Exodus16

The Israelites, two months after leaving Egypt, murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sin due to lack of food. The LORD heard their complaints and promised to provide bread from heaven (manna) daily and quails in the evening. He also instituted the Sabbath rest by providing a double portion of manna on the sixth day, which did not spoil, while no manna appeared on the seventh.

Israel Murmurs in the Wilderness

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. ​
2
The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
3
and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by the hand of the LORD 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.” ​

God Promises Manna and Quail

4
Then the LORD said 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. ​
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.”
6
Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, then you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt;
7
and in the morning, then you shall see the LORD’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against the LORD. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” ​
8
Moses said, “Now the LORD shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.”
9
Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.’”
10
As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the LORD’s glory appeared in the cloud.
11
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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 the LORD your God.’” ​

Quail and Manna Provided

13
In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. ​
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. ​
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 the LORD has given you to eat.” ​
16
This is the thing which the LORD 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.” ​
17
The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.
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. ​
19
Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.”
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. ​
21
They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.

Manna and the Institution of the Sabbath

22
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. ​
23
He said to them, “This is that which the LORD has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. 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.’” ​
24
They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn’t become foul, neither was there any worm in it.
25
Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field.
26
Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.”
27
On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. ​
28
The LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? ​
29
Behold, because the LORD 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.”
30
So the people rested on the seventh day.

A Memorial of God’s Provision

31
The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. ​
32
Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD 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 out of the land of Egypt.’” ​
33
Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.”
34
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. ​
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. ​
36
Now an omer is the tenth part of an efah.

Study Notes for Exodus 16

Verse 1

Identifies the location (Wilderness of Sin) and the timing (one month after the Exodus), setting the stage for the first major subsistence crisis after leaving Egypt.

Verse 3

The complaint reveals a profound lack of faith, idealizing the slavery in Egypt ('flesh pots') over the freedom and uncertainty of the journey guided by God.

Verse 4

God frames this provision as a test (Hebrew: *nissah*) of whether Israel will obey his specific instructions, linking daily sustenance directly to covenant obedience.

Verse 7

Moses prepares them to witness the *kavod* (glory) of the LORD. God's glory often manifests through saving acts that demonstrate His immediate presence and authority.

Verse 12

God confirms the promise, specifically stating the purpose is so they 'shall know that I am the LORD your God,' emphasizing covenant identity through miraculous provision.

Verse 13

The quail (flesh) arrived in the evening, fulfilling the first part of the promise. Quail migration patterns occasionally cause mass landings, which God uses here miraculously.

Verse 14

The description of manna as a ‘small round thing’ and ‘hoar frost’ emphasizes its mysterious and unnatural appearance, distinguishing it from normal food.

Verse 15

Manna (Hebrew: *man hu?*) literally means 'What is it?' The name itself reflects the people's astonishment and ignorance regarding this new, divinely supplied food source.

Verse 16

The measure of an omer (about 2.3 quarts) set the standard for a day's ration per person, ensuring equality and preventing hoarding.

Verse 18

This miraculous effect ensures that the measured amount was always exactly one omer per person, teaching reliance on God’s equitable provision rather than individual effort.

Verse 20

The immediate disobedience regarding the daily limit and the consequence (spoiling) underscore the necessity of following God's specific instructions, highlighting the testing element (v. 4).

Verse 22

The rulers report the unusual double gathering on the sixth day, indicating the people were initially confused about the new system but recognized the abundance.

Verse 23

This is the first explicit mention and practical instruction for observing the Sabbath (rest) in the wilderness narrative *before* the formal giving of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20).

Verse 27

The attempt to gather on the Sabbath demonstrates ongoing skepticism and a struggle to trust God's provision and command, necessitating the rebuke that follows.

Verse 28

God's frustration shows that the test of the manna system (v. 4) was failing for some, requiring a direct rebuke regarding their resistance to the law.

Verse 31

The final description emphasizes its physical characteristics—white like coriander seed and sweet like honey wafers, confirming its foreign but pleasant nature.

Verse 32

The command to preserve the manna (later placed in the Ark of the Covenant, Heb. 9:4) serves as a tangible reminder for future generations of God's faithfulness in the wilderness.

Verse 34

"Before the Testimony" refers to the presence of the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing the place where the covenant treaty (the Law) resided.

Verse 35

The forty-year duration links the manna provision directly to the period of wilderness wandering, ceasing only when Israel reached the fertile borders of Canaan (Joshua 5:12).

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