Exodus 16:1-36

Cross-references For Better Understanding a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Summary

• God provides quail and manna for the people.

Details and/or Comments

• One month into the journey, and running out of food, the people complain to Moses (actually, to God).

• God provides quail and manna.

• God tests the people (for their willingness to obey God) by providing specific instructions about the Manna.

• Some choose to ignore God, and their folly is obvious, when either the manna rots, or they don't have enough.

Scripture

Exodus 16:1-36 – God provides quail and manna. These are either providential or miraculous displays of God's power.

• See: Miraculous Events.

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Exo 16:1 They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. Exo 16:2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; Exo 16:3 and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."	They have been traveling for 30 days. Now, out of food, they once again start to complain.
Exo 16:4 Then said Yahweh to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. Exo 16:5 It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."	Right now, they are complaining, and God is going to test them. In another week or so (exact time unknown), they will try to test God (Exodus 17:1-7). Their complaining will be growing into something more serious. God will provide food and will test them. This is not the only time people have been tested with food - consider Adam and Eve in the garden!
Exo 16:6 Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt; Exo 16:7 and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of Yahweh; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?" Exo 16:8 Moses said, "Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh." Exo 16:9 Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.' " Exo 16:10 It happened, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. Exo 16:11 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Exo 16:12 "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.' "	Once again, they are warned that their complaining is actually directed toward God. The implication is that it's a lot more serious than they realize, and that they had better stop it. God will provide meat and bread.
Exo 16:13 It happened at evening that quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.	Quail
Exo 16:14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. Exo 16:15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?" For they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat."	Manna
Exo 16:16 This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent." Exo 16:17 The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less. Exo 16:18 When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating.	Gather what is needed
Exo 16:19 Moses said to them, "Let no one leave of it until the morning." Exo 16:20 Notwithstanding they didn't listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them. Exo 16:21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.	Instructions about the daily gathering; some disobeyed.
Exo 16:22 It happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Exo 16:23 He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.' " Exo 16:24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, neither was there any worm in it. Exo 16:25 Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field. Exo 16:26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none." Exo 16:27 It happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. Exo 16:28 Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? Exo 16:29 Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." Exo 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.	Instructions for gathering for the Sabbath; some disobeyed. Do not hunt for it on the Sabbath!
Exo 16:31 The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.	Description of manna.
Exo 16:32 Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full 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 forth from the land of Egypt.' " Exo 16:33 Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations." Exo 16:34 As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. Exo 16:35 The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. Exo 16:36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.	Misc. info: 1) A sample of manna was to be kept for future generations to see. 2) They ate it for 40 years; it stopped forming when they reached Canaan.

Scripture Passages (Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.) Genesis  •  Exodus  •  Leviticus  •  Numbers  •  Deuteronomy  •  Joshua  •  Judges  •  Ruth  •  1 Samuel  •  2 Samuel  •  1 Kings  •  2 Kings  •  1 Chronicles  •  2 Chronicles  •  Ezra  •  Nehemiah  •  Esther  •  Job  •  Psalms  •  Proverbs  •  Ecclesiastes  •  Song of Solomon  •  Isaiah  •  Jeremiah  •  Lamentations  •  Ezekiel  •  Daniel  •  Hosea  •  Joel  •  Amos  •  Obadiah  •  Jonah  •  Micah  •  Nahum  •  Habakkuk  •  Zephaniah  •  Haggai  •  Zechariah  •  Malachi Matthew  •  Mark  •  Luke  •  John  •  Acts  •  Romans  •  1 Corinthians  •  2 Corinthians  •  Galatians  •  Ephesians  •  Philippians  •  Colossians  •  1 Thessalonians  •  2 Thessalonians  •  1 Timothy  •  2 Timothy  •  Titus  •  Philemon  •  Hebrews  •  James  •  1 Peter  •  2 Peter  •  1 John  •  2 John  •  3 John  •  Jude  •  Revelation

—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——

The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.