Topical Encyclopedia Quails are small, migratory birds mentioned in the Bible, primarily in the context of God's provision for the Israelites during their wilderness journey. These birds are noted for their role in two significant events recorded in the Old Testament, where they served as a source of sustenance for the Israelites.Biblical References: 1. Exodus 16:13 · The first mention of quails occurs during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. As they journeyed through the wilderness, the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron due to a lack of food. In response, God promised to provide for their needs. "That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp" . This miraculous provision of quail, along with manna, demonstrated God's faithfulness and care for His people despite their complaints. 2. Numbers 11:31-32 · A second significant event involving quails is recorded in the Book of Numbers. The Israelites, dissatisfied with the manna, expressed a strong craving for meat, reminiscing about the food they had in Egypt. In response, God sent an abundance of quail: "Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to a depth of about two cubits above the ground, for a day's journey in every direction. All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail" . This event, however, also served as a lesson in the consequences of ingratitude and disobedience, as a severe plague struck those who had greedily gathered the quail. Symbolism and Lessons: Quails in the biblical narrative symbolize God's provision and the importance of trust and obedience. The provision of quail, alongside manna, underscores God's ability to meet the needs of His people in miraculous ways. However, the subsequent plague in Numbers 11 serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of discontent and the consequences of testing God's patience. Cultural and Historical Context: Quails are migratory birds that were known to travel across the Sinai Peninsula. Their migration patterns would have made them a familiar sight to the Israelites. The timing of their arrival, driven by a divine wind, highlights the miraculous nature of their provision. In the ancient Near East, quails were considered a delicacy, and their sudden abundance would have been seen as a significant blessing. Theological Implications: The accounts of quails in the Bible emphasize God's sovereignty and His responsiveness to the needs and cries of His people. They also illustrate the importance of gratitude and reliance on divine provision. The narrative invites believers to reflect on their own attitudes towards God's gifts and to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness and trust in His ongoing care. Smith's Bible Dictionary QuailsThere can be no doubt that the Hebrew word in the Pentateuch (Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31,32) and in the 105th Psalm, denotes the common quail, Coturnix dactylisonans . (The enormous quantity of quails taken by the Israelites has its parallel in modern times. Pliny states that they sometimes alight on vessels in the Mediterranean and sink them. Colenel Sykes states that 160,000 quails have been netted in one season on the island of Capri. --ED.) The expression "as it were two cubits (high) upon the face of the earth," (Numbers 11:31) refers probably to the height at which the quails flew above the ground, in their exhausted condition from their long flight. As to the enormous quantities which the least-successful Israelite is said to have taken viz. "ten homers" (i.e. eighty bushels) in the space of a night and two days, there is every reason for believing that the "homers here spoken of do not denote strictly the measure of that name but simply "a heap." The Israelites would have had little difficulty in capturing large quantities of these birds as they are known to arrive at places sometimes so completely exhausted by their flight as to be readily taken, not in nets only, but by the hand. They "spread the quails round about the camp;" this was for the purpose of drying them. The Egyptians similarly prepared these birds. The expression "quails from the sea," (Numbers 11:31) must not be restricted to denote that the birds came from the sea, as their starting-point, but it must be taken to show the direction from which they were coming. The quails were at the time of the event narrated in the sacred writings, on their spring journey of migration northward, It is interesting to note the time specified: "it was at even" that they began to arrive; and they no doubt continued to come all night. Many observers have recorded that the quail migrates by night. ATS Bible Dictionary QuailsThe oriental quail is a bird of passage, about the size of a turtledove, and nearly resembling the American partridge. Hasselquist states that it is plentiful near the shores of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, and in the deserts of Arabia; and Diodorus affirms that it is caught in immense numbers about Rhinocolura, at the southwest corner of Palestine. Burckhardt also found great quantities of them in the regions south of the Dead Sea. The flocks of quails, therefore, which came up to the camp of Israel, are entirely credible; and the miracle seems especially to have consisted in these immense flocks being directed to a particular spot, in the extreme emergency of the people by means of "a wind from the Lord," Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31; Psalm 78:27. Easton's Bible Dictionary The Israelites were twice relieved in their privation by a miraculous supply of quails, (1) in the wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:13), and (2) again at Kibroth-hattaavah (q.v.), Numbers 11:31. God "rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea" (Psalm 78:27). The words in Numbers 11:31, according to the Authorized Version, appear to denote that the quails lay one above another to the thickness of two cubits above the ground. The Revised Version, however, reads, "about two cubits above the face of the earth", i.e., the quails flew at this height, and were easily killed or caught by the hand. Being thus secured in vast numbers by the people, they "spread them all abroad" (11:32) in order to salt and dry them.These birds (the Coturnix vulgaris of naturalists) are found in countless numbers on the shores of the Mediterranean, and their annual migration is an event causing great excitement. Strong's Hebrew 7958. selav -- quail... Definition: quail. Word Origin probably of foreign origin Definition quail NASB Word Usage quail (3), quails (1). quails. Or slayv ... /hebrew/7958.htm - 6k Library Following the Cloud. The Early Training of a Race. Do You Know Him? Instances from Scripture of Divine Judgments Upon the Self ... The Memorable Hymn. "And when they had Sung an Hymn, they Went Out ... Reflections on his Fiftieth Birthday. What a Wonderful Being is ... The Duty of Remembering the Poor And Having Summoned Nicodemus and the Twelve Men that Said He was ... Then He Summoned Nicodemus and the Twelve God-Fearing Jews... He Replies to the Cavil that the one who is Born must be of one ... Thesaurus Quails (4 Occurrences)... The Israelites were twice relieved in their privation by a miraculous supply of quails, (1) in the wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:13), and (2) again at Kibroth ... /q/quails.htm - 8k Quail (5 Occurrences) Kibroth-hattaavah (5 Occurrences) Kibrothhattaavah (5 Occurrences) Plague (142 Occurrences) Quake (23 Occurrences) Homers (1 Occurrence) Jug (11 Occurrences) Layer (4 Occurrences) Leaveth (25 Occurrences) Resources What were the quail mentioned in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus Concordance Quails (4 Occurrences)Exodus 16:13 Numbers 11:31 Numbers 11:32 Psalms 105:40 Subtopics Related Terms |