H7958 H7958
quail; small migratory game birds (coturnix) provided by God as food in the wilderness
This noun refers to quail, the small migratory birds that God provided to Israel in the wilderness. Exodus 16:13 describes quail coming up at evening to cover the camp, paired with morning manna. Numbers 11:31-32 tells a more extensive story: the people gathered quail in great abundance, but then God struck them with plague for their craving. Psalm 105:40 recalls God giving quail to satisfy them. The multilingual consensus (Spanish codornices, French caille, German Wachtel) confirms the bird identification. Quail migrate through the Sinai region in vast flocks, making the biblical account ecologically plausible while retaining its miraculous timing and provision. The quail story embodies both divine generosity and the dangers of appetite unchecked by gratitude.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Quail—small migratory game birds (likely coturnix communis) miraculously provided as food during the wilderness wandering. Exodus 16:13 introduces them alongside manna; Numbers 11:31-32 describes massive quail fall followed by divine plague against the people's grumbling. Psalm 105:40 remembers the provision positively. These birds, known to migrate through Sinai in large flocks, become a sign of both God's provision and the peril of craving beyond need. 4×
AR["السَّلْوَى", "بِ-سَلْوَى", "سَلوى"]·ben["-পাখি", "কোয়েল", "পাখি", "ভুরুটের-ঝাঁক"]·DE["der-Wachtel", "der-quail", "quail"]·EN["quail", "the-quail"]·FR["caille", "le-cailles", "le-quail", "quail"]·heb["ה-שלו", "שלו", "שלוים"]·HI["बटेर"]·ID["burung-puyuh"]·IT["[שלו]", "il-quaglia", "il-quail", "quail"]·jav["manuk-puyuh", "puyuh"]·KO["그-메추라기", "그-메추라기가", "메추라기-를", "메추라기들"]·PT["as-codornizes", "codornizes"]·RU["перепела", "перепелов"]·ES["codornices", "las-codornices"]·SW["kware"]·TR["bıldırcın", "bıldırcınlar", "bıldırcınları"]·urd["بٹیر", "بٹیریں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שְׂלָו n.f. Ex 16:13 quail (prob. foreign word; Arabic سَلْوَى, Syriac ܣܰܠܘܰܝ, Sam. ࠔࠋࠅࠉ );—quail, coturnix communis vel vulgaris (TristrNHB 229 ff. FFP 124 PostHast.DB. quail, Di Ex 16:13):—abs. coll. Nu 11:32 (J); Ex 16:13 (P), ψ 105:40 (in all Qr שְׂלָיו); pl. שַׂלְוִים Nu 11:31 (J; as if from sg. שַׂלְוֶה).