Numbers 14:2
in Numbers 14All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!
KJV
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
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This verse in Numbers 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices
on Numbers 14:1-2
The whole camp weeps a night away over a report about a country none of them has seen. Their wish is stated twice and the second form of it is the one to hold on to, would God we had died in this wilderness. Verse 29 gives them that exact thing in almost those words, and verse 28 says outright that the sentence is their own sentence read back.
This site's exposition
If only we had died in the land of Egypt
The wish to have died in Egypt was first spoken at Exodus 16:3, over bread in the wilderness of Sin. There God answered with manna, and here he takes them at their word. Matthew Henry says their memories were sacrificed to their passions.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
It was their unbelief that made this a day of provocation in the wilderness, Heb. iii. Note, Distrust of God, of his power and promise, is itself a very great provocation, and at the bottom of many other provocations. Unbelief is a great sin ( 1 John
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They had not hearkened to his voice, though he had again and again admonished them of their sin. The sentence passed upon them for this sin. That they should not see the promised land (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against Aaron,....
29, 30 , Be not afraid; the Lord your God shall fight for you. Note, Those that are zealous friends to precious souls will stoop to any thing for their salvation. Moses and Aaron, notwithstanding the posts of honour they are in, prostrate themselves to the people to beg of them not to ruin themselves.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
A leader to reconduct them to Egypt is spoken of (Ne 9:17) as actually nominated. The sinfulness and insane folly of their conduct are almost incredible. Their conduct, however, is paralleled by too many among us, who shrink from the smallest difficulties and rather remain slaves to sin than resolutely try to surmount the obstacles that lie in their way to the Canaan above.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The meaning thereof is that the spies went into the [people’s] tents towards evening, after they left Moses, and in the morning they [the people] rose early and they all murmured against Moses and against Aaron [as related in Verse 2]. And likewise Moses said, 78 Deuteronomy:27.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The entire community arose and raised their voices; and the people wept that night.
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. 2 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
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּלֹּ֙נוּ֙ | vaiyilonu | and they grumbled | H3885 → | 84 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְעַֽל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֔ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַֽיֹּאמְר֨וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֜ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעֵדָ֗ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| לוּ־ | lu- | if | H3863 → | 22 times |
| מַ֙תְנוּ֙ | matnu | we had died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| א֛וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֥ר | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לוּ־ | lu- | if | H3863 → | 22 times |
| מָֽתְנוּ׃ | matenu | we had died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיִּלֹּ֙נוּ֙and they grumbled
vaiyilonuH3885 →84 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְעַֽל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
אַהֲרֹ֔ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַֽיֹּאמְר֨וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֜םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעֵדָ֗הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
לוּ־if
lu-H3863 →22 times
מַ֙תְנוּ֙we had died
matnuH4191 →839 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
א֛וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֥רin the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לוּ־if
lu-H3863 →22 times
מָֽתְנוּ׃we had died
matenuH4191 →839 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
1 Corinthians 10:10And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.
it leads to
- Numbers 16:41
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
- Numbers 14:37
those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD.
- Philippians 2:14
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
- 1 Chronicles 21:15
Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the…
- Psalms 106:25
They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
- Numbers 16:41
Through
Exodus 15:24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
it leads to
- Exodus 16:2
And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 14:11
They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
- Exodus 16:2
Through
Exodus 17:3But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
it leads to
- Exodus 16:2–3
And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 16:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.