“We Remember the Fish”

November 7, 2025

Israel repeatedly murmured when the LORD was taking them from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan. After all the mighty works of Yahweh they had witnessed, the Ten Plagues by which they were delivered from Egyptian Bondage, hearing the voice of God at Sinai, receiving the Law and its ordinances, and being led by the Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night, He fed them with “bread from heaven,” they still in their unbelief murmured: “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna” (Num. 11:5-6).

Fresh Fish in Alexandria, Egypt. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Fresh Fish in Local Restaurant in Alexandria, Egypt. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

From an article I wrote in August 2012:

Memory is an amazing thing. I view it as a gift from God. One of the saddest events imaginable is for one to lose his memory, his ability to remember and recall life’s experiences, what one has learned, etc.

The ability to learn God’s word and apply it to life’s circumstances is a blessing. For that reason I encourage especially young people to spend much time in memorization of God’s word.

If one does not incline his heart Godward, memory can be amazingly quirky. When the nation of Israel was yet in Egypt, all they could think about was their harsh treatment meted out by cruel taskmasters. In their affliction they cried out to God.

God brought them out of Egypt after a mighty display of His power with the 10 plagues, referenced by God Himself as judgments against the gods of Egypt (Exodus 6:6; 12:12). They crossed the Red Sea, and made their way to Sinai, where they encamped for 11 months. During this time they received the Ten Commandments (along with its other laws), built the tabernacle, and consecrated the Aaronic priesthood (Ex. 19-Num. 10).

God was mindful of His covenant with Abraham; at that point it was time to grant Israel possession of the promised land of Canaan. At His command and direction Israel began to march (Num. 10:11ff). But immediately they lost sight of God’s lofty purpose with them and began to murmur (Num. 11:1).

One such instance of murmuring is in the text we referenced above: “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!'” (Num. 11:4-6).

Talk about selective memory! Talk about rewriting history! The New Testament identified the problem as a lack of faith (Heb. 3-4). Stephen showed that the heart of the problem was a problem of the heart: “in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7:39).

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Jokneam, Strategic City in Ancient Israel

November 5, 2025

Jokneam was a strategic city-state of Canaan, located on the ancient international route which connected Egypt to Mesopotamia. It is listed among 31 other cities defeated by Joshua during the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 12:22).

Tel Jokneam. Mentioned in Joshua 12:22, taken during the Conquest. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Jokneam is

a large mound rising above the surrounding plain and covering an area of 10 a., is situated at a point along the abutment of Mount Carmel and the Jezreel Valley, near the debouchment of Nahal Yoqne‘am (map reference 1604.2289) and at the northern outlet of Wadi Milh (Nahal Tut), on one of the major routes cutting across the Carmel Range. Via the Coastal Plain, the route passes close to Acco and then runs toward Phoenicia and other centers to its northwest.
Of the three major cities located in the western Jezreel Valley in antiquity—Jokneam, Shimron, and Megiddo—Jokneam was the smallest. It was continuously inhabited for an extremely long time: the survey conducted here, as part of a regional research project—the “Yoqneam Regional Project”—furnished evidence of a settlement on the mound from the Early Bronze Age to the Mameluke period, a span of nearly four thousand years, although the site was not fully occupied in all these periods. During the Arab and Crusader periods, Jokneam was the largest and most important center in the western Jezreel Valley. During the Roman period, the occupational sequence may have been interrupted, with the inhabitants moving to the nearby hill where modern Yoqne‘am ‘Illit is situated.
The favorable environmental conditions prevailing in the Jezreel Valley made it a very densely populated region throughout most periods. Sites such as Tel Qiri, about 2 km (1 mi.) south of Jokneam, and Tel Qashish, some 2 km to its north, were undoubtedly satellite settlements linked to the major city of Jokneam. This region thus provides an opportunity to investigate the material cultural aspect of the relationship between a city and its satellite towns, through simultaneous excavations at the three adjacent sites. (Ben-Tor, A. (1993). Jokneam. In E. Stern (Ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (Vol. 3, p. 805). Israel Exploration Society & Carta; Simon & Schuster).

I had seen Jokneam from the viewpoint of Mt. Carmel in the photo above a number of times. Then in 2022 Ferrell Jenkins and I were able to explore it more closely on one of our personal study trips.

Jokneam at center. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Here is a view of the Valley of Jezreel as seen from Jokneam:

Valley of Jezreel as viewed from Jokneam. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

We have previously written on Jokneam here.

Click images for larger view.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin