The people rose up all that day, and all of that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails. He who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all out for themselves around the camp.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 32. Cores. Hebrew “Chomarim,” each of contained 100 gomers. One gomer was the daily allowance of manna for each person, and of course their must have been sufficient quails for one hundred days. But Moses tells us that each one collected at least ten times that quantity, or as much has he could eat for 1,000 days. Bochart therefore supposes, that only each family, of ten people, gathered so much: or the Hebrew should be rendered heaps, as the core, or chomer, is not a proper measure for birds, but for corn and liquors. The Septuagint Syr. and so forth have “heaps.” We need not have recourse to a new creation of these birds, as their numbers are very surprising. Plin. x. 23. In Italy above 100,000 have been caught in one day, within the space of 5,000 paces. Blond. The Psalmist compares the number brought on this occasion, to the dust, or to the sand of the sea-shore. Ps 77:27.—Dried them in the sun, having first salted them, as the Egyptians did. Calmet. Athenæus.—Many quails are found in Egypt, and around the Arabian Gulf. Josep. iii. D.
1 homer is about 220 liters or 6 bushels