Numbers 11:21
in Numbers 11But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Numbers 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIt is an objection like that which the disciples made, Mark viii. 4 , Whence can a man satisfy these men? Some excuse Moses here, and construe what he says as only a modest enquiry which way the supply must be expected; but it savours too much of diffidence and distrust of God to be justified.
This site's exposition
The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand
on Numbers 11:21-23
Moses counts first, six hundred thousand footmen against a month of meat, and asks whether the flocks and the herds or all the fish of the sea would suffice them. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the doubt as a passing feeling, uttered to himself and not publicly as at chapter 20. God answers with a question rather than a plan, is the LORD's hand waxed short, a line Isaiah 50:2 and 59:1 take up again. Spurgeon preached this verse as the glorious right hand of the LORD and made Moses the man who calculates his supplies and cannot see how the promise will be kept.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Moses said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But it is probable that it was only a feeling of the moment--at all events, the incredulous doubt was uttered only to himself--and not, as afterwards, publicly and to the scandal of the people.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֮ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֒ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| שֵׁשׁ־ | shesh- | [are] six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| מֵא֥וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אֶ֙לֶף֙ | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| רַגְלִ֔י | ragli | foot soldier[s] | H7273 → | |
| הָעָ֕ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| בְּקִרְבּ֑וֹ | bekirbo | [am] in midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אָמַ֗רְתָּ | ʾamarta | you have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּשָׂר֙ | basar | meat | H1320 → | 270 times |
| אֶתֵּ֣ן | ʾeten | I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| וְאָכְל֖וּ | veakhelu | and they will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| חֹ֥דֶשׁ | chodesh | a month of | H2320 → | 284 times |
| יָמִֽים׃ | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֮and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁה֒Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
שֵׁשׁ־[are] six
shesh-H8337 →216 times
מֵא֥וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אֶ֙לֶף֙thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
רַגְלִ֔יfoot soldier[s]
ragliH7273 →
הָעָ֕םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
בְּקִרְבּ֑וֹ[am] in midst its
bekirboH7130 →227 times
וְאַתָּ֣הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
אָמַ֗רְתָּyou have said
ʾamartaH559 →5305 times
בָּשָׂר֙meat
basarH1320 →270 times
אֶתֵּ֣ןI will give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֔םto <the> them
lahem
וְאָכְל֖וּand they will eat
veakheluH398 →810 times
חֹ֥דֶשׁa month of
chodeshH2320 →284 times
יָמִֽים׃days
yamimH3117 →2304 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
Genesis 12:2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:9
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.
- Galatians 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
- Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 17:4–6
“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- Genesis 28:3–4
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- 2 Samuel 7:9
Through
Exodus 38:26a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:46
And all those counted totaled 603,550.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 1:46
Through
Exodus 12:37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
it leads to
- Exodus 38:26
a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 38:26
Through
Numbers 1:46And all those counted totaled 603,550.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:37
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:37
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 Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 363, The Glorious Right Hand Of The Lord; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.