Exodus 16

They set out from Elim, and the whole community of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which lies between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.

1And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto 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.

Note"Sin" here is a place name in Hebrew and has nothing to do with wrongdoing; it is probably related to the name Sinai. The second month is counted from the Passover departure from Egypt described in chapter 12, so this is about a month into the journey.

2In that wilderness the whole community of the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron.

2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

3The people of Israel said to them, "We wish we had died by the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, where we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Note"Pots of meat" are cooking pots. Egyptian work gangs were fed rations (bread, fish, vegetables, occasionally meat), so the complaint is that slavery at least came with a food supply.

4Then the LORD said to Moses, "Look, I am going to rain bread down from the sky for you. The people are to go out each day and gather that day's amount. This way I will test them, to see whether they will follow my law or not.

4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Note"Bread" in Hebrew often stands for food in general, not only baked loaves. "A certain rate every day" in the King James means a fixed daily amount.

5And on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days."

5And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

NoteThe Israelite week ends on the seventh day, so the sixth day is the day before the day of rest. "Prepare" covers the cooking and processing described in verse 23.

6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

6And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

7and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints against the LORD. Who are we, that you complain against us?"

7And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

NoteThe "glory of the LORD" translates a Hebrew word whose root sense is weight or heaviness; it came to mean visible splendor or blazing brightness, here something the people can actually look at and see.

8And Moses said, "This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and all the bread you want in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaints you make against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD."

8And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.

9Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole community of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your complaints.'"

9And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

Note"Come near before the LORD" means to assemble facing the place where God's presence was understood to be, at this point in the story, the cloud, since the portable sanctuary has not yet been built.

10While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and there the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

10And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

NoteThe cloud is the pillar of cloud that had been leading the Israelites since they left Egypt (chapter 13), understood as the visible sign of God traveling with them.

11The LORD said to Moses,

11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12"I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"

12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, 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.

NoteThe Hebrew phrase translated "at even" is literally "between the two evenings", the stretch of twilight between late afternoon and full dark.

13That evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp.

13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

NoteQuail are small migratory game birds that cross the Sinai peninsula in large flocks in spring, often arriving exhausted and low to the ground, where they can be caught by hand.

14When the dew that lay there had lifted, on the surface of the wilderness there lay a fine, flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

15When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

NoteThe Hebrew is *man hu*, which most likely means "What is it?", the people are asking a question, and the name "manna" in verse 31 comes from that question. The King James translators instead read the phrase as a statement, "It is manna," which is why their version has the people naming the substance before they know what it is. The wordplay works either way in Hebrew and is impossible to keep in English.

16This is what the LORD has commanded: Gather as much of it as each person can eat, an omer for every person, counting how many people you have. Each of you is to take enough for those in his tent."

16This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

NoteAn omer is a dry measure of roughly two quarts, about two liters, verse 36 defines it as a tenth of an ephah. It is used nowhere else in the Bible, which is probably why verse 36 explains it.

17The people of Israel did so, and gathered, some more and some less.

17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

18When they measured it with an omer, the one who had gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who had gathered little had no shortage. Each had gathered as much as he could eat.

18And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

19Moses said, "No one is to leave any of it until morning."

19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

20But they did not listen to Moses. Some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled bad. And Moses was angry with them.

20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

NoteThe Hebrew word covers maggots and similar larvae rather than earthworms; the point is that the food spoiled and became infested overnight.

21They gathered it every morning, each person as much as he could eat, and when the sun grew hot it melted.

21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

22On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person, and all the leaders of the community came and told Moses.

22And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

NoteThe "rulers" or leaders are the heads of the tribes and family groups, who handled disputes and reported unusual matters to Moses.

23He said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left over, set aside and keep until morning."

23And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Note"Sabbath" comes from a Hebrew verb meaning to stop or cease. In the story this is the first time the Israelites are told to keep it, before the commandments are given at Sinai in chapter 20. The King James "seethe" simply means boil.

24So they set it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not smell bad, and there were no worms in it.

24And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

25Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find any of it in the field.

25And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

26For six days you may gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none."

26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

27On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.

27And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

28And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

28And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

29See, the LORD has given you the sabbath. That is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day."

29See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

NoteThe instruction to "stay where you are" is stated without further definition, and its scope is genuinely unclear in the Hebrew: it may mean only that no one should go out searching the field for food, or a broader restriction on leaving the camp. Later Jewish tradition read it as a limit on how far one could travel on the sabbath.

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The house of Israel called it Manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.

31And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

NoteCoriander seed is a small, hard, pale round seed roughly the size of a peppercorn. "Wafers" are thin flat cakes.

32Moses said, "This is what the LORD commands: Fill an omer with it and keep it for all your generations, so they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt."

32And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

33And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, put an omer of manna in it, and set it down before the LORD, to be kept for all your generations."

33And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.

Note"Before the LORD" means in the place set apart for God's presence, the sanctuary described later in this book. The word for the container is a general one for a jar or pot.

34Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, Aaron set it down in front of the Testimony, to be kept there.

34As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

Note"The Testimony" refers to the stone tablets of the covenant terms, and by extension to the chest that held them. Both are described later, in chapters 25 and 31, so this sentence looks ahead to something the story has not yet reached.

35The people of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where people lived. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

NoteCanaan is the region between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean coast, the land the Israelites are traveling towards.

36Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.

36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

NoteAn ephah is a dry measure of roughly twenty liters, something like half a bushel, though estimates vary. This verse is an editor's note added for readers who no longer used the omer as a measure.