Numbers 11:4

Complaints about Food

11:4 ¹ Now the mixed multitude ²  who were among them craved more desirable foods, ³  and so the Israelites wept again ⁴  and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ 

Numbers 11:13

11:13 From where shall I get ⁶  meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’ ⁷ 

Numbers 11:2

11:2 When the people cried to Moses, he ⁸  prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out. ⁹ 

Numbers 6:15-17

6:15 and a basket of bread made without yeast, cakes of fine flour mixed with olive oil, wafers made without yeast and smeared with olive oil, and their ¹⁰  grain offering and their drink offerings. ¹¹ 

6:16 “‘Then the priest must present all these ¹²  before the Lord and offer ¹³  his purification offering and his burnt offering. 6:17 Then he must offer the ram as a peace offering ¹⁴  to the Lord, with the basket of bread made without yeast; the priest must also offer his grain offering and his drink offering.

Numbers 7:2

7:2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, ¹⁵  made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising ¹⁶  the numbering.

Numbers 7:2

7:2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, ¹⁷  made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising ¹⁸  the numbering.

Numbers 25:9

25:9 Those that died in the plague were 24,000.

Psalms 78:19-20

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ¹⁹ 

“Is God really able to give us food ²⁰  in the wilderness?

78:20 Yes, ²¹  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

Isaiah 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ²² 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ²³  I brought them up, ²⁴ 

but ²⁵  they have rebelled ²⁶  against me!

Matthew 6:25-34

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ²⁷  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ²⁸  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ²⁹  them. Aren’t you more valuable ³⁰  than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? ³¹  6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ³²  of the field grow; they do not work ³³  or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ³⁴  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ³⁵  won’t he clothe you even more, ³⁶  you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ³⁷  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ³⁸  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. ³⁹ 

Matthew 8:26

8:26 But ⁴⁰  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ⁴¹  the winds and the sea, ⁴²  and it was dead calm.

Luke 12:29

12:29 So ⁴³  do not be overly concerned about ⁴⁴  what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ⁴⁵ 

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Hebrews 13:5-6

13:5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” ⁴⁶  13:6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and ⁴⁷  I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” ⁴⁸ 

[11:4]  ¹ sn The story of the sending of the quail is a good example of poetic justice, or talionic justice. God had provided for the people, but even in that provision they were not satisfied, for they remembered other foods they had in Egypt. No doubt there was not the variety of foods in the Sinai that might have been available in Egypt, but their life had been bitter bondage there as well. They had cried to the Lord for salvation, but now they forget, as they remember things they used to have. God will give them what they crave, but it will not do for them what they desire. For more information on this story, see B. J. Malina, The Palestinian Manna Tradition. For the attempt to explain manna and the other foods by natural phenomena, see F. W. Bodenheimer, “The Manna of Sinai,” BA 10 (1947): 1-6.

[11:4]  ² tn The mixed multitude (or “rabble,” so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NLT “foreign rabble”) is the translation of an unusual word, הֲָאסַפְסֻף (ha’safsuf). It occurs in the Hebrew Bible only here. It may mean “a gathering of people” from the verb אָסַף (’asaf), yielding the idea of a mixed multitude (in line with Exod 12:38). But the root is different, and so no clear connection can be established. Many commentators therefore think the word is stronger, showing contempt through a word that would be equivalent to “riff-raff.”

[11:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew simply uses the cognate accusative, saying “they craved a craving” (הִתְאַוּוּ תַּאֲוָה, hit’avvu ta’vah), but the context shows that they had this strong craving for food. The verb describes a strong desire, which is not always negative (Ps 132:13-14). But the word is a significant one in the Torah; it was used in the garden story for Eve’s desire for the tree, and it is used in the Decalogue in the warning against coveting (Deut 5:21).

[11:4]  ⁴ tc The Greek and the Latin versions read “and they sat down” for “and they returned,” involving just a change in vocalization (which they did not have). This may reflect the same expression in Judg 20:26. But the change does not improve this verse.

[11:4]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew expresses the strong wish or longing idiomatically: “Who will give us flesh to eat?” It is a rhetorical expression not intended to be taken literally, but merely to give expression to the longing they had. See GKC 476 §151.a.1.

[11:13]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text simply has “from where to me flesh?” which means “from where will I have meat?”

[11:13]  ⁷ tn The cohortative coming after the imperative stresses purpose (it is an indirect volitive).

[11:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “Moses.”

[11:2]  ⁹ sn Here is the pattern that will become in the wilderness experience so common – the complaining turns to a cry to Moses, which is then interpreted as a prayer to the Lord, and there is healing. The sequence presents a symbolic lesson, an illustration of the intercession of the Holy Spirit. The NT will say that in times of suffering Christians do not know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes for them, changing their cries into the proper prayers (Rom 8).

[6:15]  ¹⁰ tn The suffixes in the MT are plural in this verse, whereas in v. 17 they are singular. This seems to be a matter of stylistic choice, referring to whomever may be taking the vow.

[6:15]  ¹¹ sn The offerings for the termination of the Nazirite vow would not have been inexpensive. This indicates that the person making the short term vow may have had income, or have come from a wealthier section of society. Short term vows had to be considered carefully as this ruling required a good amount of food to be brought.

[6:16]  ¹² tn “all these” is supplied as the object.

[6:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “make.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn The “peace offering” is usually written as “a sacrifice of peace” (זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים, zevakh shÿlamim). The word “sacrifice” is related to the word “to slaughter,” and so indicates that this is a bloody offering in celebration of peace with God.

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:2]  ¹⁶ tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:2]  ¹⁸ tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.

[78:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[78:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “look.”

[1:2]  ²² sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ²³ tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  ²⁴ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ²⁵ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ²⁶ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[6:25]  ²⁷ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[6:26]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ²⁹ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ³⁰ tn Grk “of more value.”

[6:27]  ³¹ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς (phcus). Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 436 s.v. 3 for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[6:28]  ³² tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[6:28]  ³³ tn Or, traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English reads better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[6:30]  ³⁴ tn Grk “grass of the field.”

[6:30]  ³⁵ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[6:30]  ³⁶ sn The phrase even more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[6:32]  ³⁷ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”

[6:33]  ³⁸ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[6:34]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Sufficient for the day is its evil.”

[8:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ⁴¹ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ⁴² sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[12:29]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion drawn from the previous illustrations.

[12:29]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “do not seek,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that people should make no attempt to obtain their food. The translation “do not be overly concerned” attempts to reflect the force of the original.

[12:29]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “about such things” have been supplied to qualify the meaning; the phrase relates to obtaining food and drink mentioned in the previous clause.

[13:5]  ⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 31:6, 8.

[13:6]  ⁴⁷ tc Some important mss (א* C* P 0285^vid 33 1175 1739 pc lat) lack καί (kai), but because the omission conforms to the wording of Ps 118:6 (117:6 LXX), it is suspect.

[13:6]  ⁴⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 118:6.