Episode 57: Quails - until they come out your nose!

(Numbers 11)

The people complain (so God burns them to death)

11 ¹ When the people complained, God heard it. And it displeased him. So he sent a fire to burn them to death.

² The people cried to Moses, Moses prayed to God, and the fire was quenched.

The people complain (again) about the lack of food

⁴ The Israelites began lusting and wept again, saying,

Who will give us flesh to eat?

⁶ There's nothing at all to eat, besides this manna.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people weep, and God became very angry. Moses was also displeased.

¹¹ Moses said to God,

Why have you afflicted me?

What did I do to deserve this job?

¹² Did I conceive these people?

Did I carry them as a nursing father bears a sucking child?

¹³ How can I give flesh to these people?

¹⁵ If this is the way you're going to treat me, just kill me.

¹⁶ God said to Moses,

¹⁸ Say to the people,

¹⁸ You will eat flesh because you have wept in my ears, saying, "Who shall give us flesh to eat?"

¹⁹ You will eat flesh not for one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days.

²⁰ But for a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils, and it becomes loathsome to you.

²¹ Moses said,

Where am I going to find enough flesh to feed 600,000 soldiers?

God said,

Has my hand waxed short? You'll see now whether my word is true or not.

Eldad and Medad

²⁴ Moses told the people what God said, and he gathered 70 elders to the tabernacle.

²⁵ God came down in a cloud and gave his spirit to the seventy elders, who began to prophesy nonstop.

²⁶ But two men remained in the camp, Eldad and Medad, and began to prophesy on their own.

²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, saying,

Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.

²⁸ Joshua said to Moses,

Moses, forbid them!

²⁹ But Moses said,

Heck, I wish everyone was a prophet!

God sends them quails to eat

³¹ A wind come up and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall in the camp, a day's journey on each side and two cubits high.

³² The people gathered the quails, each person at least ten homers.

God smites the people for complaining about the quails

³³ And while the quail flesh was still between their teeth, the wrath of God was kindled against the people, and he smote the people with a very great plague.