Psalms 105:40 · Bible study
Psalms 105:40 Commentary: Grace in the Asking
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does this verse skip Israel's grumbling? A study of God's provision in the wilderness, the omission of judgment, and the gifts of quail and manna.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God answered Israel’s request for food in the wilderness by providing quail and manna, omitting the context of grumbling to highlight his grace.
- Key words: “Asked” (שָׁאַל), singular verb but with plural sense; “quail” (שְׂלָו), a type of game bird; “bread of heaven” (לֶחֶם שָׁמַיִם), manna, seen as angelic food.
- Main debate: Whether the omission of judgment whitewashes the narrative. The psalm’s genre of praise explains the selective memory.
- Theological theme: God’s gracious provision in response to need, motivated by covenant faithfulness, not human merit.
- Best use: Teaching on God’s generosity, the nature of biblical praise, and the selective memory of thanksgiving.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
KJV King James Version 1769
The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
They asked, and he brought quails, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
They have asked, and He bringeth quails, And with bread of heaven satisfieth them.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And the Lord was exceedingly angry with his people: and he abhorred his inheritance.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Pidieron, é hizo venir codornices; y saciólos de pan del cielo.
Eles pediram, e fez vir codornizes; e os fartou com pão do céu.
A leur demande, il fit venir des cailles,
Sie baten: da ließ er Wachteln kommen; und er sättigte sie mit Himmelsbrot.
Zij baden, en Hij deed kwakkelen komen, en Hij verzadigde hen met hemels brood.
A loro richiesta fece venire delle quaglie, e li saziò col pane del cielo.
Na żądanie ich przywiódł przepiórki, a chlebem niebieskim nasycił ich.
И воспылал гнев Господа на народ Его, и возгнушался Он наследием Своим
他們一求，他就使鵪鶉 飛來，並用天上 的糧食 叫他們飽足。
At the people's request he sent birds, and gave them the bread of heaven for food.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 105:40
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse deliberately omits the context of Israel's grumbling to highlight God's goodness. The Cambridge Bible notes: “The murmuring of the Israelites is not mentioned, because the Psalmist’s object is to point to God’s goodness, not to Israel’s faithlessness.” Keil and Delitzsch write that “the tempting character of the desire is only momentarily dwelt upon,” while the psalmist presses “the omnipotence of the divine goodness which responded to it.” Wesley adds that God graciously pardoned their sin in the first giving of quails (Exodus 16:13). Calvin sees the whole psalm as magnifying God's free grace in adopting Israel and providing for them. The consensus is clear: this is a praise psalm, not a warning psalm. It selects the positive act of God’s provision and leaves the darker story of judgment for another setting, such as Psalm 78 or Numbers 11. The verse is a deliberate, pastoral choice to foster gratitude, not to provoke guilt.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God provided quails and manna to the Israelites in the wilderness as an act of abundant provision, regardless of the people’s attitude in asking.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Omission of grumbling | All traditions recognize that the psalm omits the murmuring and judgment found in Numbers 11. | Some see this as a deliberate focus on grace (the majority view); a minority argue it risks underplaying God's holiness and the seriousness of sin. |
| Reference to quail: two events or one? | The verse refers historically to the provision of quail in Exodus 16. | Whether it also includes the second quail-giving in Numbers 11 (with its judgment) is disputed. Wesley and Matthew Henry limit it to the first; Gill and Keil & Delitzsch allow a broader reference. |
| Text of the verb “asked” | The meaning is that the people asked for food; the plural sense is accepted by most modern translations. | The Masoretic Text has a singular verb (שָאַל), while many ancient versions and commentators (Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch, LXX) read the plural. The difference does not affect the theology. |
| “Bread of heaven” as a type of Christ | All Christians affirm that the manna foreshadows Christ, the true bread of life (John 6). | Catholic and Orthodox traditions often read this explicitly as a Eucharistic type; Protestant traditions emphasize the typology more as a pattern of faith and provision. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 105 is a historical recital of God’s saving acts, from the call of Abraham to Israel’s settlement in Canaan. Verses 26, 41 recount the Exodus and wilderness journey. Verse 40 points to two distinct provisions: quail and manna. In Exodus 16, the Israelites murmured for food; God responded by giving quail in the evening and manna each morning. The manna is called “bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4). The quail came first at the same time as the manna (Exodus 16:13). A second quail-giving appears in Numbers 11, where the people’s lust for meat brought judgment (Numbers 11:33). The psalmist merges both provisions but leaves out the judgment, because his purpose is to trace God’s faithful care, not to catalog every failure. The Hebrew verb for “asked” is singular (שָׁאַל, sha’al) in the Masoretic text, but most versions (LXX, Syriac, Targum) read a plural. Keil and Delitzsch note the plural is intended. The psalm’s context, answering the people’s need, makes the plural natural. The verse sits between God’s guidance by cloud and fire (v. 39) and the water from the rock (v. 41). It is framed as pure generosity. Even when the background is grumbling, the foreground is grace.
Textual Notes
The only notable textual issue involves the verb “asked” (שָׁאַל) in the Masoretic Text, which is singular. The LXX, Syriac, Targum, and several commentators (Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch) read the plural, supported by the context of the people as the subject. The Dead Sea Scrolls are not available for this verse. No other significant variants are noted by the consulted sources.
Reception History
In early Jewish tradition, this verse was part of the Hallel recitation, reinforcing the faithful nature of God’s provision. Christian writers from the early church (e.g., Origen, Chrysostom) saw the “bread of heaven” as a type of Christ and the Eucharist. John Gill in the 18th century called the quail a type of “the flesh of Christ, whose flesh is meat indeed.” The verse has been used in hymns of providence and in sermons on God’s faithfulness during wilderness periods. While the psalm omits judgment, the church has consistently read it alongside Numbers 11 to hold together both grace and the call to holy living. The selective memory of praise, choosing to highlight God’s goodness rather than human sin, has been a model for Christian worship across traditions.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- They asked, God invites his people to bring their needs before him, even when those needs come from imperfect hearts.
- He brought quails and bread from heaven, God answers with concrete provision, meeting both the craving for meat and the daily need for food.
- He satisfied them, God’s gifts are not minimal; they fill his people, pointing to a deeper satisfaction found ultimately in Christ, the true bread from heaven (John 6:31, 35).
Five-point outline
- The people’s asking: A cry born of need, not always of faith, but still heard.
- The divine answer: God sends quail, unexpected, abundant, from the sky.
- The daily bread: Manna, the “bread of heaven,” that sustained a nation forty years (Exodus 16:35).
- The covenant motive: Verse 42 makes explicit: God acted for his holy word and for Abraham his servant.
- The call to praise: The psalm ends with “Praise the LORD”, the proper response to remembered grace.
Illustration hooks
- A parent gives a child what they ask for, even when the child’s tone is demanding. The gift is not payment for good behavior; it is love.
- A friend remembers only the good parts of a difficult trip together, not the complaints or the wrong turns. That selective memory can be an act of thanksgiving, not denial.
- Think of a time you received help while you were still complaining. The helper who gave anyway: that is the kind of God this verse describes.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God answer prayers even when we are grumbling and ungrateful?
- Why does this psalm leave out the punishment that came with the quail in Numbers 11?
- How can I remember God’s provision in my own hard seasons without replaying all my failures?
Leading a Discussion
This verse recasts the memory of the wilderness. The people asked, God gave. The grumbling is not erased, but it is not the focus. As a group, consider how the way we tell our own stories shapes our view of God. Do we lead with our failures or with God’s goodness?
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 105:40. What specific needs did the people have in the wilderness? How did God meet them?
- Compare this verse with Numbers 11:4, 6 and 11:31, 33. What details does the psalm leave out? Why do you think the psalmist made that choice?
- How does the phrase “bread of heaven” (used also in Psalm 78:24, 25) deepen the meaning of this provision? What does it say about where true nourishment comes from?
- In your own life, have you ever received a good gift from God while you were still complaining or doubting? How did that affect your relationship with him?
- Verse 42 gives the reason for God’s faithfulness: “For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.” How does God’s covenant loyalty shape the way we understand his provision?
- If you were to rewrite the story of a difficult season, leaving out your own failures and focusing on God’s care, what would change?
- How does this psalm encourage you to approach God with your needs, even when your heart is not fully right?
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 16:12 | “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’” |
| Exodus 16:14 | When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. |
| Exodus 16:35 | The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. |
| Numbers 11:4 | The mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? |
| Numbers 11:7 | The manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium. |
| Numbers 11:9 | When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it. |
| Numbers 11:31 | A wind from Yahweh went out 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, around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the earth. |
| Numbers 11:33 | While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, Yahweh’s anger burned against the people, and Yahweh struck the people with a very great plague. |
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
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What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the people asked for quails, which God brought, but He also satisfied them with bread from heaven. He highlights that this bread is elsewhere called "angels' food," showing God gave something far greater than what they requested.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that God's countless benefits after delivering Israel from Egypt were not random favors; they were designed to draw faithful covenant keeping and wholehearted service from the chosen people. The psalm celebrates this deliberate purpose, showing the covenant was more than mere words.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Psalmist passes over Israel's murmuring deliberately, choosing to highlight God's generous response rather than the people's faithlessness. The focus on manna as "bread of heaven" underscores divine goodness, not human failure. A textual note suggests the verb "asked" should be read as plural, matching the collective request.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note observes that God answered the people's request by supplying both quails and the bread of heaven, filling them completely. The commentator presents God's provision as immediate and generous, giving far more than asked for.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees the quail as a type of Christ's flesh—a fat, delicious bird sent from heaven in the evening, just as Christ came in the world's evening to give His flesh as true food. The manna, the bread of heaven, similarly points to Christ, the hidden manna that satisfies believers' souls.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch sees the cloud as a canopy shielding Israel from the sun, not a defensive covering against enemies. With the quails, they note the emphasis falls on God's omnipotent goodness answering the people's desire, even though that desire had a tempting character.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that this psalm differs from Psalm 78 by using Israel's history as a reason for praise rather than a warning. He sees it as a lyrical retelling of the Pentateuch narrative, emphasizing God's covenant faithfulness to Abraham rather than the people's failures in the wilderness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on God's direct sovereignty over every detail of Israel's suffering and rescue. He notes that God himself turned the Egyptians' hearts to hate his people, then sent each plague by his own word, and finally brought Israel out with joy so they would keep his laws.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights that God gave the quails as a refreshment even though the people sinned by demanding them, and He graciously pardoned that sin. The bread refers to the manna from heaven, another gracious provision despite their grumbling.