Quail
“From a root meaning 'to be fat'”
Summary
The quail was a migratory game bird provided miraculously by God on two occasions to feed the Israelites in the wilderness, arriving in vast numbers carried by the wind.
☩Identification
The Hebrew word selav is identified with the common quail (Coturnix vulgaris), a plump game bird closely related to partridges. The Hebrew term derives from a root meaning 'to be fat,' aptly describing the bird's round, plump form, especially after winter feeding. The Arabic salwa, still used by Arabs today, confirms this identification. Josephus explicitly names the bird ortyx, the Greek word for quail.
☩The Miracles
God provided quail on two distinct occasions during the wilderness wandering. The first occurrence was between Sin and Sinai, when quail came in the evening and covered the camp. The second, more dramatic event occurred at Kibroth-hattaavah in response to the people's complaint about lacking meat. A wind from the Lord brought quail from the sea, dropping them around the camp for a day's journey in every direction. The statement that birds flew 'about two cubits above the face of the earth' indicates their exhausted, low-flying condition after crossing the sea, making them easy to capture.
☩Natural Context
The miracle aligned with known quail behavior and migration patterns. Quail migrate northward from Africa in spring, crossing the Red Sea when winds are favorable, as they cannot sustain long flights against the wind. Exhausted from their journey, flocks would settle in enormous numbers. Pliny recorded quail arriving in Italy in such quantities that weary birds settling on ships sometimes sank them. The Israelites captured them easily due to their exhaustion and dried the meat by spreading the birds abroad on the sand, following the Egyptian custom described by Herodotus.
☩Divine Judgment
While the first provision of quail was gracious, the second came with divine judgment. The people had complained bitterly, craving meat and despising the manna. God granted their desire, but before the meat was consumed, a plague struck those who had eaten greedily. The place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, meaning 'graves of craving,' memorializing the judgment on unbridled appetite.
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Quail," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Quail," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Quail," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Quail," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).