016. Quails

Quails (Numbers 11:31-32)

"And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought forth 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." The correct rendering is "about two cubits above the face of the earth," that is within reach of the people that might slay them for food. The statement is not that the quails were piled up from the face of the earth two cubits deep. The level of their flight was two cubits above the earth. "And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host." The quail is a bird of the grouse family. They are abundant in all the temperate regions of Europe and western Asia, migrating to and from Africa at the proper season. In the spring they are found in great numbers in the Syrian deserts and Arabia. An immense supply was furnished the Israelites on two occasions (Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31-32). Both were at the season of migration, and the birds were caught in such quantities as to suffice for a million people for a month. They were dried in the sun, and preserved with salt.