Chapter Eleven
The People Become Discontent and Complain
11:1 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.
The people of Israel once again began to complain (see Exodus 15:24; 16:2; 17:2) and God heard them. The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘misfortunes’, is ‘rǎ’, which is usually translated ‘bad’, or ‘evil’[1]. In this context it implies that they considered their circumstances disagreeable, but not necessarily hazardous, something that they chose not to tolerate (perhaps even trivial). When YHWH heard the people complain, He got angry and brought “the fire of YHWH,” on them which burned and consumed the outer edges of the camp (Hebrew ‘mǎ·ḥǎně(h)’,[2] can also refer to a multitude of people). That got their attention, so they cried out to Moses to save them. Moses immediately prayed to God and the fire stopped. The location of this incident was then named Taberah[3] (believed to be from the root ‘bā’ar’,[4] meaning to burn, found only one other location in the Bible, see Deuteronomy 9:22).
11:4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘rabble’ is the first and only appearance of ‘sǎp·sǔp’,[5] referring to a gathering of mixed people (remember that the people on this trek were not all a descendant of Israel, see Exodus 12:38). These people “had a strong craving,” consisting of the Hebrew ‘hiṯ·’ǎw·wû’[6] (meaning to desire or covet, same word used in Exodus 20:17, “you shall not covet...”) and ‘tǎ·’ǎwā(h)’[7] (meaning to crave or lust after). Apparently forgetting their previous work and living conditions, these people began to long after the meat, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic they had in Egypt. They remember, and possibly exaggerate, the abundance of the variety of food with emphasis on the flavoring and spices, making their stay in Egypt sound more like some form of resort. Verse six in the Hebrew sounds even more pathetic than it does in the English. Here they complain that their strength is dried up, by using the Hebrew word ‘nǎp·šē’ (translated with a wide variety of meanings, ‘soul’, ‘life’, ‘breath’, etc.),[8] they are essentially saying they just cannot go on living eating just manna.
11:7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
The narrative briefly stops to remind and update the reader regarding manna and its use. Here the description is given again as being like coriander seed (see Exodus 16:31, which identified it as being white and tasting like honey) and having the appearance like that of bdellium (Hebrew ‘beḏō’·lǎḥ’,[9] an aromatic resin, believed to be yellowish to gold in color, found only one other location in Scripture, see Genesis 2:12, perhaps used here as a reference to shape and size, and not color). The people gathered it in the morning and either ground it down like flour or beat it to make cakes to eat (see Exodus 16:9-36).
11:10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Moses heard people weeping throughout the camp. It is interesting to note that the text says they were all near the entrances of their tents, perhaps deliberately wanting Moses to see and hear that they were discontent. God was angry and so was Moses, apparently this immature behavior was more than Moses could tolerate as he began to complain to God. First, asking God why He has “dealt ill” (Hebrew ‘hǎrē·’ō’·ṯā’,[10] to do wrong) with him. He then asks why he has not found favor in His sight, as evidenced by the extra burden these people have put on him. Moses then asks a series of questions that quickly point out that he is not responsible for them, he asks: “Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?” (Numbers 11:12, NLT) Moses then asks, “Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?” For they are weeping (perhaps best stated as having tantrums), asking for meat to eat. Potentially being physically exhausted or frustrated (or both), Moses gets to the root of the issue, he cannot handle these people alone. The burden was, in his mind, too much for him to handle alone. If this is the way it was going to be from now on, Moses asks God to kill him now. Then possibly recognizing what he is saying and to whom he was talking to, Moses begs God to find favor in His sight and forgive him of this grievous tirade.
Under the strain and pressure of taking on the troubles of so many people, Moses begins to resort back to thinking from man’s perspective, rather from God’s point of view. Seeing that he could not find or was aware of any natural solution to finding the meat they desired, Moses breaks down and then finally reaches out to God. Christians do the same thing as they often perceive problems from mankind’s perspective instead of seeking God first. It is not necessarily due to a lack of faith as it is typically a temporary fear, anxiety or apprehension that ultimately leads to panic. God wants His people to trust in Him and His promises and to seek Him first.
There is no mention of God rebuking Moses for this outburst, instead He responded by providing the assistance he needed.
God Responds to the Complaining
11:16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for 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, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.
God tells Moses to gather seventy men from the elders of the various tribes. This concept should sound familiar as Moses had already chosen several men to listen and judge issues and resolve disputes (see Exodus 18:14-27). However, these men were going to be officially recognized, and in a sense, be ordained to serve God as the Holy Spirit will be put upon them, so that they could to share the burden.
11:18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” ’ ” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
Moses was to inform the people that they needed to consecrate themselves (made clean, similar to the command prior to the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai, see Exodus 19:9-15) and that they will eat meat, since they are the ones that complained they had no meat to eat and thought they had it better in Egypt. And meat they will have, not just for one day, but enough for a whole month, so much that they will eat until it comes out of their noses and it becomes loathsome to them (Hebrew ‘zā·rā(’),[11] same word translated as ‘unauthorized’ in Exodus 30:9 and Leviticus 10:1, in this context the abundance of the meat being detestable and ultimately nauseating), because they did not trust God and rejected what He did for them, by bringing them out of Egypt’s bondage.
Moses, perhaps still thinking from man’s perspective, is alarmed by what God is saying. The “600,000 on foot” he is referring to is perhaps an approximation of the number of men capable of going to war (see Numbers 1:46). Moses was concerned that even if they if they slaughtered all the flocks and herds, would they have enough to feed everyone meat for a month. He then asks a derogatory question, wondering if all the fish in the sea would be enough to satisfy them. God responds, “is YHWH’s hand shortened?” Essentially reminding Moses that He is omnipotent, and provision is not a problem. Since Moses was still limited in his thinking, God told him that He will have to see for himself if His word will come true or not.
Elders Selected to Assist Moses
11:24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
Moses told the people what God told him and then assembled seventy men selected from the elders of the people around the tent (the Tabernacle). Then God came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses and took some (Hebrew ‘min’,[12] a preposition to indicate from, out of) the Holy Spirit that was upon Moses and was given to the seventy elders (we need to remember a portion of something that is infinite remains infinite, this action did not diminish the Holy Spirit in Moses, see Considerations below). They immediately began to prophesy for a while.
This is the first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘nābā’[13] in Scripture, it can be found 114 times in the Old Testament and is most often translated as, ‘prophesied,’ ‘prophesy,’ or ‘prophesying’. The word means to speak by inspiration, usually words provided by God. Prophesying does not necessarily mean that the person is speaking, or will speak, about future events, although correctly stating or interpreting future events is used by God to help establish the person is speaking for Him (only He truly knows the future). The act of prophesying is simply the process of revealing God’s words to others. There will be several stories in the Bible where, after receiving the Holy Spirit or some other gift from God, that they begin to prophesy without giving any further details, just like this passage. This is to inform the audience (and the readers) that they have received something special from God.
11:26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Two men by the names of Eldad and Medad were apparently part of the seventy elders selected to serve in the same capacity as the others, but for some unexplained reason they never came to the tent. When the other elders received the Holy Spirit, these two men began to prophesy as well. Perhaps due to a misunderstanding they were not in attendance with the others, it is reassuring that with God there is no chance of error or misunderstanding.
Joshua, Moses’ assistant, who has not been mentioned since Exodus 33:11, must have heard Eldad and Medad prophesying. Thinking this was wrong, as Moses was the spokesperson for God, he tells Moses that he should stop them from prophesying. Moses responds to Joshua by asking him, “Are you jealous for my sake?” He then states, “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!” (Numbers 11:29b)
Considerations
Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide Infinity
One subject that most people have difficulty relating to is the concept of infinity. This of course makes sense since everything we are taught in school had (or has) a beginning and an end (often depicted with a timeline). The idea that something that has always been and will always exist is beyond our realm of understanding. Related to that is also the idea that there can be an infinite quantity of something. We therefore typically summarize by thinking, if there is no end, then no way!
Now let’s add infinity to infinity, what do you have? Infinity! We can also do the same with all forms of multiplication and still have infinity. Why is that important to mention here? If God gave some of the Holy Spirit that was with Moses to the other elders, how much remained with Moses? Since there is no end to the Holy Spirit, being the third member of the Godhead, He would also be infinite. Moses did not lose anything, he gained 70 helpers! This is also true for Christians as the Holy Spirit resides in them (see John 16:13; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 4:6; 2 Timothy 1:14; 1 John 2:27) as infinity divided by the number of Christians in dwelt with the Holy Spirit still results in infinity within each one.
Regarding the Holy Spirit residing in people, we see that there is a major difference between those having the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament versus those who receive the Holy Spirit as the result of accepting Jesus as their Savior in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the Spirit can be removed from them, for example: “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14a, see also 1 Samuel 18:12; 28:15-16; Judges 16:20) and King David wrote, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11) Each of these verses indicate that the Holy Spirit can be removed from a person. However, in the New Testament, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will reside in Christians forever. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
The apostle Paul explains that God ‘seals’ believers with the Holy Spirit, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) The Holy Spirit will not be removed from a Christian.
The elders selected and ordained by God to assist Moses are often considered a precursor (or at least one of several precursors) to the later ruling council known as the Sanhedrin.[14] Although by the time it was disbanded in 425 A.D., the structure of this council changed many times, including the formation of a “Lesser Sanhedrin” (23 judges) and a “Great Sanhedrin” (71 judges, 70 members plus the high priest) being the ‘supreme court’ of the land. The Great Sanhedrin is best known by Christians as the body of judges that started the proceedings that resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus.
Quail to Eat and Eat and Die
11:31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.
God changed the direction of the wind causing the quail to fly towards where they were camped. Some interpret the height of the birds as flying two cubits (approximately three feet) above ground and others interpret that reference to mean they were hitting the ground and creating heaps of birds two cubits high. In either case, the people were able to gather a lot of quail, ten homers would have been around 75 cubic feet of birds! They then laid the birds out in the sun to dry. The historian Herodotus wrote that Egyptians often ate quail and other small birds salted and raw (Histories, 2.77.5).[15] Perhaps some learned that technique from the Egyptians and practiced that meal-preparation methodology themselves.
It is difficult to imagine the scene, with the people running around in a frenzy trying to capture as many birds as possible followed by them frantically attempting to consume the birds, perhaps even eating them raw. One could describe the behavior as being bestial, certainly depraved, as God stops these ‘rabble’ individuals mid-chew, possibly choking them to death. The Psalmist reported the story with additional detail: “He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.” (Psalm 78:26-31)
The location was then named Kibroth-hattaavah, perhaps best translated as “graves of craving,” or “graves of lust,” being the location where they were buried. The exact location remains unknown. From there they moved on to Hazeroth, another location that is not known.
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[1] See commentary under Genesis 38:6-10.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4264.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 8404.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 1197.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 628.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 183.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 8378.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 5315. See commentaries under Genesis 1:26-27; 36:16-19; Exodus 31:14; Leviticus 26:3-13, 14-15, 16-20 and Considerations under Genesis 1:31.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 916.
[10] Strong’s Hebrew 7489.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 2214.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 4480.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 5012.
[14] See also commentary under Exodus 18:24-27.
[15] Herodotus. (1920). Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. (A. D. Godley, Ed.). Medford, MA: Harvard University Press.