Seder 111: Numbers 11---A Divinely-Hosted, Punitive Banquet

 Shortly after the Israelites began their journey from Mount Sinai to Canaan, some Israelites began demanding meat to relieve the monotony of their diet (Num 11:4-6).  The complaints were driven by lust rather than need, but those complaints quickly escalated.  

Seeing disaster on the horizon, Moses' interceded on behalf of the people and asked for help (vv 11-15).  In answer to this plea for assistance, God instructed Moses to tell the people, "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat..." (v 18).  

These instructions remind us of Exodus 19:10-11, where God commanded that the people be consecrated in preparation for his appearance at Sinai on the third day.  In this case, God would be hosting a sort of banquet for the Israelites, providing the meat for which many had been clamoring.  

God went on to say that this banquet had a special purpose.  He would give them meat for a month so that they would eventually get sick of it and realize the error in their lustful ways (vv 19-20).  

Marveling at the extent of the complaining in the camp, Moses wondered whether all the meat in the world would satisfy the people's cravings.  God assured him, though, that he had matters under control (vv 21-23).  

The meat came in the form of quail that fell around the camp.  In a kind of frenzy the people hurried to gather as much as they could (vv 31-32).  Verse 33 reports, "While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague."

Commentator Michael Morales explains that here God was not tricking the Israelites, inviting them to eat and then zapping them when they tried to do so.  Psalm 78:29-31 pictures the plague coming before they had finished eating but after they had already had plenty to eat.  In addition, it is likely that the people had not really "consecrated themselves" for the occasion.  Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says that they did not give thanks for the food.  

The location of the banquet became known as Kibroth-Hataavah  ("graves of craving") because of those who died from the plague.

Seder 111: Numbers 12---Moses' "Cushite Wife" and the Jealousy of Miriam and Aaron

A wise saying has been attributed to the 19th century American financier J.P. Morgan:  "There are two reasons for everything----a good reason, and the real reason."

Moses' older siblings, Miriam and Aaron, at one point "spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married" (Num 12:1).  Since the "Cushite woman" is mentioned in the Bible only in this verse, her identity has been the subject of much speculation. 

We know that Moses had a wife named Zipporah, daughter of Jethro the Midianite (Ex 2:21-22; 3:1).  When Moses returned to Egypt he did not bring his family into the dangerous situation he would be facing, but he was reunited with his family at Mt Sinai (Ex 18:2,5).  

In Hab 3:7, we read, "I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble."  This parallelism in this verse indicates that "Cushan" is another name for "Midian" or some part of Midian.  Based on this verse, one possibility is that the "Cushite wife" is Zipporah, with "Cushite" meaning "from Cushan."  Perhaps some friction had developed between Miriam and Zipporah, the two most important women in Moses' life.  

On the other hand, the adjective "Cushite" is usually a reference to Cush, the region south of Egypt in today's Sudan.  Some have speculated that Zipporah's mother was a Cushite, so that Zipporah could also be called a Cushite.  

Another possibility is that Moses had married a Cushite who was part of the "mixed multitude" that joined the Israelites on the Exodus.  Perhaps Zipporah had died, or perhaps they had had a falling out related to the "circumcision incident" recorded in Exodus 4, or perhaps this was just an additional wife.  Miriam could have been critical of this second marriage.  

There was also a body of legend surrounding the first 40 years of Moses' life, before he fled to Midian.  Stephen seems to make reference to this in Acts 7:22 when he says that Moses "was mighty in his words and deeds."  Josephus records a legend in which Moses, while acting as an Egyptian military leader, marries a Cushite princess.  Perhaps this was the Cushite wife, and Miriam  was criticizing something about this marriage.  

Some today wonder if there was a racist aspect to the criticism of the Cushite wife.  It is known that ancient Egyptians tended to harbor some prejudice against Cushites.  

Rabbinic tradition proposes an elaborate and imaginative scenario meant to portray everyone in the best possible light.  In this scenario Miriam and Aaron are saying that Zipporah is special and distinctive in the same way that a Cushite's dark skin is distinctive, and they are critical of Moses because he has become so focused on spiritual matters that he has stopped sleeping with Zipporah.  

Whatever the identity of the Cushite wife, the real reason for Miriam and Aaron's complaint is that they wanted a more prominent leadership role in Israel.  They said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?  Has he not spoken through us also?" (Num 12:2)

Moses is described here as "very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth" (v 3).  The word for "meek" could be a reference to humility, or it could be a reference to how weighed down he was by the burden of leading the Israelites.  In any case, he didn't reprimand his older sister and brother.  

But God did.  God made it clear that Moses had a special relationship with him and was to be treated with appropriate respect (vv 4-9).  And he struck Miriam with a serious skin condition.  Her skin became "like snow," perhaps a sort of poetic justice if Miriam had said something derogatory about the skin color of the "Cushite wife."  

Moses interceded for his sister.  "O God, please heal her---please" (v 13).  And God did so after a week of punishment.  In Num 11-12 God's mercy is prominently displayed, as Rob Wilson pointed out in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Aug 6, 2022.

Seder 111: Numbers 11---Support for Moses

 In response to Moses' plea for help, God directed Moses to gather "seventy men of the elders of Israel" who would be empowered to provide extra support for Moses (Num 11:16).   

"I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them," God told Moses.  Some have actually seen this as a punishment to Moses, as if the Spirit were some subtance that he possessed in a finite quantity and would subsequently possess in a lesser quantity.  Instead, as Jewish commentator Joseph H. Hertz has observed, the situation can be likened to a candle, which can be used to ignite other candles and continue to burn as brightly as before.  

When these elders received the Spirit, they prophesied (v. 25).  The end of verse 25 has been translated in two different ways.  Most translations say that the elders "did not continue doing it" (ESV).  Others---KJV, Targums, Vulgate, Martin Luther---say instead that the elders did not cease prophesying.  In any case, the elders were equipped to assist Moses.  

The names of two who were not standing with Moses and also prophesied were given in verse 26---Eldad and Medad.  Opinions differ as to whether Eldad and Medad were among the 70 or were in addition to the 70.  One tradition proposes that six elders were chosen from each tribe, and that then 70 were chosen from those 72.  In this scenario, Eldad and Medad were the two "extras."  

Joshua expressed concern to Moses about what Eldad and Medad were doing.  Apparently he was worried that they were undermining Moses' authority. Moses, however, was not concerned.  He knew that the more people who were led by the Spirit, the better.  In his wish that all of the Israelites could be led by the Spirit, he anticipated events prophesied later ( Deut 30:6; Jer 31:33-34; Ezek 11:19-20; Joel 2:28-29).

There is a parallel event in the ministry of Jesus, where Jesus' disciples worried about the fact that someone outside of their group was casting out demons in the name of Jesus (Luke 9:49).  Jesus' response was, "Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you: (v 50).  

Because of Joshua's concern about Eldad and Medad, there has been much speculation about the content of the prophecy of Eldad and Medad.  For example, there is a (now lost) book called the Book of Eldad and Modad (Medad was also known in Greek as "Modad") that apparently discussed what they prophesied.  We know about this book from the Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian work from the second century AD, which gives a quote from it:  "The Lord is near to those who turn to him."  This thought is similar to James 4:8:  "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."  

We do know some Jewish traditions about what Eldad and Medad prophesied.  One says that they called upon Israelites to repent of their gluttony.  Another says that they were talking about Gog and Magog (i.e., end-time prophecy).  A third tradition says that they predicted Moses would die before the Israelites reached the Promised Land and Joshua would be the one to lead them there.  This third one is meant to explain why Joshua was upset.  

If Eldad and Medad were calling for repentance, not everyone listened.  God sent judgment against those consumed by gluttony (vv 31-35).