How Many Quails Were Sent?

 

Introduction

 

Lets look at the Scripture about this subject

 

Numbers 11:31,32

“And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. [32] And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.”

 

The least gathered 10 homers

 

We first must understand what a “homer” is in quantity. According to the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, NIV., by The B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company on page 1590; we find the quantity of a homer.

“The homer was the standard dry measure of 6 bushels”.

 

To get an idea of how many were sent we must also look at the number of how many were gathering the quail. We may get a amount of how many there were from Numbers 1:45,46

 

Numbers 1:45-46

“So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; [46] Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.”

 

Not counting the tribe of Levi; there were of twenty years old and upward men able to go to war were 603,550. We find the number of Levities from a month old upward in Numbers 3:43

 

Numbers 3:43

“And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.”

 

We see the number of first-born males were 22,273. These figures that we have just noticed, do not include everyone. They do not include all the women and all the children. There are several different classes of people that are omitted from these figures. We are looking at a figure of people of way over a million people that were gathering quail. The least gathered was 10 homers (6 bushels  x 10).

To give a precise number of the quail sent would be impossible but this is to show the power of God in providing for His people.

 

Two Cubits Above The Face Of The Earth

 

The quail flew as shown from the text, two cubits above the face of the earth. So, how high is two cubits? According to the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, NIV., by the B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company on page 1590, we find the measurement of what a “cubit” is.

The cubit is a measurement of 18 inches

 

18 inches  x  2 = 36 inches or 3 feet

 

The quail were flying 3 feet above the ground. The Bible says it took them all that day, and all the night, and all the next day to gather the quails. With this many birds, one had to certainly get their limit.

 

Lets look to the Word of God and see how many God said He was going to send. The answer is found in Numbers 11:19,20

 

Numbers 11:19-20

“Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; [20] But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?”

 

How many quails were sent?

Enough to come out their nostrils and for them to never want quail for supper again.