MPV Commentary

1. When the people complained about their circumstances, it displeased the Lord. Unaccustomed to traveling and living in a desert without any nearby prospect of fertile land, they grew discontent with the journey's hardships. The Lord manifested His displeasure against these ungrateful complainers by sending fire in an extraordinary manner. Notably, the discontent seemed confined to the outer edges of the camp, where the "mixed multitude" likely resided.

2. These Egyptians had grown accustomed to rich food and now longed for it in the desert. Their discontent was fueled by their imagination, which ran wild with visions of banquets and plenty of animal food. The Israelites shared these feelings and expressed dissatisfaction with the manna they had been receiving, comparing it unfavorably to the vegetable luxuries they had enjoyed in Egypt.

3. They remembered the fish they had eaten freely in Egypt (Ex 7:17). In Lower Egypt, where they were employed in brick-kilns, they had access to an abundance of fish from the Mediterranean, lakes, and canals of the Nile. The Egyptian species of cucumber was smooth, cylindrical, and about a foot long; it was highly esteemed by the natives. Watermelons grew on deep loamy soil after the Nile's subsidence and were used for food, drink, and medicine. Leeks were said to be a type of grass cress, relished as a seasoning. Onions were sweet-tasting and good for the stomach, forming a significant part of the laboring classes' diet. Garlic was nearly extinct in Egypt but had grown abundantly in ancient times.

4. The people's longing for these luxuries, despite their experience with God's bounty and care, was an impeachment of divine arrangements. Their rebellious spirit dishonored God and was unbecoming of a chosen people.

5-9. But now they were disgusted with the manna, which had become monotonous to them. Daily familiarity had soured their taste for it, and they longed for a change in their diet. The resemblance of manna to coriander seed lay not in color but in size and figure. Its comparison to bdellium helped form an idea of its nature. Manna was ground into meal and baked into cakes, unlike the natural manna found in the Arabian desert. In taste, it was like wafers made with honey (Ex 16:31) or fresh oil.

10-23. The Lord promised to provide flesh for a month's supply, astonishing Moses, who questioned whether the flocks and herds could be slaughtered for such a large number of people. He gathered the seventy men of the elders at the tabernacle, where they received the Spirit's gifts and prophesied without ceasing.

24-29. However, two men in the camp did not join their brethren at the tabernacle but still received the Spirit's gifts. Moses was urged to forbid them from prophesying, but he refused, displaying noble disinterestedness and zeal for God's glory.

30-35. A wind from the Lord brought quails from the sea, forcing them to change course and fly over the Red Sea to the Israelite camp. The birds fell in a cloud, covering an area of about forty miles in diameter. The people gathered the quails, spreading them out around the camp for future use. However, before they could fully digest their meal, God's judgment struck, causing many to die from eating too much meat.

34. This place was called Kibrothhattaavah, or "The graves of lust," indicating that those who had indulged inordinately were the ones who died. Hazeroth, a watering-place in a spacious plain, marked the extreme southern station of this route.