Numbers 11:4

Who will feed us meat?: The Israelites had flocks and herds (for example, 32:1; Exodus 12:32, 38; 17:3; 34:3). But the animals were more valuable for their dairy products and other benefits while alive. They only butchered them for meat occasionally. The Hebrews did not have enough meat to regularly feed such a large population (compare Numbers 11:21–22).

Israel had not given up the attitude that led to judgment at Taberah (11:1–3). At Taberah, the people complained, and the Lord sent fire among them.

Soon after, they joined the foreign rabble (a mixed group of non-Israelites who had left Egypt with them) in craving the foods of Egypt. They longed for the fish, vegetables, and other foods they had known there.

In doing this, they forgot the suffering and slavery they had experienced in Egypt. They remembered the food but ignored the hardship.

This is one of many occasions in the wilderness when Israel was disobedient to the Lord.