Bible Strands
Numbers 11:33
But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate aftermath of the Israelites gathering quail to satisfy their wilderness cravings, just as they begin to eat.
The words — The Hebrew בֵּין שִׁנֵּיהֶם (ben shinnehem) literally means "between their teeth," pinpointing the exact instant before chewing or swallowing.
The thread — The sudden plague while food remains in the mouth parallels Psalm 78:30 and reinforces the wilderness craving motif of Psalm 106:14.
Why it lands — The text declares that God's anger and plague strike precisely when the rebellious desire is momentarily fulfilled, demanding acknowledgment that judgment targets the act of craving itself rather than its later satisfaction.
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
And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
Cross-references
- Psalms 78:30 Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
- Psalms 106:14 They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.
- Numbers 16:49 But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
- Numbers 25:9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
- Deuteronomy 28:27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.