Numbers 11

In Numbers 10, Israel set out from Mount Sinai and began its march. Chapter 11 recounts the first events that took place in the wilderness immediately afterward. With this chapter begins a series of narratives in which the people complain and God judges them.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 When the people complain, the fire of the LORD burns among the outermost parts of the camp. When Moses prays, the fire is quenched, and the place is called Taberah.
• Verses 4–9 The mixed multitude falls to lusting, and the children of Israel weep with them. Longing for the fish and vegetables they ate in Egypt, they complain that they have nothing but manna. The passage then describes the appearance of the manna and how it was prepared.
• Verses 10–15 Moses protests that he cannot bear this people alone and asks God instead to kill him.
• Verses 16–23 The LORD has seventy elders gathered to share the burden and promises to give meat for a whole month. When Moses wonders how this can be, since the footmen number six hundred thousand, the LORD answers, "Is the LORD's hand waxed short?"
• Verses 24–30 The spirit rests upon the seventy elders, and they prophesy. Eldad and Medad, who had remained in the camp, prophesy as well. Joshua urges Moses to forbid them, but Moses replies that he wishes all the LORD's people were prophets.
• Verses 31–35 A wind brings quail, and even those who gathered least collect ten homers. But while the meat is still between their teeth, a very great plague strikes. The place is called Kibroth-hattaavah, and the people journey on to Hazeroth.

Key Verses

• Numbers 11:23 "Is the LORD's hand waxed short?" — frequently cited as a verse about God's power, which surpasses human calculation.
• Numbers 11:29 "Would God that all the LORD's people were prophets" — expresses the hope that the Spirit of God would come not only upon a few leaders but upon all the people.

People and Places

• Moses — leads the people and pleads with God about the weight of their burden.
• Joshua — the son of Nun and Moses' servant.
• Eldad and Medad — two men who were listed among the seventy but did not go out to the tabernacle, remaining instead in the camp.
• The mixed multitude — understood to be people of other nations who came out of Egypt with Israel at the Exodus (Exodus 12:38).
• Taberah, Kibroth-hattaavah, and Hazeroth — place names along the wilderness journey. Taberah is interpreted to mean "burning," and Kibroth-hattaavah "graves of craving."

Points for Reflection

• The seventy elders: Jewish tradition is reported to include an interpretation that sees this passage as the origin of the Sanhedrin. In Korean churches, this passage is sometimes cited in explaining the office of elder.
• The translation of verse 25: Most translations indicate that the elders prophesied only once and then stopped. The Vulgate and the King James Version, by contrast, render it to mean that they "did not cease."
• The "two cubits" of the quail (verse 31): Interpretations differ as to whether the quail were piled on the ground to that height or flew at that height above the ground.
• Connections to the New Testament: Verse 29 is often read in connection with the promise of Joel 2:28 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). Denominations differ, however, on whether this fulfillment is limited to the events of Pentecost or also includes present-day experiences of spiritual gifts, a question tied to the cessationism and continuationism debate. The scene in which Joshua urges that the prophesying be forbidden is often compared with Mark 9:38–40, where the disciple John forbids a man casting out devils in the Lord's name. The episode of craving meat is recalled in Psalm 78, and 1 Corinthians 10:6 cites it as an example warning against lust.

In the Korean Church

This chapter is commonly used as a sermon text warning against complaining and covetousness. Verse 23 is frequently quoted to emphasize God's power. The passage in which Moses' burden is shared is also sometimes addressed in sermons on shared leadership and lay ministry.