that
supposition, I cannot imagine. As soon as the cold is felt in Europe, Maillet, in his
198

199. 11th letter, p. 21 tells us, that turtles, quails, and other birds, come to Egypt in great
numbers: but he observed that their numbers were not so large in those years in
which the winters were favourable to Europe; from whence he conjectured, that it is
rather necessity than habit which causes them to change their climate: if so, it
should seem that it is the increasing heat which causes their return, and
consequently that the hot, sultry winds from the south must have a great effect upon
them to direct their flight northwards. It is certain, that many of these migratory
birds return about the time when the south wind begins to blow in Egypt, which is
in April. Maillet, who joins quails and turtles together, and says that they appear in
Egypt when the winds begin to be felt in Europe, does not, indeed, tell us when they
return: but Thevenot may be said to have done it; for, after he has told his reader
(part 1: p. 247.) that they catch snipes in Egypt from January to March, he adds,
that in May they catch turtles, which turtles return again in September. Now, as
their go together southward in September, we may believe they return again
northward much about the same time. Agreeable to which, Russel tells us, (p. 63.)
that quails appear in abundance about Aleppo in spring and autumn.
If natural history were more perfect, we might speak to this point with greater
precision. At present, however, it is so far from an objection to their being quails,
that their coming was caused by a wind,—that nothing is more natural. The same
wind would in course occasion sickness and mortality among the Israelites, at least it
does so in Egypt. See Maillet, let. 2: p. 57 and Egmont and Heyman, vol. 2: p. 62.
The miraculousness, then, of this event does not consist in the Israelites' dying, but
in the prophet's foretelling with exactness the coming of that wind, and in the
prodigious numbers of the quails which came with it; together with the unusualness
of the place, perhaps, where they alighted. See Shaw, p. 449.
Nothing more remains to be considered, but the gathering so large a quantity as ten
homers by those who gathered fewest. But, till that quantity is more precisely
ascertained, it is sufficient to remark, that this is only affirmed of those eager and
expert sportsmen among the people, who pursued the game two whole days, and one
whole night, without intermission; and of them, and of them only, I presume, it is to
be understood, that he that gathered fewest gathered ten homers.
ELLICOTT, " (31) And there went forth a wind.—In Psalms 78:26 we read thus:
“He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the
south wind.” A south-east wind would bring the quails from the neighbourhood of
the Red Sea, where they abound.
And let them fall.—Better, and scattered them (or, spread them out). Comp. 1
Samuel 30:16 : “They were spread abroad upon all the earth,” or, over all the
ground.
Round about.—See Note on Numbers 11:24.
199

200. As it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.—Or, about two cubits over
(or, above) the ground. Had the quails lain upon the earth in a heap for any
considerable time, life could only have been preserved by miraculous interference
with the ordinary laws of nature, and the Israelites were not allowed to eat of that
which had died of itself. Quails commonly fly low, and when wearied with a long
flight might fly only about breast-high. On the other hand, the more obvious
interpretation of the words is that the quails were spread over the ground, and
covered it in some places to the height of two cubits. They were probably taken and
killed immediately on their descent, as the following verse seems to indicate, and
then spread out and dried and hardened in the sun. Some think that the word which
is here rendered quails denotes cranes.
POOLE, " A wind from the Lord, i.e. an extraordinary and miraculous wind, both
for its vehemency and for its effect
Quails; a delicious and very nourishing food, which, considering their greedy
appetite, and the newness and plenty of it, disposed them to surfeits and other
distemper of body, and prepared the way for the following plague. God gave them
quails once before, Exodus 16:13, but neither in the same quantity, nor with the
same design and effect as now.
From the sea; principally from the Red Sea, and both sides of it; where, by the
report of ancient heathen writers, they were then in great numbers, and, no doubt,
were wonderfully increased by God’s special providence for this very occasion.
Two cubits high; not as if the quails did cover all the ground two cubits high for a
day’s journey on each side of the camp, for then there had been no place left where
they could spread them all abroad round about the camp, as it is said they did,
Numbers 11:32; but the meaning is, that the quails came and fell down round about
the camp for a whole day’s journey on each side of it, and that in all that space they
lay here and there in great heaps, which were ofttimes two cubits high.
WHEDON, "Verse 31-32
31, 32. A wind from the Lord — All winds are produced by the power of Jehovah,
(Psalms 135:7,) since neither the laws of nature nor the qualities of matter produce
motion. The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras taught that all force emanates from
íïõò, mind, a power distinct from nature, and presiding over it. This is the best
Christian philosophy. The wind was either a southwest wind, from the region of the
upper Nile, or a southeast one, from the Arabian Gulf.
Brought quails — Some have contended that the salvim were not quails but locusts;
but modern Hebraists reject this interpretation, and insist that the common quail is
the bird. This is corroborated by the striking similarity of the modern Arabic salwa,
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201. quail, to the Hebrew, selav. See Exodus 16:13, note. The theory that they were wild
fowls about three feet high, such as wild geese or storks, or Stanley’s “large red-
legged cranes,” is a gratuitous assumption without the least scriptural foundation.
A day’s journey — On both sides of the camp, for the space of eight or ten miles, the
ground was thickly strewn with exhausted quails, none of them able to fly more
than two cubits from the ground. “It is a not uncommon occurrence, that, when
wearied, these birds droop and settle down for rest, so as to be easily clubbed with
sticks, and even caught by the hand. The miraculous provision chiefly lay in the
extraordinary number, the seasonable arrival, and the peculiar circumstances under
which those quails came.” — Edersheim. See Concluding Notes.
Ten homers — About fifty-five bushels, according to Josephus, or half this quantity,
according to the rabbins. This was the accumulation of the least industrious person.
“By this enormous quantity, which so immensely surpassed the natural size of the
flocks of quails, God purposed to show the people his power to give them flesh not
for a day or several days, but for a whole month, both to put to shame their
unbelief, and to punish their greediness.” — Keil.
They spread them all abroad — For the purpose of drying them in the sun. Our
earliest history of Egypt describes the people as salting and drying great quantities
of fish and fowl. Calmet thinks that the Hebrews salted their quails, and then dried
them, in imitation of the Egyptians.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:31. There went forth a wind from the Lord — An
extraordinary and miraculous wind, both for its vehemency and for its effects. And
brought quails — So the Hebrew word, ‫,שׂלוים‬ salvim, is interpreted by Josephus,
and all the ancient versions; nor does there appear to be any sufficient authority for
translating it locusts; notwithstanding what Ludolphus, in his History of Ethiopia,
50:1, c. 13; and after him Bishop Patrick, and the late bishop of Clogher, have said
on the subject. This is the second time that God gave them these quails. He sent
them the former year, and much about the same season, Exodus 16:13 ; but neither
in the same quantity nor with the same design as now. From the sea — Principally
from the Arabian gulf, or Red sea, and both sides of it, where, according to ancient
heathen writers, they were then in great numbers, and no doubt were wonderfully
increased by God’s special providence for this very occasion. This sea lies south of
that part of Arabia where the Israelites were now encamped. It was therefore a
south wind that brought these quails, and is said to have come forth from the Lord,
because it was ordered and directed by his special power and providence. Two
cubits high — Not as if the quails did cover all the ground two cubits high for a
day’s journey on each side of the camp, for then there had been no place left where
they could spread them all abroad round about the camp; but the meaning is, that
the quails came and fell down round about the camp for a whole day’s journey on
each side of it, and that in all that space they lay here and there in great heaps,
which were often two cubits high.
201

202. PETT, "Verses 31-34
Yahweh Provides Meat From Heaven (Numbers 11:31-35).
In accordance with His second promise to Moses Yahweh now sent meat
from the skies. A ruach (spirit, wind) from Yahweh brought quails to the
camp in huge quantities. So in a play on words the ‘ruach’ blessed both the
elders and the people. But the people immediately demonstrated their
unbelief. They stored the quails instead of trusting Yahweh for His daily
provision (compare what some did with the manna - Exodus 16:19-20) and
the quails went bad and brought a great plague.
The structure here is as follows:
a The wind of Yahweh goes forth in response to the people ’s craving and the
quails fall in great depth (Numbers 11:31).
b The people gather the quails in great abundance (Numbers 11:32 a).
c In unbelief they store the quail meat around the camp (Numbers 11:32 b).
c While they were eating the wrath of Yahweh came on them, the result of
storing the quails in unbelief (Numbers 11:33 a).
b Yahweh smites them and they receive an abundance of plague (Numbers
11:33 b).
a The place is called ‘Graves of craving’ (Kibroth Hattaavah) (Numbers
11:34).
Numbers 11:31
‘And there went forth a wind from Yahweh, and brought quails from the sea,
and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s
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203. journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above
the face of the earth.’ As promised Yahweh sent meat for the people in
abundance. Quails were driven towards the camp by ‘a ruach from Yahweh’.
As already mentioned there is a parallel here with the ruach which came on
the seventy elders. Yahweh’s desire was to bless both with His provision. The
quails came in abundance and fell to the ground beside the camp in huge
quantities.
This was the second month of the year. Quails are small birds of the
partridge family. Around that time of the year (March) they annually
migrate northwards from Arabia and Africa and regularly come down in
large quantities in the area of the Red Sea to recuperate, exhausted after
their long flight. Modern examples are known of huge quantities being
caught in the Sinai area during this period as they fly low over the ground. It
would appear in this case that their struggle against the wind which drove
them to the camp had so exhausted them that they simply collapsed in heaps.
There were so many that they covered ‘a days journey’ around the camp in
piles a metre (three feet) high. (Some, however, see the text as signifying
that they flew a metre above the ground).
PULPIT, "A wind from the Lord. A wind Divinely sent for this purpose. In
Psalms 78:26 it is said to have been a wind from the east and south, i.e; a
wind blowing up the Red Sea and across the Gulf of Akabah. And brought
quails from the sea. On the "quails" (Hebrew, salvim —probably the common
quail) see Exodus 16:13. The Septuagint has in both places ‫ח‬ ‫ן‬‫ספץדןל‬ ‫ח‬‫פסב‬ ,
"the quail-mother," the sense of which is uncertain. These birds, which
migrate in spring in vast numbers, came from the sea, but it does not follow
that the camp was near the sea. They may have been following up the Gulf
of Akabah, and been swept far inland by the violence of the gale. Let them
fall by the camp. Rather, "threw them down on the camp." ‫ֶה‬‫ג‬ֲ‫ח‬ ַ‫מּ‬ַ‫ה‬ ‫ל‬ַ‫ﬠ‬ ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ט‬ִ‫.יּ‬
Septuagint, ̓‫ו‬ðǻâáëåí å̓ ðé̀ ôç̀í ðáñåìâïëḉí. Either the sudden cessation of the gale, or a
violent eddying of the wind, threw the exhausted birds in myriads upon the camp
(cf. Psalms 78:21, Psalms 78:28). Two cubits high upon the face of the earth. The
word "high" is not in the original, but it probably gives the true meaning. The
Septuagint, ù̔ óåé̀ äé́ðç÷õ á̓ ðï ôç͂ ò ãç͂ ò, is somewhat uncertain. The Targums assert
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204. that the quails "flew upon the face of the ground, at a height of two cubits;" and
this is followed by the Vulgate ("volabant in acre duobus cubitis altiludine super
terram") and by many commentators. This idea, however, although suggested by
the actual habits of the bird, and adopted in order to avoid the obvious difficulty of
the statement, is inconsistent with the expressions used here and in Psalms 78:1-72.
If the birds were "thrown" upon the camp, or "rained" upon it like sand, they
could not have been flying steadily forward a few feet above the ground. It is
certainly impossible to take the statement literally, for such a mass of birds would
have been perfectly unmanageable; but if we suppose that they were drifted by the
wind into heaps, which in places reached the height of two cubits, that will satisfy
the exigencies of the text: anything like a uniform depth would be the last thing to
be expected under the circumstances.
BI 31-35, "They gathered the quails.
The quails
I. Israel’s complaint.
1. Its object was food.
2. Its nature was intense. “Fell a lusting.”
3. It was general.
4. It was accompanied with tears. A faint, weary, disappointed people.
Tears, chiefly, of discontent.
5. It was associated with the retrospections of memory. “We remember,”
&c. (Num_11:5). They should also have remembered some other things
of that past. Their bondage, &c.
6. It made present things distasteful. “There is nothing at all.” There was
a time when they did not call the manna nothing. Longing for what we
have not tends to cause disparagement of things possessed.
II. Moses’ perplexity. Great popular leaders have often been perplexed by
the unreasonable clamours of their followers. Have often been urged
farther than their greater prudence and wisdom would have chosen. People
have often damaged their own cause by exorbitant demands.
1. Moses displeased at the position in which he found himself. “My
wretchedness “ (Num_11:15). His faith faltered (Num_11:11-12).
Especially displeased with the people (Num_11:10).
2. In his perplexity cried to the Lord. A good example. God “ a present
help in trouble.”
3. He acknowledges his own weakness (Num_11:21-22). He could not
feed the people. It would be suicidal to kill the flocks and herds, even if
they were enough. Needed for sacrifice; and the religious well-being of
the people of most importance.
4. He receives comfort, and direction (Num_11:23).
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205. III. God’s providence. Nature is His storehouse, in which He has garnered
food for man and beast. He made all living things. Endowed them with
habits and instincts. Made the quails. Ordained their migratory habits.
Made and ruled the winds. When the quails came, the wind was ready. It
fulfilled the word of God. The wonderful flight of birds. The scene in the
camp. What was sent so abundantly seems to have been thanklessly
received. Divine anger went with the gift. Many of the people died. Learn—
1. To pray for the blessing of contentment.
2. To seek the moderation of our desires.
3. To pray for grateful hearts.
4. To acknowledge the hand of God in the supply of our wants.
5. To be chiefly anxious for the supply of spiritual need. (J. C. Gray.)
The graves of lust
I. There are perpetual resurrections of easily besetting sins.
1. The side from which the temptation came to them (Num_11:4-6). This
mixed multitude corresponds precisely to the troop of disorderly
passions and appetites, with which we suffer ourselves to march through
the desert of life. Passions, desires, ever mad for indulgence, and
reckless, scornful of Divine law.
2. The special season when the easily besetting sin rose up and again
made them its slave. It is a fact which all close students of human
character must have observed, that there is a back-water of temptation,
if I may so speak, which is more deadly than its direct assaults. You may
fight hard against a temptation, and fight victoriously. You may beat it
off, and then, when, weary with the conflict, you suffer the strain of
vigilance to relax, it shall steal in and easily master the citadel, which
lately it spent all its force in vain to win. Beware of your best moments,
as well as of your worst; or rather the moments which succeed the best.
They are the most perilous of all.
II. There comes a point in the history of the indulgence of besetting sins,
when god ceases to strive with us and for us against them, and lets them.
Have their way.
1. God has great patience with the weaknesses and sins of the flesh. But it
is a dreadful mistake to suppose that therefore He thinks lightly of them.
He regards them as sins that must be conquered, and, no matter by what
sharp discipline, extirpated and killed. He knows that, if tolerated, they
become the most deadly of spiritual evils, and rot body and spirit
together in hell.
2. Hence all the severer discipline by which the Lord seeks to purge
them, the various agencies by which He fights with us and for us against
their tyrannous power. What is life but one long discipline of God for the
cleansing of the flesh? Are not the after-pains of departed sensual joys
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206. among its chief stings and thorns?
3. Left alone by God. God does not curse us; He leaves us to ourselves;
that is curse enough, and from that curse what arm can save us! We will
have it, and we shall have it. We leap through all the barriers which He
has raised around us to limit us, yea, though they be rings of blazing fire,
we will through them and indulge our lust; and in a moment He sweeps
them all out of our path—perhaps roses spring to beguile, where flames
so lately blazed to warn.
III. The end of that way is, inevitably and speedily, a grave. The grave of lust
is one of the most awful of the inscriptions on the headstones of the great
cemetery, the world. In how many do we now search in vain for fruits whose
flowers once bloomed there; for generous emotions, swift responses to the
appeals of sorrow, unselfish ministries, and stern integrity? How many
have learnt now to laugh at emotions which once had a holy beauty in their
sight; to fence skilfully with appeals which once would have thrilled to the
very core of their hearts; to grasp at advantages which once they would have
passed with a scornful anathema, and to clutch at the gold which was once
the glad instrument of diffusing benefits around! Yes! there are graves
enough around us—graves of passion, graves of self-will, graves of lust.
Beware, young men; young women, beware! Beware! for the dead things
buried in these graves will not lie quiet; they stir and start, and ever and
anon come forth in their ghastly shrouds and scare you at your feasts. No
ghosts so sure to haunt their graves as the ghosts of immolated faculties and
violated vows. The memories which haunt the worn-out worldling’s bed of
impotence or lust are the true avengers of Heaven. The brain loses power to
repel them, but retains power to fashion them. Once it could drive away
thoughts and memories; now it can only retain them, and fix them in a
horrid permanent session on their thrones. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
The Israelites’ sin and punishment
I. Their sin many consider a trifle. Certainly it was not of that character
which the judgment inflicted on them would lead us to anticipate. We read
here of no enormous transgression, or daring violation of God’s law. All
they were guilty of, was a strong desire for something which God had not
given them. “Something evil,” you will say perhaps, but not so; it was one of
the most harmless things they could have desired. The Lord had provided
them with manna for their support; they were weary of manna and wanted
flesh. “The children of Israel,” we read, “wept again, and said, Who shall
give us flesh to eat?”
1. You see, then, the nature of the sin we have before us. It is a sin of the
heart—coveting, desiring; and that not slightly, but very eagerly, with the
full bent of the mind. It is not spiritual idolatry, though it is like it. That
is making too much of what we have; this is making too much of what we
want.
2. Look at the cause or spring of Israel’s sin. Their desire for flesh was a
desire springing up amidst abundance. It had its origin, not in their
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207. necessities, but m their vile affections, their own unsubdued, carnal
minds.
3. Observe next the occasion of Israel’s sin. Oh, dread the mixed
multitude. Stand in fear of worldly-minded professors of Christ’s gospel.
They will teach you to lust for the things you now despise. They will
drive, if not the fear, yet the peace of God from your hearts, and all they
will give you in exchange for it will be a craving, aching soul, a share in
their own restlessness and discontent.
4. Mark the effect of their sin, its immediate effect, I mean, on their own
minds. It made them completely wretched. The truth is, the mind of man
cannot long bear a strong and unchecked desire. It must be gratified or
have a prospect of being gratified, or it consumes the soul. Perhaps we
may say, this is one main ingredient in the misery of hell—a longing, and
a longing, and a longing still, for something that can be never had.
5. Notice one thing more in this craving of the Israelites—its sinfulness
or guilt. Wherein, then, did its sinfulness lie? In the twentieth verse, God
tells us. He pronounces it a contempt of Himself. Moses is commanded
to go to the weeping people, and say to them, “Ye have despised the Lord
which is among you.” And how had they despised Him?
In three respects.
1. They had low thoughts of His power. “Who,” they asked, “shall give us
flesh to eat?” Who can give it?
2. And their conduct involved in it a making light of His goodness. They
had evidently lost sight at this time of all He had done for them, or if not
so, they lightly esteemed what He had done.
3. And then there was also here a despising of God’s authority.
II. Look at the conduct of them insulted God towards them in consequence
of their sin.
1. He granted their desire. We are told again and again that it displeased
Him, that His anger was kindled greatly against the people on account of
it; but how does He show His displeasure? He begins with giving them
the very thing they wish for; He works a miracle to give it them; He gives
it them to the utmost extent of their desires, and beyond them. But what
was God really doing all this while? He was only vindicating His aspersed
honour.
2. The Lord took vengeance on these Israelites, and this in a fearful
manner and at a very remarkable time. It is often the will of God to make
our sin our punishment. We eagerly crave something; He gives us what
we crave, and when we have it, He either takes away from us all our
delight in it, and so bitterly disappoints us, or else He causes it to prove
to us a source of misery. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The judgments of God sometimes come very suddenly
207

208. In the midst of their lusts and pleasures, behold how God’s judgments come
upon them. They had feasted a long time, and had glutted themselves with
their flesh; now their sweet meat had sour sauce. The doctrine arising from
hence is this, that the judgments of God do oftentimes fail upon men and
women very suddenly before they be aware, when they least of all think or
imagine of the day of wrath (Job_20:5-7; Job_21:17; Psa_73:19; Isa_30:13;
Exo_12:29; Dan_5:30; Luk_12:20). The destruction of the wicked shall
come as a whirlwind (Amo_1:14).
1. This is plain, because they have through God’s long-suffering
increased the number, weight, and measure of their sins, and thereby
compel the Lord to bring His judgments suddenly upon them.
2. God respecteth herein the benefit of others toward whom He hath not
used as yet so long patience, to the end that they, seeing others fall into
sudden destruction, may learn thereby not to abuse His patience, lest
they also be suddenly destroyed (Dan_5:22).
The uses follow.
1. See from hence the happy estate of all such as think of the day of their
reckoning betimes, and prepare their garments that they be not taken
naked. Such are out of danger, and have no cause to fear wrath and
judgment.
2. It serveth to teach us that we should not envy at the peace and
prosperity of the wicked, neither fret at the flourishing estate of the
ungodly that live in their sins, for howsoever they be for a time forborne,
yet thereby they are the more hardened in their sins, till a far greater
judgment come upon them. Therefore envy not at them though they grow
great, for suddenly shall the judgments of God tulle hold upon them, and
arrest them as guilty of death, and then they shall perish speedily; so
that there is no reason to grieve or grudge at their prosperity.
3. From hence ariseth comfort to the faithful.
4. It is our duty to watch and attend with all care for the time of
judgment. (W. Attersoll.)
The graves of lust
I. It is the tendency of lust to shorten life and to bring men to an untimely
grave. Our animal desires are good servants; but, when they gain the
mastery, they are fearful tyrants, loading the conscience with guilt and the
body with disease, ruining life, and making eternity a hell. The Romans, it is
said, held their funerals at the Gate of Venus, to teach that lust shortens life.
The pleasures of sin are dearly bought.
II. Let us record some of our feelings as we contemplate “the graves of lust.”
1. The one is of intense pity, that man should be so foolish as to live in sin
when he knew how it would end; that life should be so wasted, and
opportunities lost, &c.
208

209. 2. The other is of awful solemnity. He is gone; but whither? He has given
up the ghost; but where is he?
Let us all—
1. Ascertain whether or no we are on the way to this grave.
2. Resolve through the help of God that we will not be there. Seek Jesus
Christ. He, and He only, can rescue us from the power, the curse, and the
consequences of sin. (David Lloyd.)
Inordinate desires
What we inordinately desire, if we obtain it, we have reason to fear that it
will be some way or other a grief and cross to us. God sufficed them first,
and then plagued them.
1. To save the reputation of His own power, that it might not be said, He
had cut them off because He was not able to suffice them. And—
2. To show us the meaning of the prosperity of sinners; it is their
preparation for ruin. They are fed as an ox for the slaughter. (Matthew
Hearty, D. D.)
Graves of desire
The last thing that most people would desire is a grave, and yet how often
does desire conduct to death! We will notice several manifestations of
irregular and destructive desire, and, in conclusion, show how desire may
be directed and chastened.
I. There is unseasonable desire. The desire of the people for flesh was not
unnatural, not illegal in itself, but it was unseasonable. This is a common
fault of ours, to desire legitimate things in times and places which are not
convenient.
1. There is the impatience of youth. The course of life with many in these
times reminds us of the days when we were lads, and when in the early
morning we went a distance to school, taking our dinner with us; then
appetite was keen, and it was no unusual thing to devour our dinner on
the way to school, starving for the rest of the day. It is thus with
thousands of infatuated ones a little later on; in the greediness of their
heart they devour and waste their portion in the morning of life, and
then starve through the long tedious day, or else go down to a premature
grave. I say to my young brethren, wait, rein in your desires, move
slowly, and every joy of life shall be yours in turn. “Haste is of the devil,”
is a saying in the East popularly ascribed to Mahomet himself. We may
accept the saying in the matter before us; let youth be moderate,
deliberate, avoiding all feverishness, drawing slowly on the resources of
life.
2. There is the eagerness, of manhood. We should do little in life without
209

210. intensity, but there are times when we may with advantage take in sail,
and give ourselves time for rest and reflection. It is certainly
unseasonable to bring our business life in any shape into the Lord’s Day.
It is also unseasonable to allow worldly cares and ambitions to invade
those spaces which are so necessary for our domestic and intellectual
life. God grants us spaces for rest and thought in the home, in the
chamber; and it is exhaustive, indeed, when our overweening
worldliness excludes the possibilities of solitary and social life. Some
men fill their annual holidays with anxieties until they are no holidays at
all. And there are days of personal affliction, of domestic sorrows, of
national calamity, when it is our solemn duty to pause in the race for
riches and think of life’s larger meaning.
3. There is the greed of age. Old men often come to the grave sooner than
they need because they will not let the world go. They cling to ambition,
although it wastes their strength and peace; they cling to business, they
are pushing, grasping, hoarding as ever, although such application fast
saps a life already tottering; they cling to pleasure, they will still wear the
wreath of roses on their white hair, although to them it is the most fatal
wreath of all.
II. There is immoderate desire. We may pursue a right object with
inordinate appetite. The Israelites were not content with the simple, pearly,
wholesome food God gave them—they wanted something more piquant.
They got what they wanted—and a grave. In all generations how many fall
the same way.
1. There is the immoderateness of our literature. We must feast on the
romantic, the sensational, the morbid, the exaggerated. Out of this
excess of imaginative literature come great evils. The reading public live
in a world of fancy, sentiment, passion; and this feverish unreality in the
hours of retirement gives birth to much of that practical immoderation
which is the curse of our age. I do not say abandon this literature of
romance; but I do say restrain and chasten your imagination, for be sure
this habit of wild dreaming is at the root of much of that general
intemperance of life which hurries many to the grave.
2. There is the immoderation of our style of living. A writer was finding
fault the other day with the present style of gardening. He complained
that we have rooted up the old fragrant flowers—lavender, pinks,
marigolds, mignonette, and gone in for crude patches of red and blue
and yellow; that we have swept away sweet shrubs and bits of lawn for
the sake of violet ribbon-borders and vulgar carpet-bedding. But does
not our Italian gardening largely reflect our social life? Are we not often
found renouncing sweet, simple methods of living for a showy,
ostentatious style which brings with it little joy?
3. There is the immoderateness of our appetite. Thousands are digging
their grave with their teeth, and scooping it out with their glass.
4. There is the immoderateness of business. Immoderation in other
directions often drives men to unnatural eagerness in business. In haste
210

211. to be rich they pierce themselves through with many sorrows.
(1) How fatal all this immoderation is to health! We fret for money,
drinking blood out of a golden basin; we are anxious to be great, and
the path of glory leads to the grave; we are mad to seize the flowers of
pleasure, and find the flowers of the churchyard.
(2) How fatal is all this immoderation to happiness I There are
thousands of successful merchants who after immense toil and
sacrifice have secured wealth and position, and now they are
distressed to find they have no power to eat what cost so much to get
together. They have whatsoever their soul desireth, but they cannot
taste any sweetness in it. Moderation is the secret of all life. Our
health, our happiness, our character, our destiny, are bound up with
self-restraint. Live with circumspection, live slowly, live by line and
square, and you shall realise life at its best here, and then the life
everlasting.
III. There is illegal desire. Fixing our eye on forbidden things and lusting
after them. How beautiful they seem, how desirable! and yet they eat as
doth a canker. They lead to a premature grave. “The wicked do not live out
half their days.” They lead to a dishonoured grave (Ecc_8:10). They lead to a
hopeless grave. Such awake to shame and everlasting contempt. Do not hide
it from yourselves for an hour that death is the price of touching forbidden
things. Are you tempted by unlawful pleasure? see the skeleton behind the
flowers. By unlawful gain? see the field of blood behind the pieces of silver.
By unlawful greatness? see the shroud wrapped up in the purple. By
unlawful indulgence? see that at the devil’s banquet the sexton is head
waiter. Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is
finished will have finished you. This is the dismal eternal order; and no
secrecy, no strength, no skill on your part can disturb the programme or
avert the penalty. Wherein, then, lies our safety? In reducing all desire to a
minimum? Some of our sceptical writers counsel this but it is not the
philosophy of Christianity. The infinity of desire is a grand characteristic of
our nature which it is no part of our duty to destroy. Christianity leaves
intact our boundless desire, whilst it teaches us moderation in all worldly
things. It does this by fixing our attention on our inner life. It assures us
that the deep, final satisfaction is not in our senses, but in our spirit; that we
find the full and ultimate delight of life as our inner self grows in truth anal
goodness and love. It does this by fixing our hope on the heavenly life. The
pilgrim is not likely to be too deeply engrossed about the tent curtains, tent
pegs, tent cords. Think much of that greater life, and you shall not think
overmuch about things which perish in the using. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The true nursing-father
It was but three days’ march from Sinai, and the people encamped on a site
which was ever memorable in their history, as recalling one of the gravest,
saddest scenes in the experiences of the wilderness journey. We are only,
however, now concerned in the incident so far as it affects the character of
211

212. Moses.
I. The test beneath which Moses broke down, But in the case of Moses there
was surely an outbreak of impatience which was hardly justifiable. He loved
the people, but his love was not strong enough to sustain the terrific test to
which it was exposed. He pitied them, but beneath the scorching sun of
their repeated provocations that pity dried up like waters which are
absorbed in the desert heat.
II. The parallel in Christian experience.
1. We also have need to beware of the influence of “the mixed multitude.”
Had it not been for these, Israel had walked with God, and been satisfied
with His provision on their behalf. It was from them that the discontent
proceeded. There are many professing Christians who have the form of
godliness, but deny its power, and who pass freely in and out among the
children of God. It is among these that we may expect to hear complaints
that religion is dry and irksome, or rapturous descriptions of the food of
Egypt, or special pleadings that there should be a mingling of the
delights of the Egyptian world, which should have been left behind for
ever, with the manna which God lays on the dew of the desert floor.
Their influence is all the stronger in that they appeal to tendencies
within us, which are so susceptible to their call.
2. We must distinguish between appetite and lust. The appetites have
been implanted within us to maintain the machinery of life. If it were not
for their action, we should neglect food and rest and exercise, and many
other things necessary to our well-being. But in us all appetite is apt to
run up into lust. In other words, we seek satisfaction, not for the
necessary supply of our physical needs, but for the momentary pleasure
which accompanies the gratification of appetite itself. Our motive is not
the obtaining of some lawful and necessary end, but the titillation of
taste and sense. Appetite has, therefore, to be curbed with a strong hand,
lest it become inordinate passion, for the moment we take pleasure in
the indulgence of appetite for its own sake, and apart from the legitimate
end for which it was intended by the Almighty, we begin to tread a path
that leads swiftly down to the bottomless pit.
3. Let us guard against the resurrection of easily besetting sins. We say to
ourselves that certain forms of sin have died down within us, anal will
never trouble us more. We have grown out of them. But at that very
moment the ghastly shape of that temptation is at hand, to assert
perhaps even more than its olden force. You can never be sure of
yourself. The suggestion that a certain form of temptation can have no
further power over you is of the devil, and should excite you to greater
watchfulness. Inordinate desire, murmuring and mistrust, are linked in
the closest association. When one of these enters the window of the
heart, it goes round to open the door to the other two. Oh, how often
have we grieved our heavenly Father! Have we not had days of
provocation and temptation in the wilderness?
III. The contrast between the servant and the father. Moses repudiated the
office of the nursing-father. He could not sustain its responsibilities. But his
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213. failure only serves to bring out into distincter relief a touching conception
of the Fatherhood of God. Forty years afterwards, as the aged lawgiver, at
the foot of Pisgah, was summing up the results of his experience, he said,
“Thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bare his
son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place” (Deu_1:31;
Isa_63:9; Act_13:18, R.V. marg.). Moses’ patience gave out in a
twelvemonth, God’s lasted till His work was done, and the people were
safely deposited in the land of promise. If only the true story of our lives
were written, it would be the most astounding record of God’s forbearing
and pitying love. Truly, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor
rewarded us according to our iniquities.” But let us beware: there comes a
time in the history of besetting sin when God ceases to strive against it. He
gave them the quails they asked, flesh to the full. You may be mad for gold,
and gold may pour in; mad for pleasure, and the golden barges wait to waft
you on the swelling current; mad for applause, and it is yours till you are
surfeited. God does not curse you, He leaves you to yourself, and that is
curse enough. It is best to let our Father choose. His choice as to route and
manna and length of daily journey must be the best. And when our
yearnings are in opposition to His wise provision, let us quench them and
yield our will about them. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Uncontrolled desires
In what a solemn manner does this teach us the danger of uncontrolled
desires! We have often thought what a beautiful prayer that is, “Grant thee
according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel” (Psa_20:4), when
offered for one whose heart is subdued, and whose desires are concentrated
on the fulfilment of God’s promises. But would it not be an awful prayer for
one whose heart is full of unhallowed desires, who longs, like Israel of old,
only for earthly things? Oh, we should take heed what we desire, and for
what we pray. You may ask for some earthly gift—it may be worldly
prosperity, it may be wealth, or it may be for some other gift—some far
higher, but still earthly gift—and because you are very intent upon it, God
may give it you: and then the fulfilment of that desire may become a most
terrible snare to you. The gift, whatsoever it be, may become your idol, may
let down your affections to earth; and thus, whilst your prayers have been
granted, God has sent leanness withal into your soul. Oh, it is exalted mercy,
that God does not grant all our desires—that He so often sets aside some
desires, and greatly disappoints others. We are prone to fret at this, but it is
a part of a merciful plan, whereby He would bring us to rest in Himself. Oh,
then, through grace, I will turn away from earth, with all its treasures, and
from the creature, whatever its attractions be. I will turn to Jesus. In Him I
cannot be disappointed. His love is altogether pure, altogether satisfying.
(G. Wagner.)
The punishment of a gratified desire
Among the passengers on the St. Louis express was a woman very much
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214. overdressed, accompanied by a bright looking nurse-girl and a self-willed,
tyrannical boy of about three years. The boy aroused the indignation of the
passengers by his continued shrieks and kicks and, screams, and his
viciousness towards the patient nurse. He tore her bonnet, scratched her
hands, and finally spat in her face, without a word of remonstrance from
the mother. Whenever the nurse manifested any firmness, the mother
chided her sharply. Presently, the mother composed herself for a nap; and
about the time the boy had slapped the nurse for the fiftieth time, a wasp
came sailing in, and flew on the window of the nurse’s seat. The boy at once
tried to catch it. The nurse caught his hand, and said coaxingly, “Harry
mustn’t touch. Wasp will bite Harry.” Harry screamed savagely, and began
to kick and pound the nurse. The mother, without opening her eyes or
lifting her head, cried out sharply, “Why will you tease that child so, Mary?
Let him have what he wants at once.” “But, ma’am, its a—” “Let him have it,
I say.” Thus encouraged, Harry clutched at the wasp and caught it. The
scream that followed brought tears of joy to the passengers’ eyes. The
mother woke again. “Mary,” she cried, “let him have it!” Mary turned in her
seat, and said confusedly, “He’s got it, ma’am!” (S. S. Times.).
32 All that day and night and all the next day the
people went out and gathered quail. No one
gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they
spread them out all around the camp.
BARNES, "Num_11:32
Ten homers - About 55 bushels. Compare Lev_27:16.
CLARKE, "The people stood up, etc. - While these immense flocks were
flying at this short distance from the ground, fatigued with the strong wind
and the distance they had come, they were easily taken by the people; and as
various flocks continued to succeed each other for two days and a night,
enough for a month’s provision might be collected in that time. If the quails
had fallen about the tents, there was no need to have stood up two days and
a night in gathering them; but if they were on the wing, as the text seems to
suppose, it was necessary for them to use dispatch, and avail themselves of
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215. the passing of these birds whilst it continued. See Harmer, and see the note
on Exo_16:13.
And they spread them all abroad - Maillet observes that birds of all kinds
come to Egypt for refuge from the cold of a northern winter; and that the
people catch them, pluck, and bury them in the burning sand for a few
minutes, and thus prepare them for use. This is probably what is meant by
spreading them all abroad round the camp. Some authors think that the
word ‫שלוים‬ salvim, rendered quails in our translation, should be rendered
locusts. There is no need of this conjecture; all difficulties are easily
resolved without it. The reader is particularly referred to the note on Exo_
16:13 (note).
GILL, "And the people stood up all that day,.... The day on which they fell in
the morning:
and all that night; the night following:
and all the next day; after that, even the space of thirty six hours:
and they gathered the quails; not took them flying, as the Jewish writers
suggest, before observed, but from the earth where they fell, in order to lay
them up as a provision for time to come; or otherwise, had they taken them
only for present use, they would not have been so long in gathering them;
but they seemed greedy of them, and therefore took up all they could, or
knew what to do with:
he that gathered least gathered ten homers; or so many ass loads, as some
interpret it; the words for an ass and an homer being near the same: an
homer in measure is the same with the "cor", and held ten ephahs; and,
according to Bishop Cumberland (y), contained seventy five wine gallons,
seven pints, and somewhat more, which must hold a vast quantity of quails;
though not the measure, but the number of fowls, is commonly given. Some
render the word "heaps", as in Exo_8:14; and is supposed better to agree
with locusts; but then it will be difficult to assign a reason why the number
of them should be given, since heaps might be greater or lesser:
and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp;
according to some, they were taken alive, and put into cages, which were
hung round the camp, so that all places were full of them, in which they
were kept, and used as they wanted them; but they seem rather, be they
what they will, to be dead, and to be spread about to be dried in the sun,
being salted; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders the word, "and they
dried them" (z); and agrees both with quails, which, according to some
writers (a), used to be salted for food for time to come; and with locusts, on
which the inhabitants of some parts of Ethiopia always lived, as Pliny (b)
says, being hardened in smoke, and with salt, and was their food for the
year round. And this custom was used in Arabia; for Leo Africanus (c)
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216. relates, that the people of Arabia Deserta, and of Lybia, reckon the coming
of the locusts an happy omen; for either boiled, or dried with the sun, they
beat them into meal (or powder) and eat them: and of the Nasamones, a
people in Africa, it is said (d), that they hunt locusts, and dry them in the
sun, and grind them, and then, sprinkling milk upon them, sup them up.
JAMISON, "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 Exo_8:14; Jdg_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.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:32 And the people stood up all that day, and all [that] night,
and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered
ten homers: and they spread [them] all abroad for themselves round about the
camp.
Ver. 32. And they spread them.] They fed without fear, [ 1:12] though foretold they
should pay dear for these murdering morsels; [Numbers 11:20] that which they ate
being sauced, and that which they drank being spiced, with the bitter wrath of God.
[Job 20:23]
They gathered the quails.] Which they might the more easily do, if that be true
which some (a) write, that the Arabian Gulf breedeth great store of quails, which fly
low usually, so as they may easily be taken up with one’s hand.
POOLE, " Stood up, or rather rose up, which word is oft used for attempting or
beginning to do any business.
All night; some at one time, and some at the other, and some, through their
greediness or diffidence, at both times.
Ten homers, i.e. ten ass loads; which if it seem incredible, you must consider,
1. That the gatherers here were not all the people, which could not be without great
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217. confusion and other inconveniences; but some on the behalf of all, possibly one for
each family, or the like, while the rest were exercised about other necessary things.
So the meaning is not that every Israelite had so much for his share, but that every
collector gathered so much for the family or others by whom he was intrusted.
2. That the people did not gather for their present use only, but for a good while to
come, as we shall see; and being greedy and distrustful of God’s goodness, it is not
strange if they gathered much more than they needed.
3. That the word rendered homers may signify heaps, as it doth Exodus 8:14 Jude
15:16 Habakkuk 3:15, and ten is oft put for many; and so the sense is, that every one
gathered several heaps. If yet the number seems incredible, it must be further
known,
4. That heathen and other authors affirm, that in those eastern and southern
countries quails are innumerable, so that in one part of Italy, within the compass of
five miles, there were taken about a hundred thousand of them every day for a
month together; and that sometimes they fly so thick over the sea, that being weary
they fall into ships, sometimes in such numbers that they sink them with their
weight, as Varro and Solinus affirm. And Athenaeus relates, that in Egypt, a
country prodigiously populous, as all agree, they were in such plenty, that all those
vast numbers of people could not consume them, but were forced to salt and keep
them for their future use. So that there is no need at all that God should create
innumerable quails for this purpose; which yet if it were affirmed he did, atheists
and antiscripturists have no occasion of triumph, since they must either own the
creation of the world, which is a far greater miracle, or ascribe the production of the
world to a casual jumble of atoms, which is more senseless and ridiculous than all
the fables of the poets.
Spread them all abroad, that so they may dry them, and salt them, and preserve
them for their future use, according to what they had seen and learned in Egypt.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:32. All that night and all next day — Some at the one time,
and some at the other, and some, through greediness or diffidence, at both times.
Ten homers — That is, ten ass-loads: which, if it seem incredible, consider, 1st, That
the gatherers here were not all the people, which could not be without great
inconvenience, but some on the behalf of all, while the rest were exercised about
other necessary things. Therefore, the meaning is not, that every Israelite had so
much for his share, but that every collector gathered so much for the family or
others by whom he was appointed. 2d, That the people did not gather for their
present use only, but for a good while to come; and being distrustful of God’s
goodness, it is not strange if they gathered much more than they needed. 3d, That
the word rendered homers, may signify heaps, as it doth Exodus 8:14; 15:16;
Habakkuk 3:15; and ten is often put for many, and so the sense is, that every one
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218. gathered several heaps. If yet the number seem incredible, it must be further
known, 4th, That heathen and other authors affirm, in those eastern and southern
countries, quails are innumerable, so that in one part of Italy, within the compass of
five miles, there were taken about a hundred thousand of them every day for a
month together. And Athen‫ז‬us relates, that in Egypt, a country prodigiously
populous, they were in such plenty, that all those vast numbers of people could not
consume them, but were forced to salt and keep them for future use. They spread
them — That so they might dry, salt, and preserve them for future use, according to
what they had seen in Egypt.
PETT, "Numbers 11:32
‘And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and
gathered the quails. He who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread
them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.’
When the people saw this they raced to gather them, and spent about 36 hours
gathering as many as they could. They gathered huge quantities and stored them
around the camp. But they were so many that they could not properly dry them out.
Ten homers was about 2,200 litres. What a sad state of heart is revealed here. We do
not read that they became excited because the Spirit came on the elders. But we do
read that when meat came they were clearly so excited that they had no time to
think about what had happened to the elders. They overlooked that God had come
among them in spiritual power, that the Spirit’s power was being revealed. All they
could think of was that there was meat to be had!
In doing so they forgot, or ignored, Yahweh’s demand that they did not touch dead
bodies lest they be rendered ‘unclean’. To take the exhausted quails and kill and eat
them was one thing. To store them as dead meat by laying them out to dry and then
partaking of them was another. It was in direct disobedience to Yahweh, and, as we
now know, in a hot country was asking for trouble.
PULPIT, "And the people stood up … next day. A statement which shows us how
greedy the people were, and how inordinately eager to supply themselves with an
abundance of animal food. They were so afraid of losing any of the birds that they
stayed up all night in order to collect them; probably they only ceased gathering and
began to cat when the available supply was spent. Ten homers. It is difficult to
calculate the capacity of the homer, especially as it may have varied from age to age.
If it contained ten ephahs, as seems to be implied in Ezekiel 45:11, and if the
estimate of the Rabbinists (which is less than that of Josephus) be correct that the
ephah held nearly four and a half gallons of liquid measure, then half a million of
men must have collected more quails apiece than would have filled a 450 gallon tub.
No doubt the total number was something enormous, and far above anything that
could have been supplied by natural agencies. The gift of quails, like that of manna,
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219. was one of the gifts of nature proper to that region Divinely multiplied and
extended, so as to show forth in the most striking way the boundless power and
beneficence of God. They spread them all abroad. In order to dry them in the sun,
as the Egyptians used to do with fish (Herod; 2:77), and as the South Americans do
with beef. Flesh thus cured does not need salt, which the Israelites would not have in
sufficient quantities.
33 But while the meat was still between their teeth
and before it could be consumed, the anger of the
Lord burned against the people, and he struck
them with a severe plague.
BARNES, "Num_11:33
Ere it was chewed - Better, ere it was consumed. See Num_11:19-20. The
surfeit in which the people indulged, as described in Num_11:32, disposed
them to sickness. God’s wrath, visiting the gluttonous through their
gluttony, aggravated natural consequences into a supernatural visitation.
CLARKE, "The wrath of the Lord was kindled - In what way, and with
what effects, we cannot precisely determine. Some heavy judgment fell
upon those murmurers and complainers, but of what kind the sacred writer
says nothing.
GILL, "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth,.... When they had
just got it into their mouths, and were about to bite it:
ere it was chewed; or "cut off"; or cut into pieces by the "incisores", or fore
teeth, and then ground by the "molares", or grinders, and so became fit to
be swallowed. Both quails and locusts were eaten as food; the former is a fat
and delicious fowl, and the latter, some sorts of them, at least, were allowed
clean food for the Jews, and were fed on by many people:
the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people; for their lusting after
flesh, and despising the manna:
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220. and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague; the pestilence, as
Aben Ezra; or with fire, as Bochart (e), who gives the following reasons why
the people were so severely punished now, and not before, when they
murmured on a like account; because their sin's were greater, and more
aggravated, they falling again into the same sin which had been forgiven
them; and besides, they were before pressed with famine, now they had a
plenty of manna every day; and also were better instructed, having received
the law, which was not yet given when they were just come out of Egypt.
Sulpitius (f) the historian says, 23,000 perished at this time.
JAMISON, "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 (Exo_16:1-8) 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.
K&D, "But while the flesh was still between their teeth, and before it was
ground, i.e., masticated, the wrath of the Lord burned against them, and
produced among the people a very great destruction. This catastrophe is not
to be regarded as “the effect of the excessive quantity of quails that they had
eaten, on account of the quails feeding upon things which are injurious to
man, so that eating the flesh of quails produces convulsions and giddiness
(for proofs, see Bochart, Hieroz. ii. pp. 657ff.),” as Knobel supposes, but as
an extraordinary judgment inflicted by God upon the greedy people, by
which a great multitude of people were suddenly swept away.
CALVIN, "33.And while the flesh was yet between their teeth. Moses does not
specify any particular day; but only that God did not wait till satiety had produced
disgust, but inflicted the punishment in the midst of their greediness. We may,
however, conjecture from what precedes, that time was given them to gorge
themselves. From whence their insatiable voracity may be gathered, which prevailed
for so many continuous days, and could not be appeased by any quantity of food.
God, therefore, allowed them time abundantly sufficient for them to gorge
themselves, unless their gluttony was prodigious: and yet punished their
intemperance, while the meat was yet in their mouths. They were, then, suddenly
surprised in the midst of their guttling; and hence it is said in the Psalm, (Psalms
78:30,) “they were not yet estranged from their lust;” just as any glutton might
220

221. choke himself, by devouring more than his throat could hold. Nor is that at variance
with their repletion, of which mention was lately made; for, however the belly may
swell with the quantity of its contents, the furious lust of eating is never appeased.
But, in order that their punishment might be more manifest, God inflicted it in the
very act; nor could any better opportunity have been chosen.
COKE, "Numbers 11:33. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, &c.— It is
impossible to determine, as Calmet justly remarks, how many days they used this
food, or what was the plague wherewith the Lord smote them. Some say that this
plague was a pestilence, others a consumption, others a fire, such as that spoken of
at the beginning of the chapter; an opinion, which seems to be supported by Psalms
78:21. Calmet conjectures, that the quails themselves might prove destructive to the
gluttonous and intemperate Israelites, long unused to flesh; but one may more
rationally conceive, that the plague was an immediate punishment from the
avenging hand of God. It is most probable, that this plague happened not to them
till they had fed upon the quails for a space of a month, promised Numbers 11:20.
COKE, "Numbers 11:34. Kibroth-hattaavah— The reason of which name, as usual,
is given in the next clause; because there they buried the people that lusted.
REFLECTIONS.—The people now obtain their desire, and suffer for their lust.
1. God sends them flesh to eat. Now they have enough, and riot in plenty; but when
the sinner is most joyous, the sword of vengeance is then descending.
2. God smote them with a very great plague. They who indulge their lusts must pay
dear for them. The meat was yet between their teeth, when the wrath of God came
upon them. How short-lived is the prosperity of the wicked! when his possession of
what he coveted is to appearance most firmly secured, death snatches him away, and
all his hopes perish.
3. The name of the place; Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of lust. Note; This title may
suit every tombstone. By lust sin entered into the world, and death passed upon all,
because all have sinned.
ELLICOTT, "(33) With a very great plague.—The noun, maccah. plague, is cognate
to the verb which is rendered smote. It is frequently used of a stroke inflicted by
God, as, e.g., pestilence or any epidemic sickness. A surfeit, such as that in which the
Israelites had indulged, especially under the circumstances in which they were
placed, would naturally produce a considerable amount of sickness. Here, then, as
in the account of the plagues of Egypt and in other parts of the sacred history, the
natural and the supernatural are closely combined.
221

222. POOLE, " Chewed, Heb. cut off, to wit, from their mouths, which is here
understood, and expressed Joel 1:5, i.e. ere it was taken away, as the flocks are said
to be cut off from the fold, Habakkuk 3:17, when they are lost and perished. The
sense is, before they had done eating their quails, which lasted for a month, as
appears from Numbers 11:20.
A very great plague; whether it was leanness sent into them, Psalms 106:15,
whereby the food was deprived of its nourishing power, which it hath only from
God’s blessing; or surfeit, a punishment most suitable to their sin, and most likely to
follow their intemperate desire and use of this food; or the pestilence; it is not much
material: but a great and sore plague unquestionably it was.
Quest. Why did God so sorely punish the people’s murmuring and complaining for
lack of flesh here, when he spared them after the same sin, Exo 16?
Answ. Because this sin was a far greater sin than that, and aggravated with worse
circumstances; as proceeding not from necessity, as that did, when as yet they had
no food, but from mere lust and wantonness, when they had manna constantly given
them; as committed after large experience of God’s care and kindness, after God
had pardoned their former sins, and after God had in a solemn and terrible manner
made known his laws and duty to them.
WHEDON, " 33. While the flesh… teeth — Before the flesh was chewed and
swallowed, the wrath of Jehovah burned against the people, not as Knobel supposes,
as the effect of the excessive quantity of quails eaten, producing giddiness and
convulsions, but as a manifest judgment direct from God, by which a great
multitude were suddenly swept away.
The wrath of the Lord was kindled — This phrase is no sign of a lower conception
of God than the Lord Jesus gives. Wrath is an integral part of love, when the lover is
perfectly holy and the loved are unholy. The most terrible anger is that of perfect
meekness, as expressed in that solemn paradox of the apostle of love, “the wrath of
the Lamb.” God was angry with Israel because he loved them, and desired their love
for their own good. The fact of his choice of Israel for his own, and the intensity of
his love, were shown no less by his anger at their sin than by the blessings which
crowned obedience.
Great plague — The Hebrew for plague signifies a stroke. It does not here indicate
any particular disease, but a sudden and widespread destruction of human life.
BENSON, "Numbers 11:33. The Lord smote the people with a very great plague —
With a pestilence, say some, with a consumption, say others. But it seems more
probable that it was by some untimely death, which was the effect of their own
222

223. gluttony and intemperance. This seems to agree best with the threatening, Numbers
11:20. God was pleased, in a great measure, to overlook their first murmuring,
about a year before, when he sent them the manna, because they were then under
great necessity, being really pinched with hunger; whereas now that they were fed
with bread from heaven, they cried for meat, not from need, but mere wantonness,
and that after much experience of God’s care and kindness, after he had pardoned
their former sins, and after he had made known his laws to them in a most solemn
and terrible manner. Besides, the longer God exercises forbearance, the more is the
offender’s guilt aggravated, if he remain impenitent. Reader, remember, “the
goodness of God leads thee to repentance,” and take heed that thou do not, “after
thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up to thyself wrath against the day of
wrath!”
PETT, "Numbers 11:33
‘While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of Yahweh
was kindled against the people, and Yahweh smote the people with a very great
plague.’
The result was that even while they were eating them they were smitten with a great
plague. This was the result of the ‘anger of Yahweh’. They were acting in gross
disobedience. Had they only eaten quails which they slew and ate immediately as
fresh meat they would not have suffered. But they did not trust Yahweh to continue
His provision and stored the birds and then ate of their dead carcasses. Thus they
rendered themselves deliberately ‘unclean’, and therefore liable to ‘wrath’. And
birds in such a condition, insufficiently dried out, could only spread disease.
We are intended to see the contrast between these people and the godly elders. The
elders had gone into a holy place, the place of life, to receive their blessing. Their
thoughts were centred on Yahweh. They enjoyed ‘life’. The people had gone
‘outside the camp’ to receive flesh, and had sinned. Their thoughts were on the
satisfaction of their own selfish desires. And the result was that they became
entangled with ‘death’, and therefore their blessing became a curse. And yet both
were living together in the camp. The same is so true today. There are those who
would enjoy true blessing, and while they must live in the world, they seek their
blessing in His holy place, in Heaven itself. Others are filled with the desires of life,
the desires of the flesh, the desires of the mind and the pride of life. And they are so
taken up with these that the Spirit passes them by. We must never secularise holy
things. We must choose between life and death, not compromise them.
PULPIT, "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed. If this
were taken in the most literal sense, it would mean that no one of the people had
time to swallow a single morsel of the coveted food ere he was stricken down by the
Divine visitation. We can scarcely imagine, however, that such was the ease in every
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224. single instance. It would indeed appear as if they had with one consent postponed
the enjoyment of eating the quails until they had gathered as huge a quantity for
future use as possible; as if in defiance and contempt of the Divine warning that
their greed would turn to satiety and loathing (see Numbers 11:19 and Numbers
11:32). If this were so, then the feast to which they so eagerly looked forward would
begin throughout the camps on the second night, and the visitation of God might
well have had the sudden and simultaneous character attributed to it here and in
Psalms 78:30, Psalms 78:31. At any rate the statement of the text positively excludes
the idea that they went on eating quails for a whole month, according to the promise
(or threat) of Psalms 78:20. There was flesh enough to have secured the literal
fulfillment of that promise by gorging them for a whole month; but it is evident that
the Divine wrath anticipated any such tardy revenges, and smote its victims in the
very moment of their keenest gratification. The Lord smote the people with a very
great plague. Both ancients and moderns state that the flesh of quails is
unwholesome (cf. Pliny, 10:23), but this appears to have no very valid foundation.
Unquestionably quails eaten for a month by people unused to a flesh diet would
produce many and fatal sicknesses; but there is no room for any such natural results
here. Whatever form the plague may have taken, it was as clearly supernatural in its
suddenness and intensity as the supply of quails itself. We do not know anything as
to who were smitten, or how many; the Psalmist tells us that they were "the fattest"
and "the chosen in Israel, and we may naturally suppose that those who had been
foremost in the lusting and the murmuring were foremost in the ruin which
followed.
34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth
Hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the
people who had craved other food.
BARNES, "Num_11:34, Num_11:35
(Kibroth-hattaavah has been identified by Palmer with the extensive
remains, graves, etc., at Erweis El Ebeirig, and Hazeroth “enclosures” with
Ain Hadherah.)
CLARKE, "Kibroth-hattaavah - The graves of lust; and thus their
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225. scandalous crime was perpetuated by the name of the place.
1. St. Jude speaks of persons who were murmurers and complainers,
walking after their own lusts, Jud_1:16, and seems to have this people
particularly in view, whom the sacred text calls μεμψιμοιροι, complainers of
their lot. They could never be satisfied; even God himself could not please
them, because they were ever preferring their own wisdom to his. God will
save us in his own way, or not at all; because that way, being the plan of
infinite wisdom, it is impossible that we can be saved in any other. How
often have we professed to pray, “Thy will be done!” And how seldom, very
seldom, have our hearts and lips corresponded! How careful should we be
in all our prayers to ask nothing but what is perfectly consistent with the
will of God! Many times our prayers and desires are such that, were they
answered, our ruin would be inevitable. “Thy will be done!” is the greatest
of all prayers; and he who would pray safely and successfully, must at least
have the spirit of these words in all his petitions. The Israelites asked flesh
when they should not have asked for it; God yields to their murmuring, and
the death of multitudes of these murmurers was the consequence! We hear
of such punishments, and yet walk in the same way, presuming on God’s
mercy, while we continue to provoke his justice. Let us settle it in our minds
as an indisputable truth, that God is better acquainted with our wants than
we are ourselves; that he knows infinitely better what we need; and that he
is ever more ready to hear than we are to pray, and is wont to give more
than we can desire or deserve.
2. In no case has God at any time withheld from his meanest followers any
of the spiritual or temporal mercies they needed. Were he to call us to travel
through a wilderness, he would send us bread from heaven, or cause the
wilderness to smile and blossom as the rose. How strange is it that we will
neither believe that God has worked, or will work, unless we see him
working!
GILL, "And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah,.... That is,
Moses called it so, or it was called by the children of Israel, and by others in
later times, by this name, which signifies "the graves of lust"; dug by lust, or
which lust was the cause and occasion of, and where those that indulged it
were buried, as follows:
because there they buried the people that lusted; not all that lusted, for the
lusting was pretty general; but all that died through their gluttony and
intemperance, and the judgment of God on them; or who were the most
inordinate in their lust, and encouraged others in it, and were the
ringleaders in the murmur and mutiny.
JAMISON, "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.
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226. K&D, "From this judgment the place of encampment received the name
Kibroth-hattaavah, i.e., graves of greediness, because there the people
found their graves while giving vent to their greedy desires.
CALVIN, "34.And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah. It was
requisite that some memorial of so great a sin should exist, that the sons might not
imitate their fathers. Heretofore God had sustained them with a food both agreeable
and wholesome: by longing for unlawful nourishment they were their own poisoners
and murderers. Now, such ingratitude was deservedly to be detested by their
posterity; and therefore the name was given to the place, not without the inspiration
of the Spirit of God. So Paul reminds us, that in this narrative God’s judgment
against corrupt and vicious lusts was portrayed, that we might ourselves learn not to
lust. (1 Corinthians 10:6.) I have already briefly explained how far our appetites are
to be restrained, and what intemperance, properly speaking, is.
ELLICOTT, "(34) Kibroth-hattaavah—i.e., the graves of lust ‘or, desire). In
Numbers 33:16, Kibroth-hattaavah is mentioned as the first station after the
departure from Sinai, whereas it is obvious that there must have been an
encampment at Taberah. Taberah may have been the name given to a part of
Kibroth-hattaavah, or the two names may have belonged to the same place.
TRAPP, "Numbers 11:34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah:
because there they buried the people that lusted.
Ver. 34. They buried the people.] Who, by a hasty testament, bequeathed this new
name to the place they lay buried in.
POOLE, " Kibroth-hattaavah, Heb. The graves of lust, i.e. of the men that lusted, as
it here follows. The abstract for the concrete, which is frequent; as poverty, 2 Kings
24:14, pride, Psalms 36:11, deceit, sins, Proverbs 13:6, &c., dreams, Jeremiah 27:9,
are put for men who are poor, or proud, or deceitful, or sinful, or dreamers. And it
notes that this plague did not seize upon all that did eat of the quails, for then all
had been destroyed, but only upon those who were inordinate both in the desire and
use of them.
WHEDON, "34. Kibroth-hattaavah — This word, signifying the graves of lust, is to
the dead murmurers an epitaph, and to the living a warning against yielding to the
clamours of unbridled appetite. If Huderah is ancient Hazeroth, “the graves of lust”
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227. may be a day’s journey thence in the direction of Sinai, and would lie within fifteen
miles of the Gulf of Akabah. Here at Erweis el Ebeirig, a piece of elevated ground
which forms a watershed, E.H. Palmer recently found the remains of a large
encampment miles in extent, such as stone hearths and bits of charcoal found
beneath the surface of the ground. “Just outside of the camp were an immense
number of stone heaps, which, from their shape and position could be nothing else
but graves.” These Professor Palmer identifies with the scene of this dreadful
pestilence.
PETT, "Numbers 11:34
‘And the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they
buried the people that were so greedy (‘lusted’).’
Here was their epitaph. The name of the place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, ‘the
graves of craving’ because there the people’s craving led in many cases to their
deaths. It was there that they buried the people who were so greedy. The mind of the
flesh leads to death, the mind of the Spirit leads to life and peace (Romans 8:6). If
only they had craved the Spirit it would have led them to mountains of blessing not
graves of craving.
It is clear from the chiastic pattern that Numbers 11:35 belongs to the next chapter
and we have interpreted accordingly.
PULPIT, "Kibroth-Hattaavah. The graves of greediness. Septuagint, ´íḉìáôá ôç͂ ò
å̓ ðéèõìé́áò. This name, like Tabeerah, was given to the place by the Israelites
themselves in connection with their own history; the name, therefore, like the sad
memory it enshrined, lived only in the sacred record. It is utterly uncertain where it
lay, except that it was apparently the terminus of a three days' journey from Sinai,
and in the desert of Paran. How long they stayed at Kibroth-Hattaavah is also quite
uncertain. If the plague followed hard upon the coming of the quails, a few days
would suffice for all the events recorded in this chapter, and we may well believe
that the people would be only too glad to receive the signal of departure as soon as
they had buried their unhappy brethren.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled
to Hazeroth and stayed there.
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228. GILL, "And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth,....
After having stayed there a month or more, as is gathered from Num_11:20,
and abode at Hazeroth; at least seven days, as appears from Num_12:15;
which, according to Bunting (g), was eight miles from Kibrothhattaavah, or
Taberah, which were the same place.
K&D, "From the graves of greediness the people removed to Hazeroth,
and there they remained (‫ָה‬‫י‬ ָ‫ה‬ as in Exo_24:12). The situation of these two
places of encampment is altogether unknown. Hazeroth, it is true, has been
regarded by many since Burckhardt (Syr. p. 808) as identical with the
modern Hadhra (in Robinson's Pal. Ain el Hudhera), eighteen hours to the
north-east of Sinai, partly because of the resemblance in the name, and
partly because there are not only low palm-trees and bushes there, but also
a spring, of which Robinson says (Pal. i. p. 223) that it is the only spring in
the neighbourhood, and yields tolerably good water, though somewhat
brackish, the whole year round. But Hadhra does not answer to the Hebrew
‫ר‬ ַ‫צ‬ ָ‫,ח‬ to shut in, from which Hazeroth (enclosures) is derived; and there are
springs in many other places in the desert of et Tih with both drinkable and
brackish water. Moreover, the situation of this well does not point to
Hadhra, which is only two days' journey from Sinai, so that the Israelites
might at any rate have pitched their tents by this well after their first
journey of three days (Num_10:33), whereas they took three days to reach
the graves of lust, and then marched from thence to Hazeroth.
Consequently they would only have come to Hadhra on the supposition that
they had been about to take the road to the sea, and intended to march
along the coast to the Arabah, and so on through the Arabah to the Dead Sea
(Robinson, p. 223); in which case, however, they would not have arrived at
Kadesh. The conjecture that Kibroth-hattaavah is the same as Di-Sahab
(Deu_1:1), the modern Dahab (Mersa Dahab, Minna el Dahab), to the east
of Sinai, on the Elanitic Gulf, is still more untenable. For what end could be
answered by such a circuitous route, which, instead of bringing the
Israelites nearer to the end of their journey, would have taken them to
Mecca rather than to Canaan? As the Israelites proceeded from Hazeroth to
Kadesh in the desert of Paran (Num_13:3 and Num_13:26), they must have
marched from Sinai to Canaan by the most direct route, through the midst
of the great desert of et Tih, most probably by the desert road which leads
from the Wady es Sheikh into the Wady ez-Zuranuk, which breaks through
the southern border mountains of et Tih, and passes on through the Wady
ez-Zalakah over el Ain to Bir-et-Themmed, and then due north past Jebel
Araif to the Hebron road. By this route they could go from Horeb to Kadesh
Barnea in eleven days (Deu_1:2), and it is here that we are to seek for the
two stations in question. Hazeroth is probably to be found, as Fries and
Kurtz suppose, in Bir-et-Themmed, and Kibroth-hattaavah in the
neighbourhood of the southern border mountains of et Tih.
228

229. POOLE, "
Of which place See Poole "Numbers 33:17" See Poole "Deuteronomy 1:1".
WHEDON, " 35. Hazeroth — This is identified with modern Ain Huderah by
Robinson, Stanley, and Palmer. It is a plain begirt by tall cliffs of sandstone. “Here
and there a hill or dyke of green stone, or a rock of rosy granite, contrasts or blends
harmoniously with the rest; and in the midst, beneath a lofty cliff, nestles the dark-
green palm-grove of Hazeroth — such a landscape as none but the Great Artist’s
hand could have designed.” — Palmer’s Desert of the Exodus. “The region through
which the Israelites had hitherto marched was a wide tangle of mountains, with
occasional broad plains and numerous narrow wadies, twisting hither and thither.
The approach to Hazeroth, however, had been over sandy plains broken by
outstanding sandstone cliffs, but the camp itself had been pitched on the sides and in
the basin of a hollow, surrounded by weird and fantastic sandstone walls of the most
varied colours — deep red and violet, and rich gold and scarlet, mingled with deep
purple.” — Geikie.
PULPIT, "And abode at Hazeroth. Or, "were in Hazeroth." Septuagint, å̓ ãǻíåôï ï̔
ëáï̀ò á̓ óçñù́ è. Hazeroth, from ‫ר‬ַ‫צ‬ָ‫,ח‬ to shut in, means "enclosures;" so named perhaps
from some ancient stone enclosures erected by wandering tribes for their herds and
flocks. It has been identified with Ain el Hadhera, a fountain eighteen hours
northeast of Sinai, but on no satisfactory grounds beyond a partial resemblance of
name. Assuming that the march lay in a northerly direction through the desert of
Paran, the Israelites would naturally follow the road which leads across the
southern mountain barrier of et-Tih, and on by the Wady es-Zulakeh into the desert
plateau. On this road there is a large fountain, with pasturage, at a place called el
Ain, and another somewhat further at Bit ed-Themmed. One or other of these was
probably the site of Hazeroth (cf. Stanley, ‘Sinai,' page 84). It is, however, entirely a
matter of conjecture, and of little real interest. The progress of Israel which is of
unfading importance to us is a moral and religious, and not a geographical,
progress.
229