Numbers 11:31
in Numbers 11Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Numbers 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd there went forth a wind from the Lord,.... Both an east wind and a south wind, according to Psa 78:26; either first one wind, and then another; one to bring the quails, or whatever are meant, to a certain point, and then the other to bring them to the camp of Israel; or a southeast wind, as the Jewish writers interpret it: however, it was not a common wind, but what was immediately raised by the Lord for the following purpose: and brought quails from the sea; the Red sea, from the coasts of it, not out of it.
This site's exposition
Then Moses returned to the camp
on Numbers 11:30-32
A wind from the LORD drives quail in from the sea, from the east and south by Psalm 78:26. Some read “two cubits above the surface of the ground” as birds heaped that deep, and Clarke as their flying height.
This site's exposition
a wind sent by the LORD came up
The Hebrew ruach names the wind here and the Spirit on the elders at verse 25, so one breath from the LORD brings both. Clarke notes quail cross Egypt in great flocks in the spring, the season of this march. Matthew Henry reports Bishop Patrick's view that they were locusts.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is uncertain what sort of animals they were; the psalmist calls them feathered fowl, or fowl of wing. The learned bishop Patrick inclines to agree with some modern writers, who think they were locusts, a delicious sort of food well known in those parts, the rather because they were brought with a wind, lay in heaps, and were dried in the sun for use.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A wind from the Lord - An extraordinary one, not the effect of a natural cause. And brought quails, a bird which in great companies visits Egypt about the time of the year, March or April, at which the circumstance marked here took place. Mr. Hasselquist, the friend and pupil of the famous Linnaeus, saw many of them about this time of the year, when he was in Egypt. See his Travels, p. 2
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It is evident, however, that the language describes the countless number of these quails. as it were two cubits high--Some have supposed that they fell on the ground above each other to that height--a supposition which would leave a vast quantity useless as food to the Israelites, who were forbidden to eat any animal that died of itself or from which the blood was not poured out.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְר֜וּחַ | veruach | and a wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| נָסַ֣ע׀ | nasa' | it set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיָּ֣גָז | vaiyagoz | and it brought | H1468 → | |
| שַׂלְוִים֮ | salvim | quails | H7958 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַיָּם֒ | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וַיִּטֹּ֨שׁ | vaiyitosh | and it left [them] | H5203 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֜ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| כְּדֶ֧רֶךְ | kederekh | about a journey of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| כֹּ֗ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| וּכְדֶ֤רֶךְ | ukhederekh | and about a journey of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| יוֹם֙ | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| כֹּ֔ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| סְבִיב֖וֹת | sevivot | around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וּכְאַמָּתַ֖יִם | ukheamatayim | and about two cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְר֜וּחַand a wind
veruachH7307 →378 times
נָסַ֣ע׀it set out
nasa'H5265 →146 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיָּ֣גָזand it brought
vaiyagozH1468 →
שַׂלְוִים֮quails
salvimH7958 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַיָּם֒the sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
וַיִּטֹּ֨שׁand it left [them]
vaiyitoshH5203 →
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֜הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
כְּדֶ֧רֶךְabout a journey of
kederekhH1870 →707 times
י֣וֹםa day
yomH3117 →2304 times
כֹּ֗הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
וּכְדֶ֤רֶךְand about a journey of
ukhederekhH1870 →707 times
יוֹם֙a day
yomH3117 →2304 times
כֹּ֔הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
סְבִיב֖וֹתaround
sevivotH5439 →336 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וּכְאַמָּתַ֖יִםand about two cubits
ukheamatayimH520 →247 times
עַל־above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the ground
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Exodus 16:13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:31–33
Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 11:9
When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
- Psalms 105:40
They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
- Psalms 78:27–28
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
- Numbers 11:31–33
Through
Exodus 15:10But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
it leads to
- Matthew 8:27
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 8:27
Through
Psalms 105:40They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:18
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
- Psalms 78:23–28
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
- John 6:48–58
I am the bread of life.
- Psalms 78:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.