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.

2And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.

3And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.

4And 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?

5We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

6But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

7And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

8And 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.

9And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

10Then 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.

11And 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?

12Have 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?

13Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

14I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

15And 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.

16And 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.

17And 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.

18And 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.

19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

20But 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?

21And 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.

22Shall 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?

23And 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.

24And 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.

25And 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.

26But 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.

27And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29And 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!

30And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

31And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

32And 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.

33And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

34And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

35And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.

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 vttermost parts of the campe.

2And the people cried vnto Moses, and when Moses prayed vnto the Lord, the fire was quenched.

3And hee called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.

4 And the mixt multitude that was among them, fell a lusting, and the children of Israel also wept againe, and said, Who shal giue vs flesh to eate?

5We remember the fish which wee did eate in Egypt freely: the cucumbers and the melons, and the leekes, and the onions, and the garlicke.

6But now our soule is dried away, there is nothing at all, besides this Manna, before our eyes.

7And the Manna was as Coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of Bdelium:

8And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in milles, or beat it in a morter, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oyle.

9And when the dew fell vpon the campe in the night, the Manna fell vpon it.

10 Then Moses heard the people weepe throughout their families, euery man in the doore of his tent, and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses also was displeased.

11And Moses said vnto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy seruant? and wherefore haue I not found fauour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people vpon me?

12Haue I conceiued all this people? haue I begotten them, that thou shouldest say vnto me, Cary them in thy bosome (as a nursing father beareth the sucking child) vnto the land which thou swarest vnto their fathers?

13Whence should I haue flesh to giue vnto all this people? for they weep vnto me, saying, Giue vs flesh, that we may eate.

14I am not able to beare all this people alone, because it is too heauie for mee.

15And if thou deale thus with mee, kill me, I pray thee out of hand, if I haue found fauour in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchednesse.

16 And the Lord said vnto Moses, Gather vnto me seuentie men, of the Elders of Israel, whome thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers ouer them: and bring them vnto the Tabernacle of the Congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

17And I will come downe and talke with thee there, and I will take of the spirit which is vpon thee, and wil put it vpon them, and they shall beare the burden of the people with thee, that thou beare it not thy selfe alone.

18And say thou vnto the people, Sanctifie your selues against to morrow, and yee shall eate flesh: (for you haue wept in the eares of the Lord, saying, Who shall giue vs flesh to eate? for it was well with vs in Egypt:) therfore the Lord wil giue you flesh, and ye shall eate.

19Ye shall not eate one day, nor two dayes, nor fiue dayes, neither ten dayes, nor twentie dayes:

20But euen a whole moneth, vntill it come out at your nostrels, and it bee loathsome vnto you, because that yee haue despised the Lord which is among you, and haue wept before him, saying, Why came we foorth out of Egypt?

21And Moses said, The people amongst whome I am, are sixe hundred thousand footmen, and thou hast said, I will giue them flesh, that they may eate a whole moneth.

22Shall the flockes and the herds be slaine for them to suffice them? or shal all the fish of the sea bee gathered together for them, to suffice them?

23And the Lord said vnto Moses, Is the Lords hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to passe vnto thee, or not.

24 And Moses went out, and tolde the people the wordes of the Lord, and gathered the seuenty men of the Elders of the people, and set them round about the Tabernacle.

25And the Lord came downe in a cloude, and spake vnto him, and tooke of the spirit that was vpon him, and gaue it vnto the seuentie Elders: and it came to passe that when the spirit rested vpon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

26But there remained two of the men in the campe, the name of the one was Eldad, & the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested vpon them, (and they were of them that were written, but went not out vnto the Tabernacle) and they prophesied in the campe.

27And there ranne a yong man, and tolde Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad doe prophesie in the campe.

28And Ioshua the sonne of Nun the seruant of Moses, one of his yong men, answered and said, My lord Moses, Forbid them.

29And Moses said vnto him, Enuiest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit vpon them.

30And Moses gate him into the campe, he, and the Elders of Israel.

31 And there went forth a winde from the Lord, and brought quailes from the sea, and let them fall by the campe, as it were a dayes iourney on this side, and as it were a dayes iourney on the other side round about the campe, and as it were two cubits high vpon the face of the earth.

32And the people stood vp all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quailes: he that gathered least, gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselues round about the campe.

33And while the flesh was yet betweene their teeth, yer it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.

34And he called the name of that place, Kibroth-Hattaauah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

35And the people iourneyed from Kibroth-Hattaauah, vnto Hazeroth: and abode at Hazeroth.

I == Lev 10:2 ; Num 16:35 ; Deut 9:22 ; 2nd Kings 1:12 ; Ps 78:21 ; 106:18

 

 

II == James 5:16

 

III == Deut 9:22

 

 

IV == Ex 12:38 ; Ps 78:18 ; 106:14 ; 1st Cor 10:6

 

V == Ex 16:3

 

 

VI == Num 21:5

 

VII == Gen 2:12 ; Ex 16:14 , 31

 

 

VIII == Ex 16:31

 

 

 

IX == Ex 16:13-14

 

X == Ps 78:21

 

 

 

XI == Deut 1:12

 

 

 

XII == Gen 26:3 ; 50:24 ; Ex 13:5 ; Isa 40:11 ; 49:23 ; 1st Thess 2:7

 

 

XIII == Matt 15:33 ; Mark 8:4

 

XIV == Ex 18:18

 

XV == 1st Kings 19:4 ; Jon 4:3 ; Zeph 3:15

 

 

XVI == Ex 24:1 , 9 ; Deut 16:18

 

 

 

 

XVII == Gen 11:5 ; 18:21 ; Ex 19:20 ; 1st Sam 10:6 ; 2nd Kings 2:15 ; Neh 9:20 ; Isa 44:3 ; Joel 2:28

 

XVIII == Ex 16:7 ; 19:10 ; Acts 7:39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Num 21:5 ; Ps 78:29 ; 106:15

 

 

XXI == Gen 12:2 ; Ex 12:37 ; 38:26 ; Num 1:46

 

 

XXII == 2nd Kings 7:2 ; Matt 15:33 ; Mark 8:4 ; John 6:7 , 9

 

XXIII == Num 23:19 ; Isa 50:2 ; 59:1 ; Ezek 12:25 ; 24:14

 

 

 

 

XXV == 1st Sam 10:5-6 , 10 ; 19:20-21 , 23 ; 2nd Kings 2:15 ; Joel 2:28 ; Acts 2:17-18 ; Acts 2:17-18 ; 1st Cor 14:1-6

 

 

XXVI == 1st Sam 20:26 ; Jer 36:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXVIII == Mark 9:38 ; Luke 9:49 ; John 3:26

 

XXIX == 1st Cor 14:5

 

 

 

 

 

XXXI == Ex 16:13 ; Ps 78:26-28 ; 105:40

 

 

 

 

XXXII == Ex 16:36 ; Ezek 45:11

 

 

 

XXXIII == Ps 78:30-31

 

 

XXXIV == Deut 9:22 ; 1st Cor 10:6

XXXV == Num 33:17

1 Now the people complained in the hearing of the LORD; and when he heard it his wrath flared up so that the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

2 But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died out.

3 Hence that place was called Taberah, because there the fire of the LORD burned among them.

4 The foreign elements among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, "Would that we had meat for food!

5 We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.

6 But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna."

7 Manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bdellium.

8 When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, which tasted like cakes made with oil.

9 At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.

10 When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.

11 "Why do you treat your servant so badly?" Moses asked the LORD. "Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people?

12 Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers?

13 Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, 'Give us meat for our food.'

14 I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me.

15 If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress."

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, men you know for true elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the meeting tent. When they are in place beside you,

17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will bestow it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself.

18 "To the people, however, you shall say: Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, when you shall have meat to eat. For in the hearing of the LORD you have cried, 'Would that we had meat for food! Oh, how well off we were in Egypt!' Therefore the LORD will give you meat for food,

19 and you will eat it, not for one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days,

20 but for a whole month-until it comes out of your very nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have spurned the LORD who is in your midst, and in his presence you have wailed, 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'"

21 But Moses said, "The people around me include six hundred thousand soldiers; yet you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.'

22 Can enough sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?"

23 The LORD answered Moses, "Is this beyond the LORD'S reach? You shall see now whether or not what I have promised you takes place."

24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. Gathering seventy elders of the people, he had them stand around the tent.

25 The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp.

27 So, when a young man quickly told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,"

28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said, "Moses, my lord, stop them."

29 But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

30 Then Moses retired to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

31 There arose a wind sent by the LORD, that drove in quail from the sea and brought them down over the camp site at a height of two cubits from the ground for the distance of a day's journey all around the camp.

32 All that day, all night, and all the next day the people gathered in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp.

33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it could be consumed, the LORD'S wrath flared up against the people, and he struck them with a very great plague.

34 So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, because it was there that the greedy people were buried.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth.

1 to 3 Destruction of Murmurers at Taberah

“The place was called “Gluttons “ Graves (Hebrew Kibhroth-Hattaavah” page 302 THE ABINGDON BIBLE COMMENTARY by the The Abingdon Press, Inc

 

v 1-3. Not long after they journeyed, the people began complaining, possibly due to the hardships of travel after staying put for a year. The Lord is merciful, but their complaint may have been against Him, because he brought quick justice by sending fire in the outer parts of the camp. The people cried to Moses because they recognized this was judgment from the Lord, and when he prayed the Lord stopped it.
4 to 35 Incidents on the Way

 

v 4-9. Egyptians, possibly some from mixed marriage, who came with Israelites were a source of trouble as they missed the things freely available in Egypt. All had complained of this in Ex. 16:3. They tired of manna, perfect food supplied by God.

 

v 10-15. The Lord and Moses were both displeased, but the weeping got to Moses. In self pity, he prayed that he wasn’t able to bear the burden of the people, and he asked to die. Elijah, 1 Kg. 19:4 and Jonah 4:3. We must remember that if God calls us to a task, He will equip us to do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 16-23. God had a better solution and told Moses to appoint seventy elders of the people whom He would send the Spirit upon to help. This was not in conflict with Jethro’s suggestion, but these were spiritual leaders rather than the civic leaders of Ex. 18:22. We don’t know how many of them Moses appointed at Jethro’s suggestion, but there must have been many as they were set up like a military order. Seventy elders of the people went up on Sinai with Moses, but they were of only temporary service. This seventy were to be known by Moses as qualified men he could depend on, and were in perpetuity. There was no more Spirit power, but more machinery to handle it. This is probably the basis for the seventy men in the Sanhedrin, and it is of interest that in Lk. 10, Christ chose seventy men to go out preaching and healing. 
The people were to be told to sanctify themselves because the Lord would send so much meat they would eat it for a month and become sick of it. Moses faith faltered and he couldn’t believe that was possible, so the Lord told him to watch and see.

 

 

 

 

v 24,25. After delivering the message to the people, Moses called in the seventy men. The Spirit came upon them and they prophesied, but most translations say they did not do so again. (The word for cease is more or continuing.)

 

 

v 26-30. Two of the elders failed to come to the tabernacle, but they began prophesying in the camp. This was upsetting to Joshua, but Moses generously took the attitude that it would be good if all the people could prophesy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 31-35. The Lord then sent a wind bringing quail which flew in and around the camp for a distance of a days journey both ways. This may have been forty square miles, more or less. They were weary and about three feet off the ground, so were readily clubbed. Men gathered over 80 bushels of them for each household. In their over eating greed, and perhaps lack of proper preservation, before the month was up, many of the people died and were buried there. Others called the place the “grave of lusts”, or greediness, , inferring that those who lusted most died. Others then moved on to Hazeroth, farther north.