Numbers 11:2
in Numbers 11And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto Jehovah, and the fire abated.
KJV
And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe fire was quenched - Was sunk, or swallowed up, as in the margin. The plague, of whatever sort, ceased to act, and the people had respite.
This site's exposition
And when the people complained
on Numbers 11:1-2
In Exodus a complaint of this kind was answered with water at Marah, bread in the wilderness of Sin, and water out of the rock at Rephidim. Here the people complain, the LORD hears it, and fire burns in the uttermost parts of the camp, which is the change that governs the rest of the book. The text records no grievance and no demand, only that they complained and that he heard. Moses prays, the fire sinks, and 1 Corinthians 10:10 names murmuring among the things written for the warning of later readers.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
By this it appears that God delights not in punishing, for, when he has begun his controversy, he is soon prevailed with to let it fall. Moses was one of those worthies who by faith quenched the violence of fire. A new name given hereupon to the place, to perpetuate the shame of a murmuring people and the honour of a righteous God; the place was called Taberah, a burning (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the people cried unto Moses,....
No sooner was the fire of judgment quenched than the fire of sin breaks out again, and God takes occasion from it to magnify both his mercy and his justice.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
AND THE PEOPLE WERE ‘K’MITHON’NIM.’ Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that [the word k’mithon’nim is] “of the root aven (wickedness); similarly, the thoughts of ‘oneich’ ( thy evil thoughts ), 149 Jeremiah:14. for they spoke words of wickedness.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The people were like complainers; [it was] wicked in the ears of [ before ] Adonoy.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּצְעַ֥ק | vaiyitzak | and it cried out | H6817 → | 55 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֤ל | vaiyitpalel | and he prayed | H6419 → | 84 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתִּשְׁקַ֖ע | vatishka' | and it died out | H8257 → | |
| הָאֵֽשׁ׃ | haesh | the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
וַיִּצְעַ֥קand it cried out
vaiyitzakH6817 →55 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֤לand he prayed
vaiyitpalelH6419 →84 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתִּשְׁקַ֖עand it died out
vatishka'H8257 →
הָאֵֽשׁ׃the fire
haeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- John 9:31
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Through
Jeremiah 15:1Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:14
then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 14:20–21
then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
- Jeremiah 14:11
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.
- Ezekiel 14:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.