Exodus 16
Amplified Bible
The Lord Provides Manna
16 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of [a]Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the Israelites [grew discontented and] murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the Israelites said to them, “[b]Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law). 5 And it shall be that on the sixth day, they shall prepare to bring in twice as much as they gather daily [so that they will not need to gather on the seventh day].” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your murmurings against the Lord. What are we, that you murmur and rebel against us?”
The Lord Provides Meat
8 Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning [enough] bread to be fully satisfied, because the Lord has heard your murmurings against Him; for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of Israel, ‘Approach the Lord, because He has heard your murmurings.’” 10 So it happened that as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared in the cloud! 11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 So in the evening the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a blanket of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine, flake-like thing, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “[c]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.(A) 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather as much of it as he needs. Take an [d]omer for each person, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The Israelites did so, and some gathered much [of it] and some [only a] little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered a large amount had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered according to his need (family size). 19 Moses said, “Let none of it be left [overnight] until [the next] morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left a supply of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul and rotten; and Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, because when the sun was hot it melted.
The Sabbath Observed
22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person; and all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord’; bake and boil what you will bake and boil [today], and all that remains left over put aside for yourselves to keep until morning.” 24 They put it aside until morning, as Moses told them, and it did not become foul nor was it wormy. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none [in the field].”
27 Now on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions (laws)? 29 See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you the bread for two days on the sixth day. Let every man stay in his place; no man is to leave his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like flat pastry (wafers) made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is the word which the Lord commands, ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron [eventually] placed it in the presence of the [e]Testimony, to be kept.(B) 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they reached an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an [f]omer is the tenth of an [g]ephah.)
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:1 Pronounced “seen” in Hebrew, it means “the place.” Although the words are spelled the same in English, “Sin” is not related in any way to “sin” (an offense against God).
- Exodus 16:3 To understand Israel’s rebellious behavior, it is important to grasp the contrast between life in Egypt and nomadic life in the wilderness. Despite the hardships of slavery survival was not an issue in Egypt, where they were guaranteed food and other necessities. But the desert wilderness was hostile and unforgiving, and survival was an art. Desert nomads needed to understand the wilderness in order to stay alive; they had to learn, among other things, how to protect themselves from the weather, where to find water and pasture, and how to find and prepare scarce food, or live primarily from what their livestock could provide them. So the Israelites viewed every new problem they faced as life-threatening. Instead of looking back and taking comfort from God’s earlier miracles, they doubted God’s ability and willingness to help them. Their fears and doubts subsequently came to be expressed as irrational anger toward Moses.
- Exodus 16:15 Heb man hu, cf v 31.
- Exodus 16:16 I.e. a little over two quarts.
- Exodus 16:34 The stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.
- Exodus 16:36 I.e. a little over two quarts.
- Exodus 16:36 I.e. approx one bushel.
Exodus 16
1599 Geneva Bible
16 1The Israelites come to the desert of Sin, and murmur against Moses and Aaron. 13 The Lord sendeth Quails and Manna. 23 The Sabbath is sanctified unto the Lord. 27 The seventh day Manna could not be found. 32 It is kept for a remembrance to the posterity.
1 Afterward all the Congregation of the children of Israel departed from Elim, and came to the wilderness of [a]Sin, (which is between Elim and Sinai) the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole Congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against Aaron in the wilderness.
3 For the children of Israel said to them, Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh [b]pots, when we ate bread our bellies full: for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole company with famine.
4 ¶ Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven to you, and the people shall go out, and gather [c]that that is sufficient for every [d]day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no.
5 But the sixth day they shall prepare that, which they shall bring home, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
6 Then Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even ye shall know, that the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning ye shall see the glory of the Lord: [e]for he hath heard your grudgings against the Lord: and what are we that ye have murmured against us?
8 Again, Moses said, At even shall the Lord give you flesh to eat, and in the morning your fill of bread: for the Lord hath heard your murmurings, which ye murmur against him: for what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the [f]Lord.
9 ¶ And Moses said to Aaron, Say unto all the Congregation of the children of Israel, Draw near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.
10 Now as Aaron spake unto the whole Congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared (A)in a cloud.
11 (For the Lord had spoken unto Moses, saying,
12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: tell them therefore, and say, [g]At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread, and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.)
13 And so at even the (B)quails came and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14 (C)And when the dew that was fallen was ascended, behold, a small round thing was upon the face of the wilderness, small as the hoary frost upon the earth.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is [h]Manna, for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, (D)This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
16 ¶ This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded: gather of it every man according to his eating, [i]an omer for [j]a man according to the number of your persons: every man shall take for them which are in his tent.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did measure it with an omer, (E)he that had gathered much, had nothing over, and he that had gathered little, had no [k]lack: so every man gathered according to his eating.
19 Moses then said unto them, Let no man reserve thereof till morning.
20 Notwithstanding, they obeyed not Moses: but some of them reserved of it till morning, and it was full of worms, and [l]stank: therefore Moses was angry with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: for when the heat of the sun came, it was melted.
22 ¶ And the sixth day they gathered [m]twice so much bread, two omers for one man: then all the rulers of the Congregation came and told Moses.
23 And he answered them, This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that today which ye will bake, and seethe that which ye will seethe, and all that remaineth, lay it up to be kept till the morning for you.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade, and it stank not, neither was there any worm therein.
25 Then Moses said, Eat that today: for today is the Sabbath unto the Lord: today ye shall not [n]find it in the field.
26 Six days shall ye gather it, but in the seventh day is the Sabbath: in it there shall be none.
27 ¶ Notwithstanding, there [o]went out some of the people in the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments, and my laws?
29 Behold, how the Lord hath given you the Sabbath: therefore he giveth you the sixth day bread for two days: tarry therefore every man in his place: let no man go out of his place the seventh day.
30 So the people rested the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name of it Manna, and it was like [p]to coriander seed, but white: and the taste of it was like unto wafers made with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is that which the Lord had commanded, Fill an omer of it, to keep it for your posterity: that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
33 Moses also said to Aaron, Take a [q]pot and put an omer full of Manna therein, and set it before the Lord to be kept for your posterity.
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the [r]Testimony to be kept.
35 And the children of Israel did eat Manna (F)forty years, until they came unto a land inhabited: they did eat Manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 The omer is the tenth part of the [s]Ephah.
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:1 This is the eighth place wherein they had camped, there is another place called Zin, which was the 33rd place wherein they camped: and is also called Kadesh, Num. 33:36.
- Exodus 16:3 So hard a thing is it to the flesh not to murmur against God when the belly is pinched.
- Exodus 16:4 Hebrew, the portion of a day in his day.
- Exodus 16:4 To signify, that they should patiently depend upon God’s providence from day to day.
- Exodus 16:7 He gave them not Manna because they murmured, but for his promise sake.
- Exodus 16:8 He that contemneth God’s ministers, contemneth God himself.
- Exodus 16:12 Or, in the twilight.
- Exodus 16:15 Which signifieth a part, portion, or gift: also meat prepared.
- Exodus 16:16 Which containeth about a pottle of our measure.
- Exodus 16:16 Hebrew, for an head.
- Exodus 16:18 God is a rich feeder of all, and none can justly complain.
- Exodus 16:20 No creature is so pure, but being abused it turneth to our destruction.
- Exodus 16:22 Which portion should serve for the Sabbath and the day before.
- Exodus 16:25 God took away the occasion from their labor, to signify how holy he would have the Sabbath kept.
- Exodus 16:27 Their infidelity was so great, that they did expressly against God’s commandment.
- Exodus 16:31 In form and figure, but not in color, Num.11:7.
- Exodus 16:33 Of this vessel, read Heb. 9:4.
- Exodus 16:34 That is, the Ark of the covenant, to wit, after that the Ark was made.
- Exodus 16:36 Which measure contained about ten pottels.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
