The people began to complain about the hardships of the wilderness, and the sound of their voices reached the ears of the LORD. His anger blazed, and fire fell from heaven, devouring the edges of the camp. In terror, the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed, the fire died away. That place was named Taberah—"burning"—because the LORD's fire had burned among them.
But soon another craving stirred among the crowd. The foreigners among them began to long for more food, and their hunger spread to the children of Israel. They wept aloud, saying, "If only we had meat to eat! In Egypt we enjoyed fish at no cost, along with cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our strength is gone. Day after day we have nothing but this manna!"
The manna was like coriander seed, glistening like resin. The people went out to gather it, grinding it in hand mills or crushing it in mortars. They cooked it in pots, made it into cakes, and it tasted like bread baked with fine oil. Each night, when the dew settled upon the camp, the manna fell with it.
Moses heard families weeping at the entrances of their tents. The LORD's anger grew fierce, and Moses himself was deeply troubled. He cried out to God:
"Why have You placed this burden on me? Did I give birth to these people that I should carry them like infants to the land You promised? Where can I get meat for them? They keep wailing, 'Give us meat!' I cannot bear this alone—it is too heavy for me. If this is how You mean to treat me, then put me to death at once, so that I may not see my own ruin."
The LORD answered him:
"Gather seventy elders of Israel, men you know to be leaders and officials among the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and place it upon them, so that they may share the burden with you.
Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow you will eat meat. The LORD has heard your weeping: 'If only we had meat! We were better off in Egypt!' Therefore He will give you meat, not for one day, or two, or five, or ten, or twenty, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it, because you have despised the LORD who dwells among you."
But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men, and You say, 'I will give them meat for a month!' Even if all the flocks and herds were slaughtered, would that be enough? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would it satisfy them?"
The LORD replied, "Is My arm too short? You will see whether My word comes to pass."
So Moses gathered the seventy elders and had them stand around the Tent. The LORD descended in the cloud, spoke with him, and placed some of the Spirit that was on Moses upon the elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but only once.
Meanwhile, two men, Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. Though they had been listed among the seventy, they had not gone out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit came upon them, and they too began to prophesy where they stood. A young man ran to tell Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!"
But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that He would place His Spirit on all of them!"
Then Moses and the elders returned to the camp.
A wind sent by the LORD swept in from the sea, driving quail before it. They fell around the camp, covering the ground to a depth of about three feet, stretching a day's journey in every direction. For two days and a night, the people gathered quail, and no one collected less than ten homers. They spread the birds out around the camp to dry.
But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was even chewed, the anger of the LORD blazed again. A severe plague struck the people. Many died, and the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah—"graves of craving"—for there they buried those who had longed for other food.
From there the Israelites traveled on to Hazeroth, where they stayed.