Kibroth Hattaavah orKibroth-hattaavah (Biblical Hebrew:קִבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה,romanized: qib̲rot̲ hattaʾăwā,lit. 'graves of craving') is one of the locations which theIsraelites passed through duringthe Exodus as recorded in theBook of Numbers (Numbers 11:1-3). It was at this place, according to the biblical narrative, that the Israelites loudly complained about constantly eating onlymanna, and that they had enjoyed a much more varied diet of fish, vegetables, fruit and meat when they lived inBiblical Egypt;[1] the text states that this ledMoses, in despair, to cry out toYahweh,[2] who then promised them so much meat that "they would vomit it through their nostrils" in Numbers 11:18–20. The narrative tells of a huge number ofquail brought by the winds to both sides of the Israelite encampment, which the people gathered. Modern translations imply that Yahweh sent aplague as they were chewing the first meat that fell.[3]
The biblical narrativeargues that the name Kibroth-hattaavah derives from these events,[4] since the plague killed the people who "lusted after" meat, who were then buried there.[4] According tobiblical scholars, this is merely anaetiological myth to theologically justify a pre-existing place name;[5] several biblical scholars have proposed that the term "graves" in the name refers to astone circle orcairns,[6] or to recently discoveredChalcolithic (~fourth Millennium BC)megalithic burial sites known asnawamis "mosquitoes," which are unique to the centralSinai Peninsula and southernNegev.
According totextual scholars of thedocumentary hypothesis, the account concerning Kibroth-hattaavah is part of theYahwist text and occurs at the same point in the Exodus narrative as the account ofTaberah in theElohist text;[5][7] indeed, one or both ofTabarah (תבערה) andHattavah (התאוה) may bephonological andtypographical corruptions of the same original word.[7] Taberah is not listed in theStations of the Exodus listed later in the Book of Numbers, with the people going straight fromMount Sinai to Kibroth-hattavah,[8] and there is no hint that the Israelites had to travel from Taberah to Kibroth-hattaavah, implying that they were the same location.[9] Nevertheless, Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah are listed as different places byDeuteronomy 9:22 that textual scholars ascribe to theDeuteronomist, and consequently date to over two centuries later than the Yahwist and Elohist, and also later than the combined JE text.[10]
Taberah is described by theTorah as being threedays' journey from thebiblical Mount Sinai[11] and therefore its modern identification relies heavily on the identification of Mount Sinai. The traditional identification of Mount Sinai as one of the mountains at the southern tip of theSinai Peninsula would imply that Taberah andKibroth-hattaavah was/were probably in theWadi Murrah, about 30 miles northeast of the southern tip, and precisely one day's journey fromAin Khudra Oasis. In this area, atErweis el-Ebeirig, an ancient encampment has been found[12] but it dates to theEarly Bronze Age (the early third millennium BC).[13]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Kibroth Hattaavah".Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.