Numbers 11:10-15 meaning

Verses 10 – 15 contain what some have called “Moses’ Lament.” Moses heard, and probably was the recipient of, the never-ending griping of the people in the camp about having only manna to eat. In verses 11 – 15, Moses took his impassioned complaint to the LORD. Moses’ issue with the LORD involved him being chosen by the LORD to be the leader of these miserable, ungrateful, and demanding people.

Moses became aware of the people’s complaining when he heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent (v. 10). It does not appear that the people went to the LORD about their complaints. Instead, they simply sat down at the door of their tent and kept on complaining. Also, Moses knew that the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly (or “was burning intensely”) at the people for their lack of gratitude for the LORD’s gracious provision of manna. And when he saw all of this, Moses was displeased.

Apparently, the constant complaining of the people made Moses extremely upset. So, Moses said to the Lord (v. 11) many things in the form of questions. The first question was why have You been so hard on Your servant? The phrase translated “been so hard” is the Hebrew verb “ra’a’,” which means “to be evil.” Moses seemed to be asking the LORD why it appeared that He was causing him evil by appointing him to lead such an obstinate people.

In the second question, Moses asked why have I not found favor in Your sight? Because of the present trouble, Moses thought that he lost the favor (Heb. “khen,” “grace”) of the LORD that he received earlier (Exodus 33:17). The evidence, at least in Moses’ mind, for this lost favor was that the LORD had laid the burden of all this people on him. The people, the same ones who worshipped the golden calf (Exodus 32 – 34), were now endlessly complaining about their bland diet, and it was a huge burden to Moses.

The questions in verse 12 seem almost sarcastic. Moses asked the LORD was it I who conceived all this people? (v.12). The I in Hebrew (“anoki”) is emphatic. Moses was saying to the LORD that he was not responsible for the creation of the Israelites and should not be held responsible for meeting all their needs. It seems here that Moses is somewhat reverting to his reluctance to lead, which we saw when God first called him from the burning bush (Exodus 3:11).

Moses then asked the same question in a different way. He asked was it I who brought them forth. Again, the I is emphatic. Moses is asking God sarcastically if he is Israel’s mother or a midwife, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? Though the LORD did say that Moses brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 33:1), Moses takes it further, saying that the LORD expected him to be, in effect, a “surrogate father” to the people.

By using the image of a nursing mother (carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant), Moses was telling the LORD that what He was asking of him was impossible. He simply was not equipped to care for these people. It is as if Moses was saying, “LORD, You created these people, so they are Your responsibility, not mine. It is not fair to burden me with them since I am inadequate to meet their needs.”

Thinking that he has been given an impossible task, Moses then asked the LORD, Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? (v. 13). He reminded the LORD that they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ The LORD already knew all of this (see v. 1 of this chapter). Exasperated, Moses then concludes that he cannot do anything about this issue. He told the LORD that he alone was not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome (v. 14).

Moses seemed to think that the LORD’s burdening him this way was an act of judgment upon him. He said this in light of the LORD going to deal thus with me, Moses asked Him to please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness (v. 15). Moses was so upset about the situation that He thought that for the LORD to kill him would be ironically an act of grace.

Moses apparently thought that he was not qualified to deal with the people about this matter and that the LORD was not fair to place this burden on him. This is not the first time Moses argues with the LORD. In Exodus 4, the LORD commissioned Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land, Canaan. Moses, instead of accepting the LORD’s will for him, argues with Him, stating that he was not equipped to be a leader. As what happened here, the LORD became angry with Moses (Exodus 4:14). So, thinking that the LORD was cruel because He expected Moses to carry out impossible tasks seemed to be a pattern for him.

However, God did put the burden on Moses to lead the people, although He gave Moses Aaron as an aide (Exodus 6:13). God meets Moses here at his point of need, and provides a solution. God does not react to Moses’s distress. He simply provides a plan, and asks Moses to follow it. Moses stated he could not bear this burden alone (Numbers 11:14) and now God will give him seventy men to help carry his responsibility.

Biblical Text

¹⁰Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased. ¹¹So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? ¹²Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? ¹³Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ ¹⁴I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. ¹⁵So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses that comprise the Torah, which means “Law.” It gets its English name from the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint (or LXX). The LXX named this book, “Arithmoi,” meaning “Numbers.” Its Hebrew name means “in the desert” or “in the wilderness.” Both names are appropriate. The Hebrew name is appropriate because Numbers covers the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness (or “desert”) from Sinai to the plains of Moab. The Greek name is also appropriate because of the many lists, and the numbers within those lists.

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites had been camped at Mount Sinai for about a year. The book of Exodus covered their escape from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. The LORD commanded Moses to organize the people in preparation to leave Sinai and go to the Promised Land. The book covers around 38 years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and describes many of Israel’s failures, including mutinies against Moses and outright disobedience to the word of the LORD. In Numbers, the LORD declares that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness due to their disobedience. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land, due to their faithfulness. Even Moses died without entering the Land due to disobedience.

The book of Numbers can be outlined in many ways. The most general outline involves the generation that leaves Egypt and the one after it, as seen below:
• Events Involving the Exodus Generation (Num. 1 – 25)
• Events Involving the Second Generation (Num. 26 – 36)

Another outline sees the book having three major divisions based on the major encampments of the Israelites:
• Israel at Sinai (Num. 1:1 – 10:10)
• Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 10:11 – 19:22)
• Israel on the Plains of Moab (Num. 20:1 – 36:13)

Still another outline (the one followed here) is as follows:
• The Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (chaps. 1 – 25)
◦ The Israelites Prepare to Leave Mount Sinai (1:1 – 10:10)
◦ The Israelites Depart to Kadesh Barnea (10:11 – 14:45)
◦ The Israelites Journey to the Plains of Moab (15:1 – 22:1)
◦ The Israelites Are Confronted by Balaam the Prophet (22:2 – 25:18)
• The Second Generation Prepares to Enter the Promised Land (26:1 – 36:13)
◦ The Rules Concerning Inheritance (Num. 26:1 – 27:11)
◦ The Provision for Moses’ Successor (Num. 27:12 – 23)
◦ The Laws Concerning Offerings (Num. 28:1 – 29:40)
◦ The Laws Concerning Vows (Num. 30:1 –16)
◦ The LORD’s Judgment Against the Midianites (Num. 31:1 – 54)
◦ The Inheritance of the Eastern Tribes (Num. 32:1 – 42)
◦ The Review of the Journey to Canaan (Num. 33:1 – 56)
◦ The LORD’s Instructions Before Conquering Canaan (Num. 33:50 – 36:13)

There are two themes that flow from the book of Numbers. The first concerns the LORD’s infinite grace in light of the people’s many failures and transgressions. There is hardly a book in the Bible where the LORD had to exercise His grace to His people more often than this one. The book of Numbers contains a record of Israel’s failure after failure and the LORD’s gracious forgiveness after forgiveness. Even when He judged them, there was grace.

Second, and related to the first, the book stresses the importance of obedience. God chose the Israelites unconditionally; they were the LORD’s chosen people regardless of their behavior. However, He demanded obedience to show His people that their obedience results in blessing. God set forth a way of life for His people in the covenant He and the people entered into at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8). The Ten Commandments made it clear that God would make the law, and that the pinnacle requirement of His law was for the people to respect and serve one another. The strong were to serve the weak. This was in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures, which centered around the strong exploiting the weak (Leviticus 18). God’s judgment brought discipline upon Israel in order to shepherd them toward living in harmony and service to one another.

Chapter Context

Numbers 11 contains events that happened during the Israelites’ journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea through the Wilderness of Paran. It records how the people complained about the lack of meat. They were not content with the LORD’s gracious provision of manna, so they bitterly complained about not having other items (such as meat) to eat.

The LORD heard the complaining and responded by sending fire on a part of the camp. Moses interceded for the people and the LORD stopped the fire.

The LORD also provided seventy men to assist Moses in administering day-to-day tasks in the camp. They were given the Holy Spirit to help them accomplish their tasks of administration. As a result of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, they prophesied. Two of them also prophesied even though they were not in the LORD’s presence at the tabernacle. This bothered Joshua, and Moses had to calm him down.

After the LORD met Moses’ need for help in his administration tasks, the LORD miraculously supplied the quail. Though it appeared to the people to be a blessing, the coming of the quail became a plague that caused many Israelites to perish.

Numbers 11 can be outlined as follows:

The People Complained (Numbers 11:1 – 3)
The Rabble Complained (Numbers 11:4 – 9)
Moses Complained (Numbers 11:10 – 15)
The LORD’s Response to Moses’ Complaint (Numbers 11:16 – 25)
Eldad and Medad Prophesy (Numbers 11:26 – 29)
The LORD Provides Quail (Numbers 11:30 – 35)

Numbers 11:10-15 meaning

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Numbers Summary

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