Bible Strands
Numbers 11:22
If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the LORD in the wilderness, responding to God’s command to supply meat for the Israelites for a month.
The words — The Hebrew צֹאן (tzon, flock) and בָקָר (baqar, herd) are paired with יִשָּׁחֵט (yishaḥet, will be slaughtered) and דְּגֵי (degei, fish of) to frame a rhetorical question about whether finite livestock and sea catch could meet the demand.
The thread — The same logistical doubt appears in Matthew 15:33 and Mark 6:37, while 2 Kings 7:2 records an officer’s question about whether the LORD could open the heavens to provide.
Why it lands — The text presents Moses’ arithmetic of human impossibility before God’s promise, requiring the reader to assess the gap between measured resources and declared intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 7:2 But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
- Matthew 15:33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
- Mark 6:37 But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
- Mark 8:4 His disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone find enough bread to feed all these people?”
- Luke 1:18 “How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
- Luke 1:34 “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
- John 6:6 But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
- John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”