Numbers 11

Nu 11:1-35.

MANNA

LOATHED.

1. When the people complained it displeased the Lord,

&c.--Unaccustomed to the fatigues of travel and wandering into the

depths of a desert, less mountainous but far more gloomy and desolate

than that of Sinai, without any near prospect of the rich country that

had been promised, they fell into a state of vehement discontent, which

was vented at these irksome and fruitless journeyings. The displeasure

of God was manifested against the ungrateful complainers by fire sent

in an extraordinary manner. It is worthy of notice, however, that the

discontent seems to have been confined to the extremities of the camp,

where, in all likelihood, "the mixed multitude"

[see on

Ex 12:38]

had their station. At the intercession of Moses, the appalling judgment

ceased

[Nu 11:2],

and the name given to the place, "Taberah" (a burning), remained ever

after a monument of national sin and punishment. (See on

Nu 11:34).

4. the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting--These

consisted of Egyptians.

[See on

Ex 12:38.]

To dream of banquets and plenty of animal food in the desert becomes a

disease of the imagination; and to this excitement of the appetite no

people are more liable than the natives of Egypt. But the Israelites

participated in the same feelings and expressed dissatisfaction with

the manna on which they had hitherto been supported, in comparison with

the vegetable luxuries with which they had been regaled in Egypt.

5. We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt

freely--(See on

Ex 7:17).

The people of Egypt are accustomed to an almost exclusive diet of fish,

either fresh or sun-dried, during the hot season in April and May--the

very season when the Israelites were travelling in this desert. Lower

Egypt, where were the brick-kilns in which they were employed, afforded

great facilities for obtaining fish in the Mediterranean, the lakes,

and the canals of the Nile.

cucumbers--The Egyptian species is smooth, of a cylindrical form, and

about a foot in length. It is highly esteemed by the natives and when

in season is liberally partaken of, being greatly mellowed by the

influence of the sun.

melons--The watermelons are meant, which grow on the deep, loamy soil

after the subsidence of the Nile; and as they afford a juicy and

cooling fruit, all classes make use of them for food, drink, and

medicine.

leeks--by some said to be a species of grass cresses, which is much

relished as a kind of seasoning.

onions--the same as ours; but instead of being nauseous and affecting

the eyes, they are sweet to the taste, good for the stomach, and form

to a large extent the aliment of the laboring classes.

garlic--is now nearly if not altogether extinct in Egypt although it

seems to have grown anciently in great abundance. The herbs now

mentioned form a diet very grateful in warm countries where vegetables

and other fruits of the season are much used. We can scarcely wonder

that both the Egyptian hangers-on and the general body of the

Israelites, incited by their clamors, complained bitterly of the want

of the refreshing viands in their toilsome wanderings. But after all

their experience of the bounty and care of God, their vehement longing

for the luxuries of Egypt was an impeachment of the divine

arrangements; and if it was the sin that beset them in the desert, it

became them more strenuously to repress a rebellious spirit, as

dishonoring to God and unbecoming their relation to Him as a chosen

people.

6-9. 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"

(Ex 16:31),

and here to have the taste of fresh oil. The discrepancy in these

statements is only apparent; for in the latter the manna is described

in its raw state; in the former, after it was ground and baked. The

minute description given here of its nature and use was designed to

show the great sinfulness of the people, in being dissatisfied with

such excellent food, furnished so plentifully and gratuitously.

10-15. Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy

servant, &c.--It is impossible not to sympathize with his feelings

although the tone and language of his remonstrances to God cannot be

justified. He was in a most distressing situation--having a mighty

multitude under his care, with no means of satisfying their clamorous

demands. Their conduct shows how deeply they had been debased and

demoralized by long oppression: while his reveals a state of mind

agonized and almost overwhelmed by a sense of the undivided

responsibilities of his office.

16, 17. the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the

elders--

(Ex 3:16; 5:6; 24:9; 18:21, 24;

Le 4:15).

An order of seventy was to be created, either by a selection from the

existing staff of elders or by the appointment of new ones, empowered

to assist him by their collective wisdom and experience in the onerous

cares of government. The Jewish writers say that this was the origin of

the Sanhedrin, or supreme appellate court of their nation. But there is

every reason to believe that it was only a temporary expedient, adopted

to meet a trying exigency.

17. I will come down--that is, not in a visible manner or by local

descent, but by the tokens of the divine presence and operations.

and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee--"The spirit" means

the gifts and influences of the Spirit

(Nu 27:18;

Joe 2:28;

Joh 7:39;

1Co 14:12),

and by "taking the spirit of Moses, and putting it upon them," is not

to be understood that the qualities of the great leader were to be in

any degree impaired but that the elders would be endowed with a portion

of the same gifts, especially of prophecy

(Nu 11:25)

--that is, an extraordinary penetration in discovering hidden and

settling difficult things.

18-20. say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow,

and ye shall eat flesh--that is, "prepare yourselves," by repentance

and submission, to receive to-morrow the flesh you clamor for. But it

is evident that the tenor of the language implied a severe rebuke and

that the blessing promised would prove a curse.

21-23. 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 on

Nu 20:10).

It was, therefore, sharply reproved, but not punished.

24. Moses . . . gathered the seventy men of the elders of

the people, &c.--The tabernacle was chosen for the convocation,

because, as it was there God manifested Himself, there His Spirit would

be directly imparted--there the minds of the elders themselves would be

inspired with reverential awe and their office invested with greater

respect in the eyes of the people.

25. when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not

cease--As those elders were constituted civil governors, their

"prophesying" must be understood as meaning the performance of their

civil and sacred duties by the help of those extraordinary endowments

they had received; and by their not "ceasing" we understand, either

that they continued to exercise their gifts uninterruptedly the first

day (see

1Sa 19:24),

or that these were permanent gifts, which qualified them in an eminent

degree for discharging the duty of public magistrates.

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

(Mr 9:39).

31-35. There went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from

the sea, &c.--These migratory birds

(see on

Ex 16:13)

were on their journey from Egypt, when "the wind from the Lord," an

east wind

(Ps 78:26)

forcing them to change their course, wafted them over the Red Sea to

the camp of Israel.

let them fall a day's journey--If the journey of an individual is

meant, this space might be thirty miles; if the inspired historian

referred to the whole host, ten miles would be as far as they could

march in one day in the sandy desert under a vertical sun. Assuming it

to be twenty miles this immense cloud of quails

(Ps 78:27)

covered a space of forty miles in diameter. Others reduce it to

sixteen. But it is doubtful whether the measurement be from the center

or the extremities of the camp. It is evident, however, that the

language describes the countless number of these quails.

as it were two cubits high--Some have supposed that they fell on the

ground above each other to that height--a supposition which would

leave a vast quantity useless as food to the Israelites, who were

forbidden to eat any animal that died of itself or from which the blood

was not poured out. Others think that, being exhausted with a long

flight, they could not fly more than three feet above the earth, and so

were easily felled or caught. A more recent explanation applies the

phrase, "two cubits high," not to the accumulation of the mass, but to

the size of the individual birds. Flocks of large red-legged cranes,

three feet high, measuring seven feet from tip to tip, have been

frequently seen on the western shores of the Gulf of Akaba, or eastern

arm of the Red Sea

[STANLEY;

SHUBERT].

32. people stood up--rose up in eager haste--some at one time, others

at another; some, perhaps through avidity, both day and night.

ten homers--ten asses' loads; or, "homers" may be used indefinitely

(as in

Ex 8:14;

Jud 15:16);

and "ten" for many: so that the phrase "ten homers" is equivalent to

"great heaps." The collectors were probably one or two from each

family; and, being distrustful of God's goodness, they gathered not for

immediate consumption only, but for future use. In eastern and southern

seas, innumerable quails are often seen, which, when weary, fall down,

covering every spot on the deck and rigging of vessels; and in Egypt

they come in such myriads that the people knock them down with sticks.

spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp--salted and

dried them for future use, by the simple process to which they had been

accustomed in Egypt.

33. while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was

chewed--literally, "cut off"; that is, before the supply of quails,

which lasted a month

(Nu 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

(Ex 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.

34. called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah--literally, "The

graves of lust," or "Those that lusted"; so that the name of the place

proves that the mortality was confined to those who had indulged

inordinately.

35. Hazeroth--The extreme southern station of this route was a

watering-place in a spacious plain, now Ain-Haderah.