Exodus — Chapter 16

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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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, 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?

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.

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.

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.

11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be 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 unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

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.

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

4Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day`s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

5And 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.

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

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

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

9And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before Jehovah; for he hath heard your murmurings.

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 Jehovah appeared in the cloud.

11And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

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 Jehovah your God.

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

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

15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is it? For they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, It is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat.

16This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them that are in his tent.

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

18And when they measured 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.

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

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

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

22And it came to pass, 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.

23And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Jehovah: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

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

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

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

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

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

29See, for that Jehovah 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.

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

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.

32And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

33And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before Jehovah, to be kept throughout your generations.

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

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

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

1When they journeyed from Elim, the entire company of Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus from the land of Egypt.

2The entire company of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!”

4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. Will they walk in my law or not?

5On the sixth day they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”

6Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt,

7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we, that you should murmur against us?”

8Moses said, “You will know this when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of the Israelites, ‘Come before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”

10As Aaron spoke to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud,

11and the Lord spoke to Moses,

12“I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be satisfied with bread, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’”

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

14When the layer of dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance, thin like frost on the earth.

15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you for food.

16“This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each person is to gather from it what he can eat, an omer per person according to the number of your people; each one will pick it up for whoever lives in his tent.’”

17The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less.

18When they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.

19Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

20But they did not listen to Moses; some kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them.

21So they gathered it each morning, each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.

22And on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers per person; and all the leaders of the community came and told Moses.

23He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake today; whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

24So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

25Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.

26Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

27On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing.

28So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to obey my commandments and my instructions?

29See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The house of Israel called its name “manna.” It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.

32Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept for generations to come, so that they may see the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’”

33Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.”

34Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony for safekeeping.

35Now the Israelites ate manna 40 years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

36(Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)

1They 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.

2The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;

3and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand 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.”

4Then Yahweh 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.

5It 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.”

6Moses 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;

7and in the morning, then you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?”

8Moses 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.”

9Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.’”

10As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud.

11Yahweh 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 Yahweh your God.’”

13In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.

14When 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.

15When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one 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.”

16This 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.”

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

18When 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.

19Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.”

20Notwithstanding 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.

21They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.

22On 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.

23He 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.’”

24They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it.

25Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field.

26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day 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.

28Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

29Behold, 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.”

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.

32Moses 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 out of the land of Egypt.’”

33Moses 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.”

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

35The 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.

36Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

God provides manna from heaven and quail for Israel in the wilderness, teaching them daily dependence on Him.

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 16 records God's provision of manna and quail — bread from heaven and meat for the evening. One month after leaving Egypt (v.1), Israel murmurs about food, romanticizing slavery: "when we sat by the flesh pots" (v.3). God responds not with rebuke but with provision — yet the provision is also a test: "that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no" (v.4). The manna teaches daily dependence (gather daily, not hoarding), Sabbath rest (double portion on the sixth day, none on the seventh), and trust in God's sufficiency. Jesus identifies Himself as the true manna: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35, 48-51).
Israel's Murmuring (vv.1-3): One month out of Egypt (v.1). The whole congregation murmurs (v.2). They wish they had died in Egypt: "when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full" (v.3) — selective memory romanticizes bondage.
God's Provision Announced (vv.4-12): "I will rain bread from heaven" (v.4). Purpose: "that I may prove them" (v.4). Double portion on the sixth day for Sabbath (v.5). Moses clarifies: "your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD" (v.8). God's glory appears in the cloud (v.10). Promise: quail at evening, bread in the morning (v.12).
The Manna (vv.13-21): Quail covers the camp at evening (v.13). In the morning: "a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost" (v.14). "It is manna" — Hebrew "man hu" — "What is it?" (v.15). Instructions: gather an omer per person daily (v.16). Miraculous equality: "he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack" (v.18). Don't keep it overnight — those who do find worms and stench (vv.19-20). Gather in the morning before the sun melts it (v.21).
The Sabbath Pattern (vv.22-30): Double portion on the sixth day (v.22). It keeps overnight without spoiling (v.24). No manna on the seventh day (v.26). Some go out anyway — find nothing (v.27). God rebukes: "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments?" (v.28). "The people rested on the seventh day" (v.30).
Description and Preservation (vv.31-36): Manna: like coriander seed, white, tasting like honey wafers (v.31). An omer preserved in a pot before the LORD for future generations (vv.32-34). Israel ate manna for forty years (v.35).

Map & Geography

  • Wilderness of Sin (v.1): Between Elim and Sinai — a barren region where Israel has no food supply. God provides manna and quail here.
  • The journey continues south toward Mount Sinai through the Sinai Peninsula's interior desert.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers manna as a type of Christ (the bread of life), the daily dependence it teaches, the Sabbath principle, and God's response to murmuring with grace rather than judgment.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Bread of Life" on v.15 (MTP Vol. 15, No. 880) "This is the bread which the LORD hath given you — manna was God's gift, not Israel's earning. They didn't plant it, grow it, or bake it. They simply gathered what God gave. And Christ — the true Manna — is God's gift, not our achievement. We don't earn Him, deserve Him, or produce Him. We receive Him. Daily. Fresh every morning. And like manna, yesterday's grace won't sustain today. You need fresh bread — fresh communion with Christ — every single day. You cannot store up enough grace on Sunday to last until next Sunday. Gather daily."

Reflection

  • 1. "I will rain bread from heaven" (v.4). God provides — supernaturally, daily, sufficiently. Are you trusting Him for today's bread? Or are you anxious about tomorrow's? "Give us THIS DAY our daily bread."
  • 2. "That I may prove them" (v.4). God's provision is also God's test. How you handle what God gives reveals your heart. Do you hoard? Do you disobey? Do you trust?
  • 3. "He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack" (v.18). God equalizes. Stop comparing your portion to others'. God gives you exactly what YOU need.
  • 4. The manna spoiled overnight (v.20). Yesterday's grace doesn't sustain today. You need fresh communion with Christ every morning. Are you gathering daily — or trying to live on last week's spiritual food?
  • 5. "The LORD hath given you the sabbath" (v.29). Rest is a GIFT, not a punishment. God provides enough on the sixth day so you can rest on the seventh. Do you trust Him enough to stop working?