Numbers 11:10-30

The Complaint of Moses

10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased *.

11 ¹So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?

12 "Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom as a ²nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which ³You swore to their fathers '?

13 "Where * am I to get meat to give to ⁴all this people? For they weep before me, saying, 'Give us meat that we may eat!'

14 "⁵I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me.

15 "⁶So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."

Seventy Elders to Assist

16 The LORD therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me ⁷seventy men from the elders of Israel, ⁸whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.

17 "⁹Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of ¹⁰the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.

18 "Say to the people, '¹¹Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ¹²in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.

19 'You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

20 but a whole month, until * it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because * ¹³you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave * Egypt?""'

21 But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 * * on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.'

22 "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?"

23 The LORD said to Moses, "Is ¹⁴the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether ¹⁵My word will come true for you or not."

24 So Moses went out and ¹⁶told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent.

25 ¹⁷Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And ¹⁸the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent ), and they prophesied in the camp.

27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

28 Then ¹⁹Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, "²⁰Moses, my lord, restrain them."

29 But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? ²¹Would * that all the LORD'S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!"

30 Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

Numbers 11:10-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 11

This chapter informs us of the complaints of the people of Israel, which brought the fire of the Lord upon them, and consumed many of them; and which, at the intercession of Moses, was quenched, and the place from thence called Taberah, Nu 11:1-3; and of the lusting of the mixed multitude after flesh, to increase which, they called to mind their food in Egypt; and to show their folly and ingratitude in so doing, the manna is described, Nu 11:4-9; and of the uneasiness of Moses, and his complaints of the heavy burden of the people upon him, Nu 11:10-15; and to make him easy, it is promised, that seventy of the elders of Israel should partake of his spirit, and assist in bearing the burden, Nu 11:16,17; and that the people should have flesh to serve them a whole month, Nu 11:18-20; at which last Moses expressed some degree of unbelief, Nu 11:21-23; however God fulfilled his promise with respect to both. Some of the spirit of Moses was taken and given to seventy elders, who prophesied, and two men are particularly taken notice of, who did so, Nu 11:24-30; quails in great numbers were brought by a wind to the people; but while they were eating them wrath came upon them, and they were smitten with a plague, whence the place was called Kibrothhattaavah, Nu 11:31-34; and from thence they removed to Hazeroth, Nu 11:35.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 5:22; Deuteronomy 1:12
• 2. 2 Kings 10:1, 5; Isaiah 49:23
• 3. Genesis 24:7; Exodus 13:5, 11; Exodus 33:1
• 4. Numbers 11:21, 22; John 6:5-9
• 5. Exodus 18:18; Deuteronomy 1:12
• 6. Exodus 32:32
• 7. Exodus 24:1, 9
• 8. Exodus 18:25
• 9. Numbers 11:25
• 10. 1 Samuel 10:6; Joel 2:28
• 11. Exodus 19:10, 22
• 12. Numbers 11:1
• 13. Joshua 24:27; 1 Samuel 10:19
• 14. Isaiah 50:2; Isaiah 59:1
• 15. Ezekiel 12:25; Ezekiel 24:14
• 16. Numbers 11:16
• 17. Numbers 11:17; Numbers 12:5
• 18. Numbers 24:2; 1 Samuel 10:6; 2 Chronicles 15:1; Nehemiah 9:30
• 19. Exodus 33:11; Joshua 1:1
• 20. Mark 9:38-40
• 21. 1 Corinthians 14:5

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit it was "evil in Moses' sight"
• [b]. Lit "dealt ill with"
• [c]. Or "foster-father"
• [d]. Lit "heavy"
• [e]. Lit "until"
• [f]. Lit "hand short"
• [g]. Lit "befall you"
• [h]. Lit "second"
• [i]. Lit "removed himself"