Numbers 11:19-20 · Bible study
Numbers 11:19-20 Commentary: The Bitter Taste of Answered Prayer
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
God warns Israel they will eat quail for a month until it becomes loathsome. The abundance becomes a judgment, revealing their sin of rejecting the Lord.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God promises Israel meat for a month as both answer and judgment; abundance becomes a curse when the heart rejects the Giver.
- Key words: loathsome (zara, H2214, nausea), rejected (ma’as, H3988), among you (beqirbekhem, in your midst), until it comes out (ad yitze).
- Main debate: Whether the full month was eaten (plague interrupts it) and whether the duration is literal or rhetorical, but all agree the emphasis is on overwhelming abundance as judgment.
- Theological theme: Judgment as God’s surrender to human desire; the presence of Yahweh is the true blessing, and rejecting it brings emptiness.
- Best use: Warning against discontentment and the danger of answered prayers from a rebellious heart; paired with Psalm 78:27, 31.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
19You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days,
20but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
WEB World English Bible 2000
19You will not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
20but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, and it is loathsome to you; because you have rejected Yahweh who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’”
KJV King James Version 1769
19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days,
20but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have rejected Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
19Ye do not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days; --
20unto a month of days, till that it come out from your nostrils, and it hath become to you an abomination; because that ye have loathed Jehovah, who is in your midst, and weep before Him, saying, Why is this? --we have come out of Egypt!'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
19Not one day shall ye eat, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20[but] for a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it become loathsome unto you; because that ye have despised Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
19Not for one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, no nor for twenty.
20But even for a month of days, till it come out at your nostrils, and become loathsome to you, because you have cast off the Lord, who is in the midst of you, and have wept before him, saying: Why came we out of Egypt?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Numbers 11:19
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that the escalating list of days, one, two, five, ten, twenty, then a whole month, serves a rhetorical purpose: it underlines the overwhelming quantity of meat God will provide and the completeness of the judgment that comes with it. Gill notes that the sequence encompasses a full thirty-day period, while Keil and Delitzsch explain that Yahweh intended the people to experience “the holiness of His judgments” in the very act of fulfilling their demand. Matthew Henry writes that the people’s longing for Egypt revealed contempt for God’s presence among them. Wesley adds that by granting their desire in such excess, God “turns even their blessings into curses.” The phrase “until it comes out at your nostrils” points to physical revulsion, a vivid sign that what they craved will become detestable. All sources concur that the core charge is “you have rejected Yahweh who is among you,” making the hunger for more than manna a spiritual rebellion first.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God will give Israel meat in overwhelming abundance as a direct judgment for rejecting His presence—the same gift that was meant to satisfy becomes an agent of disgust when desired with a rebellious heart.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of the escalating day counts | Commentators agree the list, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 days, then a full month, rhetorically underscores the overwhelming quantity God will provide, turning blessing into judgment. | Some argue the month refers to a literal 30 days of eating meat (Gill); others note the plague in v33 cuts this short, suggesting the warning points to the intended duration that mercy interrupted. The Cambridge source treats the source-critical layers but does not resolve the chronological tension. |
| The nature of the sin | All see the sin as rejecting Yahweh, who dwells among them (beqirbekhem), by treating His provision with contempt and longing for Egypt. | Wesley and Keil & Delitzsch emphasize the rejection of God’s presence itself; Matthew Henry and Gill also highlight ingratitude and distrust, but the primary offense is against God rather than simply being ungrateful. |
| The function of the physical revulsion | The quail become ‘loathsome’ (zara) as a direct consequence of overindulgence, showing God’s judgment fits the sin of craving. | Some commentators read the revulsion as purely physical, overeating leads to vomiting, while others see it as a broader symbol of spiritual disgust with self-centered desire, but all agree it is punitive. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This scene unfolds at a place later called Kibroth-hattaavah (“Graves of Craving”). The Israelites had been sustained by manna, which they now despise. In verse 4 they weep for meat and recall the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic of Egypt (Numbers 11:5). Their complaint is not about hunger; the manna was sufficient. It is about appetite, memory and distrust. God instructs them to “sanctify yourselves” for the next day (v18), language reminiscent of preparations for a theophany. The gift of quail is a divine act, a wind from Yahweh brings them from the sea (v31), but the warning precedes it.
The literary structure of verses 18, 20 builds tension. The sevenfold negation (“not one day, nor two…”) followed by the climactic “but a whole month” creates an escalating pattern. The Hebrew word translated “loathsome” (zara, Strong H2214) occurs only here in this form and conveys deep nausea. The accusation “you have despised the Lord who is in your midst” uses ma’as (H3988), a strong verb of rejection, and beqirbekhem (“in your midst”), which emphasizes the covenant presence of Yahweh. The people are not complaining to an absent God; they are weeping in the very presence of the one who rescued them. The culture of the ancient Near East understood that a deity’s presence among a people was the ultimate blessing. To reject that presence was to spurn one’s identity and security.
The broader narrative shows that the month-long warning was cut short by a plague that struck while the meat was still between their teeth (v33). God’s mercy tempers the judgment, but the severity of the original threat remains as a permanent lesson about craving what is not given.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries and translations (WEB, KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby, Douay) show no significant textual variants for Numbers 11:19, 20. The key terms ‘loathsome’ (zara, H2214) and ‘rejected’ (ma’as, H3988) are consistent across witnesses. Some manuscripts alternate ‘despised’ (KJV, Darby) and ‘rejected’ (WEB, ASV), but the Hebrew verb is the same (m@’astem).
Reception History
This passage has been read across Jewish and Christian traditions as a defining example of the ‘sin of the murmurers.’ In Jewish interpretation, the desire for flesh led directly to the plague at Kibroth-hattaavah and contributed to the generation’s fate of dying in the wilderness. Christian tradition echoes this warning in Psalm 78:27, 31, which summarizes the event: “He also rained meat on them as the dust.” Early church fathers such as Gregory of Nazianzus cited the passage to caution against ingratitude for God’s provision. Throughout the centuries, preachers have used the image of meat coming out of the nostrils as a proverbial warning that getting what we want can become a curse when the heart is wrong. In the lectionary, these verses are sometimes paired with readings about spiritual hunger and the true bread from heaven, contrasting the perishable quail with Christ’s enduring gift.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- You get exactly what you ask for. Israel craved meat, and God delivered quail in staggering amounts. He always hears, even complaints born of rebellion.
- Enough becomes too much. The escalating days (1, 2, 5, 10, 20) warn that abundance without gratitude can become a judgment. What we demand can wind up consuming us.
- The real sin is rejecting God’s presence. At the heart of the charge is “you have rejected Yahweh who is among you.” The desire for Egypt was ultimately a desire to be free of God’s rule and care.
Five-point outline
- The request. The people weep for meat, romanticizing the food of Egypt.
- The warning. God promises not a taste but a deluge: a full month of quail.
- The consequence. The meat will become loathsome, coming out their nostrils, an answer to prayer turned curse.
- The diagnosis. They have despised the Lord who dwells in their camp.
- The remnant of grace. Even in judgment, God remains present. The plague, though severe, interrupts the full month, hinting that mercy limits the sentence.
Illustration hooks
- All-you-can-eat buffet: You gorge until you feel sick. The momentary pleasure gives way to revulsion. Israel’s craving was not about food, it was about trust.
- The promotion you thought would fix everything: It came with stress, isolation, regret. Sometimes God answers prayers in ways that expose our hearts.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did God actually make them eat quail for thirty days straight? The plague struck while the meat was still between their teeth (v33), cutting the month short. The warning was severe; the actual judgment came sooner. God’s mercy limits the sentence.
- Is it wrong to ask God for material comforts? The issue here is not the request but the heart. The people rejected the Giver by despising His daily provision.
Leading a Discussion
This passage forces readers to examine their own desires and ask whether we trust the Giver more than the gift. It confronts us with the uncomfortable truth that God sometimes answers our prayers in a way that breaks our grip on the thing we craved.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 18, 20 aloud. What effect does the escalating list of days (one, two, five, ten, twenty, a month) have on you as a reader?
- Verse 20 says the meat will “come out at your nostrils.” Why do you think God uses such a vivid, physical image to describe the judgment?
- How can a desire for a different kind of food become “rejecting Yahweh”? What does that tell us about how God views our complaints?
- In what areas of your life do you find yourselves longing for an “Egypt”, a past situation, even when God has clearly delivered you?
- Moses responds with doubt in verses 21, 22. How does God’s question in verse 23 (“Has Yahweh’s hand grown short?”) reframe the problem? Is doubt always a sin?
- The plague strikes while the meat is still between their teeth (v33). What does this timing reveal about the intersection of judgment and mercy?
- How does this passage challenge the way you pray, especially prayers that seem to be answered with abundance?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 16:13 | In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. |
| Exodus 16:8 | Moses said, “Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.” |
| Numbers 21:5 | The people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!” |
| Joshua 24:27 | Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” |
| I Samuel 2:30 | “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed. |
| I Samuel 10:19 | But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your thousands.” |
| II Samuel 12:10 | Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’ |
| Psalms 78:27 | He also rained meat on them as the dust, winged birds as the sand of the seas. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible School treats this chapter as three separate stories woven together by a later editor. The manna and quails episode, Moses' complaint about bearing the people alone, and the Spirit falling on the seventy elders each came from different sources and were not originally connected at all.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasize that God’s judgment was no short punishment but a full month of eating quail until it became physically nauseating. The severity matched the sin: they despised the Lord who dwelled among them and regretted leaving Egypt, showing contempt for His provision and presence.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the Israelites' sin was not simply complaining about food but despising the Lord who dwelt among them in the tabernacle. He notes that the quail would come out of their nostrils from overeating, and links the despised manna to the essential Word of God they rejected.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stress that God answered the people's complaint by giving them meat, but as a holy judgment. The meat would come not for a few days but a whole month, until it sickened them, punishing their contempt for God and their longing for Egypt.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the uprisings in Numbers 11 as a spiritual climax: Israel's backward longing for Egypt reveals an intensified heathenism, a pattern that repeats throughout church history. He sees Moses' despair here as deeper than at the golden calf, leading to God's complex response of empowering elders while granting the quails with judgment.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights how God's gracious response to both complaints turns human sin into an opportunity for His glory. God addresses Moses's burden by appointing the seventy elders to share the load, and He answers the people's demand for meat by promising judgment through abundance, making their sin the backdrop for displaying His power.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that God punishes the Israelites by granting their very desire, turning the meat they craved into something violently expelled from their nostrils. Their sin is compounded by committing it openly before the Lord, who was present with them as both witness and Judge.