Original Meaning

GROUSING. We have made it through ten chapters of the book of Numbers without hearing of anyone having a bad attitude. Even those who are frustrated because they cannot celebrate the Passover at the proper time only want to follow the Lord’s instructions (9:6–7).

In 11:1, however, we hit a sour note that sounds like déjà vu all over again. Experiencing the discomforts of travel, the people ungratefully complain (Hithpolel of ʾnn, elsewhere only in Lam. 3:39) “in the hearing of the LORD,” who is watching over them in his cloud (ʿanan; cf. Num. 10:34). Whereas the divine cloud has been appearing like fire at night to protect the Israelites (9:15–16), now the Lord answers grumbling with destructive fire at the outskirts of the camp, reminiscent of the fire that consumed Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:2). The text does not directly say what the fire consumes, but most likely some people are hurt.

The next episode is about the Lord’s cafeteria menu, the staple of which is manna (Num. 11:4–6).1 The disgruntled riffraff (ʾasapsup, i.e., the “mixed multitude” who accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt; cf. Ex. 12:38) are the catalyst for complaining. Because the non-Israelites would have lived at the outskirts of the camp, outside the areas designated for the twelve tribes, the fact that the Lord struck that portion at Taberah (Num. 11:1) implies that the riffraff instigated the grumbling there too.

As expected, the divine King does not take kindly to insulting rejection of the heavenly bounty that he has daily provided. Ominously, he becomes “exceedingly angry” (11:10). Exacerbating the gravity of the situation is Moses’ burnout. Whereas he interceded at Taberah with a prayer to God (11:2), he now offers a complaint of his own (11:11–15). Just as the people are sick and tired of manna, Moses is sick and tired of them!

Moses’ bitter speech to the Lord forms a chiasm, with the people’s unreasonable demand featured at the center:

a “Why have I not found favor in your eyes2 that you put the burden of all these people on me? (11:11)

b Why do you tell me to carry [Qal of nśʾ ] them in my arms, as a nurse carries [Qal of nśʾ ] an infant . . . ? (11:12)

c Where can I get meat to give [Qal of ntn] to all these people? (11:13)3

c′ They keep wailing to me, ‘Give [Qal of ntn] us meat to eat!’

b′ I cannot carry [Qal of nśʾ ] all these people by myself. . . . (11:14)

a′ Put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes.” 11:15)

This is the same Moses who earlier pleaded for Israel’s life, even if it meant blotting his own name out of God’s book (Ex. 32:32). Now the Lord has two problems on his hands: Moses as well as Israel.

The Lord first addresses Moses’ need, telling him to gather4 seventy elders (11:16) so that they can be empowered to help him carry (Qal of nśʾ; cf. Moses’ speech above) the burden of managing the people (11:17). Whereas Jethro earlier advised Moses to delegate judges for handling disputes between the people (Ex. 18:13–26), here it is the Lord who takes initiative to make tribal elders an extension of Moses and a buffer between him and their people.

Turning to the people’s craving for meat, God commands that the people sanctify themselves (Hithpael of qdš; 11:18). Such “sanctification” includes washing their clothes and abstaining from sexual relations (Ex. 19:10–11, 14–15) along with bathing (cf. Lev. 15:5–11, 21–22, 27; Num. 19:19) in preparation for a special encounter with God the next day (cf. Josh. 3:5; 7:13). It sounds as though the Israelites are to enjoy sacrificial meat, but their wish come true will turn to punishment that fits their crime when they will have it coming out their noses (we would say “coming out their ears”; 11:19–20).

Sharing the Spirit. When the Lord puts the Spirit on seventy elders, they temporarily prophesy (11:24–25). The text does not say what this prophesying entails (see Bridging Contexts section). Also unexplained is the reason why two elders remain in their camping place rather than going to the sanctuary, where Moses and the other elders are. Nevertheless, the Spirit finds them where they are (11:26). Their prophesying alarms Joshua, who is apparently concerned that leadership extending to the elders should be associated with Moses at headquarters, rather than getting out of control (11:27–28).

Moses recognizes that the Spirit transcends his control and the people cannot have too much of this divine power. Abraham Heschel observes, “The spiritual is not something we own, but something we may share in. We do not possess it; we may be possessed by it.”5 Rather than being jealous of the spiritual gifts granted to others, Moses rejoices and desires the best for all of God’s people.

Quail. Having answered Moses’ need by putting his Spirit (ruaḥ) on the elders, the Lord delivers fresh meat to the people by airmail, sending a literal wind (also ruaḥ) that blows quail in from the sea (11:31; cf. Ps. 78:26–31). He has sent them quail before (Ex. 16:13), but this time the birds come in prodigious quantities. The wind brings “them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day’s walk in any direction.”

Some interpreters understand “about three feet [lit., two cubits] above the ground” to describe the depth to which the quail pile up on the ground (e.g., NASB, NRSV). If this were the case, their quantity would be unbelievable. Depending on variables such as how many miles are included in “a day’s walk in any direction,” the number of birds would likely be in the billions or trillions. However, the biblical text simply says that the wind “left” (nṭš; cf. 1 Sam. 17:20, 22) the quail around the camp about two cubits “above/on” (preposition ʾal) the surface of the land. This can as easily mean that the wind impels the quail to within reach of the Israelites and leaves them there just above and on the ground, where they can readily be caught and slaughtered.

The people greedily gather (Qal of ʾsp) quail around the clock all day, all night, and all the next day and spread them out around the camp, presumably to cure by drying, so that their ten+ homers of quail each (Num. 11:32) can last for the next month, as the Lord promised (11:18–20). The early biblical homer (originally “donkey load”) was a dry measure of capacity now estimated at between 100 and 200 liters, probably closer to the smaller end of this range.6 If so, six hundred thousand men (11:21) probably collect more than thirty-five bushels each, for a total of more than twenty-one million bushels. Undoubtedly women and children help with the gathering process, but they may have shared in the ten homers minimum that belonged to their men. Even if there were only five birds per bushel (a low estimate, given their relatively small size), there would be a total of more than 105 million birds, still a flock of staggering proportions that would have occupied a vast area while in full flight before becoming bogged down and concentrated around the Israelite camp.

The influx of quail in the biblical story is related to a natural phenomenon. Large numbers of quail migrate across the Sinai Peninsula from Africa on their way to Europe and Asia. Since these birds have relatively heavy bodies and do not fly well, they partly depend on prevailing winds to assist their flight, and they become exhausted by long journeys.7 At the beginning of the fourteenth century A.D., the Arab writer Al-Qazwini described how people living near Gaza slaughtered many such quail and preserved them with salt.8 During the 1900s, Arabs living in the northern Sinai used nets to catch one to two million low-flying quail.9

In Numbers 11 the quail come from the sea, as we would expect, but three unusual elements signal divine intervention: The arrival of quail is timed to serve as the Lord’s answer to the Israelites’ demand for meat, the wind that carries the flock is from the Lord, and the number of birds is miraculous.10

The people’s indulgence for a month until quail comes out their noses (cf. 11:20) is interrupted. Before the meat is “cut off” (krt, i.e., runs out; cf. Joel 1:5, 16),11 God’s anger (lit., “nose”) burns against them and he strikes them (Hiphil of nkh) a great blow (makkah; Num. 11:33). This can be called a divine “plague,”12 which may involve sickness, such as a form of bacterial food poisoning that induces vomiting (possibly including out the nose).13 However, similar language in 1 Samuel 6:19 seems to describe a more sudden fate for the people of Beth Shemesh who presume to look into the ark of the covenant.

Whatever the precise nature of the “plague” resulting from quail, its acute onset is deadly, as implied by the name given to the place: Kibroth Hattaavah (“the graves of craving,” Num. 11:34). Like a number of other stages along the Israelites’ itinerary (cf. ch. 33), the location of this site has been lost.

Bridging Contexts

DIVINE HELP FOR “burned-out” pastors. As Moses sits trying to enjoy his manna in the cool of the evening, all he can hear is tented subcommittees wailing and carrying on about garlic and onions like a bunch of spoiled children. As the “children” of Israel indulge in paroxysms of self-pity, the shepherd/pastor of his people not infrequently hears his own name mentioned disparagingly as the source of all their troubles. Moses thinks: Forget this, Lord! Transfer me to another district! Anywhere will do, even a permanent position in a church cemetery, but not here!

In the Bible the Lord is hard on some kinds of people, but he is remarkably gentle and encouraging to stressed and burned-out pastors. For instance, after the traumatic golden calf episode, the Lord graciously granted Moses’ request to experience a more intimate glimpse of his glory (Ex. 33:18–23; 34:5–8). At Kibroth Hattaavah, God does not berate Moses for his negative reaction to complaints. Instead, he addresses the problems that have brought undue pressure to bear on Moses.

There are other examples. When Jezebel threatened Elijah, he fled for his life all the way from northern Israel into the desert south of Beersheba in Judah (1 Kings 19:3–4). As Moses had done centuries before (Num. 11:15), he prayed that he might die (1 Kings 19:4). Rather than rebuking Elijah for his faithless despair and for abandoning his post of duty, the Lord twice sent an angel with food and water, and then just let him sleep (19:4–8). When he sought refuge at Horeb, the mountain of his spiritual roots, God asked him one simple question: “What are you doing here?” (19:9). Then the Lord taught him the power of a “gentle whisper,” recommissioned him, gave him an associate, and sent him back home to minister (19:11–18).

Depressing decay characterized spiritual and moral conditions throughout Isaiah’s parish of Judah (Isa. 1–5). To make the future look even more bleak, King Uzziah finally died of his scaly-skin disease (6:1; cf. 2 Chron. 26:19–23). In that year, when the weakness of human leadership was in the headlines, the Lord gave Isaiah a vision that changed his life (Isa. 6). He gazed on the blazing glory of God on his throne and heard the antiphony of shining seraphim calling “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (NRSV). He felt the seismic shaking of the floor beneath him as swirling smoke filled the temple, leaving him with no doubt at all about who was really in charge. Like Moses, he never lost sight of his vision of the Lord. “The Holy One of Israel” was his guiding light and undying theme.14

Early prophecy and divine control. The first occurrence of the word nabiʾ (“prophet”) in the Hebrew Bible is in Genesis 20:7, where Abraham is called a prophet. Here the Lord speaks to Abimelech, king of Gerar, and tells him to return Sarah to Abraham, “for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live.” A prophet has a special line of communication to God.

The next instance of nabiʾ is in Exodus 7:1, where the Lord says to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet [nabiʾ ]” (Ex. 7:1). Although Moses will be the prophet in relation to God, who will tell him what to say and do, Aaron will be like Moses’ prophet in the sense that he will be his spokesperson. Again, a prophet is one who has special access, which in this case enables and authorizes him to relay messages to others. The prophetic spokesman is under control of the authority of the one who gives him his message. Notice that the “forthtelling” of such a spokesman can include “foretelling,” but it is not limited to prediction of the future.

Following the career of Moses, whose prophetic gift involved unique face-to-face interaction with God (Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10), the Lord raised up other spokespersons. In Judges 6:8–10 we find the first of many instances of a prophet announcing a “covenant lawsuit” against apostate Israelites for violating their binding relationship with the Lord (cf. 2:1–3).

Establishment of the Israelite monarchy increased the need for prophecy, in order to maintain the Lord’s ultimate sovereignty over his people. After Samuel anointed Saul as the first king, God used the gift of prophecy on him in an unusual way (1 Sam. 10:9–10): “As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets [plural of nabiʾ ] met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying [Hithpael of nbʾ ].” An even more striking phenomenon occurred later when Saul was trying to capture David (1 Sam. 19:23–24):

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

The primary point of this kind of early Israelite prophecy was not the content of what Saul said or did as a prophet (unlike later “classical” prophecy by Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.), but simply the fact that the Lord exercised full control over him. Similarly, the point of prophesying (Hithpael of nbʾ ) on only one occasion by seventy elders chosen by Moses (Num. 11:24–26) is not the content of their utterances but the fact that the Lord authorizes them to be under his control and to be accountable to him as his representatives. Whatever they say when prophesying, they are speaking God’s words, not their own. The fact that Eldad and Medad prophesy “outside the box” of human expectation buttresses the point that it is God who is in control.

With a council of “prophets” in the Israelite camp, Moses will no longer be alone in bearing responsibility for representing God’s will to the people. Even if the Israelites do not like what they are hearing, confirmation of Moses’ message by a divinely authorized delegation from among the people will (hopefully) prevent them from singling Moses out as the sole “lightning rod” for their vexation.

Contemporary Significance

FREEDOM TO COMPLAIN. At Kibroth Hattaavah, the Israelites are to sanctify themselves for a special encounter with God (Num. 11:18; cf. Ex. 19:10; Josh. 3:5; 7:13), as if they will enjoy a sacrificial meal (cf. 1 Sam. 16:5). Instead, they become the victims15 through a Kamikaze (“divine wind”) incursion of quail. The grousing people get graves instead of gravy. They have asked for it, but it is not good for them. Insisting on having one’s own way and disregarding expressed or implied warnings from the divine “Surgeon General,” rather than praying “your will be done” (Matt. 6:10), can be hazardous to one’s health. God just might give you what you want!16

At least the Lord listens when the Israelites complain. We don’t hear about them complaining to Pharaoh when they were in Egypt; all they could do was groan. Undoubtedly grumbling to him was out of the question, as it was for people who lived in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. When my wife and I were in Iraq for three months in 1989, we didn’t hear a single negative word about him. It would have been easy to get the impression that Saddam was a wonderful person, if we didn’t know that he tortured anyone who complained.

Modern Israel is different. An Israeli friend told me about a Russian Jew who was allowed to emigrate to Israel during the Soviet period, when this was a rare occurrence. When he landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, a reporter met him. First the reporter asked, “How was life in Russia?”

The new emigrant replied, “I do not complain.”

Another question ensued: “How was the housing situation in Russia?”

“I do not complain.”

“What about working conditions?”

“I do not complain.”

Exasperated, the reporter demanded, “If you don’t complain about life in Russia, why do you come to Israel?”

The Russian retorted: “Because in Israel I can complain!”

Freedom allows for the possibility of complaining. If the ancient Israelites had stopped to think about it, they could have said: “Wait a minute, what are we doing? We’re complaining. Would we have done that in Egypt? Never! Why not? Because we were scared to death, that’s why, even (or especially?) when they were killing our baby boys. But now the very fact that we are griping proves that we are free! Isn’t this freedom worth the temporary price of some dietary boredom?”

At Kibroth Hattaavah the Lord comes down hard on the grumbling of the Israelites. So how is he different from Pharaoh? When they first complained about bitter water, he did not punish them but simply met their needs by making the water sweet (Ex. 15:23–25). When they complained about not having food, he gave them manna (Ex. 16).

God knows that faith has a “learning curve.” After giving the Israelites evidence on which to base their trust, he then expected them to trust him more and held them accountable for the quality of their faith in his beneficence. After a year of living in total dependence on him, they knew where to get help when they needed it. When grumbling about food arose again, it was not simply complaining; it was rebellious refusal to trust the Lord. He had to cure them of this attitude in a desert “boot camp” (or “sandal camp”?) because they could not survive a military assault on fortified Canaan without implicit trust in miracles that only he could provide.

Complaining is alive and well today, especially with regard to little aggravations, inconveniences, aches, and pains. Obviously there is a place for directing legitimate grievances to those who have caused our problems or can do something about them, whether they are other people or God (cf. Job, many psalms, and Habakkuk). But grumbling behind someone’s back is destructive. This includes unfocused complaining, which implicitly implicates God as the ultimate Cause and denies that he cares about every aspect of our well-being (Luke 12:6–7).

Instead of simply complaining, which tends to depress ourselves and others, we can accomplish something positive if we take our complaints directly to God in prayer, believing that he will hear us (cf. Ps. 142:1–3). A complaint to God that is a petition of faith can end up strengthening the faith of others when the Lord answers the prayer (cf. 142:7).

Another medicine for negative feelings that generate complaining is to keep things in perspective by remembering blessings already received.

You came home cranky because a deadline got moved up. She came home grumpy because the day care forgot to give your fiveyear-old her throat medicine. . . . So there you sit at the dinner table—cranky and grumpy—with little Emily. Emily folds her hands to pray. . . .

“God, it’s Emily. How are you? I’m fine, thank you. Mom and Dad are mad. I don’t know why. We’ve got birds and toys and mash potatoes and each other. Maybe you can get them to stop being mad? Please do, or it’s just gonna be you and me having any fun tonight. Amen.”

The prayer is answered before it’s finished; you both look up in the middle and laugh at the end and shake your heads and say you’re sorry. And you both thank God for the little voice who reminded you about what matters.17