But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

NUMBERS 11:6KJV
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Numbers 11:6 (KJV)

What does Numbers 11:6 mean?

Numbers 11:6 describes how the Israelites felt empty and worn out, complaining that they had nothing to eat except manna. The people are expressing deep dissatisfaction and longing for different food, saying their very soul feels dried up because all they see day after day is manna.

In this verse, the Israelites are speaking to Moses while wandering in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. They are frustrated with the monotony of eating manna—the special food God provided for them—and their complaint shows both physical and emotional exhaustion. This moment highlights their struggle to trust and appreciate what they have been given.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 11:6

  • The word "soul" is נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), which often means a person's life, inner being, or emotional state. Here, it emphasizes how deeply the people feel their weariness and dissatisfaction, not just physically but in their whole being.
  • The word "away" is יָבֵשׁ (yavesh), meaning "dried up" or "withered." This word paints a vivid picture of their sense of depletion and lifelessness, as if their spirit has shriveled from lack of variety or fulfillment.
  • The word "beside" is בִּלְתִּי (bilti), meaning "except" or "apart from." This stresses that manna is the only thing available to them, with nothing else in sight.
  • The word "manna" is מָן (man), the unique food provided by God. Mentioning it by name underlines both its miraculous nature and the people's growing discontent with it.
  • The word "eyes" is עַיִן (ayin), meaning "eyes" or "sight." The focus on what is "before our eyes" shows that their complaint is about what they see and experience every day, highlighting their focus on the immediate and visible.

Why Numbers 11:6 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the Israelites' complaint is not just about physical hunger but about a deeper sense of emptiness and longing for something more satisfying.
  • The emphasis on "nothing at all, beside this manna" reveals how quickly the people forgot the hardship of Egypt and began to take God's provision for granted.
  • Understanding the depth of their complaint helps explain the tension in the following verses, where Moses and God respond to the people's dissatisfaction and lack of trust.

Where else these words appear

“away” Hebrew H3002 · used in 9 verses

  • Numbers 6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
  • Isaiah 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
  • Ezekiel 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

“manna” Hebrew H4478 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
  • Exodus 16:35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
  • Deuteronomy 8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

“beside” Hebrew H1115 · used in 29 verses

  • Genesis 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
  • Numbers 14:16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
  • Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.