Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Numbers
Chapter 11: Murmuring, the Spirit, and the Craving
Barely three days out from Sinai, the murmuring begins. The people complain, and fire falls. Then a craving for the food of Egypt spreads through the camp, and they despise the very bread of heaven. Moses, crushed under the weight of leading them, cries out to God, who takes of the Spirit upon him and pours it on seventy elders. And when God grants the flesh they lusted after, He sends it with a plague. It is a sober chapter about the danger of discontent, the grace of a shared Spirit, and the peril of getting what we crave apart from God.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Numbers chapter 11. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The chapter records the first murmurings of the wilderness journey: the fire at Taberah, the craving that despised the manna, Moses' burden and the seventy elders anointed with the Spirit, and the quail and plague at Kibroth-hattaavah. It warns against discontent, shows the grace of a shared Spirit, and cautions us about the danger of our own cravings. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
The Fire of Complaint
The people complained, and the fire of the LORD burned in the camp, until Moses prayed and it was quenched.
They Despised the Manna
Longing for the food of Egypt, the people loathed the bread of heaven God gave them every day.
Seventy Elders Anointed
God took of the Spirit on Moses and put it on seventy elders to share the burden of leading the people.
Kibroth-hattaavah
God granted the flesh they craved, but sent a plague; the place was named "the graves of craving."
The Fire of Complaint (Numbers 11:1-3)
No sooner had Israel set out than they began to complain, and the fire of the LORD fell, quenched only when Moses prayed.
The People Complained
"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. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. And 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? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And 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. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. Then 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. And 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? Have 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? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And 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. And 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. And 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. And 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. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But 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? And 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. Shall 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? And 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. And 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. And 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. But 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. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them."
Hebrew Study
"Taberah," Taberah (תַּבְעֵרָה), from ba'ar (בָּעַר), to burn. Moses named the place "Burning," because "the fire of the LORD burnt among them." The name became a memorial, a marker on the map of a people's grumbling, so that the very ground remembered what their complaining had cost.
Explanation
The people had scarcely left Sinai when "the people complained, it displeased the LORD." The text does not even record what they complained about; it was the spirit of grumbling itself that displeased God. His anger was kindled, and "the fire of the LORD burnt among them," consuming those "in the uttermost parts of the camp," the edges, perhaps where the murmuring had begun. The people "cried unto Moses," Moses "prayed unto the LORD," and "the fire was quenched." Then Moses named the place "Taberah," burning, a permanent reminder. The lesson is sharp: God takes the ingratitude of His redeemed people seriously. They had His presence, His guidance, and His daily bread, yet the first thing out of their mouths on the journey was complaint.
Gospel Focus
The fire at Taberah is a solemn warning against the sin of murmuring, and the New Testament applies it to us directly. Recounting Israel's wilderness failures, Paul writes, "neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer" (1 Corinthians 10:10), and adds that "all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11). Complaining is not a small thing to God. It is, at root, an accusation against His goodness, a charge that He has not provided well or led rightly. These same redeemed people had the cloud, the manna, and the presence of God in their midst, and still they grumbled. How easily we do the same, surrounded by mercies yet fixed on our discontent. The command is plain: "do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Philippians 2:14). Gratitude quenches the fire that complaint kindles. Guard your heart against the spirit of grumbling, and let thanksgiving, not complaint, be the first word on your journey.
The Craving and the Seventy Elders (Numbers 11:4-30)
A craving for Egypt's food swept the camp and Moses buckled under the weight of the people, so God took of the Spirit upon him and poured it on seventy elders to share the load.
Would God All the LORD's People Were Prophets
"And 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! And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. And 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. And 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. And 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."
Hebrew Study
When Joshua begs Moses to silence the two who prophesied in the camp, Moses answers with a longing far ahead of his time: "would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them." He wanted the Spirit not hoarded by a few but poured out on all. That very desire God promised through Joel and fulfilled at Pentecost, when the Spirit fell "upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28; Acts 2) — Moses' prayer answered in the age of the Spirit.
Explanation
The "mixt multitude" fell "a lusting," and the craving spread until all Israel wept: "who shall give us flesh to eat?" They remembered "the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely," the cucumbers and melons and garlic, and despised the manna, "there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." Under the crushing weight of it, Moses broke: "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me," and even begged God to take his life. God answered with mercy, not rebuke. He told Moses to gather "seventy men of the elders," and "I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them," so "they shall bear the burden of the people with thee." When the Spirit rested on the seventy, "they prophesied." Two of them, Eldad and Medad, prophesied in the camp, and when Joshua urged Moses to forbid them, Moses answered with a great and generous heart: "would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"
Gospel Focus
Two glories shine in this passage. The first is the sharing of the Spirit and the burden. No servant of God is meant to carry the whole load alone; God distributes His Spirit and His work among many, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (1 Corinthians 12:7). If you are crushed under a burden God never meant you to bear by yourself, His answer is not always to remove the burden but to send help and pour out His Spirit on others to share it. The second glory is Moses' longing, "would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets... that the LORD would put his spirit upon them," a prayer gloriously answered at Pentecost, when God fulfilled Joel's promise, "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28). What Moses wished for, the outpouring of the Spirit on all God's people, is exactly what Apostolic believers rejoice in: the Spirit is not the property of an elite few but the promised gift to all who are called. And mark Moses' freedom from jealousy over Eldad and Medad; like Jesus, who said, "forbid him not" (Mark 9:39), he refused to guard the Spirit as if it were his own possession. Let us long, with Moses, that all God's people would be filled with His Spirit.
Quail and the Plague (Numbers 11:31-35)
God gave the people the flesh they craved, quail in abundance, but with it came a plague, and the place was named the graves of craving.
The Graves of Craving
"And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth."
Hebrew Study
"Kibroth-hattaavah," from qibroth (graves) and ta'avah (תַּאֲוָה, craving, lust). The name means "the graves of craving," or the graves of lust. It is one of the most sobering place-names in Scripture: the very spot where God gave the people what they craved became their burial ground. Their appetite, granted, dug their graves.
Explanation
God sent a wind that brought "quails from the sea" in staggering abundance, piled "two cubits high" all around the camp. The people fell on them greedily, gathering for "all that day, and all that night, and all the next day." But "while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled," and He "smote the people with a very great plague." They had despised His provision and lusted after another, saying, "why came we forth out of Egypt?", so He gave them their craving with judgment attached. The place was named "Kibroth-hattaavah," the graves of craving, "because there they buried the people that lusted." What they had demanded became the death of them. God had granted the very thing they wept for, and it was their ruin.
Gospel Focus
The graves of craving hold a fearful warning: sometimes the most terrible judgment is to be given exactly what we lust for. The Psalmist looked back on this very event and wrote, "he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Psalm 106:15). To get what we crave apart from the will of God can be a curse, not a blessing; the granted appetite may dig a grave in the soul. This is a caution against the tyranny of our own desires. The people were not content with the bread of heaven, which pictured Christ, the true "bread of life" (John 6:35); they craved the flavors of Egypt, the old life of bondage. So we, too, can grow weary of God's provision and hunger after what we left behind, and God may let us have it to our hurt. The safer prayer is not "give me what I crave" but "not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Better the manna in God's will than the quail in our own. Guard your cravings; be content with the bread of heaven; and let the graves of craving teach you to trust the goodness of God over the demands of your own appetite.
Chapter 11 in Review
Numbers 11 records the first failures of the wilderness journey. At Taberah the people complained and fire fell, quenched only by Moses' prayer. A craving for Egypt's food then swept the camp, and the people despised the manna, the bread of heaven. Crushed by the burden, Moses cried out, and God graciously took of the Spirit upon him and poured it on seventy elders to share the load, drawing from Moses the great longing that all God's people would have the Spirit. And when God granted the flesh they craved, He sent a plague, and the place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of craving.
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter is a mirror and a warning. Murmuring is no small sin; it accuses God's goodness, and Paul warns us not to murmur "as some of them also murmured." The sharing of the Spirit among the seventy, and Moses' cry that all would be prophets, points straight to Pentecost, where God poured out His Spirit "upon all flesh," the joy of every Apostolic believer. And the graves of craving warn us that to get what we lust for apart from God can be its own judgment, "he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." Be thankful, not grumbling; long for the Spirit on all God's people; and be content with the bread of heaven rather than craving the flavors of the life God delivered you from.
- Murmuring displeases God because it accuses His goodness: "neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured" (11:1; 1 Corinthians 10:10-11; Philippians 2:14).
- God shares the Spirit and the burden; no servant is meant to carry the whole load alone (11:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:7).
- Moses' longing that all would be prophets is fulfilled at Pentecost: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh" (11:29; Joel 2:28).
- Like Moses and like Jesus, do not enviously forbid others through whom the Spirit works: "forbid him not" (11:28-29; Mark 9:39).
- To be given what we crave apart from God can be judgment: "he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (11:33-34; Psalm 106:15).
Questions for Reflection
- Is the first word on your lips complaint or thanksgiving when the journey grows hard?
- Are you trying to carry alone a burden God means to be shared, and will you welcome the Spirit's work in others?
- Are there cravings you are pressing God to grant that would harm your soul; can you pray instead, "not my will, but thine"?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The fire at Taberah and the sin of murmuring: Numbers 11:1-3; 1 Corinthians 10:10-11; Philippians 2:14.
- Moses' burden, the seventy elders, and the Spirit poured out: Numbers 11:4-30; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Joel 2:28; Mark 9:39.
- Quail, the graves of craving, and the peril of granted lust: Numbers 11:31-35; Psalm 106:15; John 6:35; Luke 22:42.