Taberah

Biblical Text

Taberah appears in Numbers 11:1-3. The Israelites had set out from Mount Sinai and journeyed for three days (Numbers 10:33). Then, "when the people complained, it displeased the LORD," and "the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." The people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched. Because of this event, the place was called Taberah.

In Deuteronomy 9:22, Moses, looking back on the wilderness years, says, "And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath."

Background

The Hebrew name Tav'erah derives from a verb meaning "to burn" or "to set on fire" and is interpreted as "burning" or "a burning." The name itself commemorates the event that took place there.

Taberah was reached shortly after the departure from Mount Sinai. It does not appear in the list of wilderness stations in Numbers 33, where the stop following the wilderness of Sinai is Kibroth-hattaavah. For this reason, some regard Taberah as another name for Kibroth-hattaavah or for a place in its vicinity, while others consider it a separate site. Its modern location has not been identified.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Taberah incident is the first recorded episode of complaining after Israel left Mount Sinai. It is immediately followed by the people's demand for meat and the episode of the quail (Manna and Quail), and this sequence marks the beginning of the unbelief and complaining that recurred throughout the forty years in the wilderness, including the episode of the Twelve Spies. The scene in which Moses prays for the people and the judgment ceases is also read as an illustration of the theme of Moses as a mediator who pleads with God on the people's behalf (intercessory prayer).

The line in Psalms 78:21, "so a fire was kindled against Jacob," is commonly associated with the events of Numbers 11. The name Taberah does not appear in the New Testament. However, Paul cites the complaining of the wilderness generation as an example for believers and urges, "Neither murmur ye" (1 Corinthians 10:11-12; 1 Corinthians 10:10), and Hebrews 3 likewise holds up the unbelief of the wilderness generation as a warning.

Interpretive Issues

• The content of the complaint: The text does not state what the people complained about. Many interpreters attribute the complaint to the hardships of the march, but this is an inference drawn from the surrounding context.
• The fire of the LORD: The text says only "the fire of the LORD." The traditional interpretation understands this as supernatural fire from heaven. Some scholars explain it as judgment carried out through a natural phenomenon such as lightning.
• The outskirts of the camp: Because the damage was confined to the edge of the camp, some see the judgment as restrained and intended as a warning. Some Jewish interpretations take "the uttermost parts" to refer to people on the margins of the camp and connect them with the "mixt multitude" of Numbers 11:4. This interpretation is not stated explicitly in the text.

In the Korean Church

The Taberah passage is frequently cited, together with the Kibroth-hattaavah incident, in sermons that warn against grumbling and complaining and encourage thanksgiving.