According to Taberî, Moses condemned his people's desire to exchange something of lesser value and lower rank (things that grow from the earth such as beans, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, onions) for something more beneficial and superior (manna and quails). Following this request, the Children of Israel were marked with humiliation and destitution, and incurred Allah's wrath. The reason for this situation was that despite being given shade, manna, and quails in Tih, they became weary of these blessings and longed for their former foods from Egypt.

قال لهم موسى: أتأخذون الذي هو أخس خطرا وقيمة وقدرا من العيش، بدلا بالذي هو خير منه خطرا وقيمة وقدرا. وذلك كان استبدالهم.

Zemahşerî addresses several different points of the verses together in this passage: he indicates that the expression 'ask your Lord for us by what He has covenanted with you' can mean either asking for supplication by swearing by Allah's covenant with the prophet or requesting supplication by taking this covenant as a means. Additionally, he states that the phrase 'bighayri al-haqq' (without right) in the expression 'they act arrogantly in the earth without right' can relate to a state or action because arrogance belongs only to Allah, and the situation in which wrongdoing can be justified is when Muslims gain dominance over the lands of disbelievers. Finally, by transmitting the report that if Ibrahim (the prophet's son) had lived he would have been a prophet, he explains that Tahir, Tayyib, and Qasim were excluded from the negation ruling in the verse 'and he was not a father of your men' on account of shirk and idolatry.

وأن يكون صلة لفعل التكبر ، أي يتكبرون بما ليس بحق وما هم عليه من دينهم والبغي لا يكون بحق ؟ قلت : بلى ، وهو استيلاء المسلمين على أرض الكفرة ، وهدم دورهم ، وإحراق زروعهم وقطع أشجارهم كما فعل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ببني قريظة

In this text, Râzî argues that the Children of Israel's desire, having become weary of one type of food from Moses (namely sudra bread and quails) and asking for vegetables that the earth produces (garlic/onion, lentils, onion, cucumber), was not a rebellion or sin but a permissible request. He also lists the reasons for this request (becoming tired of eating the same food for forty years, inclination toward habits, weariness from remaining in Tih) and discusses in detail that Moses' use of the expressions 'lower/better' does not necessitate considering this request sinful.

فثبت بما ذكرنا أن ذلك السؤال ما كان معصية بل كان سؤالا مباحا

According to Kurtubî, the Children of Israel's statement 'we are weary of one food' stemmed from their becoming tired of manna and quails in the Tih desert and remembering their former way of life in Egypt. Although manna and quails were two, they are called 'one food' either because they ate them together or because they were consumed as food that was repeated every day. Additionally, a view transmitted from some interpreters is mentioned, namely that they interpreted this in the sense of wealth or sufficiency, meaning they desired that everyone become wealthy without being dependent on one another.

كان هذا القول منهم في التيه حين ملوا المن والسلوى وتذكروا عيشهم الأول بمصر قال الحسن : كانوا نتاني أهل كراث وأبصال وأعداس فنزعوا إلى عكرهم عكر السوء واشتاقت طباعهم إلى ما جرت عليه عادتهم فقالوا : لن نصبر على طعام واحد وكنوا عن المن والسلوى بطعام واحد وهما اثنان لأنهم كانوا يأكلون أحدهما بالآخر فلذلك قالوا : طعام واحد

According to Ibn Kesîr, the verse evaluates the Children of Israel's desire, after leaving Egypt, to request vulgar foods such as vegetables, lentils, onions, and fom (garlic or wheat) instead of sudra bread and quails, as a request stemming from spoiledness by belittling the comfortable and lawful life they were in. These requests were not fulfilled; instead they were punished with the mark of humiliation and destitution. This humiliation and destitution is a permanent condition imposed upon them because of their denial of Allah's signs, their unjust opposition to the prophets and their killing of them.

ولما كان سؤالهم هذا من باب البطر والأشر ولا ضرورة فيه لم يجابوا إليه والله أعلم يقول تعالى أي وضعت عليهم وألزموا بها شرعا وقدرا أي لا يزالون مستذلين من وجدهم استذلهم وأهانهم وضرب عليهم الصغار وهم مع ذلك في أنفسهم أذلاء متمسكنون

Beydâvî explains in this section that the Children of Israel, having become weary of one type of food (sudra bread and quails), requested vegetables, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions from Moses; that this was preferring something lower to something more beneficial; that as a result they were ordered to descend to Egypt and humiliation and destitution were struck upon them. This humiliation and destitution is because of their denial of Allah's signs, their unjust killing of the prophets, their rebellion and transgression; it is pointed out that minor sins lead to major sins.

فإن صغار الذنوب سبب يؤدي إلى ارتكاب كبارها