The document discusses the journey of the Israelite community from Elim to the wilderness of Sin, detailing their encampments, the landscape they traversed, and their experiences over the course of about a month after leaving Egypt. It highlights the Israelites' discontent during their expedition, including their complaints about food shortages and longing for the provisions of Egypt, which reflects their distrust in God's provision. The text also examines various interpretations of the geographical locations and routes taken during this period, revealing complexities in the narrative of their journey.

1. EXODUS 16 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from
Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of
the second month after they had come out of
Egypt.
BAR ES,"The the wilderness of Sin - The desert tract, called Debbet er Ramleh,
extend nearly across the peninsula from the Wady Nasb in a south-easterly direction,
between the limestone district of Et Tih and the granite of Sinai. The journey from the
station at Elim, or even from that on the Red Sea, could be performed in a day: at that
time the route was kept in good condition by the Egyptians.
CLARKE, "The wilderness of Sin - This desert lies between Elim and Sinai, and
from Elim, Dr. Shaw says, Mount Sinai can be seen distinctly. Mr. Ainsworth supposes
that this wilderness had its name from a strong city of Egypt called Sin, near which it lay.
See Eze_30:15, Eze_30:16. Before they came to the wilderness of Sin, they had a
previous encampment by the Red Sea after they left Elim, of which Moses makes distinct
mention Num_33:10, Num_33:11.
The fifteenth day of the second month - This was afterwards called Ijar, and they
had now left Egypt one month, during which It is probable they lived on the provisions
they brought with them from Rameses, though it is possible they might have had a
supply from the seacoast. Concerning Mount Sinai, See Clarke’s note on Exo_19:1.
GILL, "And they took their journey from Elim,.... And came again to the Red sea,
as appears from Num_33:10 perhaps to some bay or creek of it, which ran up from it,
and lay in their way, and where for a short time they encamped to look at it, and recollect
what had been done for them in bringing them through it; but as their stay here was
short, and nothing of any importance or consequence happened, it is here omitted, and

2. their next station is only observed:
and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness
of Sin, which still bears the same name, as a late traveller (a) informs us, who passed
through it, and says, we traversed these plains in nine hours, being all the way diverted
with the sight of a variety of lizards and vipers, that are here in great numbers; and
elsewhere (b) he says, that vipers, especially in the wilderness of Sin which might very
properly be called "the inheritance of dragons", were very dangerous and troublesome,
not only our camels, but the Arabs who attended them, running every moment the risk
of being bitten. The Red sea, or the bay of it, they came to from Elim, according to
Bunting (c) was six miles, and from thence to the wilderness of Sin, sixteen more. This is
a different wilderness from that of Zin, which is written with a different letter, Num_
20:1 and was on the other side of Mount Sinai, as this was the way to it, as follows:
which is between Elim and Sinai according to the above writer (d), it was twenty
miles from Elim the Israelites travelled, and forty more ere they came to Sinai. Dr. Shaw
(e) says, after traversing the plains in nine hours, we were near twelve hours in passing
the many windings and difficult ways which lie beteen those deserts and these of Sinai;
the latter consists of a beautiful plain more than a league in breadth, and nearly three in
length:
on the fifteenth day of the second month, after their departing out of the
land of Egypt; the month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of
April and part of May, and has its name from the beauty of the flowers, which appear at
this time of the year: the Israelites were now come from thence a month or thirty days;
for they came out the fifteenth of Abib or Nisan, and now it was the fifteenth of Ijar; and
as the first day of this month, as Jarchi says, was on the first day of the week, this day
must be so likewise; and yet sometimes the Jews say (f) this was a sabbath day.
HE RY 1-3, "The host of Israel, it seems, took along with them out of Egypt, when
they came thence on the fifteenth day of the first month, a month's provisions, which, by
the fifteenth day of the second month, was all spent; and here we have,
I. Their discontent and murmuring upon that occasion, Exo_16:2, Exo_16:3. The
whole congregation, the greatest part of them, joined in this mutiny; it was not
immediately against God that they murmured, but (which was equivalent) against Moses
and Aaron, God's viceregents among them. 1. They count upon being killed in the
wilderness - nothing less, at the first appearance of disaster. If the Lord had been
pleased to kill them, he could easily have done that in the Red Sea; but then he preserved
them, and now could as easily provide for them. It argues great distrust of God, and of
his power and goodness, in every distress and appearance of danger to despair of life,
and to talk of nothing but being speedily killed. 2. They invidiously charge Moses with a
design to starve them when he brought them out of Egypt; whereas what he had done
was both by order from God and with a design to promote their welfare. Note, It is no
new thing for the greatest kindnesses to be misinterpreted and basely represented as the
greatest injuries. The worst colours are sometimes put upon the best actions. Nay, 3.
They so far undervalue their deliverance that they wish they had died in Egypt, nay, and
died by the hand of the Lord too, that is, by some of the plagues which cut off the
Egyptians, as if it were not the hand of the Lord, but of Moses only, that brought them
into this hungry wilderness. It is common for people to say of that pain, or sickness, or
sore, of which they see not the second causes, “It is what pleases God,” as if that were not

3. so likewise which comes by the hand of man, or some visible accident. Prodigious
madness! They would rather die by the fleshpots of Egypt, where they found themselves
with provision, than live under the guidance of the heavenly pillar in a wilderness and be
provided for by the hand of God! they pronounce it better to have fallen in the
destruction of God's enemies than to bear the fatherly discipline of his children! We
cannot suppose that they had any great plenty in Egypt, how largely soever they now talk
of the flesh-pots; nor could they fear dying for want in the wilderness, while they had
their flocks and herds with them. But discontent magnifies what is past, and vilifies what
is present, without regard to truth or reason. None talk more absurdly than murmurers.
Their impatience, ingratitude, and distrust of God, were so much the worse in that they
had lately received such miraculous favours, and convincing proofs both that God could
help them in the greatest exigencies and that really he had mercy in store for them. See
how soon they forgot his works, and provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea, Psa_
106:7-13. Note, Experiences of God's mercies greatly aggravate our distrusts and
murmurings.
JAMISO , "Exo_16:1-36. Murmurs for want of bread.
they took their journey from Elim — where they had remained several days.
came unto the wilderness of Sin — It appears from Num_32:1-42, that several
stations are omitted in this historical notice of the journey. This passage represents the
Israelites as advanced into the great plain, which, beginning near El-Murkah, extends
with a greater or less breadth to almost the extremity of the peninsula. In its broadest
part northward of Tur it is called El-Kaa, which is probably the desert of Sin [Robinson].
K&D, "Quails and Manna in the Desert of Sin. - Exo_16:1. From Elim the
congregation of Israel proceeded into the desert of Sin. According to Num_33:10, they
encamped at the Red Sea between Elim and the desert of Sin; but this is passed over
here, as nothing of importance happened there. Judging from the nature of the ground,
the place of encampment at the Red Sea is to be found at the mouth of the Wady
Taiyibeh. For the direct road from the W. Gharandel to Sinai, and the only practicable
one for caravans, goes over the tableland between this wady and the Wady Useit to the
upper end of the W. Taiyibeh, a beautiful valley, covered with tamarisks and shrubs,
where good water may be found by digging, and which winds about between steep rocks,
and opens to the sea at Ras Zelimeh. To the north of this the hills and rocks come close
to the sea, but to the south they recede, and leave a sandy plain with numerous shrubs,
which is bounded on the east by wild and rugged rocky formations, and stretches for
three miles along the shore, furnishing quite space enough therefore for the Israelitish
camp. It is about eight hours' journey from Wady Gharandel, so that by a forced march
the Israelites might have accomplished it in one day. From this point they went “to the
desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.” The place of encampment here is
doubtful. There are two roads that lead from W. Taiyibeh to Sinai: the lower, which
enters the desert plain by the sea at the Murkha or Morcha well, not far from the mouth
of the Wady eth Thafary, and from which you can either go as far as Tûr by the sea-
coast, and then proceed in a north-easterly direction to Sinai, or take a more direct road
through Wady Shellâl and Badireh into Wady Mukatteb and Feirân, and so on to the
mountains of Horeb; and the upper road, first pointed out by Burckhardt and Robinson,
which lies in a S.E. direction from W. Taiyibeh through W. Shubeikeh, across en elevated
plain, then through Wady Humr to the broad sandy plain of el Debbe or Debbet en Nasb,

4. thence through Wady Nasb to the plain of Debbet er Ramleh, which stretches far away
to the east, and so on across the Wadys Chamile and Seich in almost a straight line to
Horeb. One of these two roads the Israelites must have taken. The majority of modern
writers have decided in favour of the lower road, and place the desert of Sin in the broad
desert plain, which commences at the foot of the mountain that bounds the Wady
Taiyibeh towards the south, and stretches along the sea-coast to Ras Muhammed, the
southernmost point of the peninsula, the southern part of which is now called el Kâa.
The encampment of the Israelites in the desert of Sin is then supposed to have been in
the northern part of this desert plain, where the well Murkha still furnishes a resting-
place plentifully supplied with drinkable water. Ewald has thus represented the
Israelites as following the desert of el Kâa to the neighbourhood of Tûr, and then going
in a north-easterly direction to Sinai. But apart from the fact that the distance is too
great for the three places of encampment mentioned in Num_33:12-14, and a whole
nation could not possibly reach Rephidim in three stages by this route, it does not tally
with the statement in Num_33:12, that the Israelites left the desert of Sin and went to
Dofkah; so that Dofkah and the places that follow were not in the desert of Sin at all.
For these and other reasons, De Laborde, v. Raumer, and others suppose the
Israelites to have gone from the fountain of Murkha to Sinai by the road which enters
the mountains not far from this fountain through Wady Shellâl, and so continues
through Wady Mukatteb to Wady Ferân (Robinson, i. p. 105). But this view is hardly
reconcilable with the encampment of the Israelites “in the desert of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai.” For instance, the direct road from W. Gharandel (Elim) to
Sinai does not touch the desert plain of el Kâa at all, but turns away from it towards the
north-east, so that it is difficult to understand how this desert could be said to lie
between Elim and Sinai. For this reason, even Kurtz does not regard the clause “which is
between Elim and Sinai” as pointing out the situation of the desert itself, but (contrary to
the natural sense of the words) as a more exact definition of that part or point of the
desert of Sin at which the road from Elim to Sinai crosses it. But nothing is gained by
this explanation. There is no road from the place of encampment by the Red Sea in the
Wady Taiyibeh by which a whole nation could pass along the coast to the upper end of
this desert, so as to allow the Israelites to cross the desert on the way from Taiyibeh to
the W. Shellâl. As the mountains to the south of the W. Taiyibeh come so close to the sea
again, that it is only at low water that a narrow passage is left (Burckhardt, p. 985), the
Israelites would have been obliged to turn eastwards from the encampment by the Red
Sea, to which they had no doubt gone for the sake of the water, and to go all round the
mountain to get to the Murkha spring. This spring (according to Burckhardt, p. 983), “a
small lake in the sandstone rock, close at the foot of the mountain”) is “the principal
station on this road,” next to Ayun Musa and Gharandel; but the water is “of the worst
description, partly from the moss, the bog, and the dirt with which the well is filled, but
chiefly no doubt from the salt of the soil by which it is surrounded,” and men can hardly
drink it; whereas in the Wady Thafary, a mile (? five English miles) to the north-east of
Murkha, there is a spring that “yields the only sweet water between Tor and Suez” (p.
982). Now, even if we were to assume that the Israelites pitched their camp, not by this,
the only sweet water in the neighbourhood, but by the bad water of Murkha, the Murkah
spring is not situated in the desert of el Kâa, but only on the eastern border of it; so that
if they proceeded thence into the Wady Shellâl, and so on to the Wady Feirân, they
would not have crossed the desert at all. In addition to this, although the lower road
through the valley of Mukatteb is described by Burckhardt as “much easier and more
frequented,” and by Robinson as “easier” than the upper road across Nasseb (Nasb),
there are two places in which it runs through very narrow defiles, by which a large body
of people like the Israelites could not possibly have forced their way through to Sinai.

5. From the Murkha spring, the way into the valley of Mukatteb is through “a wild
mountain road,” which is shut out from the eyes of the wanderer by precipitous rocks.
“We got off our dromedaries,” says Dieterici, ii. p. 27, “and left them to their own instinct
and sure tread to climb the dangerous pass. We looked back once more at the desolate
road which we had threaded between the rocks, and saw our dromedaries, the only signs
of life, following a serpentine path, and so climbing the pass in this rocky theatre Nakb el
Butera.” Strauss speaks of this road in the following terms: “We went eastwards through
a large plain, overgrown with shrubs of all kinds, and reached a narrow pass, only broad
enough for one camel to go through, so that our caravan emerged in a very pictorial
serpentine fashion. The wild rocks frowned terribly on every side.” Moreover, it is only
through a “terribly wild pass” that you can descend from the valley Mukatteb into the
glorious valley of Feiran (Strauss, p. 128).
(Note: This pass is also mentioned by Graul (Reise ii. p. 226) as “a wild romantic
mountain pass,” and he writes respecting it, “For five minutes the road down was so
narrow and steep, that the camels stept in fear, and we ourselves preferred to follow
on foot. If the Israelites came up here on their way from the sea at Ras Zelime, the
immense procession must certainly have taken a long time to get through the narrow
gateway.” To this we may add, that if Moses had led the people to Sinai through one
of these narrow passes, they could not possibly have reached Sinai in a month from
the desert of Sin, to say nothing of eight days, which was all that was left for them, if,
as is generally supposed, and as Kurtz maintains, their stay at the place of
encampment in the desert of Sin, where they arrived on the 15th day of the second
month (Exo_16:1), lasted full seven days, and their arrival at Sinai took place on the
first day of the third month. For if a pass is so narrow that only one camel can pass,
not more than three men could walk abreast. Now if the people of Israel, consisting
of two millions of men, had gone through such a pass, it would have taken at least
twenty days for them all to pass through, as an army of 100,000 men, arranged three
abreast, would reach 27 English miles; so that, supposing the pass to be not more
than five minutes walk long, 100,000 Israelites would hardly go through in a day, to
say nothing at all about their flocks and herds.)
For these reasons we must adopt Knobel's conclusions, and seek the desert of Sin in
the upper road which leads from Gharandel to Sinai, viz., in the broad sandy table-land
el Debbe or Debbet er Ramle, which stretches from the Tih mountains over almost the
whole of the peninsula from N.W. to S.E. (vid., Robinson, i. 112), and in its south-eastern
part touches the northern walls of the Horeb or Sinai range, which helps to explain the
connection between the names Sin and Sinai, though the meaning “thorn-covered” is
not established, but is merely founded upon the idea that ‫ין‬ ִ‫ס‬ has the same meaning as ‫ה‬ֶ‫נ‬ ְ‫ס‬
. This desert table-land, which is essentially distinguished from the limestone formations
of the Tih mountains, and the granite mass of Horeb, by its soil of sand and sandstone,
stretches as far as Jebel Humr to the north-west, and the Wady Khamile and Barak to
the south-west (vid., Robinson, i. p. 101, 102). Now, if this sandy table-land is to be
regarded as the desert of Sin, we must look for the place of Israel's encampment
somewhere in this desert, most probably in the north-western portion, in a straight line
between Elim (Gharandel) and Sinai, possibly in Wady Nasb, where there is a well
surrounded by palm-trees about six miles to the north-west of Sarbut el Khadim, with a
plentiful supply of excellent water, which Robinson says was better than he had found
anywhere since leaving the Nile (i. 110). The distance from W. Taiyibeh to this spot is not
greater than that from Gharandel to Taiyibeh, and might therefore be accomplished in a
hard day's march.

6. CALVI , "1.And they took their journey. Moses relates, that, when after a month
the people came to the wilderness of Sin near Mount Sinai, and when their provision
failed, they rebelled against God and Moses, and manna, a new and unusual kind of
food, was given them from heaven. It is uncertain with what foods they were
sustained in the meantime. Some conjecture that they brought sufficient flour from
Egypt for their supply; but to me it seems probable that other kinds of food were
used in addition; for the barrenness of the country through which they passed was
not so great but that it produced at least fruits and herbs. Besides, we may readily
suppose, from the battle, in which it will soon be related that they conquered the
Amalekites, that they were not far from an habitable territory. But, when they were
carried away farther into the desert, all their provision began to fail, because they
had no more commerce with the inhabitants. Hence their sedition was increased,
because hunger pressed upon them more than usual. For, although we shall
afterwards be able to gather from the context that there was some previous
disturbance in the camp, still famine, which now began to affect them more, because
in these uncultivated and miserable regions the barrenness on all sides alarmed
them, gave strength to their murmurs and impatience.
COKE, ". Came unto the wilderness of Sin— The children of Israel continued some
time at Elim, according to the account given in this verse, compared with the note on
Exodus 16:27 of the former chapter. It was now just a month since they had left
Egypt. "We have a distinct view of Mount Sinai from Elim," says Dr. Shaw; "the
wilderness, as it is called, of Sin, lying betwixt them. We traversed these plains in
nine hours; being all the way diverted with the sight of lizards and vipers, which are
here in great numbers. We were afterwards near twelve hours in passing the many
windings and difficult ways which lie betwixt these deserts and those of Sinai. The
latter consist of a beautiful plain, more than a league in breadth, and nearly three in
length, lying open towards the north-east, where we enter it; but it is closed up to
the southward by some of the lower eminences of Mount Sinai.
In this direction, likewise, the higher parts of this mountain make such
encroachments upon the plain, that they divide it into two, each of them capacious
enough to receive the whole encampment of the Israelites. That which lies to the
eastward may be the desert of Sinai, properly so called, where Moses saw the angel
of the Lord in the burning bush, while he was guarding the flocks of Jethro, ch.
Exodus 3:2. A convent, called the convent of St. Catherine, is built over the place of
this divine appearance. It is near three hundred feet square, and more than forty in
height, being built partly of stone, partly with mud and mortar mixed together.
[That which is supposed to have been] the more immediate place of the Shechinah is
honoured with a little chapel, which the old fraternity of St. Basil has in such esteem
and veneration, that, in imitation of Moses, they put off the shoes from off their feet
whenever they enter it."
BE SO , ". Came into the wilderness of Sin — ot immediately, for there is
another stage of their journey by the Red sea, mentioned umbers 33:10, (in which

7. chapter, it appears, Moses designedly set down all their stations,) but omitted here,
because nothing remarkable happened in it.
This was a great wilderness between the Red sea and mount Sinai, different and far
distant from that Zin mentioned umbers 20:1, which was near the land of Edom.
ELLICOTT, "THE JOUR EY FROM ELIM.—THE MA A GIVE .
(1) They took their journey from Elim. The stay at Elim was probably for some
days. “Sin” was reached exactly one month after the departure from Egypt, yet
there had been only five camping-places between Sin and Rameses, and one journey
of three days through a wilderness (Exodus 15:22). Long rests are thus clearly
indicated, and probably occurred at Ayun Musa, at Marah, and at Elim. The places
named were the head-quarters of the camp on each occasion, but the entire host
must have always covered a vast tract, and the flocks and herds must have been
driven into all the neighbouring valleys where there was pasture. Wadys Useit,
Ethal, and Tayibeh are likely to have been occupied at the same time with Wady
Ghurundel.
All the congregation . . . came unto the wilderness of Sin.—“All the congregation”
could only be united in certain favourable positions, where there happened to be a
large open space. Such an open space is offered by the tract now called El Markha,
which extends from north to south a distance of twenty miles, and is from three to
four miles wide in its more northern half. To reach this tract, the Israelites must
have descended by Wady Useit or Wady Tayibeh to the coast near Ras Abu
Zenimeh, and have then continued along the coast until they crossed the twenty-
ninth parallel. This line of march is indicated in umbers 33:10-11, where we are
told that “they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red Sea; and they
removed from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.”
COFFMA , "Introduction
Here we have the third instance of the murmuring of Israel (Exodus 16:1-3), the
promise of God to give them bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4-12), God's promise
fulfilled (Exodus 16:13-20), the events surrounding the very first mention of
"sabbath" in the word of God (Exodus 16:21-30), the manna named and
memorialized (Exodus 16:31-36).
This chapter is the nemesis of Biblical critics, as confessed by Harford, "This
chapter is a crux for critics ... the dispute turns on the question of whether J or E is
present, and how much of either, and if more or less of P!"[1] Harford declined to
give any analysis based upon the alleged sources of the Pentateuch. Our own
analysis finds Moses in every line of it with perhaps a single addition by the inspired
Joshua.
Of course, one of the most important questions arising from this chapter regards the
institution of the sabbath. See notes below.

8. Verses 1-3
"And 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, the
fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And
the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and
against Aaron in the wilderness: and 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."
"The congregation of Israel (Exodus 16:1) ... this whole assembly (Exodus 16:3) ..."
The use of two different words here for the entire body of Israel is by no stretch of
imagination a sign of different sources, as some critics claim, for example, this: "The
use of the word `congregation' reflects basic terminology of the later Israelite
period."[2] Back of such a comment, of course, is the allegation of various sources,
but as Allis observed, the use of various words to describe a single entity may not be
regarded as "a suspicious feature suggesting diversity of authorship, that idea being
a fundamental error."[3] We may only marvel at the naivete that supposes Moses
could not have known both words - assembly and congregation. Again from Allis,
"There is no warranty for such hair-splitting analysis."[4]
"The wilderness of Sin ..." Despite Israel's sin being a principle feature of the
narrative here, it has nothing to do with the name of this wilderness. "The name Sin
has no connection with the English word sin. The names Sin and Sinai are very
similar, but the meaning of these names is uncertain."[5] The similarity of names
leads some to identify this wilderness as lying in the vicinity of Sinai.
"The fifteenth day of the second month after ..." indicates the passage of about six
weeks after the departure from Egypt.
"The whole congregation murmured against Moses and against Aaron ..." This is
the third instance of Israel's murmuring, the others being at Pi-hahiroth (Exodus
14:10-12), and at Marah (Exodus 15:24). Upon this occasion of their murmuring,
God heard their cry and sent bread from heaven.
"Would we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt ... This cry puts on
the garb of piety, and names the name of Jehovah, but indicates a lack of faith in
Him, His power, and His promises."[6] We cannot be too harsh, however, in our
judgment of Israel. It was a real hardship they endured. They were suffering from
hunger. Whatever supplies they had brought out of Egypt were exhausted, and they
were tasting the bitter truth that freedom exacts a price of those who would attain it.
"When we sat by the flesh-pots ... eat bread to the full ..." Later on, they also
remembered "the cucumbers ... melons ... leeks ... onions ... and garlic" ( umbers
11:4,5). These passages indicate that Pharaoh did indeed feed his slaves, and
presumably his livestock, well, but we may not suppose that all was as well with
Israel in Egypt as these hungry Israelites romantically remembered it. "The good

9. old days" were never actually that good! It was an inescapable burden of their
freedom that they should have encountered many dangers and hardships, but this
they seemed incapable of realizing at the time.
CO STABLE, "Verses 1-3
The wilderness of Sin evidently lay in the southwestern part of the Sinai peninsula (
Exodus 16:1). Its name relates to Sinai, the name of the mountain range located on
its eastern edge. Aharoni believed that Paran was the original name of the entire
Sinai Peninsula. [ ote: Y. Aharoni, "Kadesh-Barnea and Mount Sinai," in God"s
Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai, pp165-70.]
This was Israel"s third occasion of grumbling ( Exodus 16:2; cf. Exodus 14:11-12;
Exodus 15:24). The reason this time was not fear of the Egyptian army or lack of
water but lack of food ( Exodus 16:3).
"A pattern is thus established here that continues throughout the narratives of
Israel"s sojourn in the wilderness. As the people"s trust in the Lord and in Moses
waned in the wilderness, the need grew for stricter lessons." [ ote: Sailhamer, The
Pentateuch . . ., p273.]
PETT, "Introduction
Chapter 16 God Provides Manna and Quails for His People - The Sign of the
Seventh Day (Exodus 16:2-36).
In this chapter God provides both meat and ‘bread’ for His people. The passage
continues to reveal chiastic patterns, a pattern which also appears in Leviticus and
predominates in the book of umbers (see our commentary). The chapter can be
divided into two. Up to Exodus 16:15 it deals specifically with the promise of bread
from heaven and the provision of the manna and the quails, and the remainder
deals with various provisions and especially the institution of the Sabbath. This is
then concluded in the final few verses by describing the storing up of the manna as a
memorial.
Verse 1
‘And they took their journey from Elim and all the congregation of the children of
Israel came into 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.’
The analysis suggest that this verse closes the passage just completed. After a short
stay they continued their journey. They had now been travelling for a full moon
period. ‘The second month.’ Their year was now determined from the time of their
release (Exodus 12:2).
“All the congregation of the children of Israel.” Since leaving Egypt the group has
been called ‘Israel’ (Exodus 14:30-31; Exodus 15:22) and ‘the people’ (Exodus
15:24) although reference is made to ‘the children of Israel’ at worship in Exodus
15:1. (Exodus 15:19 refers back to prior to the final deliverance). This is now
defined here as ‘all the congregation of the children of Israel’, a new term found

10. only here in Exodus (Exodus 16:2; Exodus 16:9-10; Exodus 17:1) and in Exodus
35:1; Exodus 35:4; Exodus 35:20, but consider ‘the congregation of Israel’ (Exodus
12:3; Exodus 12:6; Exodus 12:19; Exodus 12:47). It is found in Leviticus 16:5
(without ‘all’); Exodus 19:2 and more regularly in umbers. It has here no direct
connection with cult worship and is therefore not yet a technical cult term. Rather it
defines the constituency of the new Israel, all those who have joined the gathered
people, including the mixed multitude, and emphasises the oneness of the whole (it is
always in Exodus prefaced by ‘all’). They have become ‘children of Israel’ which is
now used as an equivalent term (Exodus 16:3; Exodus 16:6).
It is probable that they had to travel in smaller groups until they were able again all
to meet up in the wilderness of Sin on the way to Sinai, and this would be a pattern
on their journeys. We must not necessarily see the Israelites as always moving in one
large group. The pattern became more organised when leaving Sinai in umbers 1-
4. Different sections would take slightly different routes, and in such places as they
had just left they would spread out making good use of all the facilities. The flocks
and herds having fed well at Elim and the surrounding area would be able to
endure without water for a goodly period. The people too would be learning to
survive on little water, especially under the guidance of Moses the experienced
wilderness dweller, and sometimes they would find water by digging, for the water
table is not far below the ground in certain parts of the Sinai peninsula ( umbers
21:16-18), or would survive on milk from their domestic animals.
ote for Christians.
This incident at Marah reminds us that on our spiritual journey we must expect to
come across bitter wells as well as sweet ones, but when we do we can be confident
that our Lord can make the bitter sweet. And in His goodness He has provided for
us a Law which is sweet to the taste (Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103). From the
incident we are also to learn that one of the secrets of blessing is obedience. For as
we continue in obedience we will discover that we are brought eventually to a place
of springs and palm trees.
PULPIT, "Verses 1-3
EXPOSITIO
THE FIRST MURMURI G FOR FOOD. From Elim, or the fertile tract extending
from Wady Ghurnndel to Wady Tayibeh, the Israelites, after a time, removed, and
ca-camped (as we learn from umbers 33:10) by the Red Sea, probably along the
narrow coast tract extending from the mouth of Tayibeh to the entrance upon the
broad plain of El Markha. Hence they entered upon "the wilderness of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai"—a tract identified by some with the coast plain, El
Markha, by others with the inland undulating region known at the present day as
the Debbet-er-Ramleh It is difficult to decide between these two views. In favour of
El Markha are:

11. 1. The fact that the Egyptian settlements in the Sinaitic peninsula would thus be
avoided, as they seem to have been, since no contest with Egyptians is recorded;
2. The descent of the quails, who, wearied with a long flight over the Red Sea, would
naturally settle as soon as they reached the shore;
3. The greater openness and facility of the El Markha and Wady Feiran route,
which is admitted by all; and
4. The suitability of the latter to the particulars of the narrative in Exodus 18:1-27.
In favour of the route by the Debbet-er-Ramleh are,
1. The fact that it is better watered at present than the other;
2. Its being somewhat less removed from the direct line between Wady Ghurundel
and Sinai than El Markha; and
3. A certain correspondency of sound or meaning between some of the present
geographical names along this route and those of the Mosaic narrative. In "the
wilderness of Sin" the Israelites for the first time found themselves in want of
sufficient nourishment. They hall consumed the grain which they had brought with
them out of Egypt; and though no doubt they had still considerable flocks and
herds, yet they were unaccustomed to a mere milk and flesh diet, having in Egypt
lived principally upon bread (Exodus 18:3), fish ( umbers 11:5), and vegetables
(ibid.). They therefore "murmured," and accused Moses and Aaron of an intention
to starve them. It is quite possible that many of the poorer sorts having brought with
them no cattle, or lost their cattle by the way, and not being helped by their
brethren, were in actual danger of starvation. Hence God was not angry, but "heard
their murmurings" (Exodus 18:9) patiently, and relieved them.
Exodus 16:1
They journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation came. It has been noted (Cook)
that the form of expression seems to imply that the Israelites proceeded in
detachments from Elim, and were first assembled as a complete host when they
reached the wilderness of Sin." This accords well with their numbers and with the
character of the localities. They could only assemble all together when they reached
some considerable plain. Between Elim and Sinai. This expression must be regarded
as vague to some extent. On the direct line, as the crow flies, there is no
"wilderness" (midbar) between Wady Ghurundel and Sinai. All is mountain and
valley. All that the writer means is that "the wilderness of Sin" lay upon the
ordinary, or at any rate an ordinary route between Elim and the great mountain.
This is equally true of El Markha and the Debbet-er-Ramleh. On the fifteenth day
of the second month—i.e; on the 15th of Zif, exactly one month after their departure
from Egypt. As only seven camping places are mentioned ( umbers 33:5-11), and

12. one journey of three days through a wilderness (Exodus 15:22), it is evident that
there must either have been long stays in several places, or that they must have often
encamped in places which had no name. Viewed as an itinerary, the record is
manifestly incomplete.
BI 1-12, "Verses 1-12
Exodus 16:1-12
The wilderness of Sin.
Moses in the wilderness of Sin
People may be strong and hopeful at the beginning of a project, and most effusively
and devoutly thankful at its close, but the difficulty is to go manfully through the
process.
I. Processes try men’s temper. See how the temper of Israel was tried in the
wilderness! o bread, no water, no rest! How do processes try men’s temper?
1. They are often tedious.
2. They, are often uncontrollable.
3. They often seem to be made worse by the incompetency of others.
II. The trials of processes are to be met, not all at once, but a day at a time. Daily
hunger was met by daily bread. This daffy display of Divine care teaches--
1. That physical as well as spiritual gifts are God’s.
2. That one of God’s gifts is the pledge of another. “ ot as the world giveth, give I
unto you.” Why am I to be easy about to-morrow? Because God is good to-day! “He
is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”
III. Processes show the different dispositions of men. Though the people were told in
the distinctest manner that there would be no manna on the seventh day, yet they
went out to gather it just as if they had never been warned! Such men are the
vexation of the world. They plague every community of which they are a portion.
1. We have the means of life at our disposal: the manna lies at our tent-door!
2. We are distinctly assured that such means are given under law: there is a set time
for the duration of the opportunity: the night cometh!
IV. All the processes of life should be hallowed by religious exercises. There was a
Sabbath even in the wilderness.
1. The Sabbath is more than a mere law; it is an expression of mercy.
2. o man ever loses anything by keeping the Sabbath: “The Lord giveth you on the
sixth day the bread of two days.”
3. He is the loser who has no day of rest.

13. V. Processes should leave some tender and hope-inspiring memories behind them.
“Fill an omer of it to be kept,” etc.
VI. The process will end. Are you ready? (J. Parker, D. D.)
The pilgrimage of life
In the anecdote books of our boyhood we used to be told the story of an Indian
faquir who entered an Eastern palace and spread his bed in one of its antechambers,
pretending that he had mistaken the building for a caravanserai or inn. The prince,
amused by the oddity of the circumstance, ordered--so ran the tale--the man to be
brought before him, and asked him how he came to make such a mistake. “What is
an inn?” the faquir asked. “A place,” was the reply, “where travellers rest a little
while before proceeding on their journey.” “Who dwelt here before you?” again
asked the faquir. “My father,” was the prince’s reply. “And did he remain here?”
“ o,” was the answer; “He died and went away.” “And who dwelt here before
him?” “His ancestors.” “And did they remain here?” “ o; they also died and went
away.” “Then,” rejoined the faquir, “I have made no mistake, for your palace is but
an inn after all.” The faquir was right, Our houses are but inns, and the whole
world a caravanserai. (Clerical Library.)
Bread, the supreme question
During the French Revolution hundreds of market-women, attended by an armed
mob of men, went to Versailles to demand bread of the ational Assembly, there
being great destitution in Paris. They entered the hall. There was a discussion upon
the criminal laws going on. A fishwoman cried out, “Stop that babbler! That is not
the question; the question is about bread.” (Little’s “Historical Lights.”)
Murmuring, the result of forgetfulness
What unbelief and sad forgetfulness of God betrayed itself in these words! They
quite forgot the bitter bondage of Egypt under which they had sighed and groaned
so long. They now thought only of its “flesh-pots” and “its bread.” They altogether
overlooked the mercy and the grace which had spared them when the firstborn of
the Egyptians were slain. The miracles of love at the Red Sea and at Marah, so great
and so recent, had passed away from their memories. They thought nothing of the
promise of the land flowing with milk and honey. The argument, so evident and so
comforting, “Can the faithful God who has brought us out of bondage mean to let us
perish in the wilderness?” did not withhold them from the impatient conclusion,
“Ye have brought us forth into the wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with
hunger.” And if you watch your own hearts, you will find that there is always this
forgetfulness in a murmuring and discontented spirit. We forget, first, that we
deserve nothing but punishment at God’s hands; and, secondly, we forget all the
mercy and love which He has shown us in His acts and promises. (G. Wagner.)
Grumbling, an added burden
If I grumble because life is so arranged that I tear my clothes, and get many a

14. scratch in the upward journey, my grumble is only an added burden. The difference
between a soul that is soured by unbelief and a soul that honestly struggles and
strives as the gymnast does, who tries to lift the heavy weight, knowing that,
whether he succeeds or fails, the muscular development, which is the end sought, is
still attained, is incalculable. To trudge along the moor after nightfall, then now
knee deep, with the feeling that you are going nowhere, is indeed discouraging; but
to do the same thing with the feeling that you are going home to the fireside of the
loved and expectant, is to keep both feet and hands warm through our power of
anticipating the heat and the welcome under the roof tree not far off. Rude,
discourteous experience has taught us that an evil which is all an evil is a double
evil, and that an evil with a joy behind it or beyond it is the healthy and invigorating
toil by means of which a man may acquire a lasting good.
Ingratitude of the public
Daniel Webster, after his wonderful career, and in the close of his life, writes: “If I
were to live my life over again, with my present experiences, I would under no
considerations allow myself to enter public life. The public are ungrateful. The man
who serves the public most faithfully receives no adequate reward. In my own
history those acts which have been, before God, most disinterested and the least
stained by selfish considerations, have been precisely those for which I have been
most freely abused. o, no; have nothing to do with politics. Sell your iron, eat the
bread of independence, support your family with the rewards of honest toil, do your
duty as a private citizen to your country, but let politics alone. It is a hard life, a
thankless life. I have had in the course of my political life, which is not a short one,
my full share of ingratitude, but the ‘unkindest cut of all,’ the shaft that has sunk
the deepest in my heart, has been the refusal of this administration to grant my
request for an office of small pecuniary consideration for my only son.” (T. De Witt
Talmage.)
Ingratitude of grumbling
I heard a good man say once, as we passed the home of a millionaire: “It doesn’t
seem right that such a man as he is should be rolling in wealth, while I have to work
hard for my daily bread.” I made no reply. But when we reached the home of the
grumbler, and a troop of rosy children ran out to meet us, I caught one in my arms,
and, holding him up, said: “John, how much will you take for this boy?” And he
answered, while the moisture gathered in his eyes: “That boy, my namesake! I
wouldn’t sell him for his weight in gold.” “Why, John, he weighs forty pounds at
least, and forty pounds of gold would make you many times a millionaire. And you
would probably ask as much for each of the others. So, according to your own
admission, you are immensely rich. Yes, a great deal richer than that cold, selfish,
childless millionaire whom you were envying as we came along. othing would
tempt you to change places with him. Then you ought to be grateful instead of
grumbling. You are the favourite of fortune, or, rather, of Providence, and not he.”
(H. W. Beecher.)

15. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled
against Moses and Aaron.
BAR ES,"Murmured - The want of food was first felt after six weeks from the time
of the departure from Egypt, see Exo_16:1 : we have no notice previously of any
deficiency of bread.
CLARKE, "The whole congregation - murmured - This is an additional proof
of the degraded state of the minds of this people; See Clarke’s note on Exo_13:17. And
this very circumstance affords a convincing argument that a people so stupidly carnal
could not have been induced to leave Egypt had they not been persuaded so to do by the
most evident and striking miracles. Human nature can never be reduced to a more abject
state in this world than that in which the body is enthralled by political slavery, and the
soul debased by the influence of sin. These poor Hebrews were both slaves and sinners,
and were therefore capable of the meanest and most disgraceful acts.
GILL, "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured,....
For want of bread; for the Targum of Jonathan says, that day the dough ceased they
brought of Egypt, on which, and the unleavened cakes they had lived thirty days; and for
a longer space of time it was not sufficient, as Josephus (g) and other Jewish writers (h)
observe; and now it was all spent, and they were in the utmost distress for bread, and fall
a murmuring as they were used to do, when in any distress, even the whole congregation
of them, at least the far greater part; some few might be excepted, as Caleb and Joshua,
and some others: and they
murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness; in the wilderness of Sin,
where they were, and where no corn was to be had to make bread of; and their
murmuring was not only against Moses, as before when they wanted water, but against
Aaron also, who were jointly concerned in bringing them out of Egypt. It is a common
case, when things do not go so well as to be wished for in church or state, for people to
murmur against their governors, ecclesiastic or civil, and lay all the blame to them.
JAMISO , "the whole congregation ... murmured against Moses and
Aaron — Modern travellers through the desert of Sinai are accustomed to take as much
as is sufficient for the sustenance of men and beasts during forty days. The Israelites
having been rather more than a month on their journey, their store of corn or other
provisions was altogether or nearly exhausted; and there being no prospect of procuring
any means of subsistence in the desert, except some wild olives and wild honey (Deu_
32:13), loud complaints were made against the leaders.

16. K&D 2-8, "Here, in this arid sandy waste, the whole congregation murmured against
Moses and Aaron on account of the want of food. What they brought with them from
Egypt had been consumed in the 30 days that had elapsed since they came out (Exo_
16:1). In their vexation the people expressed the wish that they had died in Egypt by the
flesh-pot, in the midst of plenty, “by the hand of Jehovah,” i.e., by the last plague which
Jehovah sent upon Egypt, rather than here in the desert of slow starvation. The form
‫ּינוּ‬ ִ ַ‫ו‬ is a Hiphil according to the consonants, and should be pointed ‫ינוּ‬ ִ ַ‫,י‬ from ‫ין‬ ִ ִ‫ה‬ for ‫ין‬ ִ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ה‬
(see Ges. §72, Anm. 9, and Ewald, §114c.). As the want really existed, Jehovah promised
them help (Exo_16:4). He would rain bread from heaven, which the Israelites should
gather every day for their daily need, to try the people, whether they would walk in His
law or not. In what the trial was to consist, is briefly indicated in Exo_16:5 : “And it will
come to pass on the sixth day (of the week), that they will prepare what they have
brought, and it will be double what they gather daily.” The meaning is, that what they
gathered and brought into their tents on the sixth day of the week, and made ready for
eating, would be twice as much as what they gathered on every other day; not that
Jehovah would miraculously double what was brought home on the sixth day, as Knobel
interprets the words in order to make out a discrepancy between Exo_16:5 and Exo_
16:22. ‫ין‬ ִ‫כ‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ to prepare, is to be understood as applying partly to the measuring of what
had been gathered (Exo_16:18), and partly to the pounding and grinding of the grains of
manna into meal (Num_11:8). In what respect this was a test for the people, is pointed
out in Exo_16:16. Here, in Exo_16:4 and Exo_16:5, the promise of God is only briefly
noticed, and its leading points referred to; it is described in detail afterwards, in the
communications which Moses and Aaron make to the people. In Exo_16:6, Exo_16:7,
they first tell the people, “At even, then shall ye know that Jehovah hath brought you
out of Egypt; and in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of the Lord.” Bearing in
mind the parallelism of the clauses, we obtain this meaning, that in the evening and in
the morning the Israelites would perceive the glory of the Lord, who had brought them
out of Egypt. “Seeing” is synonymous with “knowing.” Seeing the glory of Jehovah did
not consist in the sight of the glory of the Lord which appeared in the cloud, as
mentioned in Exo_16:10, but in their perception or experience of that glory in the
miraculous gift of flesh and bread (Exo_16:8, cf. Num_14:22). “By His hearing” (‫ּו‬‫ע‬ ְ‫מ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ ),
i.e., because He has heard, “your murmuring against Jehovah (“Against Him” in Exo_
16:8, as in Gen_19:24); for what are we, that ye murmur against us?” The murmuring
of the people against Moses and Aaron as their leaders really affected Jehovah as the
actual guide, and not Moses and Aaron, who had only executed His will. Jehovah would
therefore manifest His glory to the people, to prove to them that He had heard their
murmuring. The announcement of this manifestation of God is more fully explained to
the people by Moses in Exo_16:8, and the explanation is linked on to the leading clause
in Exo_16:7 by the words, “when He giveth,” etc. Ye shall see the glory of Jehovah, when
Jehovah shall give you, etc.
CALVI , "2.And the whole congregation. Moses says not that some of the people
only murmured, but that they were all gathered into mobs as in a conspiracy, or, at
any rate, as they were arranged by hundreds and thousands, that they murmured
with one consent. Yet the universal term admits of exception; nor need we suppose
that all to a man were comprehended in this impious rebellion. The best remedy for
their hunger would have been to pray to God, whom they had found to be in all

17. respects a bountiful Father, and whom they had heard to have wonderfully
provided for their parents, when the Egyptians and inhabitants of Canaan were
wasting with hunger in such rich and fertile places. If they had only been persuaded
that the earth is made fertile by God’s blessing, it would at the same time have
occurred to them, that it is His peculiar office to feed the hungry, and immediately
they would have directed their prayers to Him; now, their unbelief betrays itself in
their turbulent clamor. It is indeed astonishing that wretched men, whom their
necessity should have humiliated, rose insolently against God, and that their hunger,
so far from bending their hearts to gentleness, was the very incentive of their
arrogance. But this is too common with the wicked, (because they do not trust that
God is reconciled to them,) to neglect prayer, and to cry out in confusion, to utter
their curses, and to rush, like mad dogs, furiously here and there. This was the case
of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sin. The want of all things, which presents itself
to them, is an invitation to them from God, that they may feel His power, by which
He created the world out of nothing, to be independent of all foreign assistance for
the maintenance of mankind. But despair seizes upon their faithless minds, so that
they reject His aid and beneficence. And not only so, but their malignity and
ingratitude instigates them to quarrel with Moses; and this is the sum of their
complaint, that they were dragged away from abundance of bread and meat, that
they might perish in the desert of hunger. Therefore they call Moses and Aaron, by
whose hand and means they had been delivered, their murderers.
COKE, "Exodus 16:2. The whole congregation of the children of Israel
murmured— The whole congregation seems to denote a more universal murmur,
than the words the people imply in Exodus 16:24 of the last chapter. The vice grew
contagious; and this strangely ungrateful people not only exaggerate, in a shameful
manner, their present difficulties, but even revile their Deliverer, for the undeserved
preservation which he had vouchsafed to them amid the destruction of the first-born
in Egypt. Would to God we had died, &c. Exodus 16:3. othing can more strongly
mark their abject and servile temper. Is this thy gratitude to GOD, O Israel! for his
wonderful mercies towards thee? Thy goodness is as a morning-cloud, and as the
early dew it passeth away. Hosea 6:4.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:2. The whole congregation murmured — For want of bread,
having consumed all the dough or flour which they had brought out of Egypt. A
month’s provision, it seems, the host of Israel took with them out of Egypt, when
they came thence on the 15th day of the first month, which by the 15th of the second
month was all spent. Against Moses and Aaron — God’s vicegerents among them.
How weak and perverse is human nature! They had just seen the bitter waters
instantaneously made sweet to assuage their thirst, and a little while before had
been miraculously delivered at the Red sea, when there seemed to be no possible
way for their escape; and yet so far were they from learning to trust in that divine,
almighty Providence, that had so wonderfully and so evidently wrought for them,
that on the very first difficulty and distress they break out into the most desponding
murmurings!
ELLICOTT, "(2) The whole congregration . . . murmured.—This is the third

18. “murmuring.” The first was at Pi-hahiroth, on the appearance of the host of
Pharaoh (Exodus 14:11-12); the second was at Marah, when the water proved
undrinkable (Exodus 15:24); the third, in the wilderness of Sin, was brought about
by no special occurrence—unless it were the exhaustion of the supplies of grain
which had been brought out of Egypt—but seems to have resulted from a general
dissatisfaction with the conditions of life in the wilderness, and with the prospects
which lay before them.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "It is "worthy of remark," Milton indignantly
observes in his Second Defence, "that those who are the most unworthy of liberty
are wont to behave most ungratefully towards their deliverers".
Compare the further application of this passage by Milton in his tract on "The
Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence
thereof, compared with the Inconveniences and Dangers of Readmitting Kingship in
this ation". Towards the close of his remonstrance, he writes thus: "If the people
be so affected as to prostitute religion and liberty to the vain and groundless
apprehension that nothing but kingship can restore trade... and that therefore we
must forego and set to sale religion, liberty, honour, safety, all concernments Divine
or human, to keep up trading: if, lastly, after all this light among us, the same
reason shall pass for current, to put our necks again under kingship, as was made
use of by the Jews to return back to Egypt and to the worship of their idol queen,
because they falsely imagined that they then lived in more plenty and prosperity;
our condition is not sound, but rotten, both in religion and all civil prudence.... But I
trust I shall have spoken persuasion to abundance of sensible and ingenuous men; to
some, perhaps, whom God may raise from these stones to become children of
reviving liberty; and may reclaim, though they seem now choosing them a captain
back for Egypt, to bethink themselves a little, and consider whence they are
rushing; to exhort this torrent also of the people, not to be so impetuous, but to keep
their one channel." Contrast the character of the Duke of Wellington, as Coleridge
in his Table-Talk (4July, 1830) draws it: "He seems to be unaccustomed to, and to
despise, the inconsistencies, the weaknesses, the bursts of heroism followed by
prostration and cowardice, which invariably characterize all popular efforts. He
forgets that, after all, it is from such efforts that all the great and noble institutions
of the world have come."
PETT, "Verses 2-15
Chapter 16 God Provides Manna and Quails for His People - The Sign of the
Seventh Day (Exodus 16:2-36).
In this chapter God provides both meat and ‘bread’ for His people. The passage
continues to reveal chiastic patterns, a pattern which also appears in Leviticus and
predominates in the book of umbers (see our commentary). The chapter can be
divided into two. Up to Exodus 16:15 it deals specifically with the promise of bread
from heaven and the provision of the manna and the quails, and the remainder
deals with various provisions and especially the institution of the Sabbath. This is
then concluded in the final few verses by describing the storing up of the manna as a

19. memorial.
The Promise of Bread From Heaven and the Provision of the Manna and the Quails
(Exodus 16:2-15).
a The people murmur and wish that they had died in Egypt where they had
flesh and bread, rather than being brought into the wilderness to be killed with
hunger (Exodus 16:2-3)
b Yahweh promises food from heaven which the people can gather every day
(Exodus 16:4-5).
c They will know that Yahweh has brought them out of the land of Egypt
(Exodus 16:6).
d They will see the glory of Yahweh for He has heard their murmuring, He will
give them flesh and bread (Exodus 16:7-8 a).
e Yahweh has heard their murmurings (Exodus 16:8 b).
e Yahweh has heard their murmurings (Exodus 16:9).
d They look towards the wilderness and see the glory of Yahweh Who has
heard their murmurings and will give them flesh and bread (Exodus 16:10-12 a).
c They will know that He is Yahweh their God (Exodus 16:12 b).
b Food comes from heaven in the form of quails and manna (Exodus 16:13-15
a).
a They are told that it is the food which Yahweh has given them to eat (Exodus
16:15 b).
The point behind the chiasmus is to stress how what Yahweh has promised He
fulfils In ‘a’ they began by fearing that they would be killed with hunger and in the
parallel finished up with a the food that Yahweh has given them to eat. In ‘b’ they
were promised food from heaven, and in the parallel they receive food from heaven.
In ‘c’ they will know that Yahweh has brought them out of the land of Egypt, and in
the parallel they will know that He is Yahweh their God. In ‘d’ they were promised
that they would see the glory of Yahweh and they did see the glory of Yahweh for
He has heard their murmuring, and in the parallel they look towards the wilderness
and see the glory of Yahweh Who has heard their murmurings. In ‘e’ we are simply
informed that Yahweh has heard their murmurings.
Exodus 16:2
‘And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and
against Aaron in the wilderness.’
On arrival in the wilderness of Sin the children of Israel again murmur against
Moses and Aaron (compare Exodus 15:24; Exodus 17:3; umbers 14:2; umbers
14:36; umbers 16:11; umbers 16:41; umbers 17:5; umbers 17:10;
Deuteronomy 1:27), this time because of lack of food. Their murmuring is
prominent in the passage (Exodus 16:8-9; Exodus 16:12). It was an indication of
hearts that were inward looking and servile, and had no confidence in God, and was
a continuing problem. This is in stark contrast to the continual revelation of God’s
power and provision. The one thing that is made clear is that they deserved nothing
at His hand, and yet He continually provided for them. He was like a father

20. watching over a petulant child (compare Deuteronomy 1:31). Murmuring is an
indication of poverty of spirit.
PULPIT, "The whole congregation … murmured, It has been observed above, that
only the poorer sort could have been as yet in any peril of actual starvation; but it
may well have been that the rest, once launched into the wilderness, and becoming
practically acquainted with its unproductiveness, foresaw that ultimately starvation
must come upon them too, when all the cattle were eaten up, or had died through
insufficient nourishment othing is more clear than that, without the miracle of the
manna, it would have been impossible for a population of two millions to have
supported themselves for forty years, or even for two years, in such a region as the
Sinaitic peninsula, even though it had been in ancient times three or four times as
productive as at present. The cattle brought out of Egypt must have rapidly
diminished (Exodus 17:3); and though the Israelites had brought with them also
great wealth in the precious metals, yet it must have been some time before they
could establish commercial relations with the neighbouring nations so as to obtain
such supplies as they needed. Thus we can well understand that at the expiration of
a month the people generally should have recognized that their situation was one of
great danger, and should have vented their discontent upon their leaders.
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died
by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around
pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but
you have brought us out into this desert to starve
this entire assembly to death.”
BAR ES,"By the hand of the Lord - This evidently refers to the plagues,
especially the last, in Egypt: the death which befell the Egyptians appeared to the people
preferable to the sufferings of famine.
Flesh pots, and ... bread - These expressions prove that the servile labors to which
they had been subjected did not involve privations: they were fed abundantly, either by
the officials of Pharaoh, or more probably by the produce of their own fertile district.

21. CLARKE, "The flesh pots - As the Hebrews were in a state of slavery in Egypt, they
were doubtless fed in various companies by their task masters in particular places,
where large pots or boilers were fixed for the purpose of cooking their victuals. To these
there may be a reference in this place, and the whole speech only goes to prove that they
preferred their bondage in Egypt to their present state in the wilderness; for they could
not have been in a state of absolute want, as they had brought an abundance of flocks
and herds with them out of Egypt.
GILL, "And the children of Israel said unto them,.... They not only inwardly
murmured, and privately complained among themselves, but they spoke out their
complaints, and that in a very extravagant manner:
would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt; by one
of the plagues, or some such like plague as were inflicted on the Egyptians, which killed
many of them, and particularly the hailstorm and plague on the firstborn; suggesting
that death, even by the hand of the Lord, whether in an ordinary or extraordinary way,
was more eligible than their present circumstances: when we sat by the fleshpots, and
when we did eat bread to the full; which is an exaggeration of their former
circumstances, and the happiness of them, in order to aggravate the misery of their
present ones; for it can hardly be thought strictly true, that while they were in hard
bondage in Egypt, they had often flesh in their pots, and leisure time to sit and attend
them, either the boiling of it in them, or the eating of it when served up in dishes at the
table; which they seem to boast of, as if they had several dishes of meat at table, and sat
in great splendour, and took a great deal of time to regale themselves, and when they
indulged themselves to satiety, having fulness of bread and all provisions:
for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly
with hunger: but there was no danger of that at present, since they had so many flocks
and herds with them; though indeed so large a number would soon have ate them up,
and which could not so comfortably be fed upon without bread; and, besides, these they
did not choose to slay, unless under great necessity, which they reserved for sacrifice,
and for an increase.
JAMISO , "Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land
of Egypt — How unreasonable and absurd the charge against Moses and Aaron! how
ungrateful and impious against God! After all their experience of the divine wisdom,
goodness, and power, we pause and wonder over the sacred narrative of their hardness
and unbelief. But the expression of feeling is contagious in so vast a multitude, and there
is a feeling of solitude and despondency in the desert which numbers cannot dispel; and
besides, we must remember that they were men engrossed with the present - that the
Comforter was not then given - and that they were destitute of all visible means of
sustenance and cut off from every visible comfort, with only the promises of an unseen
God to look to as the ground of their hope. And though we may lament they should
tempt God in the wilderness and freely admit their sin in so doing, we can be at no loss
for a reason why those who had all their lives been accustomed to walk by sight should,
in circumstances of unparalleled difficulty and perplexity, find it hard to walk by faith.
Do not even we find it difficult to walk by faith through the wilderness of this world,
though in the light of a clearer revelation, and under a nobler leader than Moses? [Fisk].
(See 1Co_10:11, 1Co_10:12).

22. BE SO , "Exodus 16:3. Would to God we had died — They so undervalue their
deliverance, that they wish they had died in Egypt; nay, and died by the hand of the
Lord too. That is, by some of the plagues which cut off the Egyptians; as if it were
not the hand of the Lord, but of Moses only, that brought them into this wilderness!
It is common for people to say of that pain or sickness of which they see not the
second causes, It is what pleaseth God, as if that were not so likewise which comes
by the hand of man, or some visible accident. We cannot suppose they had any great
plenty in Egypt, how largely soever they now talk of the flesh-pots, nor could they
fear dying for want in the wilderness while they had their flocks and herds with
them; but discontent magnifies what is past, and vilifies what is present, without
regard to truth or reason. one talk more absurdly than murmurers.
ELLICOTT, "(3) Would to God we had died.—Heb., Would that we had died.
There is no mention of “God.”
By the hand of the Lord.—There is, perhaps, an allusion to the last of the plagues,
“Would that we had not been spared, but had been smitten, as the Egyptians were!
A sudden death would have been far better than a long and lingering one.” (Comp,
Lamentations 4:9.)
When we did eat bread to the full.—The Israelites had been well fed in Egypt. They
had been nourished upon flesh, fish, bread, and abundant vegetables, especially
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlick ( umbers 11:5). It was the habit of
the Egyptians to feed well those whom they employed in forced labours (Herod. ii.
125), just as slave-owners commonly do their slaves. The remembrance of the past
abundance intensified the pain felt at the present want.
To kill this whole assembly with hunger.—It is difficult to imagine that there could
have been as yet any real danger of starvation. The cattle may have suffered
considerably in the passage through the wilderness of Shur, but the bulk of it
survived (Exodus 17:3), and there were lambs enough for the whole nation to
observe a Passover a few months later at Sinai ( umbers 9:1-5). But it may well be
that a considerable number of the Israelites had had no cattle; others may have lost
what they had, or have consumed them. Want may have stared some in the face, and
the nation generally may have come to see that the prospect before them was a
dismal one. Even supposing that the desert was anciently four or five times as
productive as it is now, it could not possibly have afforded sufficient pasturage to
maintain such flocks and herds as would have been requisite to support on their
milk and flesh a population of two millions. It may have been brought home to the
people that their flocks and herds were rapidly diminishing, and they may have
realised the danger that impended of ultimate starvation after the cattle was all
gone.
PARKER, "Moses In the Wilderness of Sin
Exodus 16:3

23. People may be strong and hopeful at the beginning of a project, and most effusively
and devoutly thankful at its close, but the difficulty is to go manfully through the
process. Israel was in the desert, and never were spoiled children more peevish,
suspicious, and altogether ill-behaved. If they could have stepped out of Egypt into
Canaan at once, probably they would have been as pious as most of us; but there
was the weary interval, the inhospitable wilderness! It is so in our life. Accept it as a
solemn and instructive fact that life is a process. It is more than a beginning and an
ending: more than a cradle and a grave. The child may be good, and the old man
may be tranquil, but what of the petulant, self-willed, and prayerless being between
these extremes?
The history leads us to dwell on Processes. See how far the historical teaching
represents our own experience.
First. Processes try men"s temper. See how the temper of Israel was tried in the
wilderness! o bread, no water, no rest! How do processes try men"s temper? (1)
They are often tedious; (2) they are often uncontrollable; (3) they often seem to be
made worse by the incompetency of others.
We must not drive life. ature is not to be whipped and spurred by impatient
riders. God"s administration is calm. The wheels of his chariot are not bespattered
by the mud of blustering and reckless haste. On the other hand, we are not to find in
this reflection an excuse for the indolence and incapacity of men. There are stones
which we can roll away. There are turbid little streams which we can bridge. There
are gates which weaker men than Samson can carry away. There is the profoundest
difference between the indolence of men and the eternal calm of God. "Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." "I must work while it is called day."
Second. The trials of processes are to be met not all at once, but a day at a time. "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." See the law by which the manna was given. There was not a large store sent
down. Daily hunger was met by daily bread. We are not allowed to live two days at
once. In the parable the pendulum was told that it had to give but one tick at a time.
The heart beats in the same way. Upon how little sleep it lives!
This daily display of Divine care teaches (1) that physical as well as spiritual gifts
are God"s; (2) that one of God"s gifts is the pledge of another. " ot as the world
giveth, give I unto you." Why am I to be easy about tomorrow? Because God is good
to-day! "He is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.
Third. Processes show the different dispositions of men. ot their tempers only, but
the deeper realities and aspects of their character. They were told not to leave any of
the manna until the morning of the following day, but some of them did leave it.
You cannot convince some men, nor can you bind them by authority, nor can you
bring them under a common discipline. o. Provision must be made for madmen.
Every society out of heaven is probably disturbed by some kind of eccentricity.

24. Though the people were told in the distinctest manner that there would be no
manna on the seventh day, yet they went out to gather it just as if they had never
been warned! Such men are the vexation of the world. They plague every
community of which they are a portion. You tell them that tickets cannot be had
after a certain day, but they give you the lie, as far as they can, by coming for them
two days after. There are such wise men everywhere, but happily they are now and
then effectually checked and humbled. What a humiliation awaits them in the long
run!
The history, at this point, urges the most direct application of its truths upon our
spiritual nature, (1) We have the means of life at our disposal: the manna lies at our
tent-door! (2) We are distinctly assured that such means are given under law: there
is a set time for the duration of the opportunity: the night cometh!
Some men will set themselves against God in these matters. They will persistently
work contrariwise. They will defy the law: they will challenge the sword: they will
tell you that the night has no darkness for them, and that when God has shut the
door the key of their importunity will open it! Beware of such men. They will fail
you at last; and when you smite them with your reproaches, you can add no pain to
the torment of their damnation.
Fourth. All the processes of life should be hallowed by religious exercises. There was
a Sabbath even in the wilderness. The Sabbath is amongst the very oldest
institutions. God rested on the seventh day, and blessed it. Before the law was given
from Sinai God gave the Sabbath to Israel. Man must have rest, and all true rest is
associated with religious ideas and aspirations. The animal rest is but typical: the
soul must have its hours of quietness; the spirit must pause in the presence of God to
recover its strength.
(1) The Sabbath is more than a mere law; it is an expression of mercy. (2) o man
ever loses anything by keeping the Sabbath: "The Lord giveth you on the sixth day
the bread of two days." (3) He is the loser who has no day of rest.
Fifth. Processes should leave some tender and hope-inspiring memories behind
them. "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." The way to enrich life is to keep a retentive memory in the heart.
Look over a period of twenty years, and see the all-covering and ever-shining mercy
of God! How many special providences have you observed? How many narrow
escapes have you experienced? How many difficulties have you surmounted? How
often have you found a pool in unexpected places? We should lay up some memory
of the Divine triumphs which have gladdened our lives, and fall back upon it for
inspiration and courage in the dark and cloudy day. Go into your yesterdays to find
God! Search for him in the paths along which you have come, and if you dare,
under the teaching of your own memories, deny his goodness, then betake
yourselves to the infamous luxury of distrust and reproach!

25. Sixth. The process will end. Though the wheels move slowly, yet will they reach the
goal! You are not the men you were twenty years ago! The most of the desert-road is
now behind some of you. Your future on earth is narrowing itself to a point. How is
it with your souls? Your feet are sore with the long journey; are your wings ready
for flight into the kingdom of the crystal river and the unsetting sun?
ote on Manna
"It may have been derived from the manna rams known in various countries. There
is an edible lichen which sometimes falls in showers several inches deep, the wind
having blown it from the spots where it grew, and carried it onwards. In1824and
in1828 , it fell in Persia and Asiatic Turkey in great quantities. In1829 , during the
war between Persia and Russia, there was a great famine at Oroomiah, south-west
of the Caspian Sea. One day, during a violent wind, the surface of the country was
covered with what the people called "bread from heaven," which fell in thick
showers. Sheep fed on it greedily, and the people who had never seen it before,
induced by this, gathered it, and having reduced it to flour, made bread of it, which
they found palatable and nourishing. In some places it lay on the ground five or six
inches deep. In the spring of1841 , an amazing quantity of this substance fell in the
same region, covering the ground, here and there, to the depth of from three to four
inches. Many of the particles were as large as hail-stones. It was grey, and sweet to
the taste, and made excellent bread. In1846 , a great manna rain, which occurred at
Jenischehr, during a famine, attracted great notice. It lasted several days, and pieces
as large as a hazel-nut fell in quantities. When ground and baked it made as good
bread, in the opinion of the people, as that from grain. In1846 another rain of
manna occurred in the government of Wilna, and formed a layer upon the ground,
three or four inches deep. It was of a greyish-white colour, rather hard, irregular in
form, without smell, and insipid. Pallas, the Russian naturalist, observed it on the
arid mountains and limestone tracts of the Great Desert of Tartary. In1828 ,
Parroth brought some from Mount Ararat, and it proved to be a lichen known as
Parmelia Esculenta, which grows on chalky and stony soil, like that of the Kirghese
Steppes of Central Asia. Eversmann described several kinds of it, last century, as
found east of the Caspian, and widely spread over Persia and Middle Asia. It is
round, and at times as large as a walnut, varying from that to the size of a pin"s
head, and does not fix itself in the soil in which it grows, but lies free and loose,
drinking in nourishment from the surface, and easily carried off by the wind, which
sweeps it away in vast quantities in the storms of spring, and thus causes the
"manna rains" in the districts over which the wind travels." —Geikie"s "Hours
with the Bible."
PETT, "Exodus 16:3
‘And the children of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of
Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we ate bread to
the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly
with hunger.” ’
After leaving Elim they had moved along the coast of the Gulf of Sinai and again

26. found the going tough. They found this wilderness life not to their liking. The land
was barren, and shortage of pleasant food, having to preserve their supplies,
shortage of water, and the constant trudging, not knowing what lay ahead, was
more than they had expected. And when they arrived in the Wilderness of Sin things
were no better. So they vented their feelings on Moses and his mouthpiece Aaron.
They looked back with longing to what they thought of as the good and plentiful
food of Egypt. It would have been better to have died there than to die here. It is
easy in such circumstances to remember and exaggerate the best things and forget
the worst.
Moses here suffers the common lot of leaders of large caravans who tend to be
blamed for any shortcomings on the journey. It did not bode well for the future. But
we must remember in mitigation that they had been slaves for many years and had
lost any sense of enterprise or initiative.
“By the hand of Yahweh.” This may suggest that they were thinking of the
judgment that would have come on them if they had disobeyed Him. But it may
simply be a contrast between dying naturally in Egypt and being ‘killed’ (by
starvation) by Moses in the wilderness. This is an exaggeration as they had their
herds and flocks with them. They could survive if necessary, it was the little luxuries
that they missed. We may be puzzled at the situation as we note that they had
plentiful supplies of cattle and sheep. But they would not want to eat too many of
their beasts. They had the future to think of. It does, however, bring home the fact
that they were not really at the last extremity, and that their murmuring was
therefore not excusable.
“Flesh pots.” Meat containers.
PULPIT, "Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of
Egypt—i.e; "Would that God had smitten us with a painless death, as he did the
first-born of the Egyptians! Then we should have avoided the painful and lingering
death from starvation which we now see before us." The cry puts on the garb of
piety, and names the name of Jehovah, but indicates a want of faith in him, his
power, and his promises (Exodus 4:8, Exodus 4:17; Exodus 6:8; Exodus 12:25;
Exodus 13:5, Exodus 13:11), which was sinful, and, after the miracles that they had
seen, barely excusable. When we sat by the flesh-pots of Egypt. Compare umbers
11:5. Both passages make it clear that, whatever the sufferings of the Israelites in
Egypt from the cruelty of the taskmasters and the hard tasks set them, at any rate
their sustenance was well cared for—they had abundance of agreeable food. Did eat
bread. It has been said that "bread" here means "food in general" (Kalisch); and no
doubt the word has sometimes that sense. But it was probably actual bread, rather
than anything else, for which the Israelites were longing. See the Introduction to the
chapter.

27. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down
bread from heaven for you. The people are to go
out each day and gather enough for that day. In
this way I will test them and see whether they will
follow my instructions.
BAR ES,"That I may prove them - The trial consisted in the restriction to the
supply of their daily wants.
CLARKE, "I will rain bread - Therefore this substance was not a production of the
desert: nor was the dew that was the instrument of producing it common there, else they
must have had this bread for a month before.
GILL, "Then said the Lord unto Moses,.... Who no doubt had been praying to him,
as was his usual manner, when the people were in distress and complained, and was
heard and answered by him: behold:
I will rain bread from heaven for you; though they were a murmuring, rebellious,
and ungrateful people, the Lord dealt kindly and bountifully with them; he did not rain
fire and brimstone upon them, as on Sodom and Gomorrah, nor snares and an horrible
tempest, as on the wicked; but what was desirable by them, and suitable to their present
circumstances, even bread, which was what they wanted, and this ready prepared; for
though they did dress it in different ways, yet it might be eaten without any preparation
at all; and this it was promised should be rained down upon them, there should be great
plenty of it; it should come as thick and as fast as a shower of rain, and lie around their
camp ready at hand to take up; and this should not spring out of the earth as bread corn
does, but come down from heaven; and being such a wonderful thing, a "behold" is
prefixed unto it, denoting the marvellousness of it, as well as exciting attention to what
was said: our Lord may seem to contradict this, when he says, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven, Joh_6:32, but the reconciliation is easy; for not to observe that it
was God, and not Moses, that gave this bread, so though it came from the airy heavens,
and along with the dew of it, where it was prepared perhaps by the ministry of angels,
and therefore called the corn of heaven, and angels' bread, Psa_78:24, yet it came not
from the heaven of heavens, the third heaven, from whence the true bread, the antitype
of this, came, even our Lord Jesus Christ himself:
and the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate of it every day; or "the

28. thing of the day in its day" (i), the bread day by day; to which our Lord may be thought
to allude, when he directs his disciples to pray, give us this day our daily bread; as this
would be rained every morning, the people were to go out of the camp, and gather it up
for their daily use, and which was to be done every day:
that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no; by this single
instance of their obedience to his will in going out every morning to gather their bread,
that should be rained for them, he proposed to try and prove their obedience to his law
in all other respects; what regard would be had to it when it should be given, and what
might be expected from them, and likewise whether they would depend upon his
providence in this case also.
HE RY, " The care God graciously took for their supply. Justly he might have said,
“I will rain fire and brimstone upon these murmurers, and consume them;” but, quite
contrary, he promises to rain bread upon them. Observe,
1. How God makes known to Moses his kind intentions, that he might not be uneasy at
their murmurings, nor be tempted to wish he had let them alone in Egypt. (1.) He takes
notice of the people's complaints: I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel,
Exo_16:12. As a God of pity, he took cognizance of their necessity, which was the
occasion of their murmuring; as a just and holy God, he took cognizance of their base
and unworthy reflections upon his servant Moses, and was much displeased with them.
Note, When we begin to fret and be uneasy, we ought to consider that God hears all our
murmurings, though silent, and only the murmurings of the heart. Princes, parents,
masters, do not hear all the murmurs of their inferiors against them, and it is well they
do not, for perhaps they could not bear it; but God hears, and yet bears. We must not
think, because God does not immediately take vengeance on men for their sins, that
therefore he does not take notice of them; no, he hears the murmurings of Israel, and is
grieved with this generation, and yet continues his care of them, as the tender parent of
the froward child. (2.) He promises them a speedy, sufficient, and constant supply, Exo_
16:4. Man being made out of the earth, his Maker has wisely ordered him food out of the
earth, Psa_104:14. But the people of Israel, typifying the church of the first-born that are
written in heaven, and born from above, and being themselves immediately under the
direction and government of heaven, receiving their charters, laws, and commissions,
from heaven, from heaven also received their food: their law being given by the
disposition of angels, they did also eat angels' food. See what God designed in making
this provision for them: That I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or
no. [1.] Thus he tried whether they would trust him, and walk in the law of faith or no,
whether they could live from hand to mouth, and (though now uneasy because their
provisions were spent) could rest satisfied with the bread of the day in its day, and
depend upon God for fresh supplies tomorrow. [2.] Thus he tried whether they would
serve him, and be always faithful to so good a Master, that provided so well for his
servants; and hereby he made it appear to all the world, in the issue, what an ungrateful
people they were, whom nothing could affect with a sense of obligation. Let favour be
shown to them, yet will they not learn righteousness, Isa_26:10.
JAMISO , "Then said the Lord unto Moses — Though the outbreak was
immediately against the human leaders, it was indirectly against God: yet mark His
patience, and how graciously He promised to redress the grievance.
I will rain bread from heaven — Israel, a type of the Church which is from above,
and being under the conduct, government, and laws of heaven, received their food from

29. heaven also (Psa_78:24).
that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no — The grand
object of their being led into the wilderness was that they might receive a religious
training directly under the eye of God; and the first lesson taught them was a constant
dependence on God for their daily nourishment.
CALVI , "4.Then said the Lord unto Moses. It is probable that Moses passes over
much in silence, because it is not consistent that the insolence of the people was left
without even a single word of chastisement. For, although God in His extraordinary
kindness gave food to these depraved and wicked men, who were unworthy of the
sunlight and the common air, still He was without doubt unwilling to foster their sin
by His silence, and, whilst He pardoned their ingratitude, sharply reproved their
forwardness. But Moses, passing over this, proceeds to a history especially worthy of
narration, how God fed this wretched people with bread from heaven, when He
made the manna to fall from the clouds like dew. I call it “the bread of heaven,”
with the Prophet, (Psalms 78:24,) who honors it with this magnificent title, and
extols God’s bounty towards His people, as if they had been admitted to the tables of
angels. For St. Paul calls the manna “spiritual meat,” (1 Corinthians 10:3,) in
another sense, viz., because it was a type of the flesh of Christ, which feeds our
minds unto the hope of eternal life. The Prophet, however, makes no allusion to that
mystery, but alleges in this circumstance an accusation against the people, because
they not only despised the food which springs from the earth, but also were
disgusted with that bread, for which they saw the heavens in a manner opened. But
on this point somewhat must be hereafter repeated. God now declares that He will
give them daily their allowance, as it were, that in this way He may prove the
obedience of His people. Though on this latter head interpreters are not agreed; for
some understand it as if God, by kindly providing food for the Israelites, would bind
them to obedience by His bounty; as though He should say, “I will try whether they
are altogether intractable or submissive; for nothing shall be wanting to retain them
in the way of duty.” But others confine the meaning of the word to “their daily
food;” for that this was the proof of their fear and reverence, that they should not
desire more than was given them, but that they should he contented with their daily
provision, and thus depend on the providence of God. The former sense pleases me
best, and I have endeavored to explain it more clearly than it can be understood
from others. There is no occasion to enter into controversy about the word “Law,”
(171) for (as we shall soon see) it is used to express the measure or rule of a pious
and just life. Therefore, He says, that He will know whether they are disposed to
honor Him, and to submit themselves to His command. But if any one prefer to
embrace the other sense, I leave him to enjoy his own opinion.
COKE, "Exodus 16:4. Then said the Lord unto Moses— This was, no doubt, in
answer to Moses's application by prayer to the Lord on account of these
murmurings; when Jehovah was graciously pleased to promise them bread from
heaven, sent down in daily showers, to keep the people in perpetual dependence
upon him; and to prove whether, under this daily admonition from heaven, they
would walk in his law, or not. We are taught to maintain this dependence upon God
by praying to him for our daily bread.

30. BE SO , "Exodus 16:4. Man being made out of the earth, his Maker has wisely
ordered him food out of the earth, <19A414>Psalms 104:14. But the people of Israel
typifying the church of the firstborn that are written in heaven, receiving their
charters, laws, and commissions from heaven; from heaven also they received their
food. See what God designed in making this provision for them; that I may prove
them, whether they will walk in my law or no — Whether they would trust and
serve him, and be ever faithful to so good a master.
ELLICOTT, "(4) I will rain bread from heaven for you.—This first announcement
at once suggests that the supply is to be supernatural. “Bread from heaven” was not
simply “food out of the air” (Rosenmüller), but a celestial, that is, a Divine supply of
their daily needs.
A certain rate every day.—Heb., a day’s meal each day—sufficient, that is, for the
wants of himself and family for a day.
That I may prove them.—Human life is a probation. God proves and tries those
most whom He takes to Himself for His “peculiar people,” and the trial is often by
means of positive precepts, which are especially
Calculated to test the presence or absence of a spirit of humble and unquestioning
obedience. Our first parents were tested by a positive precept in Paradise; the
family of Abraham were tested by a positive precept—circumcision on the eighth
day; the Israelites were tested, both in the wilderness and afterwards throughout
their career as a nation, by a number of positive precepts, whereof this concerning
the manna was one. Christians are tested by positive precepts with respect to
common worship, prayer, and sacraments—the object being in all cases to see
whether men “will walk in God’s law or no.” Men are very apt to prefer their own
inventions to the simple rule of following at once the letter and the spirit of God’s
commandments.
COFFMA , "Verses 4-8
"Then 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. And 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. And 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; and
in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your
murmuring against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And
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 murmuring
which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against
us, but against Jehovah."
"Bread from heaven for you ..." Our Lord Jesus Christ utilized this passage in his

31. magnificent announcement that, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), and in his
words that, "I am the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). How is
Jesus the Bread of Life?
He came from heaven, like the manna.
He gives life (spiritually) as the manna did physically.
He is the only hope of eternal life; manna was the only hope for Israel in the
wilderness.
He is for ALL people, as the manna was for all Israel.
He was not recognized by Israel; neither did they know the manna.
He was a test for ALL people; this manna was a test for Israel.
"Know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt ..." (Exodus
16:6). This contrasts with the complaint of Israel to Moses and Aaron that, "Ye have
brought us forth into this wilderness" (Exodus 16:3).
"At even ... and in the morning ... ye shall see the glory of Jehovah ..." Some
understand this as reference to a visible display of some glory, as of fire, standing
over the wilderness, or seen in the cloud. There was such a glory mentioned in
Exodus 16:10. In his comment on that Dummelow said, "Here a special radiance is
meant ... as with an appearance of fire."[7] It appears that Keil's view on the glory
here is correct:
Here, seeing the glory of Jehovah did not consist in the sight of the glory of the Lord
which appeared in the cloud, as mentioned in Exodus 16:10, but in their perception
or experience of that glory in the miraculous gift of flesh and bread.[8]
The Jewish understanding of this place is like that of Keil's. "In Exodus 16:7, the
[~kabowd] (glory) manifested itself by the miraculous gift of manna."[9]
"Gather a day's portion every day ..." (Exodus 16:4). it is believed by some that this
is the O.T. root of that line in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily
bread."[10] By providing only one day's rations at a time, God would prove, or test,
Israel to find out if they would really trust in God and walk according to his rules.
Here also is the first of a number of rules concerning the manna which were to be
faithfully observed by Israel:
A. THE LAW AS TO QUA TITY. Only one day's portion to be gathered at a time.
The same amount for each person.
B. THE LAW AS TO TIME. To be gathered only in the mornings. one to be

32. gathered on the seventh day.
C. THE LAW AS TO USE. one of it to be left until the next day. A lesson against
hoarding.
It would be wonderful if it could be reported that Israel observed these rules
regarding the manna, but the truth is:
They failed at each point. They tried to hoard (Exodus 16:20).
They went out to gather on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:27). They showed both
disobedience and unbelief, for it had been distinctly said of the seventh day, "in it
there shall be none" (Exodus 16:26) ... God had miraculously supplied their wants,
yet so little sensible were they of his goodness, that they declined to obey even the
few simple rules which God had laid down for the reception and use of his benefits.
[11]
In these observations, of course, there appears the manna as a type of the Gospel of
Christ, which is: (1) from heaven, not from earth; (2) which must be gathered early,
heeded early in life; (3) which must be gathered daily (one cannot store up enough
gospel to last for the future); (4) if hoarded (not shared with others) it becomes foul;
and (5) it must be eaten (Revelation 10:1-11). (We cannot observe communion for a
month, or a year, on one particular Sunday).
"On the sixth day ..." "The sixth day here probably means the sixth day after the
appearance of the manna,"[12] and it has no connection with a certain day of the
week, nor with a sabbath, the latter having nowhere been mentioned at this point in
the entire O.T.
"Ye murmur against him (Jehovah) ..." (Exodus 16:8). Here is established a
principle which holds throughout all dispensations of the grace of God, including
our own. Murmuring against those men whom God has called to teach his Word is
actually murmuring against God. An apostle has warned us, " either murmur ye,
as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer" (1 Corinthians 10:10).
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "St. John of the Cross notes on this text that the
manna was not given to the Israelites until the corn they had brought from Egypt
failed. "This teaches us that we must first renounce all things, for this manna of the
angels neither belongs nor is given to the palate which still relishes the food of men."
He quotes the words of umbers 11:4, "Who shall give us flesh to eat?" "They
would not content themselves with that so simple manna, but desired and begged for
manna of flesh. And our Lord was displeased because they wished to mix so low and
coarse a food with one so high and pure:—a manna which, simple as it was, contains
within itself the savour of all foods."
—Obras, vol1. p19.

33. MACLARE , "THE BREAD OF GOD
Exodus 16:4 - - Exodus 16:12.
Unbelief has a short memory. The Red Sea is forgotten in a month. The Israelites
could strike their timbrels and sing their lyric of praise, but they could not believe
that to-day’s hunger could be satisfied. Discontent has a slippery memory. They
wish to get back to the flesh-pots, of which the savour is in their nostrils, and they
have forgotten the bitter sauce of affliction. When they were in Egypt, they shrieked
about their oppression, and were ready to give up anything for liberty; when they
have got it, they are ready to put their necks in the yoke again, if only they can have
their stomachs filled. Men do not know how happy they are till they cease to be so.
Our present miseries and our past blessings are the themes on which unbelief harps.
Let him that is without similar sin cast the first stone at these grumbling Israelites.
Without following closely the text of the narrative, we may throw together the
lessons of the manna.
I. Observe God’s purpose in the gift, as distinctly expressed in the promise of it.
‘That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or no.’ How did the
manna become a test of this? By means of the law prescribed for gathering it. There
was to be a given quantity daily, and twice as much on the sixth day. If a man
trusted God for to-morrow, he would be content to stop collecting when he had
filled his omer, tempting as the easily gathered abundance would be. Greed and
unbelief would masquerade then as now, under the guise of prudent foresight. The
old Egyptian parallels to ‘make hay while the sun shines,’ and suchlike wise sayings
of the philosophy of distrust, would be solemnly spoken, and listened to as pearls of
wisdom. When experience had taught that, however much a man gathered, he had
no more than his omer full, after all,-and is not that true yet?-then the next
temptation would be to practise economy, and have something over for to-morrow.
Only he who absolutely trusted God to provide for him would eat up his portion,
and lie down at night with a quiet heart, knowing that He who had fed him would
feed. When experience had taught that what was saved rotted, then laziness would
come in and say, ‘What is the use of gathering twice as much on the sixth day?
Don’t we know that it will not keep?’ So the whole of the gift was a continual
training of, and therefore a continual test for, faith. God willed to let His gifts come
in this hand-to-mouth fashion, though He could have provided at once what would
have obviously lasted them all their wilderness life, in order that they might be
habituated to cling to Him, and that their daily bread might be doubly for their
nourishment, feeding their bodies and strengthening that faith which, to them as to
us, is the condition of all blessedness. God lets our blessings, too, trickle to us drop
by drop, instead of pouring them in a flood all at once upon us, for the same reason.
He does so, not because of any good to Him from our faith, except that the Infinite
love loves infinitely to be loved; but for our sakes, that we may taste the peace and
strength of continual dependence, and the joy of continual receiving. He could give
us the principal down; but He prefers to pay us the interest, as we need it.
Christianity does not absolutely forbid laying up money or other resources for
future wants. But the love of accumulating, which is so strong in many professing
Christians, and the habit of amassing beyond all reasonable future wants, is surely
scarcely permitted to those who profess to believe that incarnate wisdom forbade

34. taking anxious care for the morrow, and sent its disciples to lilies and birds to learn
the happy immunities of faith. We too get our daily mercies to prove us. The letter
of the law for the manna is not applicable to us who gain our bread by God’s
blessing on our labour. But the spirit is, and the members of great commercial
nations have surely little need to be reminded that still the portion put away is apt to
breed worms. How often it vanishes, or, if it lasts, tortures its owner, who has more
trouble keeping it than he had in getting it; or fatally corrupts his own character, or
ruins his children! All God’s gifts are tests, which-thanks be to Him-is the same as to
say that they are means of increasing faith, and so adding to joy.
II. The manna was further a disclosure of the depth of patient long-suffering in
God.
Very strikingly the ‘murmurings’ of the children of Israel are four times referred to
in this context, and on each occasion are stated as the reason for the gift of the
manna. It was God’s answer to the peevish complaints of greedy appetites. When
they were summoned to come near to the Lord, with the ominous warning that ‘He
hath heard your murmurings,’ no doubt many a heart began to quake; and when
the Glory flashed from the Shechinah cloud, it would burn lurid to their trembling
consciences. But the message which comes from it is sweet in its gentleness, as it
promises the manna because they have murmured, and in order that they may know
the Lord. A mother soothes her crying infant by feeding it from her own bosom.
God does not take the rod to His whimpering children, but rather tries to win them
by patience, and to shame their unbelief by His swift and over-abundant answers to
their complaints. When He must, He punishes; but when He can, He complies. Faith
is the condition of our receiving His highest gifts; but even unbelief touches His
heart with pity, and what He can give to it, He does, if it may be melted into trust.
The farther men stray from Him, the more tender and penetrating His recalling
voice. We multiply transgressions, He multiplies mercies.
III. The manna was a revelation in miraculous and transient form of an eternal
truth.
The God who sent it sends daily bread. The words which Christ quoted in His
wilderness hunger are the explanation of its meaning as a witness to this truth:
‘Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God.’ To a Christian, the divine power is present and operative in all
natural processes as really as in those which we call miraculous. God is separable
from the universe, but the universe is not separable from God. If it were separated,
it would cease. So far as the reality of the divine operation is concerned, it matters
not whether He works in the established fashion, through material things, or
whether His will acts directly. The chain which binds a phenomenon to the divine
will may be long or short; the intervening links may be many, or they may be
abolished, and the divine cause and the visible effect may touch without anything
between. But in either case the power is of God. Bread made out of flour grown on
the other side of the world, and fashioned by the baker, and bought by the fruits of
my industry, is as truly the gift of God as was the manna. For once, He showed these
men His hand at work, that we all might know that it was at work, when hidden.
The lesson of the ‘angel’s food’ eaten in the wilderness is that men are fed by the
power of God’s expressed and active will,-for that is the meaning of ‘the word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God,’-in whatever fashion they get their food. The

35. gift of it is from Him; its power to nourish is from Him. It is as true to-day as ever it
was: ‘Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.’ The
manna ceased when the people came near cornfields and settled homes. Miracles
end when means are possible. But the God of the miracle is the God of the means.
Commentators make much of what is supposed to be a natural substratum for the
manna, in a certain vegetable product, found in small quantities in parts of the
Arabian peninsula. o doubt, we are to recognise in the plagues of Egypt, and in the
dividing of the Red Sea, the extraordinary action of ordinary causes; and there is no
objection in principle to doing so here. But that an exudation from the bark of a
shrub, which has no nutritive properties at all, is found only in one or two places in
Arabia, and that only at certain seasons and in infinitesimal quantity, seems a
singularly thin ‘substratum’ on which to build up the feeding of two millions of
people, more or less exclusively and continuously for forty years, by means of a
substance which has nothing to do with tamarisk-trees, and is like the natural
product in nothing but sweetness and name. Whether we admit connection between
the two, or not, the miraculous character of the manna of the Israelites is unaffected.
It was miraculous in its origin-’rained from heaven,’ in its quantity, in its
observance of times and seasons, in its putrefaction and preservation,-as rotting
when kept for greed, and remaining sweet when preserved for the Sabbath. It came
straight from the creative will of God, and whether its name means ‘What is it?’ or
‘It is a gift,’ the designation is equally true and appropriate, pointing, in the one
case, to the mystery of its nature; in the other, to the love of the Giver, and in both
referring it directly to the hand of God.
IV. The manna was typical of Christ.
Our Lord Himself has laid His hand upon it, and claimed it as a faint
foreshadowing of what He is. The Jews, not satisfied with the miracle of the loaves,
demand from Him a greater sign, as the condition of what they are pleased to call
‘belief’-which is nothing but accepting the testimony of sense. They quote Moses as
giving the manna, and imply that Messiah is expected to repeat the miracle. Christ
accepts the challenge, and goes on to claim that He not only gives, but Himself is, for
all men’s souls, all and more than all which the manna had been to the bodies of
that dead generation. Like it, He came-but in how much more profound a sense!-
from heaven. Like it, He was food. But unlike it, He could still for ever the craving
of the else famishing soul; unlike it, He not only nourished a bodily life already
possessed, but communicated a spiritual life which never dies; and, unlike it, He was
meant to be the food of the whole world. His teaching passed beyond the symbolism
of the manna, when He not only declared Himself to be the ‘true bread from heaven
which gives life to the world,’ but opened a glimpse into the solemn mystery of His
atoning death by the startling and apparently repulsive paradox that ‘His flesh was
food indeed and His blood drink indeed.’ The manna does not typically teach
Christ’s atonement, but it does set Him forth as the true sustenance and life-giver,
sweet as honey to the soul, sent from heaven for us each, but needing to be made
ours by the act of our faith. An Israelite would have starved, though the manna lay
all round the camp, if he did not go forth and secure his portion; and he might no
less have starved, if he did not eat what Heaven had sent. ‘Crede et manducasti,’
‘Believe, and thou hast eaten,’-as St. Augustine says. The personal appropriating act
of faith is essential to our having Christ for the food of our souls. The bread that

36. nourishes our bodies is assimilated to their substance, and so becomes sustenance.
This bread of God, entering into our souls by faith, transforms them into its
substance, and so gives and feeds an immortal life. The manna was for a generation;
this bread is ‘the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.’ That was for a handful
of men; this is for the world. or is the prophetic value of the manna exhausted
when we recognise its witness to Christ. The food of the wilderness is the food of the
city. The bread that is laid on the table, ‘spread in the presence of the enemy,’ is the
bread that makes the feast in the king’s palace. The Christ who feeds the pilgrim
soldiers is the Christ on whom the conquerors banquet. ‘To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the hidden manna.’
PETT, "Exodus 16:4-5
‘Then Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I will rain food from heaven for you, and the
people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove whether
they will walk in my law or not. And it shall be that on the sixth day they shall
prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’
Moses had presumably sought Yahweh’s advice. It is noteworthy that His
approaches to Yahweh are often assumed rather than stated (Exodus 14:15 and
here. Contrast Exodus 15:25). Yahweh’s reply is that He will send them food from
heaven. And this will be provided in such a way that it will be a test for them. This is
a second reference to the fact that God was proving them as to whether they would
obey His law or not (compare Exodus 15:25). The purpose of testing was in order to
strengthen them through their experiences. If we would but recognise that in our
difficulties God is testing out our obedience, and that through them we are being
strengthened if we respond in the right way, we might be more positive in our
response to them.
“I will rain food from heaven.” This is described in Exodus 16:14 as ‘a small flake,
small as the hoar frost on the ground’ which came with the dew. The dew, of course,
fell from heaven literally. This ‘manna’ was white like coriander seed and it tasted
like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31). It could clearly be ground and used in
cooking and baking.
There have been a number of suggestions as to what the Manna consisted of. The
sweet juice of the Tarfa which exudes from the tree and forms small white grains
has been suggested, but the quantity required is against this, as are the other
descriptions. The same applies to the honeydew excretions on tamarisk twigs
produced by certain plant lice and scale insects which at night drop from the trees
onto the ground where they remain until the heat of the sun brings out the ants
which remove them. In favour is the fact that the Arabic word for plant lice is
‘man’, equivalent to the Hebrew for Manna. But these are seasonal and do not fit all
the criteria (see on Exodus 16:31). We are not told whether the Manna was seasonal
or not, although many consider it was permanent. (The Arabic word may actually
have resulted from this story).
More pertinently examples have also been cited of an unidentified white substance

37. which one morning covered a fairly large area of ground in atal and was eaten by
the natives, and also of falls of whitish, odourless, tasteless matter in Southern
Algeria which, at a time of unusual weather conditions, covered tents and vegetation
each morning. While not being the same as the Manna, or lasting over so long a
period, these do indicate the kind of natural phenomena which God may have used
to bring about His miracle, for it was clearly a time of unusual weather conditions
as demonstrated by the plagues of Egypt. But we must remember that the Manna
lasted for forty years (Exodus 16:35; Joshua 5:12), did not appear on the seventh
day, and continued from the Wilderness of Sin to the entry into Canaan in all
manner of environments.
“Gather a day”s portion every day.’ This was a test to see if there were those who
would disobey and gather too much through fear of its non-arrival on the following
day (‘that I may prove them’). Then on the sixth day they were to gather twice as
much as there would be none on the seventh day. The reason for this will be
explained later (Exodus 16:23).
PULPIT, "THE PROMISE OF BREAD FROM HEAVE . When men who are in
real distress make complaint, even though the tone of their complaint be not such as
it ought to be, God in his mercy is wont to have compassion upon them, to "hear
their mummurings," etc; and grant them some relief. But the relief is seldom of the
kind which they expect, or pray for. The Israelites wished for actual bread, made of
wheaten or barley flour. God gave them, not such bread, but a substitute for it. And
first, before giving it, be promised that it should be given. Thus expectation was
aroused; faith was exercised; the supernatural character of the relief was indicated;
the power and the goodness of God, were, both of them, shown forth. And with the
promise was given a law. They were on each occasion to gather no more than would
suffice for the day. Thus they would continually "live by faith," taking no thought
for the morrow, but trusting all to God.
Exodus 16:4
Bread from heaven. Compare Psalms 78:24; ehemiah 9:15; John 6:31-51. The
expression is of course not to be trader-stood literally. The substance was not actual
bread, neither was it locally transferred from the distant region called "heaven" to
the soil of the Sinaitic peninsula. But it was called "bread," because it was intended
to serve instead of bread, as the main support of life during the sojourn of Israel in
the wilderness; and it was said to be "from heaven," first, as descending on 'the
ground out of the circumambient air; and secondly, as miraculously sent by him,
whose seat is in heaven. The people shall gather a certain rate every day. Rather "a
day's supply every day," such a quantity as shall seem to each man reasonably
sufficient for himself and his family. That I may prove them. As in Paradise God
coupled with his free gift of "every tree of the garden" the positive precept, "But of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat,"—that he might prove
our first parents, whether they would obey him or not—so now he "proved" the
obedience of the Israelites by a definite, positive command—they were not to gather
on ordinary days more than was sufficient for the day. All life is intended as a

38. probation.
BI, "Verse 4
Exodus 16:4
That I may prove them.
Life a probation
There can be nothing more sobering than the truth that this life is a state of trial
and preparation for another. There is at the same time something wonderfully
satisfying in the idea. It puts life before us in a point of view which satisfactorily
explains it.
I. This account of the end of life simplifies matters in our journey through life, The
principle of trial as the end of life shoves aside a multiplicity of irrevelent ends to
make way for the true one; it reduces the purpose of life to the greatest possible
simplicity, reduces it, as we may say, to a unit--to the effect upon the individual
himself, what he does and how he turns out under these circumstances. The idea of
probation thus gives a singular unity to the whole design and plan of life. It throws
the individual upon himself as the rational of the whole.
II. The principle of the end of life being probative applies mainly to all the ordinary
external advantages of life and our pursuit of them; but it also affects another and
less ordinary class of human objects--the objects connected with the good of others,
those useful and benevolent works and those public and religious works which good
men propose to themselves. There is one defect to which good men are liable: they
become to much absorbed in the success of their own plans. The important truth for
such men to realize is this very principle, viz., that of the end of life being trial. If
they brought this truth home to themselves, they would see that the only important
thing to them was, not that a useful undertaking should answer, but that they
should have done faithfully their best for that purpose.
III. God makes use of us as His instruments, but the work that we do as instruments
is a far inferior work to that which we do to fulfil our own personal trial. The
general end of life, as trial, is superior to all special ends; it is the end which
concerns the individual being, his spiritual condition, his ultimate prospects. (Prof.
J. B. Mozley.)
The Divine bestowal of physical good
I. Physical blessings are given to supply our wants.
1. This provision was providential. God’s hand directs the movements of the tiniest
creatures in the universe. He clothes the grass, and paints the flower.

39. 2. This provision was abundant. There was enough for each man, woman, and child.
II. Physical blessings are given to develop our energies.
1. The blessings of lifo must be secured by diligent application. “Go out and gather.”
o prize is beyond the reach of the earnest worker.
2. The blessings of life must be sought in a patient spirit. “A certain portion every
day.” We want to accumulate the treasures of life quickly, to provide in youth for
age, and retire upon our gains. God does not forbid prudence, foresight; but He
sometimes overturns our plans, and sends day by day our daily bread. To the
anxious, fearful soul, He says, “Gather,” “Trust.”
III. Physical blessings are given to test our obedience. “That I may prove them,
whether they will walk in My law, or no.” God has many ways of testing the
sincerity of His people. He proves them by poverty, affliction, persecution, and
prosperity. He spreads our tables with dainties, and says, I will test their love, and
liberality, and devotion.
1. The recipients of material possessions often hoard their wealth. Hoarded wealth
never satisfies the possessor. It begets selfishness, fear, unrest, and disappointment.
2. The recipients of material possessions often squander their wealth. (J. T.
Woodhouse.)
The manna a test of faith
“That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no.” How did the
manna become a test of this? By means of the law prescribed for gathering it. There
was to be a given quantity daily, and twice as much on the sixth day. If a man
trusted God for to-morrow, he would be content to stop collecting when he had
filled his Greet, tempting as the easily gathered abundance would be. Greed and
unbelief would masquerade then, as now, under the guise of prudent foresight. The
old Egyptian parallels to “make hay while the sun shines,” and such like wise
sayings of the philosophy of distrust, would be solemnly spoken, and listened to as
pearls of wisdom. When experience had taught that, however much a man gathered,
he had no more than his omer full, after all--and is not that true yet?--then the next
temptation would be to practise economy, and have something over for tomorrow.
Only he who absolutely trusted God to provide for him, world eat up his portion,
and lie down at night with a quiet heart, knowing that He who had fed him would
feed. When experience taught that what was saved rotted, then laziness would come
in, and say, “What is the use of gathering twice as much on the sixth day? Don’t we
know that it will not keep?” So the whole of the gift was a continual training, and
therefore a continual test, for faith. God willed to let His gifts come in this hand-to-
mouth fashion, though He could have provided at once what would have obviously
lasted them all their wilderness life, in order that they might be habituated to cling
to Him, and that their daily bread might be doubly for their nourishment, feeding
their bodies, and strengthening that faith which, to them as to us, is the condition of
all blessedness. God lets our blessings, too, trickle to us drop by drop, instead of
pouring them in a flood all at once upon us, for the same reason. He does so, not

40. because of any good to Him, from our faith, except that the Infinite love loves
infinitely to be loved. Bat for our sakes, that we may taste the peace and strength of
continual dependence, and the joy of continual receiving. He could give us the
principal down; but He prefers to pay us the interest as we need it. Christianity does
not absolutely forbid laying up money or other resources for future wants. But the
love of accumulating, which is so strong in many professing Christians, and the
habit of amassing beyond all reasonable future wants, is surely scarcely permitted to
those who profess to believe that incarnate wisdom forbade taking anxious care for
the morrow, and sent its disciples to lilies and birds to learn the happy immunities
of faith. We, too, get our daily mercies to prove us. The letter of the law for the
manna is not applicable to us who gain our bread by God’s blessing on our labour.
But the spirit is, and the members of great commercial nations have surely little
need to be reminded that still the portion put away is apt to breed worms. How
often it vanishes I Or, if it lasts, tortures its owner, who has more trouble keeping it
than he had in getting it; or fatally corrupts his own character, or ruins his children.
All God’s gifts are tests, which--thanks be to Him--is the same as to say that they are
means of increasing faith, and so adding joy. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they
bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they
gather on the other days.”
BAR ES,"It shall be twice as much - They should collect and prepare a double
quantity.
GILL, "And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day,.... Of the week, and from
the raining of the bread, which was on the first day of the week:
they shall prepare that which they bring in; the Targum of Jonathan adds, to eat
on the sabbath day; what they did not consume on the sixth day was to be prepared and
reserved for the seventh day; that is, it was to be baked or boiled as they thought fit to
have it, or eat it as it was, which they pleased, see Exo_16:23 only one part of it was to be
kept till the next day:
and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily: on that day should be rained
double what fell on other days, and so twice as much should be gathered up; the reason
for which is not here mentioned, but afterwards given; though Moses no doubt was now

41. made acquainted with it, or otherwise he could not have informed the princes and
people of it, as he afterwards did, Exo_16:23.
CALVI , "5.And it shall come to pass. Because mention is immediately made of the
Sabbath, some would confine to its observance what is said respecting the law, and
extract this sense from it, that God made the experiment whether the people would
faithfully observe the rest enjoined to them on each seventh day. But there is a
poorness in this explanation. The fact is, that after God had promised daily supplies
to His people, He now adds the exception, viz., that on the sixth day they should
collect a double quantity, and lay aside half of it for the use of the Sabbath. Thus the
seventh day was really hallowed before the promulgation of the Law, although it is
questionable whether it had already been observed by the patriarchs. It appears
probable that it was; but I am unwilling to make it a matter of contention.
ELLICOTT, "(5) On the sixth day—i.e., the sixth day after the first giving of the
manna (Kalisch). Although in Babylonia, from a time certainly earlier than the
Exodus, a Sabbath was observed on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, and
twenty-eighth day of each month (Sayce: Records of the Past, vol. vii., pp. 157-167),
yet we have no evidence that the year was divided into weeks, much less that the
several days of the week were known as the first, second, third, fourth, &c. In
Egypt, the week of seven days was at this time unknown.
They shall prepare.—On the method of preparation see umbers 11:8.
It shall be twice as much.—Some suppose this to be a command—“Ye shall gather
twice as much;” but it is more natural to take it as an announcement of a fact—
“You will find that what you have gathered turns out to be twice as much.” (So
Kurtz, Kalisch, and Knobel.) A miraculous doubling of the quantity seems to be
intended. (Comp. Exodus 16:22.)
PULPIT, "On the sixth day. That a period of seven days was known to the Hebrews
as a week appears from the story of Jacob and Laban (Genesis 29:27). But there is
no distinct evidence that the year was as yet divided into weeks, much less that the
several days of the week were as yet distinguished as the first, second, third day, etc.
"The sixth day," here probably means (as Kalisch says), "the sixth day after' the
first supply of the manna. They shall prepare. The preparation would be, first, by
measurement (Exodus 16:18), and then by pounding and grinding ( umbers 11:8).
It shall be double. Some commentators suppose that in these words is implied an
order that on the sixth day they should set themselves to gather a double quantity.
But the natural meaning of the words is, that, having gathered the usual quantity,
they should find, when they measured it, that, by miracle, the supply sufficient for
one day was multiplied, so as to suffice for two. (So Kalisch, Knobel, Kurtz, and
others.) This view is in harmony with Exodus 16:18, which tells of a miraculous
expansion and diminution of the manna after it had been gathered, and with Exodus
16:22, which shows us "the rulers" surmised by the miracle of the sixth day.

42. 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,
“In the evening you will know that it was the Lord
who brought you out of Egypt,
CLARKE, "Ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out - After all the
miracles they had seen they appear still to suppose that their being brought out of Egypt
was the work of Moses and Aaron; for though the miracles they had already seen were
convincing for the time, yet as soon as they had passed by they relapsed into their former
infidelity. God therefore saw it necessary to give them a daily miracle in the fall of the
manna, that they might have the proof if his Divine interposition constantly before their
eyes. Thus they knew that Jehovah had brought them out, and that it was not the act of
Moses and Aaron.
GILL, "And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel,.... That is,
Aaron spoke in the name of Moses to them, he being his spokesman, appointed of God to
speak for him, and both spoke to them as from the Lord:
at even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land
of Egypt: that they were brought out they knew, but they make this to be an act and
deed of Moses and Aaron, Exo_16:3 whereas it was the work of the Lord; and at evening
they should have a fresh proof of it, and that they were not brought forth to be killed
with hunger, as they complained, by the quails coming up and covering their camp,
whereby they would have flesh to eat, Exo_16:12.
CALVI , "6.And Moses and Aaron said. The statement that the people should
know that their coming out of the land of Egypt was the Lord’s work, is opposed to
their wicked taunt, in which they had complained of being betrayed by Moses and
Aaron, when they had been brought into the wilderness. They therefore answer,
that God would openly show that He was the author of their deliverance, that they
should make no more complaints against His ministers. But although a sharp
reproof is implied, still it is joined with a promise of God’s continued favor. They
therefore admonish them, that by this event it would be proved that God was the
Leader and Deliverer of the Israelites, because he does not leave the work of His
hands unfinished. (Psalms 138:8.) The continuance, then, of His favor, shows that

43. the same God, who proceeds in the prosecution of His powerful work, had from the
first begun what He carries on even to the end. The knowledge, which they were to
receive in the evening, refers to the quails, in which God gave an instance of His
power; but, because it shone forth more brightly next day in the manna, Moses says,
that in the morning they should see the glory of the Lord. But, lest they should be
induced by this favor to think highly of themselves, and should flatter themselves in
their iniquity, he reminds them that this was not given them in return for their sins,
but that God contended after this manner with their obstinate perversity; as much
as to say that God would appear to them, so that, beholding by the brightness of His
countenance their own impiety, they might altogether be filled with shame, and feel
the profaneness of the rebellion with which they had dared to insult Him. And, lest
they should prevaricate, and say that they had only made an attack upon Moses and
Aaron, he gives the reason why he declares them to have waged war against God
Himself, viz., because neither he nor his brother had acted of themselves, nor had
personally assumed anything in the matter; for this is the meaning of the words,
“what are we, that ye murmur against us?” as if he disclaimed any separation from
God. ow, since by this testimony he proves himself to have been a faithful servant;
of God, we gather that none may rightly claim honor for themselves in the Church,
so as to be accounted lawful pastors, but those who are divinely called, and thus
have God. as the authorizer of their office, and who advance nothing of themselves,
but only execute what is commanded them. Whilst such as these (172) may not be
despised without dishonoring God, whose person they represent, so do they, who
exercise dominion with no authority but their own, vainly alarm the simple in God’s
name, and (173) instead of the truth, are only wearing’ an empty mask. The eighth
verso merely contains an exposition of the same sentiment, except that he goes on to
say in connection, that the Israelites, when in the evening they shall have been filled
with flesh, and when bread shall have been given them in the morning, would
perceive that God is their Deliverer. Then comes the antithesis, “Your murmurings
are not against us, but against the Lord.”
COKE, "Exodus 16:6. At even, then ye shall know that the Lord, &c.—
otwithstanding all the miracles which God had wrought, these rebellious Israelites
still wanted another, to assure them that it was Jehovah, and not Moses and Aaron,
who had brought them from the land of Egypt. Strange and incredulous disposition!
PETT, "Exodus 16:6-8
‘And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “In the evening, then you
will know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt, and in the
morning, then you will see the glory of Yahweh, in that he hears your murmurings
against Yahweh. And what are we that you murmur against us?”. And Moses said,
“So it will be when Yahweh will give you flesh to eat in the evening and bread to the
full in the morning in that Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur
against him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against
Yahweh.” ’
Firstly Aaron, as the mouth of Moses, spoke to the children of Israel telling them
that in the evening they would know that it was Yahweh, ‘the God Who is there to

44. act’, Who had delivered them, and that in the morning they would see the revealing
of His glory. Then Moses himself declared how Yahweh would reveal the
significance of His name and His glory, in that in the evening they would have meat
to eat and in the morning they would have bread to the full. This was His direct
reply to their longings for the meat and bread of Egypt (Exodus 16:3). And it was
because Yahweh had heard their murmurings against Him.
“Moses and Aaron.” Aaron speaks but he speaks the words of Moses. Yet his words
are slightly enigmatic, so in the second part Moses clarifies them for the people. The
repetition is a typical technique of ancient literature to bring home an important
point to the listeners
“In the evening then you will know ---.” We could paraphrase what follows as - ‘you
will know that it is YAHWEH Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt’. The
thought is again of ‘knowing Yahweh’ (see on Exodus 6:3) as He is revealed in His
beneficent provision of meat and plentiful bread in response to their murmurings
against Him. Thus will they see His glory.
“What are we that you murmur against us?” They must realise that when they
murmur against Moses and Aaron they murmur against Yahweh, for they as the
mouthpieces are nothing, it is The Speaker Who matters. Thus Moses can warn
them, ‘your murmurings are not against us but against Yahweh’.
“Flesh to eat --- bread to the full.” Compare ‘we sat by the flesh pots -- we did eat
bread to the full’ (Exodus 16:3). This is God’s response. They may have both flesh
and bread.
Yahweh Fulfils His Promise That They Will See His Glory and Receive Food From
Heaven (Exodus 16:9-15).
PULPIT, "At even, then ye shall know. See Exodus 16:12 and Exodus 16:13. The
first evidence which the Israelites would have, that God had heard 'and considered
their complaints, would be the descent of the quails at even of the day on which
Moses and Aaron addressed them. That the Lord hath brought you out—i.e; "that
it is not we who, to gratify our own personal ambition, have induced you to quit
Egypt under our guidance; but that all which we have done has been to act as God's
instruments, and to carry out his designs."
7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the
Lord, because he has heard your grumbling

45. against him. Who are we, that you should
grumble against us?”
BAR ES,"The glory of the Lord - the visible appearance described in Exo_16:10.
CLARKE, "Ye shall see the glory of the Lord - Does it not appear that the glory
of the Lord is here spoken of as something distinct from the Lord? for it is said He (the
glory) heareth your murmurings against the Lord; though the Lord may be here put for
himself, the antecedent instead of the relative. This passage may receive some light from
Heb_1:3 : Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
etc. And as St. Paul’s words are spoken of the Lord Jesus, is it not likely that the words of
Moses refer to him also? “No man hath seen God at any time;” hence we may infer that
Christ was the visible agent in all the extraordinary and miraculous interferences which
took place both in the patriarchal times and under the law.
GILL, "And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord,.... Either
as displayed in this wonderful affair, raining bread about their tents, which was in the
morning, or else as it appeared in the cloud, Exo_16:7 the latter sense seems to be
confirmed by what follows: for that he; the glory of the Lord, the glorious Shechinah of
Jehovah, the Angel that went before them in the cloud, the eternal Word and Son of
God: heareth your murmurings against the Lord; against Jehovah his Father; see Gen_
19:24.
and what are we, that ye murmur against us? either signifying that there was no
reason for it, and no occasion of it, since not they, but the Lord, brought them out of
Egypt, and into those circumstances; what they did was only by his command, and with
a view for their good, and therefore it was both unreasonable and ungrateful in them to
murmur against them; or as observing, that seeing they murmured against the Lord, it
was no strange thing to them they should murmur against them, and therefore took it
the more quietly and patiently.
HE RY 7-12, "How Moses made known these intentions to Israel, as God ordered
him. Here Aaron was his prophet, as he had been to Pharaoh. Moses directed Aaron
what to speak to the congregation of Israel (Exo_16:9); and some think that, while
Aaron was giving a public summons to the congregation to come near before the Lord,
Moses retired to pray, and that the appearance of the glory of the Lord (Exo_16:10) was
in answer to his prayer. They are called to come near, as Isa_1:18, Come, and let us
reason together. Note, God condescends to give even murmurers a fair hearing; and
shall we then despise the cause of our inferiors when they contend with us? Job_31:13.
(1.) He convinces them of the evil of their murmurings. They thought they reflected only
upon Moses and Aaron, but here they are told that God was struck at through their
sides. This is much insisted on (Exo_16:7, Exo_16:8): “Your murmurings are not
against us, then we would have been silent, but against the Lord; it was he that led you

46. into these straits, and not we.” Note, When we murmur against those who are
instruments of any uneasiness to us, whether justly or unjustly, we should do well to
consider how much we reflect upon God by it; men are but God's hand. Those that
quarrel with the reproofs and convictions of the word, and are angry with their ministers
when they are touched in a tender part, know not what they do, for therein they strive
with their Maker. Let this for ever stop the mouth of murmuring, that it is daring
impiety to murmur at God, because he is God; and gross absurdity to murmur at men,
because they are but men. (2.) He assures them of the supply of their wants, that since
they had harped upon the flesh-pots so much they should for once have flesh in
abundance that evening, and bread the next morning, and so on every day
thenceforward, Exo_16:8, Exo_16:12. Many there are of whom we say that they are
better fed than taught; but the Israelites were thus fed, that they might be taught. He led
him about, he instructed him (Deu_32:10); and, as to this instance, see Deu_8:3, He fed
thee with manna, that thou mightest know that man doth not live by bread only. And,
besides this, here are two things mentioned, which he intended to teach them by sending
them manna: - [1.] By this you shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the
land of Egypt, Exo_16:6. That they were brought out of Egypt was plain enough; but so
strangely sottish and short-sighted were they that they said it was Moses that brought
them out, Exo_16:3. Now God sent them manna, to prove that it was no less than
infinite power and goodness that brought them out, and this could perfect what was
begun. If Moses only had brought them out of Egypt, he could not thus have fed them;
they must therefore own that that was the Lord's doing, because this was so, and both
were marvellous in their eyes; yet, long afterwards, they needed to be told that Moses
gave them not this bread from heaven, Joh_6:32. [2.] By this you shall know that I am
the Lord your God, Exo_16:12. This gave proof of his power as the Lord, and his
particular favour to them as their God. When God plagued the Egyptians, it was to make
them know that he was the Lord; when he provided for the Israelites, it was to make
them know that he was their God.
3. How God himself manifested his glory, to still the murmurings of the people, and to
put a reputation upon Moses and Aaron, Exo_16:10. While Aaron was speaking, the
glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The cloud itself, one would think, was enough
both to strike an awe upon them and to give encouragement to them; yet, in a few days,
it had grown so familiar to them that it made no impression upon them, unless it shone
with an unusual brightness. Note, What God's ministers say to us is then likely to do us
good when the glory of God shines in with it upon our souls.
COKE, "Exodus 16:7. Then ye shall see the glory of the Lord— It is said in Exodus
16:10 that they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord
appeared in the cloud, i.e. Jehovah manifested himself with a particular degree of
brightness, and in such a manner, as convinced the Israelites that he was there
immediately present. But, as miracles are called the glory of the Lord, umbers
14:21-22. John 2:11 many have supposed, that the expression in this verse refers to
the miracle of sending down the manna. This and the following verse will appear
clear, if rendered thus, after Houbigant: In the morning ye shall see the glory of
Jehovah; for he hath heard your murmurings, which are indeed against Jehovah:
for what are we, that you continue to murmur against us? 8. And Moses said,
Jehovah will give you flesh in the evening to eat; and in the morning as much bread
as is sufficient: because he hath heard your murmurings, which indeed you murmur
against Him: for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against

47. Jehovah.
ELLICOTT, "(7) And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord.—The
reference here is to the manna, which “in the morning lay round about the host”
(Exodus 16:13), not to the “appearance” of Exodus 16:10, which preceded the
coming of the quails, and was not—as far as we are told—“in the morning.” The
“glory of God” was strikingly revealed in a gift which was not transient, but secured
permanently the subsistence of the people so long as it might be necessary for them
to continue in the wilderness. (Comp. the parallelism of Exodus 16:8; Exodus 16:12.)
PULPIT, "― And in the morning then ye shall see the glory of the Lord. This has
been supposed to refer to the manifestation of God's presence recorded in Exodus
16:10; but the balance of the two clauses in Exodus 16:6 and Exodus 16:7 implies
two similar manifestations, and their arrangement shows the priority of the evening
one. ow the manifestation of Exodus 16:10 preceded the coming of the quails. The
manifestation which followed it, which was similar, and in the morning, was the fall
of the manna. For that he heareth your murmurings. The connection of this clause
with the preceding furnishes an additional argument in favour of the exposition that
"the glory of God," spoken of in this verse is the manna. Against the Lord.
Professedly and directly against us, but indirectly and really against God, whose
instruments we have been in the whole matter of the exodus. What are we?—i.e;
"What power have we of our own? We have no hereditary rank, no fixed definite
position. We are simply the leaders whom you have chosen to follow, because you
believed us to have a commission from God. Apart from this, we are nobodies. But,
if our commission is conceded, we are to you in the place of God; and to murmur
against us is to murmur against Jehovah."
8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the
Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening
and all the bread you want in the morning,
because he has heard your grumbling against him.
Who are we? You are not grumbling against us,
but against the Lord.”

48. CLARKE, "In the evening flesh to eat - Viz., the quails; and in the morning bread
to the full, viz., the manna.
And what are we? - Only his servants, obeying his commands.
Your murmurings are not against us - For we have not brought you up from
Egypt; but against the Lord, who, by his own miraculous power and goodness, has
brought you out of your slavery.
GILL, "And Moses said, this shall be,.... Which supplement may be left out:
when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat; cause the quails to
come up, and fall about their tents:
and in the morning bread to the full; by raining it from heaven all around them:
for that, or rather "then" (k):
the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him; it will then
appear that he has heard them, and taken notice of them, by giving them bread and
flesh, they complained of the want of; and yet did not resent in a way of wrath and
displeasure their murmurings, but kindly, bountifully, and in a most marvellous manner
provided for them, which was acting like himself, a God gracious and merciful:
and what are we? that we should be the objects of your resentment, and be murmured
at, and complained of, who had done nothing to deserve such treatment:
your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord; not only against
them, but against the Lord also; or not so much against them as against the Lord, whose
messengers and ministers they were, and whom they represented, obeyed, and served;
thus whatever is done to the ministers of Christ, he reckons as done to the Father, and to
himself, Luk_10:16.
PULPIT, "When the lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat. Moses must have
received a distinct intimation of the coming arrival of the quails, trough he has not
recorded it, his desire of brevity causing him to retrench all that is not absolutely
necessary for the right understanding of the narrative. It is, comparatively, seldom
that he records both the Divine message and his delivery of it. In general, he places
upon record either the message only, or its delivery only. Bread to the full. Compare
above, Exodus 16:4; and infra, Exodus 16:12 and Exodus 16:18. The Lord heareth
your murmurings. The latter part of this verse is, in the main, a repetition of Exodus
16:7; but it emphasises the statements of that verse, and prepares the way for what
follows.

49. 9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire
Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for
he has heard your grumbling.’”
CLARKE, "Come near before the Lord - This has been supposed to refer to some
particular place, where the Lord manifested his presence. The great tabernacle was not
yet built, but there appears to have been a small tabernacle or tent called the Tabernacle
of the Congregation, which, after the sin of the golden calf, was always placed without
the camp; see Exo_33:7 : And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the
camp, afar off from the camp, and called it The Tabernacle of the Congregation; and it
came to pass that every one that sought the Lord went out unto the Tabernacle of the
Congregation, which was without the camp. This could not be that portable temple
which is described Exodus 26, etc., and which was not set up till the first day of the first
month of the second year, after their departure from Egypt, (Exodus 40)., which was
upwards of ten months after the time mentioned in this chapter; and notwithstanding
this, the Israelites are commanded (Exo_16:34) to lay up an omer of the manna before
the testimony, which certainly refers to an ark, tabernacle, or some such portable shrine,
already in existence. If the great tabernacle be intended, the whole account of laying up
the manna must be introduced here by anticipation, Moses finishing the account of what
was afterwards done, because the commencement of those circumstances which
comprehended the reasons of the fact itself took place now. See Clarke’s note on Exo_
16:34.
But from the reasonings in the preceding verses it appears that much infidelity still
reigned in the hearts of the people; and in order to convince them that it was God and
not Moses that had brought them out of Egypt, he (Moses) desired them to come near,
or pay particular attention to some extraordinary manifestation of the Lord. And we are
told in the tenth verse, that “as Aaron spake unto them, they looked toward the
wilderness, and behold the glory of the Lord appeared, and the Lord spake unto Moses,”
etc. Is not this passage explained by Exo_19:9, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I
come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear, when I speak with thee, and
believe thee for ever?” May we not conclude that Moses invited them to come near
before the Lord, and so witness his glory, that they might be convinced it was God and
not he that led them out of Egypt, and that they ought to submit to him, and cease from
their murmurings? It is said, Exo_19:17, that Moses brought forth the people out of the
camp to meet with God. And in this instance there might have been a similar though less
awful manifestation of the Divine presence.
GILL, "And Moses spake unto Aaron,.... Who was his prophet and spokesman to
the people:
say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel; to the heads of them, to

50. as many as could conveniently hear him, and were to report what he said to the rest:
come near before the Lord; who was in the pillar of cloud, which from the first
appearance of it never removed from them, nor the Lord from that; though some have
thought, that before the tabernacle was built, there was some small tent or little
tabernacle where the Shechinah was; but for this there is no foundation, there is for the
other suggested:
for he hath heard your murmurings; which is repeated again and again, to observe
to them the evil of it, and what notice the Lord took of it, though he indulged them in so
gracious a manner he did.
K&D 9-12, "But before Jehovah manifested Himself to the people in His glory, by
relieving their distress, He gave them to behold His glory in the cloud, and by speaking
out of the cloud, confirmed both the reproaches and promises of His servants. In the
murmuring of the people, their unbelief in the actual presence of God had been clearly
manifested. “It was a deep unbelief,” says Luther, “that they had thus fallen back, letting
go the word and promise of God, and forgetting His former miracles and aid.” Even the
pillar of cloud, this constant sign of the gracious guidance of God, had lost its meaning in
the eyes of the people; so that it was needful to inspire the murmuring multitude with a
salutary fear of the majesty of Jehovah, not only that their rebellion against the God who
had watched them with a father's care might be brought to mind, but also that the fact
might be deeply impressed upon their hearts, that the food about to be sent was a gift of
His grace. “Coming near before Jehovah” (Exo_16:9), was coming out of the tents to the
place where the cloud was standing. On thus coming out, “they turned towards the
desert” (Exo_16:10), i.e., their faces were directed towards the desert of Sin; “and,
behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud,” i.e., in a flash of light bursting forth
from the cloud, and revealing the majesty of God. This extraordinary sign of the glory of
God appeared in the desert, partly to show the estrangement of the murmuring nation
from its God, but still more to show to the people, that God could glorify Himself by
bestowing gifts upon His people even in the barren wilderness. For Jehovah spoke to
Moses out of this sign, and confirmed to the people what Moses had promised them
(Exo_16:11, Exo_16:12).
CALVI , "9.And Moses spoke unto Aaron. There is no question but that he here
cites them as criminals before the tribunal of God, as if he had said that they were
mistaken, if they thought that their murmurings were unobserved. evertheless, he
alludes also to the cloud, which was the visible symbol of God’s presence; and thus
reproves their folly in not hesitating to provoke a God, who was so near, and almost;
before their very eyes. First, then, we must remark, that they were in a manner
drawn from their hiding-places, that their pride might be broken; and, secondly,
that their stupidity was rebuked, for not reverencing God though present. And this
is made more clear by the context, where it is said, that the glory of the Lord
appeared “toward the wilderness,” by which word I imagine the less habitable
region to be indicated. For, although the country on all sides was barren, and
uninhabited, yet on one side the Amalekites were near, and other tribes, as we shall
soon see. The glory of God I suppose to mean, not that which they saw daily, but

51. which was now manifested to them in an unusual manner to inspire alarm; because
they were hardened against its ordinary manifestations.
COFFMA , "Verses 9-12
"And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel,
Come near before Jehovah; for he hath heard your murmurings. And 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. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, I 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."
It was a magnificent condescension on God's part that he heard the murmurings of
Israel, not the prayers which they should have offered, but their murmuring
complaints instead. This God did, no doubt, because of the genuine nature of their
plight. They were hungry!
The glory mentioned in Exodus 16:10 was something similar to the glory that
appeared in the pillar of fire by night; and here it was a pledge of God's concern
and care for His people. The promise of quails in Exodus 16:11 is a mystery for
some, due to there having been afterward another instance when Israel became tired
of the manna and murmured for "flesh to eat," following which ( umbers 11:31-
35), God sent a plague among them. These are not two variable accounts of the same
event. There is not the slightest evidence of variable sources. There is nothing at all
here except two events, both faithfully reported by God's servant Moses. The
appearance of quails in this verse is not stressed at all, a scant ten words being
devoted to it. They appeared here concurrently with the coming of the manna for
the purpose, evidently, of suggesting that God had many ways by which the hunger
of His people could be alleviated.
Many scholars have stressed the fact of the migratory quails making long flights
until overcome by exhaustion, then light upon the ground where they may be
literally picked up, or gathered. There are only two instances of such an appearance
of quails during the whole forty years wanderings, only two are recorded; there
might have been many; but it is usually understood that this was a rare
phenomenon.[13]
PETT, "Exodus 16:9
‘And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel,
“Come near before Yahweh for he has heard your murmurings.”
Aaron again acts as Moses’ mouthpiece. It is a touching sign of Moses’ human
weakness that he so often calls on Aaron to speak for him. At times he is bold but at
others he feels insufficient (just as the Apostle Peter would be later). In view of the
importance and prestige of Moses this delegating of the right to speak God’s

52. instruction (God’s ‘law’) is significant and an evidence of the genuineness of the
narrative.
“Come near before Yahweh.” This is a call to an act of worship, humility and
submission in view of the fact that Yahweh had heard their murmurings. This
would be connected with Yahweh’s visible, but hidden, presence in the cloud that
accompanied them (see Exodus 16:10; compare Exodus 13:21-22) or possibly with
the old Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:7-11).
It is clear that the murmuring of the people were not looked on lightly. They were a
clear sign of lack of faith and of unwillingness to face even the least hardship. They
were indicative of ungrateful hearts and a desire for self-indulgence.
PULPIT, "Verses 9-21
EXPOSITIO
THE PROMISE FULFILLED. Moses had made a double promise to the Israelites
in God's name. "The Lord shall give you," he had said," in the evening flesh to eat,
and in the morning bread to the full" (Exodus 16:8). And now the time for the
fulfilment of the double promise approached. First, however, before they received
the blessings, he required them to present themselves before the Lord. As they had
rebelled in murmuring, an act of homage was proper; and as they had called in
question the conduct of Moses and Aaron. some token that God approved the action
of these his faithful servants, and would support them, was needed. Hence the
appearance of the Lord to the congregation in the cloud (Exodus 16:10). After this,
when evening approached, the quails fell. A vast flight of this migratory bird, which
often arrives in Arabia Petraea from the sea (Diod. Sic. 1:60), fell to the earth about
the Hebrew camp, and, being quite exhausted, lay on the ground in a state which
allowed of their being taken by the hand. The Israelites had thus abundant "flesh to
eat" (Exodus 16:8), for God "sent them meat enough" (Psalms 78:26). The next
morning, the remainder of the promise was fulfilled. When they awoke, they found
that the vegetation about the camp was covered with a sort of dew, resembling hoar-
frost, which was capable of easy detachment from the leaves, and which proved to
be an edible substance. While they were in doubt about the phenomenon, Moses
informed them that this was the "bread from heaven" which they had been
promised (Exodus 16:15). At the same time he instructed them as to the quantity
which they should gather, which he fixed at an omer for each member of their
family (Exodus 16:16). In attempting to carry out these instructions, mistakes were
not unnaturally made; some exceeded the set quantity, others fell short of it. But the
result was found to be the same. Whatever the quantity gathered, when it was
brought home and measured, the amount was by miracle made to be exactly an
omer for each (Exodus 16:18). Afterwards, Moses gave another order. The whole of
the manna was to be consumed (ordinarily) on the day on which it was gathered.
When some wilfully disobeyed this command, the reserved manna was found on the
next day to have become bad—it had bred worms, and gave out an offensive odour.
This circumstance put a stop to the malpractice.

53. 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole
Israelite community, they looked toward the
desert, and there was the glory of the Lord
appearing in the cloud.
BAR ES,"Appeared in the cloud - Or, “was seen in a cloud.” The definite article
would imply that the cloud was the same which is often mentioned in connection with
the tabernacle. The people saw the cloud here spoken of beyond the camp.
CLARKE, "As Aaron spake - So he now became the spokesman or minister of
Moses to the Hebrews, as he had been before unto Pharaoh; according to what is
written, Exo_7:1, etc.
GILL, "And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the
children of Israel,.... Before he had well done speaking:
that they looked toward the wilderness; they were already in the wilderness of Sin,
and they looked straight forward toward that part of it which was yet before them, or to
the wilderness of Sinai, which was right onward, and whither they were travelling:
and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud; which went before
them; there was a more than common brightness in it, an effulgence and beam of light
and glory shining in it. Christ, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image
of his person, appeared in it, in some visible displays of his majesty, which made it very
observable to them.
COKE, "Exodus 16:10. They looked toward the wilderness, and—the glory of the
Lord, &c.— It would seem, from this expression, as if the pillar of cloud was now
removed to some distance from them; or perhaps it appeared not when they were
stationed, being visible only when it conducted them in their marches: or, if it did
constantly appear, the phrase toward the wilderness must here mean toward the
front of their army.

54. REFLECTIO S.—Fresh difficulties produce fresh murmurs. We have here,
1. The despairing impatience of the people for want of bread. Their provision being
exhausted, they see nothing but death before them, and charge Moses as the
murderer. What! had God so eminently spared their lives, to bring them to their
graves in the wilderness? And had Moses any concern at heart but their good? Yet
so deaf are they to reason, that they basely wish to be in Egypt again, though they
should die there under the plague. Astonishing perverseness! ote; (1.) Discontent
usually vilifies what it has, and magnifies what it loses. (2.) It is a great aggravation
of our mistrusts, when we have experienced much mercy, and are promised so much
greater in store.
2. The displeasure God shews against them. He heard their murmurings, and
regarded their complaints against his servants as a charge against himself. Let those
who find fault with God's ministers remember, that they but deliver the message,
and that to be displeased with them is to fly in the face of their Master.
3. The gracious supply, of which God first informs Moses. Himself, appearing in the
cloud to put honour upon his servants, commands him to promise that to-morrow
he would give bread for their hosts. God knows our wants, and will not suffer us to
be destitute of any manner of thing which is needful for us; though, alas! many
pretend to trust God with their souls for heaven, and yet, like Israel, distrust his
providing bread for their bodies in the way thither.
ELLICOTT, "(10) The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.—The Hebrew, as at
present pointed, has “in a cloud,” but there can be no reasonable doubt that the
“pillar of the cloud” is meant. It was before this that they had been required to
appear (Exodus 16:9), and from this almost certainly that some bright radiance was
now made to stream forth. The object was at once to rebuke their murmurings, and
to uphold the authority of Moses and Aaron.
PETT, "Exodus 16:10
‘And so it was that, as Aaron spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel,
they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in
the cloud.’
Being called to worship and humble submission the people look towards the cloud
which revealed to them the presence of Yahweh (Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 14:19;
Deuteronomy 1:33), the cloud which led the way before them, which was nearby in
the wilderness. Perhaps they had got too used to it and were seeing it as only a
symbol. And ‘the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud’. In some way Yahweh
revealed His glory in the cloud so that its appearance altered and for a while they
became aware of His immediate and glorious presence.
Yahweh constantly revealed His presence to them by that cloud, and by the fire at

55. night. It was a hidden presence and yet very real. But now for a time that presence
was openly revealed and they saw something of His glory. This cloud would ascend
Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16; Exodus 24:16) and would later descend on the
Dwellingplace (Tabernacle) (Exodus 40:34-35), a reminder of the continuing
presence of God. They were not aware of the fact but He was preparing them for the
greater revelation of His glory on Mount Sinai.
“Looked towards the wilderness.” It was in the wilderness that He had first revealed
Himself to Moses (Exodus 3:1-2) and to the wilderness that they intended to go to
worship Him (Exodus 3:18 and often). Thus at this stage it may be they saw the
wilderness as being in a sense the dwelling-place of Yahweh.
11 The Lord said to Moses,
GILL, "And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Out of the bright and glorious cloud:
saying; as follows:
CALVI , "11.And the Lord spoke (174) unto Moses Moses here shows that he had
done nothing without God’s command, but had faithfully and modestly discharged
the office of a minister. And, surely, unless he had spoken according to God’s word,
he would have been rash in promising what we have already seen. Therefore, this is
put last in order, though it happened first; and, consequently, I have used (175) the
causal particle instead of the copula. The sum is, as before, that God will vindicate
His own glory, which the people had impiously impugned, and that He would do
good to them, unworthy as they were, in order to glorify His name; as if He had
said, After you shall have been convicted of ingratitude, you will then be obliged to
confess that I am really the only God, and at the same time your Father.
PETT, "Exodus 16:11-12
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, “I have heard the murmurings of the children
of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘In the evening you will eat flesh, and in the
morning you will be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am Yahweh your
God.’ ” ’
The constant reference to the murmurings (Exodus 16:2; Exodus 16:7-9; Exodus
16:12) shows how important they were seen to be. Their murmurings could not be
treated lightly. And yet God graciously responds to them. He has heard their

56. murmurings and yet there is no specific condemnation but an attempt to satisfy
their needs. God is very patient with them. He recognises that they have to learn to
know Him as the God Who acts.
“You shall know that I am Yahweh your God.” The knowing of Yahweh as He is, is
a constant theme of Exodus (see Exodus 6:3). The provision of meat and bread in
the wilderness will be absolute evidence of Who and What He is, the One Who is
there and acts.
otice the reversal in idea of Exodus 16:10 and Exodus 16:12 compared with
Exodus 16:6 and Exodus 16:7. In Exodus 16:6 ‘you shall know that it is Yahweh
who--’ and in Exodus 16:7 ‘you shall see the glory of Yahweh ---’. Here the glory of
Yahweh is revealed in Exodus 16:10 and they will know that He is Yahweh in
Exodus 16:12. But the revelation of the glory in Exodus 16:10 is not directly that in
Exodus 16:6 for the latter would be in the morning when the bread from heaven
came. Thus He reveals His glory in the cloud, then He reveals His glory in a
different way in the giving of the bread from heaven.
12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in
the morning you will be filled with bread. Then
you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
GILL, "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel,.... This Moses
and Aaron had often affirmed, and now the Lord confirms what they had said, and lets
them know that he took notice of their murmurings, and disapproved of them, and was
displeased with them; though he did not think fit to resent them in an angry way, but
dealt kindly and graciously with them; and since he had brought them into a wilderness,
which was his own act, he would take care of them, and provide for them; which they
might reasonably conclude he would, since he had done so many great and good things
for them, in bringing them out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and had slain all their
enemies, and had given them water when in distress, and therefore need not have
murmured nor have doubted but that he would give them bread also:
speak unto them, saying, at even ye shall eat flesh; meaning that very evening,

57. when the quails came up, as the following verse shows:
and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; the next morning, when the
manna fell around their camp, so that they had bread, and fulness of it:
and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God; good and gracious, kind and
merciful, ever mindful of his covenant and promises, able to supply their wants, and
provide them with everything necessary and sufficient for them.
PARKER, "Manna In the Wilderness
Exodus 16
Always remember that these are the people who had just been singing. Whatever
they did they seemed to do with a will. We thrilled under their song: we called it
sublime, religiously impressive, and morally full of the spirit of education and
comfort. The song has hardly died away from their lips when they begin to murmur.
They first murmured at Marah because the waters were bitter, and now they
murmur in the wilderness because food is scanty. There are many people who sing
with great expression and fervour when everything is going just as they want it to
go. Their song is full of emptiness; it is a vain speech and a profanation of music.
There are many such living and have lived in all ages. We know how their business
is going by the way in which they accost us. They have no souls. Always remember,
further, that just one month had elapsed since the departure from Egypt. The poet
makes a point of the two little months that had elapsed between two circumstances
which were apparently incongruous and irreconcilable. He cries the more bitterly
when he says,—"But two months—two little months!" Here that Acts , so startling,
marked by cruelty and by baseness of design, is completely outdone: for there was
but one month—one little month between the mighty deliverance and the atheistic
murmuring. It is difficult to have a solid piety—really four-square, permanent in its
dignity, independent of all circumstances, except so far as its immediate being is
concerned,—a piety founded upon a rock lifting up its turrets and pinnacles to the
sky, defying all wind, and thunder, and tumult of the elements. Until we realise such
a piety as that, our education is immature and incomplete.
Observe how the most astounding miracles go for nothing. Then the miracles were
nothing to those who observed them. They were applauded at the time, they sent a
little thrill through those who looked upon them with eyes more or less vacant and
meaningless; but as to solid result, educational virtue and excellence, the miracles
might as well not have been wrought at all. It was the same in the days of Jesus
Christ. All his miracles went for nothing amongst many of the people who observed
them. A miracle is a wonder, and a wonder cannot be permanent. Wonders soon
drop into commonplaces, and that which astounded at first lulls at last,—yea, that
which excited a kind of groping faith may by repetition soon come to excite doubt
and scepticism and fear. What wonder, then, if the miracles having thus gone down
in importance and value, the most splendid personal services followed in their
wake? This is a necessary logic; this is a sequence that cannot be broken. He who
goes down on the Divine or upward side of his nature must go down on the human

58. and social side in the same proportion; when faith in miracles goes, faith in all that
is noblest in brotherhood will follow it. A kind of socialism will be trumped up, a
species of commonwealth will be attempted, men will try to make up for their non-
religion by their surplus philanthropy; but the adequate truths being absent the
attempt will end in spasm, and impotence, and uselessness. We owe more to the
religious element than we suppose. Religion is not confined to the region of
contemplation, speculation, metaphysical inquiry, secret and ineffective worship. It
comes down into all the lines of life; it lifts up common speech into uncommon
eloquence; it raises out of the stones children unto Abraham; it turns the common
supper-bread into a symbol of the Lord"s body. Do not let us imagine, then, that we
can dismiss faith in the miracles, faith in inspiration, faith in the Bible,—and yet
retain society in all its deepest meaning and tenderest ministries and noblest uses.
When the altar falls, the home is no longer safe.
Observe what an effect long servitude had produced upon the children of Israel.
Was there ever a meaner cry than this:—"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"? That is not manly. How is such unmanliness of whining and
whimpering to be accounted for? By long subjugation; by days and months and
years and generations of servitude. The man can be driven out of the man; the man
can be debased into almost a beast of burden. He can forget his yesterdays, his
heaven-pointing book, his prayer, and all the upward look that made him almost an
angel. Servitude has done this in every country; and we cannot expect people who
have been for generations in bondage to stand up and claim intellectual equality
with men who have been living under the sun of freedom century after century. The
criticism would be unfair. Were this a merely historical matter, it would be of
comparatively little consequence; but it is a spiritual matter. The eternal form of the
lesson is this:—that servitude to sin takes the pith out of manhood. A man cannot be
both a bad man and a strong man. The law—unwritten, if you please—of heaven, of
the eternities is against this anomaly. Repeat the sin, and you drop into a deeper
baseness; renew your loyalty to the devil, and your power of resisting him goes
down with every new act of obeisance. So the time comes when the strong man
becomes himself in abject servility to the foe. He who once could say o with all the
roundness and emphasis of the thunder, can now only whisper his consent to the
temptations of the devil. Virtue grows stronger and stronger. He that hath clean
hands becomes a mightier man every day; at the last he is a giant, as in the midst he
was a hero.
What do the people do? They rest in second causes. The people saw no further than
Moses and Aaron: they complained against their leaders; they murmured against
the Divinely-appointed princes of Israel. What is the all-healing method of looking
at things?—looking at the whole, or taking a comprehensive view. This is the
difficulty of all time. It is the supreme trial of many men. Who can see a whole
horizon? Who has a pivotal mind that can turn round and see all that there is to be
seen? We suffer from our very intensity of mind,—that is to say, from our power of
fixing the attention upon one point only and not taking the whole circle and the
whole balance of the Divine economy. What a difference there is amongst men in

59. this respect! How needful it is to get rid of the sophism that one man is equal to
another, or is upon a level with another, or is to be accounted only as one by any
other. We need correction upon the matter of personality. Moses was more than a
person in the narrow and familiar sense of that term. So are all the prophets and
leaders of the Church, so are all the seers and mighty men of God in every age.
Luther was not one; Wesley was not one—simply a Prayer of Manasseh , a figure, a
unit. There are personalities that are compendiums; there are individualities that
are full of nations and empires and fatherhoods of glory. There are Abrahams who
have in them a multitude no more to be counted than is the sand upon the seashore.
So when we talk about "personal following" we talk about that which needs
definition. Who is the person? Is he the father of a multitude, the prince of
nationalities? Is he fruitful of thought, having ideas on which ages may feed? So we
say "Take him for all in all," or, to use a commoner form of expression, "Looking at
him all round." But in many cases there is no "all for all" to take: there is no "all
round" to survey. In such instances, we cannot talk about persons and personalities
and individual followings, for following there will be little or none. It is the man who
is himself a Multitude that takes the nations with him. Moses, therefore, is not to be
noted in the census of the wilderness as one but as a whole nation.
So far the children of Israel were right: they complained against the right man—if it
were proper to complain against him at all. What we need is the complete view, the
all-including view,—the Apostolic view, lifted up to which the greatest man born of
woman has said, "All things work together for good to them that love God." We
sometimes miss the sublime boldness of that speech by omitting to reflect that the
man who spoke it had a mind that could stretch itself by sacred imagination and
tender sympathy over all the things of which the Divine economy is compounded.
God is the real object of murmuring. Moses put this point very clearly:—"Your
murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord." The people did not mean
that, perhaps; but we cannot be measured by our own reckoning when we come into
the sphere religious and moral. We are always doing things we do not mean to do,
and sometimes we do things of which we are wholly ignorant; and when we are
sharply reminded of what the real meaning of our action Isaiah , we stand back in
affront and express the language of surprise, and assume an attitude of unbelief.
But we need the great teachers of the Bible, the men of penetration of every age, to
show us what an action is. The man of science tells us that when we lift a hand we
send a motion to the stars. Having heard that statement we account it grand,
because it is the statement of one of the exact sciences. When another man of science
says that every breath you draw affects the general level of the Atlantic, we say,
"How amazing are the discoveries of science!" When the moral seer tells us that our
whining is not against man but against God, we call him a "fanatic"! The ways of
man are not equal. He who is amazed, because he is given to understand that the
lifting of his hand sends a shudder to the stars, listens with unbelief to the statement
that a lie grieves the Spirit of God,—a sin of any name wounds the peace of Heaven.
God knows how far he himself is responsible for our circumstances, and up to that
degree he is faithful. He will find a solution of all difficulties how tangled and
obstinate soever. This is a case in point:—The people had not taken themselves into

60. the wilderness: God had taken them there, and he will see them out of it. So we say
about honourable men when they undertake to lead us, and certain circumstances
transpire which are of the nature of difficulty and hindrance. They say, in the spirit
of honour,—"We are accountable for this; our strength is yours until this battle is
fought; you did not bring yourselves in here, and out of it we will see you, health
permitting, life being spared." So the Lord will not leave us in wildernesses into
which he himself has brought us. If we ourselves have gone into the desert without
his permission or consent, we may be allowed to die there, and to remain without a
grave in the sand in which we vainly thought to find a heaven: but if we have obeyed
the Divine voice, and gone in the providential way, whatever there is on the road—
Marah, or place of sand, or great river, or greater sea—God will find a way through
all. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
See how wonderfully God asserts law in the very midst of the most compassionate
mercy:—I will give you bread in the wilderness, but on the sixth day you shall
gather a double quantity; the Sabbath must be kept. How marvellous are the
compassions of God! and how marvellous the law of God! We are not given over to
wantonness and licence, gathering just as much as we please and every day of the
week. God will have his time respected. If you gather more than he wants you to
gather, it will rot,—it will offend your nostrils by its pestilent odour, and you will be
glad to get rid of it. If you go out on the Sunday to see if you cannot do something
that you did on Saturday, God will attend to the penal side of the act; you are
building a house of smoke, and you can never live to enjoy it. Life is law—mercy;
work-day—rest-day; labour—prayer; on the earth—in heaven. Blessed is the man
whose life is thus balanced.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven, and giveth lite unto the world. Then said they unto him,
Lord, evermore give us this bread." A noble prayer! Made for every age, capable of
being uttered by every tongue. "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am
that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This
is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not
die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this
bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not
as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live
for ever." So there is an evangelical use of the ancient incident. Thus old history is
turned into new uses, and all the days of the past are regarded as parables which
have been teaching some higher truth than was at first observed within the corners
of the narrow facts.
God is repeating this manna miracle every day. All food comes from above. You
mistake, if you think you find your food otherwhere than from heaven. o sky, then
no wheat; no cloud overhead, then no garden round about; no firmament, then no
earth; no rain, no beauty; no fragrance of flowers, no summer feast. What are we
eating? On what is our life being supported? We ought to ascertain this, and be very

61. clear and distinct about it. At what table are we sitting? a table of our own
spreading, or of God"s? " Hosea , every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is
not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto
me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." These
are the invitations that make the Bible the most hospitable of all books. The Bible
will have us eat and drink abundantly at God"s banquet board. What is our reply?
Shall we eat bread for the body and have no sustenance for the mind? Shall we feed
the flesh and starve the soul? Are we—men of boasted wisdom and education—the
men to strengthen the bones and make as iron the sinews, and attend to all the
wants of the flesh, and to let the soul, the spirit, the inner guest die for want of light
and air, and nutriment? Count him a murderer who kills his soul.
PULPIT,"At even. Literally, "between the two evenings." For the meaning of the
phrase, see the comment on Exodus 12:6. Ye shall eat flesh. The quails, as appears
by the subsequent narrative, were supplied, not regularly, but only on rare
occasions; in fact (so far as appears), only here in the wilderness of Sin, and at
Kibroth-hattaavah in the wilderness of Paran ( umbers 11:31-34). They were not a
necessary, but an indulgence. Ye shall know that I am the Lord. The miracle of the
manna, and the timely appearance of the quails at the hour announced, will
sufficiently show that it is God himself who has you under his charge and watches
over you.
13 That evening quail came and covered the
camp, and in the morning there was a layer of
dew around the camp.
BAR ES,"Quails - This bird migrates in immense numbers in spring from the
south: it is nowhere more common than in the neighborhood of the Red Sea. In this
passage we read of a single flight so dense that it covered the encampment. The miracle
consisted in the precise time of the arrival and its coincidence with the announcement.
CLARKE, "At even the quails came - ‫שלו‬ selav, from ‫שלה‬ salah, to be quiet, easy,
or secure; and hence the quail, from their remarkably living at ease and plenty among

62. the corn. “An amazing number of these birds,” says Hasselquist, Travels, p. 209, “come
to Egypt at this time, (March), for in this month the wheat ripens. They conceal
themselves among the corn, but the Egyptians know that they are thieves, and when they
imagine the field to be full of them they spread a net over the corn and make a noise, by
which the birds, being frightened, and endeavoring to rise, are caught in the net in great
numbers, and make a most delicate and agreeable dish.” The Abbé Pluche tells us, in his
Histoire du Ciel, that the quail was among the ancient Egyptians the emblem of safety
and security. “Several learned men, particularly the famous Ludolf, Bishop Patrick, and
Scheuchzer, have supposed that the ‫שלוים‬ selavim eaten by the Israelites were locusts.
But not to insist on other arguments against this interpretation, they are expressly called
‫שאר‬ sheer, flesh, Psa_78:27, which surely locusts are not; and the Hebrew word is
constantly rendered by the Septuagint ορτυγοµητρα, a large kind of quail, and by the
Vulgate coturnices, quails. Compare The Wisdom of Solomon 16:2, 19:12; Num_11:31,
Num_11:32; Psa_105:40; and on Numbers 11 observe that ‫כאמתים‬ keamathayim should
be rendered, not two cubits high, but as Mr. Bate translates it, ‘two cubits distant, (i.e.,
one from the other), for quails do not settle like the locusts one upon another, but at
small distances.’ And had the quails lain for a day’s journey round the camp, to the great
height of two cubits, upwards of three feet, the people could not have been employed two
days and a night in gathering them. The spreading them round the camp was in order to
dry them in the burning sands for use, which is still practiced in Egypt.” See Parkhurst,
sub voce ‫שלה‬ salah.
The difficulties which encumber the text, supposing these to be quails, led Bishop
Patrick to imagine them to be locusts. The difficulties are three: “1. Their coming by a
wind. 2. Their immense quantities, covering a circle of thirty or forty miles, two cubits
thick. 3. Their being spread in the sun for drying, which would have been preposterous
had they been quails, for it would have made them corrupt the sooner; but this is the
principal way of preparing locusts to keep for a month or more, when they are boiled or
otherwise dressed.” This difficulty he thinks interpreters pass over, who suppose quails
to be intended in the text. Mr. Harmer takes up the subject, removes the bishop’s
difficulties, and vindicates the common version.
“These difficulties appear pressing, or at least the two last; nevertheless, I have met
with several passages in books of travels, which I shall here give an account of, that they
may soften them; perhaps my reader may think they do more.
“No interpreters, the bishop complains, supposing they were quails, account for the
spreading them out in the sun. Perhaps they have not. Let me then translate a passage of
Maillet, which relates to a little island which covers one of the ports of Alexandria: ‘It is
on this island, which lies farther into the sea than the main land of Egypt, that the birds
annually alight which come hither for refuge in autumn, in order to avoid the severity of
the cold of our winters in Europe. There is so large a quantity of all sorts taken there,
that after these little birds have been stripped of their feathers, and buried in the
burning sands for about half a quarter of an hour, they are worth but two sols the pound.
The crews of those vessels which in that season lie in the harbour of Alexandria, have no
other meat allowed them.’ Among other refugees of that time, Maillet elsewhere
expressly mentions quails, which are, therefore, I suppose, treated after this manner.
This passage then does what, according to the bishop, no commentator has done; it
explains the design of spreading these creatures, supposing they were quails, round
about the camp; it was to dry them in the burning sands in order to preserve them for
use. So Maillet tells us of their drying fish in the sun of Egypt, as well as of their

63. preserving others by means of pickle. Other authors speak of the Arabs drying camel’s
flesh in the sun and wind, which, though it be not at all salted, will if kept dry remain
good a long while, and which oftentimes, to save themselves the trouble of dressing, they
will eat raw. This is what St. Jerome may be supposed to refer to, when he calls the food
of the Arabs carnes semicrudae. This drying then of flesh in the sun is not so
preposterous as the bishop imagined. On the other hand, none of the authors that speak
of their way of preserving locusts in the east, so far as I at present recollect, give any
account of drying them in the sun. They are, according to Pellow, first purged with water
and salt, boiled in new pickle, and then laid up in dry salt. So, Dr. Russel says, the Arabs
eat these insects when fresh, and also salt them up as a delicacy. Their immense
quantities also forbid the bishop’s believing they were quails; and in truth he represents
this difficulty in all its force, perhaps too forcibly. A circle of forty miles in diameter, all
covered with quails to the depth of more than forty-three inches, without doubt is a
startling representation of this matter: and I would beg leave to add that the like
quantity of locusts would have been very extraordinary: but then this is not the
representation of Scripture; it does not even agree with it; for such a quantity of either
quails or locusts would have made the clearing of places for spreading them out, and the
passing of Israel up and down in the neighborhood of the camp, very fatiguing, which is
not supposed.
“Josephus supposed they were quails, which he says are in greater numbers
thereabouts than any other kinds of birds; and that, having crossed the sea to the camp
of Israel, they who in common fly nearer the ground than most other birds, flew so low
through the fatigue of their passage as to be within reach of the Israelites. This explains
what he thought was meant by the two cubits from the face of the earth - their flying
within three or four feet of the ground.
“And when I read Dr. Shaw’s account of the way in which the Arabs frequently catch
birds that they have tired, that is, by running in upon them and knocking them down
with their zerwattys, or bludgeons, as we should call them, I think I almost see the
Israelites before me pursuing the poor, fatigued, and languid quails.
“This is indeed a laborious method of catching these birds, and not that which is now
used in Egypt; for Egmont and Heyman tell us, that in a walk on the shore of Egypt they
saw a sandy plain several leagues in extent, and covered with reeds without the least
verdure; between which reeds they saw many nets laid for catching quails, which come
over in large flights from Europe during the month of September. If the ancient
Egyptians made use of the same method of catching quails that they now practice on
those shores, yet Israel in the wilderness, without these conveniences, must of course
make use of that more inartificial and laborious way of catching them. The Arabs of
Barbary, who have not many conveniences, do the same thing still.
“Bishop Patrick supposes a day’s journey to be sixteen or twenty miles, and thence
draws his circle with a radius of that length; but Dr. Shaw, on another occasion, makes a
day’s journey but ten miles, which would make a circle but of twenty miles in diameter:
and as the text evidently designs to express it very indeterminately, as it were a day’s
journey, it might be much less.
“But it does not appear to me at all necessary to suppose the text intended their
covering a circular or nearly a circular spot of ground, but only that these creatures
appeared on both sides of the camp of Israel, about a day’s journey. The same word is
used Exo_7:24, where round about can mean only on each side of the Nile. And so it may
be a little illustrated by what Dr. Shaw tells us of the three flights of storks which he saw,
when at anchor under the Mount Carmel, some of which were more scattered, others
more compact and close, each of which took up more than three hours in passing, and

64. extended itself more than half a mile in breadth. Had this flight of quails been no greater
than these, it might have been thought, like them, to have been accidental; but so
unusual a flock as to extend fifteen or twenty miles in breadth, and to be two days and
one night in passing, and this, in consequence of the declaration of Moses, plainly
determined that the finger of God was there.
“A third thing which was a difficulty with the bishop was their being brought with the
wind. A hot southerly wind, it is supposed, brings the locusts; and why quails might not
be brought by the instrumentality of a like wind, or what difficulty there is in that
supposition, I cannot imagine. As soon as the cold is felt in Europe, Maillet tells us,
turtles, quails, and other birds come to Egypt in great numbers; but he observed that
their numbers were not so large in those years in which the winters were favorable in
Europe; from whence he conjectured that it is rather necessity than habit which causes
them to change their climate: if so, it appears that it is the increasing heat that causes
their return, and consequently that the hot sultry winds from the south must have a
great effect upon them, to direct their flight northwards.
“It is certain that it is about the time that the south wind begins to blow in Egypt,
which is in April, that many of these migratory birds return. Maillet, who joins quails
and turtles together, and says that they appear in Egypt when the cold begins to be felt in
Europe, does not indeed tell us when they return: but Thevenot may be said to do it; for
after he had told his reader that they catch snipes in Egypt from January to March, he
adds that in May they catch turtles, and that the turtlers return again in September; now
as they go together southward in September, we may believe they return again
northward much about the same time. Agreeably to which, Russel tells us that quails
appear in abundance about Aleppo in spring and autumn.
“If natural history were more perfect we might speak to this point with great
distinctness; at present, however, it is so far from being an objection to their being quails
that their coming was caused by a wind, that nothing is more natural. The same wind
would in course occasion sickness and mortality among the Israelites, at least it does so
in Egypt. The miraculousness then in this story does not lie in their dying, but the
prophet’s foretelling with exactness the coming of that wind, and in the prodigious
numbers of the quails that came with it, together with the unusualness of the place,
perhaps, where they alighted.
“Nothing more remains to be considered but the gathering so large a quantity as ten
omers by those that gathered fewest. But till that quantity is more precisely ascertained,
it is sufficient to remark that this is only affirmed of those expert sportsmen among the
people, who pursued the game two whole days and a whole night without intermission;
and of them, and of them only, I presume it is to be understood that he that gathered
fewest gathered ten omers. Hasselquist, who frequently expresses himself in the most
dubious manner in relation to these animals, at other times is very positive that, if they
were birds at all, they were a species of the quail different from ours, which he describes
as very much resembling the ‘red partridge, but as not being larger than the turtledove.’
To this he adds, that ‘the Arabians carry thousands of them to Jerusalem about
Whitsuntide, to sell there,’ p. 442. In another place he tells us ‘It is found in Judea as
well as in Arabia Petraea, and that he found it between Jordan and Jericho,’ p. 203. One
would imagine that Hasselquist means the scata, which is described by Dr. Russel, vol.
ii., p. 194, and which he represents as brought to market at Aleppo in great numbers in
May and June, though they are to be met with in all seasons.
“A whole ass-load of them, he informs us, has often been taken at once shutting a
clasping net, in the above-mentioned months, they are in such plenty.” - Harmer vol. iv.,
p. 367.

65. GILL, "And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up,.... From the coasts
of Egypt, from the Red sea, over which they flew; and being evening, and weary with
flying so long, lighted and settled where the Israelites encamped. Josephus (l) says,
about the Arabian gulf there are more of this sort of birds than any other, which flying
over the sea, and being weary, and coming nearer the ground than other birds, and
lighting among the Hebrews, they took them with their hands as food prepared for them
of God. The Targum of Jonathan calls them pheasants; some think they were locusts;
but of this See Gill on Num_11:31. These here seem to have come up one evening only,
whereas, in the place referred to, they had them a whole month together:
and covered the camp: their numbers were so many, as indeed such a prodigious
company of people as those were required a great number to satisfy them with. These
quails, which were sent in the evening, at the close of the day, were an emblem of worldly
things, which are not the portion of the saints and people of God, what they are to live
upon, and take up their satisfaction in; nor are they abiding, but transitory things, which
come and go, make themselves wings and fly away toward heaven:
and in the morning the dew lay round about the host; the camp of Israel; or a lay
of dew (m), an emblem of the grace of God, and the blessings of it, see Hos_14:6.
HE RY, "Now they begin to be provided for by the immediate hand of God.
I. He makes them a feast, at night, of delicate fowl, feathered fowl (Psa_78:27),
therefore not locusts, as some think; quails, or pheasants, or some wild fowl, came up,
and covered the camp, so tame that they might take up as many of them as they pleased.
Note, God gives us of the good things of this life, not only for necessity, but for delight,
that we may not only serve him, but serve him cheerfully.
JAMISO 13-31, "at even the quails came up, and covered the camp — This
bird is of the gallinaceous kind [that is, relating to the order of heavy-bodied, largely
terrestrial birds], resembling the red partridge, but not larger than the turtledove. They
are found in certain seasons in the places through which the Israelites passed, being
migratory birds, and they were probably brought to the camp by “a wind from the Lord”
as on another occasion (Num_11:31).
and in the morning ... a small round thing ... manna — There is a gum of the
same name distilled in this desert region from the tamarisk, which is much prized by the
natives, and preserved carefully by those who gather it. It is collected early in the
morning, melts under the heat of the sun, and is congealed by the cold of night. In taste
it is as sweet as honey, and has been supposed by distinguished travellers, from its
whitish color, time, and place of its appearance, to be the manna on which the Israelites
were fed: so that, according to the views of some, it was a production indigenous to the
desert; according to others, there was a miracle, which consisted, however, only in the
preternatural arrangements regarding its supply. But more recent and accurate
examination has proved this gum of the tarfa-tree to be wanting in all the principal
characteristics of the Scripture manna. It exudes only in small quantities, and not every
year; it does not admit of being baked (Num_11:8) or boiled (Exo_16:23). Though it may
be exhaled by the heat and afterwards fall with the dew, it is a medicine, not food - it is
well known to the natives of the desert, while the Israelites were strangers to theirs; and

66. in taste as well as in the appearance of double quantity on Friday, none on Sabbath, and
in not breeding worms, it is essentially different from the manna furnished to the
Israelites.
K&D 13-15, "The same evening (according to Exo_16:12, “between the two
evenings,” vid., Exo_12:6) quails came up and covered the camp. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫:ע‬ to advance,
applied to great armies. ‫ו‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ ַ‫,ה‬ with the article indicating the generic word, and used in a
collective sense, are quails, ᆆρτυγοµήτρα (lxx); i.e., the quail-king, according to Hesychius
ᆊρτυξ ᆓπερµεγέθης, and Phot. ᆊρτυξ µέγας, hence a large species of quails, ᆊρτυγες
(Josephus), coturnices (Vulg.). Some suppose it to be the Katà or the Arabs, a kind of
partridge which is found in great abundance in Arabia, Palestine, and Syria. These fly in
such dense masses that the Arab boys often kill two or three at a time, by merely striking
at them with a stick as they fly (Burckhardt, Syr. p. 681). But in spring the quails also
come northwards in immense masses from the interior of Africa, and return in autumn,
when they sometimes arrive so exhausted, that they can be caught with the hand (cf.
Diod. Sic. i. 60; v. Schubert, Reise ii. p. 361). Such a flight of quails was now brought by
God, who caused them to fall in the camp of the Israelites, so that it was completely
covered by them. Then in the morning there came an “effusion of dew round about the
camp; and when the effusion of dew ascended (i.e., when the mist that produced the
dew had cleared away), behold there (it lay) upon the surface of the desert, fine,
congealed, fine as the hoar-frost upon the ground.” The meaning of the ᅋπ. λεγ. ‫ס‬ ָ ְ‫ס‬ ֻ‫ח‬ ְ‫מ‬ is
uncertain. The meaning, scaled off, scaly, decorticatum, which is founded upon the
Chaldee rendering ‫ף‬ ֵ ַ‫ק‬ ְ‫,מ‬ is neither suitable to the word nor to the thing. The rendering
volutatum, rotundum, is better; and better still perhaps that of Meier, “run together,
curdled.” When the Israelites noticed this, which they had never seen before, they said to
one another, ‫הוּא‬ ‫ן‬ ָ‫,מ‬ τί ᅚστι τοሞτο (lxx), “what is this?” for they knew not what it was. ‫ן‬ ָ‫מ‬ for
‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ belongs to the popular phraseology, and has been retained in the Chaldee and
Ethiopic, so that it is undoubtedly to be regarded as early Semitic. From the question,
man hu, the divine bread received the name of man (Exo_16:31), or manna. Kimchi,
however, explains it as meaning donum et portio. Luther follows him, and says, “Mann
in Hebrew means ready money, a present or a gift;” whilst Gesenius and others trace the
word to ‫ה‬ָ‫נ‬ ָ‫,מ‬ to divide, to apportion, and render ‫הוּא‬ ‫ן‬ ָ‫מ‬ “what is apportioned, a gift or
present.” But the Arabic word to which appeal is made, is not early Arabic; and this
explanation does not suit the connection. How could the people say “it is apportioned,”
when they did not know what it was, and Moses had to tell them, it is the bread which
Jehovah has given you for food? If they had seen at once that it was food sent them by
God, there would have been no necessity for Moses to tell them so.
CALVI , "13.And it came to pass. We shall afterwards see, that, when from
weariness of the manna they began to desire meat, quails were again given them;
but, while they were yet in their mouths, a terrible punishment was inflicted upon
their gluttony. When here they had only complained of their want of food, God for
once satiated them with flesh, that He might show them that He has in His hand all
kinds and quantity of meats. Yet, it was His will that they should be content with

67. one single sort; for, although they had complained that they were deprived of flesh,
at the pots of which they had formerly sat, yet it was not reasonable that He should
comply altogether with their unholy desires. Besides, it was profitable for them that
certain bounds should be set, that they might learn dependence on His will.
COKE, "Exodus 16:13. Quails— Ludolph has offered several arguments (in his
Ethiop. Hist. lib. i. c. 13.) to prove, that the word ‫השׂלו‬ haslau ought to be rendered
locusts; which, he thinks, best agrees with the circumstances of the narration. See
umbers 11:21. Parkhurst says, that ‫שׂלו‬ selau signifies a quail; a kind of bird so
called from its living remarkably in ease and plenty among the corn. Hence, among
the Egyptians, a quail was the emblem of ease and tranquillity; and this bird being
generally esteemed a dainty, one would apprehend that it was sent at this time
rather than the locust, which, though certainly used for food, does not seem to come
up to the idea of flesh, ‫אשׂר‬ asar in Psalms 78 and ‫צדה‬ tzedah, which is given us on
this occasion, Exodus 16:12. We may remark, that this miracle happened about the
middle of April, which is the season when the quails, which are birds of passage, are
observed to cross the Red-sea in vast numbers. The same is also observed to this
very day by such as frequent those parts. The miracle, therefore, consisted not so
much in the prodigious number which fell into the camp of Israel, as in the directing
them thither on that very evening, according to GOD's promise and Moses's
prediction. In Psalms 78:27 it is said, he rained flesh upon them as dust, and
feathered fowl as the sand of the sea; expressions which do not seem compatible
with the idea of locusts.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:13. The quails came up — So tame that they might be taken
up, as many as they pleased. Although Ludolph has offered several arguments in his
Ethiop. Hist. (l. 1. c. 13) to prove that the Hebrew word ‫שׂלו‬ , selav, here used, ought
to be rendered locusts; it is certain, from Psalms 78:27, that birds of some kind are
meant: He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the sea.
Buxtorf renders the word coturnices, quails. And Parkhurst, deriving the word
from ‫,שׂלה‬ to be tranquil, or to rest, considers it as signifying a kind of bird that
lived remarkably in ease and plenty among the corn. And, it seems, among the
Egyptians a quail was an emblem of ease and plenty. It was also esteemed a dainty,
and would probably rather be sent at this time than the locusts, which, though used
for food, could hardly be termed flesh. According to Josephus, “there are more of
this kind of birds about the Arabian gulf than any others. And flying over the sea,”
he says, “and being weary, and coming nearer the ground than other birds, they
took them with their hands, as food prepared for them of God.” But Josephus’s
representation of the matter by no means comes up to the view of it given by Moses,
( umbers 11:31,) who says, that a wind went forth from the Lord and brought them
from the sea, and let them fall round about the camp, a day’s journey on each side,
and that they lay “two cubits high on the face of the earth.”
In the morning the dew lay — Hebrews ‫השׂל‬ ‫שׁכבת‬ shick-bath hattal, a layer, or bed
of dew. With this, it appears, the manna was covered: to which the expression,
hidden manna, (Revelation 2:17,) seems to allude.

68. ELLICOTT, "(13) At even the quails came up.—The common quail (Tetrao
coturnix) is very abundant in the East, and regularly migrates from Syria and
Arabia in the autumn of the year for the purpose of wintering in Central Africa,
whence it returns in immense masses in the spring (Schubert: Reise, vol. ii., p. 361).
Exhausted after a long flight over the Red Sea, the flocks drop to the ground as soon
as they reach the coast, and it is then easy either to take the birds with the hand or
to kill them with sticks. Diodorus says that “the inhabitants of Arabia Petræa were
wont to prepare long nets, and spread them near the coast for many furlongs, by
which means they caught a great quantity of quails, which were in the habit of
coming in from the sea” (ii. 60), The flesh of the quail is regarded as a delicacy
throughout the East, though if too many are eaten it is said to be unwholesome.
The dew lay.—Literally, there was a lying of dew. A heavy fall seems to be meant.
COFFMA , "Verses 13-15
"And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up and covered the camp: and in
the morning the dew lay round about every camp. And 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. And 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."
These verses record the coming of the manna. We shall pass over all of the so-called
natural explanations of this, such as the resinous gum of the tamarisk trees, or the
honey-like secretions of insects, and the substance called "commercial manna"
traded in by Arabians to this day. This was an unqualified miracle of Almighty God
that bears no resemblance, except superficially, to anything known on earth either
before or since those times. This manna simply could not have been merely a natural
substance:
The amount of it (for 2,000,000 people) means that it was no ordinary substance.
It appeared upon God's promise through Moses.
It continued for a full forty years.
It disappeared when they entered Canaan.
It did not appear on the sabbaths.
It produced twice as much on the sixth days.
It bred worms and became foul when certain of God's rules were violated.
It did not spoil on sabbath days.
It could be boiled, or baked (Exodus 16:23), neither of which was true of natural

69. manna.
The Jews (presumably Moses also) did not recognize it as anything natural.
"What is it ...?" It is generally accepted by most of the writers whom we have
consulted that here lies the source of the name "manna"; but Rawlinson translated
the Hebrew word here as meaning, "It is a gift."[14] Also, a Jewish writer has this
very interesting observation: "An alternative reading of this is, "Who is he?"[15] In
view of Jesus' identification of himself as the "Bread from Heaven," there must be
some validity in the alternative reading. evertheless, we shall use the word in its
ordinarily accepted sense. Fields pointed out that the usual Hebrew word for
"What" is [~mah], not [~man], as here, but that the form [~man] is found in the Tel
El-Amarna letters,[16] which are dated by the Encyclopedia Britannica as prior to
1375 B.C.[17] Thus, we have another proof that dates Exodus, not in the times of a
later priesthood who would not have known this word, but in the times of Moses.
Payne also noted that the word used here is "paralleled in Canaanite texts of the
second millennium B.C."[18]
CO STABLE, "Verses 13-21
"These [quail still] fly in such dense masses that the Arab boys often kill two or
three at a time, by merely striking at them with a stick as they fly.... But in spring
the quails also come northwards in immense masses from the interior of Africa, and
return in autumn, when they sometimes arrive so exhausted, that they can be caught
with the hand. ..." [ ote: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:66-67.]
Egyptian art pictures people catching the birds in hand nets. [ ote: Hannah, p134.]
The Hebrew word man, translated into Greek manna and transliterated from Greek
into the English word "manna," is an interrogative particle that means "What?"
The Greek word manna means "grain" or "bread." From this has come the idea
that the manna was similar to bread. An omer is about two quarts dry measure (
Exodus 16:16).
Jesus Christ compared Himself to the manna ( John 6:33; John 6:47-51; John 6:53-
58). It is a type (a divinely intended illustration) of Christ. Our Lord gave Himself
unreservedly, but each Christian has no more of Him experientially than we
appropriate by faith. Manna also represents Christ in His humiliation giving His
flesh so we might have life ( John 6:49-51). To meditate on Him is to feed on the true
manna ( John 6:38-40).
Students of Exodus have explained Exodus 16:18 in various ways. Some old Jewish
commentators said it describes what happened when each family had finished
collecting the manna and had gathered in their tent to pool their individual
amounts. Then they discovered that they had collected just the right quantity for
their needs. Some Christian commentators have suggested that the Israelites
gathered all the manna each day in one central place and from there each family
took as needed. There was always enough for everyone. The former explanation

70. seems to fit the context better.
PETT, "Exodus 16:13-14
‘And so it was that in the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the
morning dew lay round the camp, and when the dew that lay had gone up, behold,
on the face of the wilderness a small flake (or ‘round thing’), small as the hoar frost
on the ground.’
This was the fulfilment of Yahweh’s promise, meat and bread to the full. For the
‘small flakes’ see on Exodus 16:4. The quails were a type of partridge, valued as a
delicacy. In spring they migrate from Africa to the north and some, although not
vast numbers, fly over the Sinai peninsula. They fly low and, tired with their long
journey, will often land on the ground exhausted, when they are easy to catch. Here
they ‘covered the camp’. Thus were the children of Israel able to fill their flesh pots.
This was then followed the next day by the fall of small round flakes to the ground
with the morning dew.
PULPIT, "The quails came up. The word here translated, "quails" has been
supposed to designate the flying-fish (Trigla Israelitarum of Ehrenberg), or a
species of locust (Ludolf). But Psalms 78:28, makes it clear that "feathered fowls"
are intended; and moderns generally, are agreed that the rendering "quails" is
right. It has the authority of the Septuagint, of Josephus, and of the Vulgate.
Diodorus says that "the inhabitants of Arabia Petraea prepared long nets, spread
them near the coast for many stadia, and thus caught a great number of quails
which are in the habit of coming in from the sea" (2:60). The quail regularly
migrates from Syria and Arabia in the autumn, and winters in the interior of Africa,
whence it returns northwards in immense masses in the spring. Kalisch thinks that
the particular species of quail intended is the kata of the Arabs (Tetrao Alchata of
Linnaeus); but the common quail (Tetrao coturnix) is preferred by most
commentators. When these birds approach the coast after a long flight over the Red
Sea, they are often so exhausted that they rather fall to the ground than settle, and
are then easily taken by the hand or killed with sticks. Their flesh is regarded by the
natives as a delicacy. Covered the camp—i.e; covered all the ground between the
tents in which the Israelites lived in the wilderness. The dew lay. Literally, "there
was a layer of dew"—something, i.e; lay on the ground outside the camp which
looked like dew, and was in part dew, but not wholly so.
BI, "Verses 13-15
Exodus 16:13-15
Manna.
The manna
I. Its mystic character. “What is this?” Christ was a mystery to His contemporaries.
So is the Christian to his. “The world knoweth you not.”

71. II. Its uses. To save from starvation, famine, and death. Christ is “the Bread that
cometh down from heaven.”
1. The manna was for all.
2. The manna was for all, according to their wants--appetites. The Saviour is to us’
just what we make Him to be. All fulness dwells in Him, infinite satisfaction; but we
are straitened in ourselves, by our limited cravings, etc.
III. The prescriptions attending it.
1. To be gathered early.
2. To be gathered every morning. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength.”
3. To be used.
4. To be gathered within six days. Life has its appointed time for salvation. If we
allow the end of life’s week to come without a store of God’s manna, we shall find
none in the future.
5. To be gathered for others--for those who could not go out themselves. (F. R.
Young.)
The manna
An army must have a commissary department well administered. The ordnance, or
recruiting, or medical, divisions are not more essential to its existence, whether in
peace or war. A soldier’s pay is but a trifle compared with the expense of
maintaining him in vigour. Yet a more strange venture and gross neglect would
seem to be recorded in the early history of Israel than has ever since been seen. Here
were some two million souls led out of bondage, of whom it is said: “They had not
prepared for themselves any victual.” Every hour increased the peril and the need.
Desperation was in their threats. Bread-riots have always been the fiercest
outbreaks. The great camp was on the verge of mutiny.
I. The Lord did daily and amply provide for his people. The fact of abundant food is
clear and indisputable. There is no hint, however, as to its immediate source or
methods of distribution. A similar mystery veils the agencies through which we find
our present necessities met. Here the natural and the supernatural seem to work
together. The political economist makes them his study, and extremists undertake to
tell exactly how the nations of the earth are kept alive. The farmer, manufacturer,
artisan, carrier, trader, accountant, teacher, labouring with hand or head, or both--
each furnishing just that without which the rest must languish--constitute a most
complex problem. Laplace set himself at no such intricate task when attempting the
solution of the solar system. We fall back on the conviction that while none can see
the vast organism, or all the forces which are operative in it, yet it does move by an
instinctive impulse under s beneficent direction whose secrets none can wrest, whose
failure no one can imagine. The suspension of one class of labourers affects, more or
less, every other. But to trace, or tell, the infinite processes through which every
person in the land finds daily that which will maintain the body and restore its

72. energies, as they are constantly spent, is beyond the ability of any mortal. Over all is
He upon whom all eyes, though so blind, wait. Men call Him God, or ature, or
Chance, or Law, each term being somewhat of a cloak for their ignorance.
II. The Lord required each man to provide for himself. The combined wisdom and
efforts of men could not create a grain of corn. Yet each and all must gather for
themselves. The increase will vary as occasions and necessities do. But how often has
the world seen that they who would for their own selfish ends heap up their stores
find to their surprise and horror that it breeds only loathsome and hateful forms of
death! Capital, unscrupulously held and wielded, is becoming the terror even of its
possessors. Vast fortunes have generally proved vast vexations, while Agur’s prayer,
“Give me neither poverty nor riches,” etc., seems to have its happiest answer in the
state of those who are most observant of these very precepts given to Israel. To idle,
or hoard, or squander, or fret, is sin now as then.
III. The Lord put special honour on the seventh. Good doctrine still, neither
abrogated nor superseded, ye buoy men in these days of railroads, and steamships,
and telegraphs, and fast mails, and Sunday papers, and apoplectic fits! Feel you not
the Almighty hand on these flying wheels, bringing them to pause? Will you say, we
must work a few of these forbidden hours to gain reprieve for the rest? Will you
make hay, or post accounts, or write your commercial letters, or draw out your
plans for greater barns, or repair your machine, or set foot on the train, to be first
at the market on the morrow? Thus you do but repeat their folly, who hoped to
gather the needful food, but failed. Emptiness will fill all your omers when the
results of such disobedience are weighed. (De W. S. Clarke.)
The bread of the wilderness
I. They broke up from their encampment in Elim in an enervated and murmuring
mood. They had eaten of the fat of the wilderness and become wanton, and they
began to lust even for the fat of Egypt, the slave’s portion; the lot of the freeman
already seemed too spare and hard. Wisely, indeed, was the wilderness appointed
for our wanderings. Wisely was Adam sent forth into the land in which “in the
sweat of his brow he must eat bread.” Bread won more cheaply may fatten the body,
but it sends “leanness into the soul.” I never heard that money won by gambling or
thieving brought a blessing with it to its possessor. Did you ever hear of speculation
enriching either mind or heart? Money which comes cheaply goes cheaply, and
leaves no benediction. God’s inscription on His coin is “Labour.” It is of another
mintage when that impression cannot be traced.
II. The first stage of their journey brought them out into a vast sandy plain, where
there was real danger, to the eye of sense, of their dying of hunger. Elim had re-
heartened them after Marah. But the wilderness of Sin renewed their pains and

73. terrors, and “the whole congregation of the Children of Israel murmured against
Moses and Aaron.” Their cry after the flesh-pots was the fruit of Elim. They had
renewed there the blunt edge of their lust. The old appetites resumed their sway, as
they sat by the waters and ate of their flocks; when they went forth their murmurs
broke out with new fierceness, as of lust rekindled, and in spirit, at any rate, they
gave themselves again to be slaves. Beware of rekindling the flame of a dying lust or
appetite. Starve it--it is the only policy. Let it taste again, let it look again, it flushes
up into full fever glow, and you are once more enslaved.
III. Rephidim was the scene of their first battle and their first victory. In the first
great act of the drama of deliverance, their duty had been simply to “Stand still and
see the salvation of God.” The hour was now come when they must “quit them like
men and fight.” ot otherwise is it in the Christian life. To rest on Christ, to “stand
still and see His salvation,” is the true deliverance of a spirit: this is redemption, But
we must fight hard, as if the victory depended on ourselves--not for redemption, but
as redeemed, if we would reap all its glorious fruits. The first foes of Israel were
their kinsmen. “And a man’s foes shall be those of his own house.” But come whence
they may, foes soon beset the young pilgrim: before he has gone far, a long day’s
battle will test his courage and strain his strength. Lusts and passions, which he
thought he had slain for ever, stand forth alive, and renew the conflict. The
Egyptians slain, new enemies throng around us. Our pilgrimage must be a war-
march, with battlemusic and banners: “Jehovah nissi,” (“the Lord my banner”) we
cry, and renew the fight. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Physical providence
I. That God’s physical providence recognizes the personal wants of each individual.
Manna fell for each, babe and man; not one overlooked. Poverty is not the
institution of heaven. The causes of poverty being with us, let us seek to remove
them.
II. That the enjoyment of God’s physical providence depends on trustful labour.
Each was to gather for himself, and to gather no more than his portion for the day.
Labour is necessary to give a relish and felt value to our blessings; and trust in God
is necessary to exclude all anxious thought about the future.
III. That an avaricious accumulation of the blessings of physical providence will
disappoint the possessor. Hoarded wealth never satisfies. It is noisome; it generates
reptiles.
IV. That the seeking of the blessings of physical providence should never interfere
with religious institutions.

74. 1. Religion does not require us to neglect the body.
2. Religion has special claims. It has to do with man’s spiritual nature, relations, and
interests. (Homilist.)
Spiritual providence
I. The manna was a provision for a great emergency. “When we were yet without
strength”--to do the true work of life, to prepare for death, to gain acceptance with
God--“in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
II. The manna comes as a miraculous interposition.
1. Undeserved.
2. Unsought.
III. The manna came as a universal supply.
1. In quantities commensurate with the wants of all.
2. Within reach of all.
IV. The manna came with Divine directions. Gather for yourselves, and distribute to
those who need help.
1. Proportionately.
2. Betimes.
3. Regularly. Constancy is the condition of religious life and growth.
V. The manna demanded the remembrance of posterity (Exodus 16:32). All God’s
interpositions on behalf of the fallen world are facts that shall be had in everlasting
remembrance. For this purpose they are recorded in His Word. His interposition in
Christ specially calls for our commemoration in the ordinance instituted for that
purpose. (Homilist.)
The manna
I. The occasion for the manna. The supplies brought from Egypt exhausted.
II. The moral purposes of the manna.
1. To test the people.
2. To give an indisputable proof of the reality of their deliverance from Egypt by
God’s own hand.
3. To show the unreasonableness of their murmurings.

75. III. The typical significance of the manna. Lessons:
1. This standing miracle of forty years’ duration is an irrefragable proof of all the
Bible assumes concerning the personality, love, and power of God.
2. It teaches the faithfulness and deep interest of our heavenly Father, in all His
children.
3. The murmurings and loss of appetite for the manna on the part of the Israelites
are fraught with lessons of deepest practical moment to us.
4. The constant dependence on Christ as the true Manna is clear and emphatic.
5. The memorial pot of manna in the ark is a type of the “hidden manna” laid up in
heaven for the believer (Revelation 2:17). (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Threefold aspects of Providence
I. The temporal aspect of providence.
1. Providence is always timely in its assistance. ever too soon, never too late; never
before the time, never after the time. Forgetting this, we bring upon ourselves no
end of trouble by being over-anxious for the morrow.
2. Providence is always ample in its resources. There were many mouths to be filled
and voracious appetites to be satisfied, and yet we have not heard that the supply
failed for a single morning. You remember reading in the account of the Franco-
Prussian war, that the army of apoleon
III. loitered for days on the banks of the Rhine, when they ought to have advanced
into the heart of Germany. What was the cause of this fatal delay? Want of
provision; the commissariat was inadequate to supply the demands of three
hundred thousand soldiers, and at Sedan the campaign proved disastrous to the
empire. “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly . . . bread shall be
given him; his waters shall be sure.” Providence is conditional in its method of
support. God rained down manna from heaven in small grain, like coriander seed,
not in ready-made loaves. “Society,” says Emerson, “expects every man to find his
own loaf.” God expects it too.
II. The spiritual aspects of providence. “See that the Lord hath given you the
Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days.”
1. Its value as a day of rest for the body is very great.
2. Its importance as a day for spiritual contemplation and holy delight is
incalculable.
III. The historical aspect of providence. “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.”

76. 1. The omer full of manna was meant to teach coming generations the greatness of
God’s power and the faithfulness of His promise. “Power belongeth unto God” as it
belongeth to no other being, because it is absolute and independent. This is what
makes His promises “exceeding great and precious,” that He has abundance of
resources to make good His word to man.
2. The omer full of manna was meant to teach coming generations the evil of
hoarding up covetously the bounties of Providence. (W. A. Griffiths.)
Manna
The manna was a type of Christ.
I. As the manna was a special mercy to the Israelites in their extremity, so the
Saviour is God’s special gift to sinful men.
II. As the Divine gift of the manna appeared in the garb of extreme simplicity, so the
life of the Saviour is embodied in the circumstances of life, through which He
becomes our life.
III. As the manna was proportioned in daily rations, so we must have communion
with Christ every day. Religious exercises are framed to recur. Thoughts of Jesus
and communion with God cannot be stored; they must be repeated.
IV. The manna was in perpetual remembrance after they entered canaan, so Jesus
and His cross will be the theme of eternity. The manna was placed in the golden pot,
and put, with the ark, in the most holy place, when they began to live on the old corn
of the land. The daily gathering was over, and the journey, but the remembrance
remained. Faith must make way to sight. Grand sight! We shall not forget Calvary.
The scenes with Jesus must remain. (British Weekly.)
Angel’s food
.
I. Divine care.
1. Anticipating human need. He was before them in the way’; to turn “the barren
wilderness” into “a fruitful field.”
2. Providing a suitable supply.
4. Watching over spiritual interests in meeting physical need. The Sabbath guarded.
Both body and soul eared for; and at the same time.
II. Human duty.

77. 1. To expect. Eyes of all wait on Him. The manna to be looked for. We are to expect
that God will supply our wants. He has promised to do so.
2. To collect. This work might have been saved them. It had its use. Some collect for
others. Young for aged, etc. All secular labour in fields or factories, but a collecting
of the good gifts of God. So is prayer, study of the Bible, etc.
3. To economize. one to bewasted. Those who had gathered less were to be
supplied out of another’s abundance. A wise distribution of our good things is true
economy. Sowing for eternity.
III. Spiritual instruction. The manna a type of Christ. So Jesus Himself regarded it
(John 6:1-71.). It was so--
1. Because unexpected in its coming.
2. Came in time of great need.
3. Unostentatious in its form.
4. Pleasant to the taste.
5. Spread silently over the ground.
6. Lasted all the journey through.
7. The remembrance of it treasured for ever.
8. Mysterious in nature.
“What is it?” Compare with “Who is He?” “Great is the mystery of godliness,” etc.
While curious minds are trying to understand a mystery into which angels desire to
look, let our exhortation be, “O taste and see that the Lord is good,” etc. Learn--
I. To trust in the care of Providence.
II. To act in harmony with Providence.
III. To seek the true Bread of Life. (J. C. Gray.)
Lessons from the manna
1. It was given in consideration of a great and urgent necessity. A like necessity lies
at the foundation of God’s gift of His Son to the world; it was not possible in the
nature of things for any other resource to be found.
2. The manna was peculiarly the gift of God, coming freely and directly from His
hand. How striking a representation in this respect of Christ all Scripture may be
said to testify, as both in His person and in the purchased blessings of His
redemption He is always presented to sinful men as the free gift of the Father’s love.
3. The whole fulness of the Godhead is in Jesus, so that all may receive as their
necessities require. So was it also with the manna; there was enough for all.
4. Then, falling as it did round about the camp, it was near enough to be within the
reach of all; if any should perish for want, it could be from no outward necessity or

78. hardship, for the means of supply were brought almost to their very hand. or is it
otherwise in regard to Christ, who in the gospel of His grace is laid, in a manner, at
the very door of every sinner; the word is nigh him; and if he should still parish, he
must be without excuse--it is in sight of the Bread of Life.
5. The supply of manna came daily, and faith had to be exercised on the providence
of God, that each day would bring its appointed provision; if they attempted to
hoard for the morrow, their store became a mass of corruption. In like manner must
the child of God pray for his soul every morning as it dawns, “Give me this day my
daily bread.” He can lay up no stock of grace which is to last him for a continuance
without needing to repair to the treasury of Christ.
6. Finally, as the manna had to be gathered in the morning of each day, and a
double portion provided on the sixth day, that the seventh might be hallowed as a
day of sacred rest, so Christ and the things of His salvation must be sought with
diligence and regularity, but only in the appointed way and through the divinely-
provided channels. (A. evin, D. D.)
The rain of bread
I. The backward look of this bit of history. Culminating point of a fit of murmuring.
Shows sin and folly of persistent distrust.
1. Murmuring is a most unprofitable state of mind. ever did anybody any good.
Source of all Israelites’ troubles. Once a child was reading, apparently absorbed in
the act: her parent asked what was the book; and looking up, she answered, with a
sudden overflow of tears, “Oh father, the people have begun to murmur again, and
now God will have to punish them some more!”
2. Murmuring is a most delusive disposition. It leads to dangerous self-deception in
almost all instances. Christians reply to those who attempt to rebuke them, “It is my
temperament.” Often mere habit. Should be checked.
3. Murmuring is a most unwelcome indulgence. It prejudices piety. Makes a
Christian disagreeable.
4. Murmuring is a growing sin in the heart. Israelites--sullen at first--now
suspicious. They openly find fault.
5. Murmuring is contagious, and propagates itself far and wide.
II. The present appearance of this bit of history.
1. Man’s perversity. Little vexations make us petulant and revengeful.
2. God’s patience. Lord Bacon quotes an old Spanish writer as saying: “To return
evil for good is devilish; to return good for good is human; but to return good for
evil is even godlike.” Certainly this is what our God often does; but it would not do
for any of us to presume upon such wonderful long-suffering. In ancient history we
are told that there was once a statue of Jupiter erected at Crete; but the Cretans
were liars, and the maker of the stone image had fashioned it without ears. The
exultant people may have been pleased to think they had a god who could not hear
their falsehoods; but they soon found that a deity who had no ears to hear
prevarications had no ears to hear prayers either. We must remember that our God

79. knows all our wickedness, and bears with us for a while; but it is to test our
obedience to His law.
3. Heaven’s sufficiency is also illustrated here. For in the story the promise takes a
very significant and beautiful form; God says He will “rain bread from heaven” for
their need (see Psalms 78:22-25; Philippians 4:19).
III. The forward reach of this bit of history.
1. It was designed to be a type of Christ.
2. It was accepted as a type by our Lord Jesus Christ (see John 6:1-71.). (C. S.
Robinson, D. D.)
The food from heaven
Manna was prepared for food by grinding and baking. It tasted like cakes made of
meal and honey in its natural state, and like fresh olive oil when cooked; its shape
resembled coriander seed, and its colour was white; its supply continued for forty
years, and failed with their use of the first new corn in the land of Canaan. That it
was altogether a miraculous gift and not a product of nature is clear from the
following considerations. It fell in enormous quantity, with unfailing regularity,
even in the exceptional failure of the Sabbath-day; its composition was exactly
suited to the tastes of the people; heat both melted and hardened it; gathered in
distrust, it bred worms and putrefied; in faith, it was preserved for generations. The
natural products of the Arabian desert and other Eastern lands, called manna, fail
almost in every particular noticed in the miraculous food from heaven. All serve
rather medicinal than nutritious purposes. They can be gathered only three months
in the year, and not all the year round, and then only in small quantities, out of all
proportion to the actual consumption of the Israelites, which, calculating the omer
at three English quarts (each man had an omer a day, Exodus 16:16), could not have
been less than 15,000,000 of pounds a week; they may be preserved for a long time,
may be gathered on all days, indiscriminately, without a perceptible increase or
diminution in their supply. The manna now found in the Arabian desert is the
product of the tamarisk (Tamarix gallica), gathered in June. According to
Burckhardt, “it drops from the thorns on the sticks and leaves with which the
ground is covered, and must be gathered early in the day or it will be melted by the
sun. The Arabs cleanse and boil it, strain it through a cloth, and put it in leather
bottles; and in this way it can be kept uninjured for several years. They use it like
honey or butter with their unleavened bread, but never make it into cakes or eat it
by itself. It abounds only in very wet years, and in dry seasons it sometimes
disappears entirely.” The same traveller found in the valley of Jordan “manna like
gum on the leaves and branches of the tree gharrob, which is as large as the olive-
tree, having a leaf like the poplar, though somewhat broader. It appears like dew
upon the leaves, is of a brown or grey colour, and drops on the ground. When first
gathered it is sweet, but in a day or two becomes acid. The Arabs use it like honey or
butter, and eat it in their oatmeal gruel. They also use it in cleaning their leather
bottles and making them air-tight. Tim season for gathering this is in May or June.
Two other shrubs which have been supposed to yield the manna of Scripture are the
Alhagi maurorum, or Persian manna, and the Alhagi desertorum, thorny plants

80. common in Syria.” In addition to what has been said of the miraculous nature of the
manna supply and the character of the natural products just specified, a brief
reference to three explanations of the manna may be in place.
1. It is said to be miraculous food, that is, dew changed into bread. “The dew of
heaven” promotes the fertility of the earth. During the wanderings of Israel through
the wilderness, which is “no place of seed,” the dew, without sowing, brought bread
from heaven (Exodus 16:4; Psalms 78:24; Psalms 105:40). So that the manna
answers to the wine at the marriage of Cana.
2. The manna is the same food of the desert still found in the peninsula of Sinai.
This, of course, lands us in the region of mythical embellishment, and requires a
degree of credulity which the writer does not possess.
3. The manna is a miracle of accretion, answering to the miraculous feeding of the
multitude in the ew Testament, and to the increase of meal and oil by Elijah in the
Old. (J. I. Mombert, D. D.)
Manna
Bonar gives the following twelve reasons why manna cannot be identified with the
exudation of the tarfa-tree.
1. The tarfa exudes only small quantities. The Arabs could not live on it for a week.
2. The tarfa only exudes at certain seasons--March and April.
3. The tarfa does not yield its exudation regularly, even once a year.
4. The exudations of the tarfa come out from the branches of the tree, they do not
come down from the air or sky.
5. The tarfa exudations are in composition and consistency somewhat like honey.
They are quite unfit for grinding, or pounding, or baking, or boiling.
6. The taste of manna is said to have been as fresh oil ( umbers 11:8). o one who
has tasted the tarfa-manna would compare it to oil.
7. The tarfa-manna does not stink, or breed worms, in a single night.
8. The tarfa-produce does not evaporate as soon as the sun arises (Exodus 16:21).
9. Tarfa-manna does not give particular quantities on particular days.
10. The tarfamanna is purgative medicine, not food.
11. The Israelites knew well the tarfatree, but they did not recognize the manna.
12. Israel could not have subsisted so long on this one food.
Dew and manna
Dew corresponds to that inward truth which descends into the soul from the Lord
when all is peaceful and happy within. When, in a spiritual morning, this dew has
descended upon him, fear is unfelt, solicitude no longer disturbs him; he relies with
a child’s confiding trust on the Giver of all good, and feels a freshness and vigour
like those of heaven’s own morning over the soul. This cheering, inward, blessed
sensation is often in the Word described by dew (Micah 5:7; Isaiah 18:4; Hosea
14:5). When, on a summer’s morning, we walk forth in a beautiful country, the red
light of the early dawn tinging the whole eastern horizon with golden splendour, a
holy quiet reigning round, not broken, but charmed and enriched with the thrilling
songs of the birds, while every leaf, blade, hedgerow, and flower are gemmed with
pearly dew glittering like diamonds in the sun’s new beams, there is an image of the
soul--calmed, illuminated, and blessed with the truth of peace. But after the dew we

81. come to the manna--the substantial food which gave so much pleasure and so much
support. When it is seen that solid food in Divine language corresponds to goodness,
which supplies the will of every one who is living for heaven with energy and
delight, and remember that this manna was given to supply food to the Israelites
while they were in the transition period between living in Egypt and living in
Canaan, we shall easily perceive that it is the symbol of that heavenly goodness
which the Lord can impart to the soul of man while it is in the transition state,
labouring to become regenerate, following the truth, fighting against its evils as they
from time to time present themselves, but not yet entered into that phase of the
spiritual life in which he feels at home in heavenly things. Hence the manna
describes the goodness and the delight which the Divine mercy imparts to man while
labouring to become regenerate. It is small, because, as compared with true angelic
joy, it is of little account. It is round, because roundness expresses the smoothness,
and also the completeness, of goodness, as compared with truth--truth is ever sharp
and piercing. It is white, to denote its purity, and sweet, to express its deliciousness.
It is like a thin cake, or wafer, to mark its inferiority, its shallowness, so to speak,
when compared with true celestial joy. Yet feeble as it is, so far does it transcend all
merely human and external joy, that when it is first truly awakened in the soul, all
other delights in the estimation of the possessor become as nothing, and he cries out
in the spirit, “What is this?”--for he knows not what it is. It is a state of peace, of
richness, of sweetness that passeth all understanding. It may be felt, but cannot be
described. It is as if every fibre of the soul thrilled with joy. It is blessedness
unspeakable. All other delights seem now unutterably poor. They are as the lights of
earth in the presence of the sun. By receiving each day the food for the day, and no
more, the important lesson is conveyed that we should ever be guided in our wish to
receive heavenly blessings not by the desire of selfish gratification, but by the love of
use. So much as we need for our work, so much should we desire to receive. Seek
food for use and delight will be given in. Seek it also for the duties of to-day. The
only way to make any advance in heavenly things is to do our duty now. The good
not used now will vanish when the sun of selfishness becomes vigorous within us. If
we attempt to save it for the future, and to deceive ourselves with the good we will
some day do, it will breed the worms of vain conceits, flattering and false, It may
become polluted hypocrisy, most abhorrent in the sight of God and angels, but can
never be saving good. The lesson involved in the corruption of the manna in the
hands of those who gathered to hoard and not to use is of inestimable value. To be a
miser is bad in earthly things, but far worse in heavenly. And it is to be feared that
spiritual hoarding is even more prevalent than natural. How many sermons do we
hear with delight, but whose influence goes no farther than to stock our memories!
How many good books do we read whose pages unfold to us exalted lessons and
truths of sterling worth! We hear, we read, and we admire, but our hearts remain as
cold, heedless, and unpractical as before. We are no better, we admit; but we do not
suspect what is the real truth--that we are worse. The manna we are hoping to
preserve for future use is becoming corrupted and defiled. We are gliding into states
of self-dependency, self-complacency, self-flattery. We are supposing we are
righteous, or, at least, in no danger, because we know righteous things, while with
every effort we make we are strengthening our inherent evils, our hereditary
tendencies. We are not searching out our frailties and opposing them, but indulging

82. them and salving them over with our religious knowledge and pious observances.
The richest substances become, when corrupted, the most loathsome; and nothing is
so abhorrent in the Divine sight as a religion unused for good, pandering only to
self-gratulation and deceit. Our whole progress depends on eating to-day what God
gives to-day. The same lesson would teach us also the duty of doing as it comes the
work of each successive stage of our business of life and the reception of its proper
and present blessing. “Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for
every man. Let no man leave it until the morning” (Exodus 16:16; Exodus 16:19).
One exception to this rule, however, there was (Exodus 16:29). Days for the soul are
states. The six days of labour represent the states of the soul in which it is striving to
obey a truth, although as yet it is laborious to do so in consequence of oppositions
within and without. The sixth day is the end of this struggle, when the soul has
succeeded in realizing not only the truth of a duty or a principle but also the good,
the blessedness of it. Two omers are then received, the bread of two days. One more
incident we would notice. The manna was gathered by an omer full at once, and no
otherwise; and we are informed at the conclusion of the narrative, “ ow an omer is
the tenth part of an ephah” (Exodus 16:36). There were three chief measures for dry
articles, each ten times larger than the other--the omer, the ephah, and the homer
(Ezekiel 45:11). These three measures, like the three kinds of bread of the
tabernacle--the loaf, the cake, and the wafer--we may readily conceive, have relation
to the reception of heavenly good by the three grand classes of Christians who form
afterwards the three heavens of the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:2). The good which they
receive who have entered fully into love to the Lord as the supreme source of all
their operations is of the largest measure, the homer. The good of those who glory
rather in the light than the love of heaven, though they are true to the light and sons
of the light, is of the second measure, the ephah. The good of those who are not even
intellectual Christians, but still steadily obey what they see to be enjoined in the
Word, is the lowest measure, the omer, which is the tenth part of the ephah. And
this is the measure by which we all receive heavenly good in our spiritual journey.
Our law of duty is to obey the Ten Commandments. Each commandment obeyed
brings its omer of blessing. (J. Bailey, Ph. D.)
Christ the true Manna
I am told there is a country where men in times of want eat clay in great lumps, and
fill themselves with it so as to deaden their hunger. I know that many people in
England do the same. There is a kind of yellow clay (gold) which is much cried up
for staying spiritual hunger: heavy stuff it is, but many have a vast appetite for it.
They prefer it to the choicest dainties. Many try to stave off hunger by indifference,
like bears in winter, which are not hungry because they are asleep. They would not
like to be aroused, because if they were they would wake up to an awful hunger. I
wish they could be awakened, for that hunger which they dread would drive them to
a soul-satisfying Saviour. Depend upon it, the only way to meet hunger is to get
bread, and the only way to meet your soul’s want is to get Christ, in whom there is
enough and to spare, but nowhere else. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Satisfied with God’s provision
Another time Billy Bray tells us that his crop of potatoes turned out poorly; and as

83. he was digging them in the autumn, Satan was at his elbow, and said, “There, Billy,
isn’t that poor pay for serving your Father the way you have all the year? Just see
those small potatoes.” He stopped his hoeing, and replied, “Ah, Satan, at it again,
talking against my Father, bless His name. Why, when I served you, I didn’t get any
potatoes at all. What are you talking against Father for?” And on he went hoeing
and praising the Lord for small potatoes. A valuable lesson for us all.
Bread from God
Some time ago a good Christian man was living among the hills of Scotland. He was
very poor, but so good that every one who knew him loved and honoured him. One
winter there was a violent snowstorm. The wind was high, and drifting snow
blocked up the roads, and quite covered the humble dwelling of poor Caleb, as this
good man was called. For three days he had been unable to go out and get food for
himself and family. They were in great need, and had prayed earnestly for relief. A
gentleman living in that neighbourhood, who knew Caleb well, awoke suddenly one
night. It seemed as if a voice was calling to him which said, “Send provisions to
Caleb.” He thought little of it, but turned on his pillow and went to sleep again.
Again the voice seemed to sound in his ears, “Send provisions to Caleb.” Again he
slept. A third time the call came. Then he arose hastily, dressed himself, called up
his servant, and told him to harness the horse, while he filled a basket with
provisions of all kinds. “Take this basket to Caleb,” said he, “and if he asks who
sent it, tell him it comes from God.” The servant did as he was bidden. A path was
made through the snow. The basket of food was left at Caleb’s cottage: and he and
his family received it with hearty rejoicings. They felt sure that it was food from
heaven, just as truly as the manna was in the wilderness on which the Israelites
lived. Moses secured the blessing of bread for the Israelites in the wilderness, and
Jesus is “the Prophet like Moses,” because He secures this blessing both for the
bodies and the souls of His people. (R. ewton.)
Food providentially supplied
At the Turners’ banquet given in his honour a short time since, Mr. Stanley alluded
to the strange sufferings in which he shared fifteen or sixteen months ago. For six
weeks they had not seen a bit of meat; for ten days they had not seen a banana or a
grain, and the faces of the people were getting leaner, and their bodies were getting
thinner, and their strength was fading day by day. One day the officers asked him if
he had seen anything like it in any African expedition before. He replied “ o,”
though he remembered on a former occasion when they were nine days without
food, and ended their famine with a fight. Then, however, they knew where there
was grain, and all they had to do was to hurry on; but in the late expedition they
had been ten days without, and they did not know when their hunger was to
terminate. They were all sitting down at the time, and he expressed his belief that
the age of miracles was not altogether past. Moses struck water out of the Horeb
rock, the Israelites were fed with manna in the wilderness, and he told them that he
did not think they should be surprised to see some miracle for themselves--perhaps
on the morrow or the following day. He had scarcely finished when some guinea
fowl flocked round them and were at once seized.
Soul food necessary

84. A man was leaving a church at St. Louis where Mr. Moody had been holding a
service. The eminent preacher noticed him, and gives the following account of their
conversation--“I said to him, ‘My friend, why is it that you don’t accept Christ?’ He
shook his head, and said he didn’t know. ‘Well, what is your soul feeding on?’ He
said it was feeding on nothing. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘that is pretty hard for the soul, isn’t
it--giving it nothing to feed on?’ He was a man about my age, forty years old, and he
had given his soul nothing for forty years; he had been starving that soul. And that
man is but a type of thousands and tens of thousands in this city to-day; their poor
souls are starving. This body that we inhabit for a day and then leave, we take good
care of that; we feed it three times a day, and we clothe it and take care of it and
deck it, and by and by it is going into the grave to be eaten up by the worms; but the
inner man, that is to live on and on for ever, is lean and starved.”
Symbolic meaning of the manna
In the sixth chapter of St. John, where our Lord so emphatically applies to Himself
the miracle of the manna, it will be seen He discovers no wish to take from the high
estimate which the Jews entertained of this ancient miracle, so only that it was
considered as a type, not a mere interposition of Providence to provide by miracles
means for their daily support. And casting aside many minor analogies which have
been contended for, but which are too much of the nature of fanciful refinements, it
is not difficult to trace between the manna and Christ, the True Bread, several
broad and instructive resemblances.
1. Thus both were the free, unsolicited gift of heaven, prompted by the sight of
man’s helplessness and man’s misery. “Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven,” saith our Lord; “but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.”
But observe, the gift in either case was the unmerited bestowment of the Eternal
Father; whether to nourish the physical life of those wilderness wanderers or to
support the spiritual life of believers to the end of time. Jesus Christ is a gift, the
eternal life is a gift, enlightening, converting grace is a gift. Human efforts could no
more avail to procure these things than the sowing of coriander seed could produce
a harvest of manna.
2. Again, this gift was to preserve life. “Ye have brought us forth into the
wilderness,” said the Israelites to Moses, “to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
They saw nothing before them but certain death. The place was desert; a curse of
barrenness and drought laid upon it. The whole is a picture of man in this
wilderness-world. His soul perishes with hunger; he has the sentence of death within
him, a prospect of death before him. But God has rained bread from heaven. Christ,
the Wellspring of all spiritual life; Christ, the Source of every active and passive
grace; Christ, the energizing Principle of all acceptable obedience. “Your fathers did
eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” It saved them not from the common lot
of all men, this bread ye boast of, but “I am the living Bread which came down from
heaven. If any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever.”
3. Trace this parallel further, in the universality of the gift. There were in that
wilderness all diversities of character--masters and disciples, owners of flocks and
keepers of flocks; rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties,
and rulers of tens: yet to all was to be given the same portion, “an omer to every

85. man, according to the number in their tents.” And in like manner, as far as concerns
the offer of the blessing, Christ is a universal portion. (D. Moore, M. A.)
Manna and dew
Does not the manner in which this bread descended from above, along with the
gentle, silent dew, apply very beautifully to the True Bread from heaven? It is not in
the bustle of the world or in the excitement of religion, but in secret and in silence
that Jesus descends upon the soul, when the spirit communes with God--when the
eye is turned within in earnest searching self-examination--when the heart calmly
meditates on the Divine Word. And what is the “dew” on and with which He
descends? What but the Spirit of God, of which the dew is the constant symbol in
Scripture? When the Spirit falls gently upon our hearts, then Jesus descends there.
Where the one is, the other is--yet they are distinct. It is not the Spirit, but Christ in
His living Person who is the Bread of Life. The Spirit is as the dew; Jesus as the
manna, the Bread from heaven. We must, then, cherish every gentle influence of the
Spirit of God if we would have our souls nourished. (G. Wagner.)
Sufficiency of Providence
The following anecdote of Mr. Spurgeon is well authenticated:--On a certain
occasion, when dining at a lady’s house in Regent’s Park, with the late Dr. Brock, he
(Mr. S.) remarked that £2,000 had to be forthcoming for his builder to-morrow, and
though nothing was in hand, the money would be paid at ten o’clock. “I wish you
would not say that,” Dr. Brock replied; but immediately after, while they were still
at the table, a telegram came to say that A. B. had just left £2,000 for the
Orphanage; and then, confessing that he had never seen anything like that, the
doctor called upon all to put down their knives and forks and return thanks to God.
They never knew who A. B. was, nor whence he came. (Gleanings in Harvest Fields.)
Supply of Providence
Harms of Hermannsburg, the pastor of a poor village on the Luneberg Heath in
Hanover, said in his annual missionary sermon in 1857: “I have expended much in
the past year in sending out the ship with her fifteen passengers, for the printing
house, the press, and the paper, altogether 14,781 dollars, and I have received
altogether 14,796 dollars, so I have fifteen dollars over. Is not that a wonder? So
much spent, and yet something over! And I thank God that He has given us the
fifteen dollars overplus. Riches only make cares. God has heard all my prayers. He
has given me no riches, and I have also no debts. We have neither collected nor
begged, but waited patiently on God in prayer.”
Constancy of Providence
“ ever did man die of hunger who served God faithfully,” was a saying of Cuthbert,
the apostle of orthumbria, when he and his companions were overtaken by night
without food or shelter. “Look at the eagle overhead,” he would add; “God can feed
us through him if He will.” And this faith was on one occasion signally justified by
the bird in question letting fall a fish, which furnished the needed meal. (J. R.
Green’s Short History.)

86. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost
on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
CLARKE, "Behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round
thing - It appears that this small round thing fell with the dew, or rather the dew fell
first, and this substance fell on it. The dew might have been intended to cool the ground,
that the manna on its fall might not be dissolved; for we find from Exo_16:21, that the
heat of the sun melted it. The ground therefore being sufficiently cooled by the dew, the
manna lay unmelted long enough for the Israelites to collect a sufficient quantity for
their dally use.
GILL, "And when the dew that lay was gone up,.... Exhaled by the sun upon the
rising of it:
behold, upon the face of the wilderness; upon the surface of it, all around the
camp of Israel:
there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground; which
is what is in the next verse called "manna". Before the sun rose there was nothing but a
dew to be seen; when that was gone off through the force of the sun, then the manna
appeared; which was but a "small thing", and very unpromising for food, and especially
for such a vast number of people; and a "round" thing, for which it is after compared to a
coriander seed, as is thought; though the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan do not
interpret the word of the round form, but rather refer to its smallness; and which is
expressed in the Vulgate Latin version,"small, and as if beat with a pestle;''and for its
white colour, as well as its smallness, it looked like hoar frost on the ground. Jarchi says
there were two dews, within which it lay as something covered in a box, and he seems to
be right; for it is certain from Num_11:9, that there was a dew which fell first, and then
the manna fell upon it; and from hence it is plain also, that there was a dew over the
manna, which went up from it when the sun rose: and the design of this seems to be to
keep this heavenly bread pure and clean for the Israelites, that it might neither partake
of the dust nor sand of the wilderness where it fell, and that nothing might light upon it
until the time of gathering it came. The Jews, in memory of this, will sometimes put
bread upon the table between two table cloths (n); and it is highly probable, that to this
the allusion is of the "hidden manna" in Rev_2:17, by which is meant our Lord Jesus
Christ, the antitype of this manna, as will be observed as we pass on, in all the

87. circumstances of it; the manna came with the dew, and was covered with it, and hid in it;
Christ is the gift of God's free grace to the sons of men, and is exhibited in the word of
grace, where he lies hid to men in the glory of his person and the fulness of his grace,
until revealed and made known. The figure of the manna being "round", which is a
perfect figure, may denote the perfection of Christ in his person, natures, and office; he
being perfectly God and perfectly man, having all the essential perfections both of the
divine and human natures in him, as well as all fulness of grace; and being made perfect
through sufferings, is become a complete Saviour, and by his blood, righteousness, and
sacrifice, has perfected for ever his sanctified ones: and the manna being "small", may
signify the meanness of Christ in the eyes of men in his state of humiliation, and the
unpromising appearance he made of being the Saviour and King of Israel; the white
colour of it may direct to the purity of Christ, to the holiness of his natures, and the
beauty of his person, being white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousands.
HE RY 14-21, " Next morning he rained manna upon them, which was to be
continued to them for their daily bread. 1. That which was provided for them was
manna, which descended from the clouds, so that, in some sense, they might be said to
live upon the air. It came down in dew that melted, and yet was itself of such a
consistency as to serve for nourishing strengthening food, without any thing else. They
called it manna, manhu, “What is this?” Either, “What a poor thing this is!” despising it:
or, “What a strange thing this is!” admiring it: or, “It is a portion, no matter what it is; it
is that which our God has allotted us, and we will take it and be thankful,” Exo_16:14,
Exo_16:15. It was pleasant food; the Jews say that it was palatable to all, however varied
their tastes. It was wholesome food, light of digestion, and very necessary (Dr. Grew
says) to cleanse them from disorders with which he thinks it probable that they were, in
the time of their bondage, more or less infected, which disorders a luxurious diet would
have made contagious. By this spare and plain diet we are all taught a lesson of
temperance, and forbidden to desire dainties and varieties. 2. They were to gather it
every morning (Exo_16:21), the portion of a day in his day, Exo_16:4. Thus they must
live upon daily providence, as the fowls of the air, of which it is said, That which thou
givest them they gather (Psa_104:28); not today for tomorrow: let the morrow take
thought for the things of itself. To this daily raining and gathering of manna our Saviour
seems to allude when he teaches us to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. We are
hereby taught, (1.) Prudence and diligence in providing food convenient for ourselves
and our household. What God graciously gives we must industriously gather; with
quietness working, and eating our own bread, not the bread either of idleness or deceit.
God's bounty leaves room for man's duty; it did so even when manna was rained: they
must not eat till they have gathered. (2.) Contentment and satisfaction with a sufficiency.
They must gather, every man according to his eating; enough is as good as a feast, and
more than enough is as bad as a surfeit. Those that have most have, for themselves, but
food, and raiment, and mirth; and those that have least generally have these: so that he
who gathers much has nothing over, and he who gathers little has no lack. There is not
so great a disproportion between one and another in the comforts and enjoyments of the
things of this life as there is in the property and possession of the things themselves. (3.)
Dependence upon Providence: Let no man leave till morning (Exo_16:19), but let them
learn to go to bed and sleep quietly, though they have not a bit of bread in their tent, nor
in all their camp, trusting that God, with the following day, will bring them their daily
bread.” It was surer and safer in God's store-house than in their own, and would thence
come to them sweeter and fresher. Read with this, Mat_6:25, Take no thought for your
life, etc. See here the folly of hoarding. The manna that was laid up by some (who

88. thought themselves wiser and better managers than their neighbours, and who would
provide in case it should fail next day), putrefied, and bred worms, and became good for
nothing. Note, That proves to be most wasted which is covetously and distrustfully
spared. Those riches are corrupted, Jam_5:2, Jam_5:3. Let us set ourselves to think, [1.]
Of that great power of God which fed Israel in the wilderness, and made miracles their
daily bread. What cannot this God do, who prepared a table in the wilderness, and
furnished it richly even for those who questioned whether he could or no? Psa_78:19,
Psa_78:20. Never was there such a market of provisions as this, where so many hundred
thousand men were daily furnished, without money and without price. Never was there
such an open house kept as God kept in the wilderness for forty years together, nor such
free and plentiful entertainment given. The feast which Ahasuerus made, to show the
riches of his kingdom, and the honour of his majesty, was nothing to this, Est_1:4. It is
said (Exo_16:21), When the sun waxed hot, it melted; as if what was left were drawn up
by the heat of the sun into the air to be the seed of the next day's harvest, and so from
day to day. [2.] Of that constant providence of God which gives food to all flesh, for his
mercy endures for ever, Psa_136:25. He is a great house-keeper that provides for all the
creatures. The same wisdom, power, and goodness that now brought food daily out of
the clouds, are employed in the constant course of nature, bringing food yearly out of the
earth, and giving us all things richly to enjoy.
CALVI , "14.And when the dew that lay was gone up. The shape of the manna is
here briefly described, viz., that it was like the dew condensed into small round
grains. Its taste will be also mentioned elsewhere; but here it was sufficient to show,
that this fecundity was not natural, but miraculously given to the clouds, so that
they should daily rain manna. For as to the idle talk of certain profane persons,
(176) that the manna falls naturally in certain countries, who would thus display the
force of their genius, as if they convicted Moses of falsehood, because he mightily
extols a mere trifle, — it! is all an absurdity which may be easily refuted. It is indeed
true, that in certain parts of the world they collect white grains, to which the name
of manna has been vulgarly given, but (177) which one of the Rabbins will have to
be Arabic; but it is neither a food, nor does it drop daily from the clouds, nor has it
anything in common with this food, which the Prophet properly dignifies with the
title of “angels’ food,” because God, who opens the bowels of the earth for the
ordinary food of man, at that time made provision for the nourishment of His
people from heaven. And that it may appear beyond a doubt that this food was then
created miraculously, and contrary to the order of nature, these points are to be
taken into consideration. First, It did not appear in the wilderness before the hour
assigned by Moses in obedience to God’s command. Secondly, o change of weather
prevented the manna from dropping in a regular measure; neither frost, nor rain,
nor heat, nor winter, nor summer, interrupted the course of its distillation. Thirdly,
A quantity sufficient for the immense multitude was found every day, when they
took up an omer for every individual. Again, on the sixth day, the quantity was
doubled, that they might lay by a second omer for their Sabbath food. Fifthly, If
they preserved any beyond their due allowance, it was subject to putrefaction,
whereas, on the Sabbath day, the second portion remained good. Sixthly, Wherever
they were, this blessing of God always accompanied them, whilst the neighboring
nations lived on corn, and the manna was only known in their camp. Seventhly, As
soon as they entered a fruitful and corn-growing country, the manna ceased.

89. Eighthly, That portion, which Moses was commanded to lay up in a vessel, did not
grow corrupt. Let these points be well weighed, and the miracle will be more than
sufficiently conspicuous, and will disperse all the clouds of objection by its intrinsic
brightness.
COKE, "Exodus 16:14. When the dew was gone, behold, &c.— Let us just observe,
how unnecessary the expletive words are here. Read the passage without them, and
you will see its greater propriety.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:14. When the dew was gone up — To wit, into the air; or was
vanished, there lay a small round thing — According to umbers 11:9, there was a
dew which fell before the manna; for it is said, when the dew fell in the night, the
manna fell upon it. But it appears here, that there was also a dew upon it, which
went up when the sun rose. So that the manna lay as it were enclosed. This might be
designed to keep it pure and clean.
ELLICOTT, "(14) Was gone up—i.e., was drawn up by the heat of the sun.
A small round thing, as small as the hoar frost.—What the manna was has been
much disputed. There are two natural substances, quite distinct, with which it has
been compared, and by some persons identified. One is a deposit from the air, which
falls indifferently on trees, stones, grass, &c, and is generally thick and sticky, like
honey, but under certain circumstances is “concreted into small granular masses.”
This bas been described by Aristotle (Hist. An., v. 22), Pliny (H. ., xi. 12), Avicenna
(p. 212), Ǽlian (Hist. An., xv. 7), Shaw, Forskal, and others. It has been called
ὰερόµελι or “air-honey” (Athen. Deipn, xi., p. 500). It is collected by the Arabs, and
eaten with their unleavened cakes as a condiment. It so far resembles the manna
that it comes with the dew, is spread upon the ground generally, and melts when the
sun’s rays attain a certain power (Œdmann: Misc. Collect., vol. iv., p. 7). But it is
never found in large quantities; it does not fall for more than two months in the
year; and it is wholly unfit to serve as man’s principal food, being more like honey
than anything else. The other substance is a gum which exudes from certain trees at
certain seasons of the year, in consequence of the punctures made in their leaves by
a small insect, the Coccus manniparus. It has been described at length by C.
iebuhr in his Description de l’ Arabie (pp. 128, 129); by Rauwolf (Travels, vol. I.,
p. 94); Gmelin (Travels through Russia to Persia, Part III., p. 28), and others. It is
comparatively a dry substance, is readily shaken from the leaves, and consists of
small yellowish – white grains, which are hard, and have been compared to
coriander seed by moderns (Rauwolf, 50s.100). The name “manna” attaches in the
East to this latter substance, which is employed both as a condiment, like the “air-
honey,” and also as a laxative. The special points in which it differs from the manna
of Scripture are its confinement to certain trees or bushes, its comparative
permanency, for it “accumulates on the leaves” ( iebuhr, p. 129), and its unfitness
for food. It has also, like the “air-honey,” only a short season—the months of July
and August.
The manna of Scripture in certain respects resembles the one, and in certain other

90. respects the other of these substances, but in its most important characteristics
resembles neither, and is altogether sui generis. For (1) it was adapted to be men’s
principal nourishment, and served the Israelites as such for forty years; (2) it was
supplied in quantities far exceeding anything that is recorded of the natural
substances compared with it; (3) it continued through the whole of the year; (4) for
forty years it fell regularly for six nights following, and ceased upon the seventh
night; (5) it “bred worms” if kept to a second day, when gathered on five days out of
the six, but when gathered on the sixth day continued good throughout the seventh,
and bred no worms. The manna of Scripture must therefore be regarded as a
miraculous substance, created ad hoc, and not as a natural product. It pleased the
Creator, however, to proceed on the lines of ature, so to speak, and to assimilate
His new to certain of His old creations.
PULPIT, "When the dew that lay was gone up. The moisture which lay upon the
herbage soon evaporated, drawn up by the sun; and then the miracle revealed itself.
There remained upon each leaf and each blade of grass a delicate small substance,
compared here to hoar frost, and elsewhere ( umbers 11:7) to "coriander seed,"
which was easily detached and collected in bags or baskets. The thing was altogether
a novelty to the Israelites, though analogous in some degree to natural processes still
occurring in the country. These processes are of two kinds. At certain times of the
year there is a deposit of a glutinous substance from the air upon leaves and even
upon stones, which may be scraped off, and which resembles thick honey. There is
also an exudation from various trees and shrubs, especially the tamarisk, which is
moderately hard, and is found both on the growing plant and on the fallen leaves
beneath it, in the shape of small, round, white or greyish grains. It is this last which
is the manna of commerce. The Biblical manna cannot be identified with either of
these two substances. In some points it resembled the one, in other points the other;
in some, it differed from both. It came out of the air like the "air-honey," and did
not exude from shrubs; but it was hard, like the manna of commerce, and could be
"ground in mills" and "beaten in mortars," which the "air-honey" cannot. It was
not a medicament, like the one, nor a condiment, like the other, but a substance
suited to be a substitute for bread, and to become the main sustenance of the
Israelitish people. It was produced in quantities far exceeding anything that is
recorded of either manna proper, or air honey. It accompanied the Israelites
wherever they went during the space of forty years, whereas the natural substances,
which in certain points resemble it, are confined to certain districts, and to certain
seasons of the year. During the whole space of forty years it fell regularly during six
consecutive days, and then ceased on the seventh. It "bred worms" if kept till the
morrow on all days of the week except one; on that one—the Sabbath—it bred no
worms, but was sweet and good. Thus, it must be regarded as a peculiar substance,
miraculously created for a special purpose, but similar in certain respects to certain
known substances which are still produced in the Sinaitic region.

91. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each
other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it
was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has
given you to eat.
BAR ES,"It is manna - “Man” or “man-hut,” i. e. white manna, was the name
under which the substance was known to the Egyptians, and therefore to the Israelites.
The manna of the Peninsula of Sinai is the sweet juice of the Tarfa, a species of tamarisk.
It exudes from the trunk and branches in hot weather, and forms small round white
grains. In cold weather it preserves its consistency, in hot weather it melts rapidly. It is
either gathered from the twigs of tamarisk, or from the fallen leaves underneath the tree.
The color is a greyish yellow. It begins to exude in May, and lasts about six weeks.
According to Ehrenberg, it is produced by the puncture of an insect. It is abundant in
rainy seasons, many years it ceases altogether. The whole quantity now produced in a
single year does not exceed 600 or 700 pounds. It is found in the district between the
Wady Gharandel, i. e. Elim, and Sinai, in the Wady Sheikh, and in some other parts of
the Peninsula. When therefore the Israelites saw the “small round thing,” they said at
once “this is manna,” but with an exclamation of surprise at finding it, not under the
tamarisk tree, but on the open plain, in such immense quantities, under circumstances
so unlike what they could have expected: in fact they did not know what it really was,
only what it resembled.
CLARKE, "They said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it
was - This is a most unfortunate translation, because it not only gives no sense, but it
contradicts itself. The Hebrew ‫הוא‬ ‫מן‬ man hu, literally signifies, What is this? for, says the
text, they wist not what it was, and therefore they could not give it a name. Moses
immediately answers the question, and says, This is the bread which the Lord hath given
you to eat. From Exo_16:31 we learn that this substance was afterwards called ‫מן‬ man,
probably in commemoration of the question they had asked on its first appearance.
Almost all our own ancient versions translate the words, What is this?
What this substance was we know not. It was nothing that was common to the
wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw it before, for Moses says, Deu_8:3,
Deu_8:16 : He fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers
know; and it is very likely that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before; and by a
pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely that nothing of the kind ever appeared
more, after the miraculous supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems to have been
created for the present occasion, and, like Him whom it typified, to have been the only
thing of the kind, the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of

92. man, as Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven, and was given for the life
of the world. See John 6:31-58.
GILL, "And when the children of Israel saw it,.... As they could not but observe it,
it being spread over the face of the wilderness; and besides, as they were told, that in the
morning they should have bread to the full, they were up early to look after it:
they said one to another, it is manna; not such as is known by that name now,
which is only used in medicine; nor anything that was then known by any such name;
but so they called it, because it was, as Jarchi says, a preparation of food, or food ready
prepared for them, from ‫,מנה‬ "manah", which signifies to appoint, prepare, and
distribute, see Dan_1:5, so Christ is appointed of God, and prepared in his purposes and
decrees, and delivered out, by his grace as proper food for his people, who have everyone
their portion in due season: for Kimchi and Ben Melech give the sense of the word, a gift
and portion from God; and such is Christ, the gift of his grace, and an unspeakable one.
Some think these words were spoken by the Israelites on first sight of the manna, by way
of question, "Man hu, what is it?" and so Josephus (o) says it signifies in their language;
but it does not appear that the word is so used in the Hebrew tongue, though it might in
the Syriac or Chaldee, which was more in use in the times of Josephus. But it can hardly
be thought that the Israelites could speak in either of these dialects at this time; it is
much more probable what others say, that it so signifies in the Egyptian tongue; and it is
not at all to be wondered at that Israel, just come out of Egypt, should use an Egyptian
word: and this best agrees with the reason that follows, "for they wist not what it was";
which contradicts our version; for if they knew not what it was, how came they to call it
manna? but taking the above words as an interrogation, asking one another what it was,
those come in very pertinently, and assign a reason of the question, because they were
ignorant of it, having never seen any such thing before; and this sense is confirmed by
what Moses says in the next clause, telling them what it was: and thus Christ is unknown
to his own people, until he is revealed unto them; not by flesh and blood, by carnal
reason or carnal men, but by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
him; and he remains always unknown to natural men, though ever so wise and prudent:
and Moses said unto them, this is the bread which the Lord hath given you
to eat; which he had promised them the day before, and which he had now rained in
plenty about them; and which they had as a free gift of his, without any merit and desert
of theirs, and without their labour, diligence, and industry, and which they had now
power from him to eat of freely and plentifully.
CALVI , "15.And when the children of Israel saw. The Israelites manifested some
appearance of gratitude in calling the food given them from heaven, Man, (178)
which name means “something prepared;” but if any prefer their opinion who
expound it, “a part or portion,” I do not debate the matter, although the former is
more correct. Yet, whichever you choose, by this word they confessed that they were
dealt with bountifully, because God presented them with food without their having
to labor for it; and, therefore, they indirectly condemn their own perverse and
wicked murmuring, since it is much better to gather food prepared for them, than to
acquire it by the laborious and troublesome culture of the earth. For although this
confession was extorted from them by the incredible novelty of the thing, yet at that
particular moment their intention was to proclaim God’s loving-kindness. But, since

93. unbelief had clouded their senses, so that they saw not clearly, Moses says that “they
wist not what it was.” In these words he rebukes their slowness of heart, because,
although previously advertised of the miracle, they were astonished at the sight, as if
they had heard nothing of it before. We perceive, then, that they did but half
acknowledge God’s mercy; for their gratitude was clouded with the darkness of
ignorance, and they were compelled to confess that they did not altogether
understand it; and therefore their stupidity is reproved not without bitterness, when
Moses tells them that this was the food promised them by God. For, if they had
recognized in it the fulfillment of the promise, there was no need of recalling it to
their recollection. As to the words themselves, the answer of Moses has misled the
Greek and Latin translators, into rendering them interrogatively, (179) “What is
this?” But their difficulty is easily removed; for Moses does not directly state that
they inquired about it as of some unknown thing, but expresses their knowledge
mixed with ignorance, for the matter was partly doubtful, partly clear; for the
power of God was visibly manifest, but the veil of unbelief prevented them from
apprehending God’s promised bounty.
COKE, "Exodus 16:15. They said one to another, It is manna, &c.— There is a
seeming contradiction in our version: we read, They said, it is manna; and yet, in
the next clause, it is added, for they wist not what it was. The rendering in the
margin of our Bibles is more just: They said one to another, What is it? ‫מן‬ ‫הוא‬ man
hu? quid hoc? what is this? In allusion to which, and to commemorate the universal
surprise and doubt respecting this celestial food, they called it by the name of ‫מן‬
man, manna, Exodus 16:31. And in this interpretation all the ancient versions agree.
This manna fell with the dew, which being exhaled by the heat of the sun, Exodus
16:14 the manna then appeared upon the face of the ground. The sun, as the heat of
it increased, melted also the manna, Exodus 16:21. In umbers 2:9, it is said, the
manna fell upon the dew, which might more properly be rendered the manna fell
with the dew, ‫עליו‬ alau. (See oldius, in ‫על‬,9 .) The Vulgate renders it descendebat
pariter et man, and the manna equally descended. As to its size, it is described as a
small round thing (a mode of expression which evidently proves what we have
before observed, that it was something new to them: something, whereof they knew
not either the name or nature. Indeed, Moses expressly asserts that they did not,
Deuteronomy 8:3 where he calls it manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know). It was as small as the hoar-frost upon the ground: and still further in
Exodus 16:31 it is said to be like coriander-seed for roundness and size; and for
colour, it is said to have been white: or, as in umbers 11:7, of the colour of
bdellium, which, according to Bochart, was a kind of pearl. See Genesis 2:12. Its
taste is said to be like wafers made with honey; and, in umbers 11:8 as the taste of
fresh oil. It is to be observed, that it is spoken of in umbers as prepared and
baked; but here, as it first fell; and therefore the sweetness which it had, when eaten
fresh, may be supposed to have evaporated when baked, &c. See Wisdom of
Solomon 16:20-21 the author of which, following perhaps some Jewish traditions,
asserts, that it suited itself to every man's taste; which may be so far true, that, as
the Almighty designed it for a general food, so it was in general pleasing, as is the
case with bread.

94. BE SO , "Exodus 16:15. They said one to another, It is manna — The original
words, ‫הוא‬ ‫,מן‬ man hu, should certainly have been rendered here, as they literally
mean, what is it? or what is this? for it is plain, from what follows, they could not
give it a name, for they wist not what it was — It is to be observed, that although it
came down from the clouds, not only with the dew, but in a kind of dew, melted, yet
it was of such a consistency, as to serve for strengthening food without any thing
else. It was pleasant food: the Jews say it was palatable to all, according as their
tastes were. It was wholesome food, light of digestion. By this spare and plain diet
we are all taught a lesson of temperance, and forbidden to desire dainties and
varieties.
ELLICOTT, "(15) It is manna.—This is certainly a wrong translation. The words of
the original, man hu, must either be rendered, as in the LXX. And the Vulg., “What
is this ?” Or, as by Kimchi, Knobel, Gesenius, Kurtz, and others, “This is a gift.” It
is against the former rendering that man does not mean “what” in Hebrew, but only
in Chaldee, and that “what is this” would be a very strange name to give to a
substance. Against the latter it may be said that neither is man found elsewhere in
Hebrew in the sense of “a gift;” but it has that sense in Arabic; and in Hebrew
manan is “to give.”
This is the bread—i.e., the promised bread. (See Exodus 16:4.)
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Holy Communion: The Bread of Life
Exodus 16:15
Our subject is the supply given by God to His people for one of their great needs. In
the wilderness, where no food could grow or could be obtained, God gave His people
bread from heaven to eat.
I. The Jews expected the Messiah to give them food from heaven. The manna they
expected from their second Redeemer may not have been bodily food; it was,
according to some interpreters, food for the soul. The second Redeemer brought
with Him from heaven heavenly food. But, alas! the Jews did not recognize the
heavenly food when it came.
II. We are travelling through the wilderness of our promised land, and that
wilderness provides us with nothing which can supply the wants of our being. God
gives us day by day our daily bread, but man cannot live by bread alone. So God
gives us something more precious, something which can really sustain our life. He
gives us that which is no product of earth, the true bread from heaven—the living
bread—the only bread which can support us in our journeyings—the only food
which can deliver us from death, and that food is the Son of God Whom He sent to
be the life of the world.
III. And how do we feed upon Him? We can feed upon Him at any time. We do feed

95. upon Him when our faith goes forth from us and takes hold of Him as the source
and stay of our life. But undoubtedly there is a special means provided for us by
God that we may feed upon Him, namely, the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.
We need faith above all in our Communions. Faith to realize the Presence of the
Saviour—faith to feed upon His Body and Blood—faith to assimilate the Divine life
which flows to us from Him. Having deep repentance and true faith, we shall
necessarily have fervent love, for we shall know and feel the greatness of God"s love
to us unworthy sinners. Having then all three Christian virtues, we shall nourish
our souls to everlasting life by feeding on the manna in Christ"s own way. And
having the Divine life within us, we shall pass along our desert way, till Jordan
being past, we shall no longer need to receive our heavenly gifts through earthly
signs. Sacraments will cease when we see our Lord face to face, even as the manna
ceased when the Israelites entered Canaan.
—F. Watson, The Christian Life Here and Hereafter, p79.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "SPIRITUAL MEAT.
Exodus 16:15-36.
Since the journey of Israel is throughout full of sacred meaning, no one can fail to
discern a mystery in the silent ceaseless daily miracle of bread-giving. But we are
not left to our conjectures. St. Paul calls manna "spiritual meat," not because it
nourished the higher life (for the eaters of it murmured for flesh, and were not
estranged from their lust), but because it answered to realities of the spiritual world
(1 Corinthians 10:3). And Christ Himself said, "It was not Moses that gave you the
bread out of heaven, but My Father giveth you the true Bread from heaven,"
making manna the type of sustenance which the soul needs in the wilderness, and
which only God can give (John 6:32).
We note the time of its bestowal. The soul has come forth out of its bondage.
Perhaps it imagines that emancipation is enough: all is won when its chains are
broken: there is to be no interval between the Egypt of sin and the Promised Land
of milk and honey and repose. Instead of this serene attainment, it finds that the
soul requires to be fed, and no food is to be seen, but only a wilderness of scorching
heat, dry sand, vacancy, and hunger. Old things have passed away, but it is not yet
realised that all things have become new. Religion threatens to become a vast system
for the removal of accustomed indulgences and enjoyments, but where is the
recompense for all that it forbids? The soul cries out for food: well for it if the cry
be not faithless, nor spoken to earthly chiefs alone!
There is a noteworthy distinction between the gift of manna and every other
recorded miracle of sustenance. In Eden the fruit of immortality was ripening upon
an earthly tree. The widow of Zarephath was fed from her own stores. The ravens
bore to Elijah ordinary bread and flesh; and if an angel fed him, it was with a cake
baken upon coals. Christ Himself was content to multiply common bread and fish,

96. and even after His resurrection gave His apostles the fare to which they were
accustomed. Thus they learned that the divine life must be led amid the ordinary
conditions of mortality. Even the incarnation of Deity was wrought in the likeness of
sinful flesh. But yet the incarnation was the bringing of a new life, a strange and
unknown energy, to man.
And here, almost at the beginning of revelation, is typified, not the homely
conditions of the inner life, but its unearthly nature and essence. Here is no
multiplication of their own stores, no gift, like the quails, of such meat as they were
wont to gather. They asked "What is it?" And this teaches the Christian that his
sustenance is not of this world. They were fed "with manna which they knew not ...
to make them know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live" (Deuteronomy 8:3). The root of
worldliness is not in this indulgence or that, in gay clothing or an active career; but
in the soul's endeavour to draw its nourishment from things below. And spirituality
belongs not to an uncouth vocabulary, nor to the robes of any confraternity, to rigid
rules or austere deportment; it is the blessedness of a life nourished upon the bread
of heaven, and doomed to starve if that bread be not bestowed. Let not the wealthy
find an insuperable bar to spirituality in his condition, nor the poor suppose that
indigence cannot have its treasure upon earth; but let each man ask whence come
his most real and practical impulses and energies upon life's journey. If these flow
from even the purest earthly source--love of wife or child, anything else than
communion with the Father of spirits, this is not the bread of life, and can no more
nourish a pilgrim towards eternity than the husks which swine eat.
There is no mistaking the doctrine of the ew Testament as to what this bread may
be. By prayer and faith, by ordinances and sacraments rightly used, the manna may
be gathered; but Jesus Himself is the Bread of life, His Flesh is meat indeed and His
Blood is drink indeed, and He gives His Flesh for the life of the world. Christ is the
Vine, and we are the branches, fruitful only by the sap which flows from Him. As
there are diseases which cannot be overcome by powerful drugs, but by a generous
and wholesome dietary, so is it with the diseases of the soul--pride, anger,
selfishness, falsehood, lust. As the curse of sin is removed by the faith which
appropriates pardon, so its power is broken by the steady personal acceptance of
Christ; and our Bread and Wine are His new humanity, given to us, until He
becomes the second Father of the race, which is begotten again in Him. An easy
temper is not Christian meekness; dislike to witness pain is not Christian love. All
our goodness must strike root deeper than in the sensibilities, must be nourished by
the communication to us of the mind which was in Christ Jesus.
And this food is universally given, and universally suitable. The strong and the
weak, the aged chieftain and little children, ate and were nourished. o stern decree
excluded any member of the visible Church in the wilderness from sharing the
bread from heaven: they did eat the same spiritual meat, provided only that they
gathered it. Their part was to be in earnest in accepting, and so is ours; but if we
fail, whom shall we blame except ourselves? In the mystery of its origin, in the silent
and secret mode of its descent from above, in the constancy of its bestowal, and in its

97. suitability for all the camp, for Moses and the youngest child, the manna prefigured
Christ.
Every day a fresh supply had to be laid up, and nothing could be held over from the
largest hoard. So it is with us: we must give ourselves to Christ for ever, but we
must ask Him daily to give Himself to us. The richest experience, the purest
aspiration, the humblest self-abandonment that was ever felt, could not reach
forward to supply the morrow. Past graces will become loathsome if used instead of
present supplies from heaven. And the secret of many a scandalous fall is that the
unhappy soul grew self-confident: unlike St. Paul, he reckoned that he had already
attained; and thereupon the graces in which he trusted became corrupt and vile.
The constant supply was not more needful than it was abundant. The manna lay all
around the camp: the Bread of Life is He who stands at our door and knocks. Alas
for those who murmur for grosser indulgences! Israel demanded and obtained
them; but while the flesh was in their nostrils the angel of the Lord went forth and
smote them. Is there no plague any longer for the perverse? What are the discords
that convulse families, the uncurbed passions to which nothing is sacred, the jaded
appetite and weary discontent which hates the world even as it hates itself? what but
the judgment of God upon those who despise His provision, and must needs gratify
themselves? Be it our happiness, as it is our duty, to trust Him to prepare our table
before us, while He leads us to His Holy Land.
The Lord of the Sabbath already taught His people to respect His day. Upon it no
manna fell; and we shall hereafter see the bearing of this incident upon the question
whether the Sabbath is only an ordinance of Judaism. Meanwhile they who went out
to gather had a sharp lesson in the difference between faith, which expects what
God has promised, and presumption, which hopes not to lose much by disobeying
Him.
Lastly, an omer of manna was to be kept throughout all generations, before the
Testimony. Grateful remembrance of past mercies, temporal as well as spiritual,
was to connect itself with the deepest and most awful mysteries of religion. So let it
be with us. The bitter proverb that eaten bread is soon forgotten must never be true
of the Christian. He is to remember all the way that the Lord his God hath led him.
He is bidden to "forget not all His benefits, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who
healeth all thy diseases ... Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things." So foolish is
the slander that religion is too transcendental for the common life of man.
ISBET, "BREAD FROM HEAVE
‘The bread which the Lord hath given.’
Exodus 16:15
Six weeks of the desert, part of which was spent beside the wells and under the
palm-trees of Elim, were enough to sicken the people of freedom. They were but a
mob of slaves in heart yet, and, like children, lived in the present, and were more
influenced by hunger and thirst than by fine words about liberty and serving God.
The natural man has a very short memory for anything but good living, so by ‘the

98. fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt,’
task-masters and brick-making, and all other miseries, were forgotten, and the
flesh-pots only remembered, which made their mouths water.
I. Human ingratitude.—The murmurings of the people fill a larger space in this
Lesson than the supply of the manna, and we may well pause on them. We may
learn from them how quickly men forget God’s benefits when difficulties or losses
come, and may ask ourselves if our thankfulness is more stable and independent of
the moment’s circumstances than theirs was. There are flowers that shut themselves
up if a cloud comes over the sun, and there are flowers that hold their petals wide
open all the day, though the light comes only from a veiled sky. Which of the two is
our gratitude to God like? Can we sing in a darkened cage? There are moods in
which we remember the flesh-pots and forget the bondage, and that not because we
have learned to look wisely at past sorrows, but because we are looking unwisely at
present ones.
II. Divine goodness.—The writer’s preoccupation with the manna explains the slight
way in which the extraordinary flocks of quails are told of. These birds make their
migration in countless numbers still, and their coming then was a proof of God’s
working in so far as the coincidence in time and the prevision of their flight spoke of
One Who knew beforehand, and could direct the course of the birds of the air. The
manna is but partially described in our Lesson. We have to add that it was ‘like
coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey,’ and,
further, that it melted when the sun grew hot, that if too much was gathered it
corrupted and bred maggots, except that gathered for the sabbath, which kept sweet
over night. It is quite vain to try to keep the miraculous out of the narrative. o
doubt, certain of the scanty shrubs of the Sinaitic Peninsula do at certain seasons of
the year, when punctured by insects, exude a substance having some of the qualities
of the manna. But how many such shrubs would it have taken to have made up one
day’s rations for the camp, not to say to keep up the supply for forty years? Besides,
the manna was continuous, and the product which is pointed to as equivalent to it is
confined to certain times of the year. And was there ever a natural substance that
was so obliging as to accommodate its tendency to corruption to the law of the
Sabbath? o doubt, there are miracles in the Exodus where the substratum is
supplied by some natural phenomenon, but it is impossible fairly to include the
manna as one of such. The continual sense of dependence was to be cultivated, and
continual evidence of God’s bounty was to be given by the daily gathering and the
impossibility of ever having a day’s store in advance, or too much in the omer for
immediate use, in order that thereby blind eyes might see, and hard hearts be won
to obey. Though we can make provision for the future, and have no such visible
manifestation of the Divine working in giving our daily bread, yet we too have to
live from hand to mouth; for ‘who can tell what a day may bring forth?’ And we
shall be wise if we realise our dependence on the unseen Hand which feeds us as
truly as if it showered manna round our tents, and are led by thankful love to walk
in His law.
Illustration

99. (1) ‘There is as much of the glory of God in the fish caught from a lake, or the
kernel of grain raised in a field, or the loaf of bread baked in the oven, as in the
miraculous food that fell from heaven. In every drop of water there is the majesty of
an ocean, in every star the beauty of a universe, in every child the grandeur of
humanity. To the reverent mind the glory of God is seen as clearly in feeding a
raven or clothing a lily as in quenching the hunger or hiding the nakedness of an
army.’
(2) ‘Let me not murmur: it hinders immeasurably my own spiritual life. The
growing soul is the glad soul. The desponding and complaining soul is stagnant, and,
it may be, retrograde. I advance in faith, in hope, in love, in wisdom, in purity, in all
that commends Jesus to others, if I set myself to count my benefits rather than my
griefs. “Discouragement,” said David Brainerd, “is a great hindrance to spiritual
fervency.”’
PETT, "Exodus 16:15
‘And when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” (or
‘it is man’). For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the
food which Yahweh has given you to eat.’
“They said ‘man hu”.’ The use of ‘man’ for ‘what’ is Aramaic rather than Hebrew
although this may indicate that it was so used in early Hebrew. So the question
‘what is this?’ becomes the derivation for the name. Alternately this may be
translated “this is ‘man’.” This might suggest that it resembled something they had
known in Egypt, ‘man’ then being the transliteration of an Egyptian word. This
would explain why they called this new thing ‘man’ (Hebrew for Manna - see
Exodus 16:31). Alternately, as mentioned earlier, the Arabic for the plant lice was
‘man’. If this was so in early Hebrew this might explain the name if they recognised
that as its source. But reading back from the Arabic is not always wise (even though
sometimes it is all we have to help us).
Moses brings home the lesson, reminding them of how they had murmured against
Yahweh. “It is the food which Yahweh has given you to eat.’ Rather than forsaking
them He had provided in abundance.
PULPIT, "They said one to another, this is manna. Rather, "this is a gift." To
suppose that they recognised the substance as one known to them in Egypt under
the name of menu or mennu, is to make this clause contradict the next. To translate
"what is this?" gives good sense, but is against grammar, since the Hebrew for
"what" is not man but mah. The Septuagint translators (who render τί ἐστι τοῦτο)
were probably deceived by their familiarity with the Chaldee, in which man
corresponds to "what." ot knowing what to call the substance, the Israelites said
one to another, "it is a gift"—meaning a gift from heaven, God's gift (compare
Exodus 16:8); and afterwards, in consequence of this, the word man (properly
"gift") became the accepted name of the thing.

100. BI, "Verses 15-36
SPIRITUAL MEAT.
Exodus 16:15-36.
Since the journey of Israel is throughout full of sacred meaning, no one can fail to
discern a mystery in the silent ceaseless daily miracle of bread-giving. But we are
not left to our conjectures. St. Paul calls manna "spiritual meat," not because it
nourished the higher life (for the eaters of it murmured for flesh, and were not
estranged from their lust), but because it answered to realities of the spiritual world
(1 Corinthians 10:3). And Christ Himself said, "It was not Moses that gave you the
bread out of heaven, but My Father giveth you the true Bread from heaven,"
making manna the type of sustenance which the soul needs in the wilderness, and
which only God can give (John 6:32).
We note the time of its bestowal. The soul has come forth out of its bondage.
Perhaps it imagines that emancipation is enough: all is won when its chains are
broken: there is to be no interval between the Egypt of sin and the Promised Land
of milk and honey and repose. Instead of this serene attainment, it finds that the
soul requires to be fed, and no food is to be seen, but only a wilderness of scorching
heat, dry sand, vacancy, and hunger. Old things have passed away, but it is not yet
realised that all things have become new. Religion threatens to become a vast system
for the removal of accustomed indulgences and enjoyments, but where is the
recompense for all that it forbids? The soul cries out for food: well for it if the cry
be not faithless, nor spoken to earthly chiefs alone!
There is a noteworthy distinction between the gift of manna and every other
recorded miracle of sustenance. In Eden the fruit of immortality was ripening upon
an earthly tree. The widow of Zarephath was fed from her own stores. The ravens
bore to Elijah ordinary bread and flesh; and if an angel fed him, it was with a cake
baken upon coals. Christ Himself was content to multiply common bread and fish,
and even after His resurrection gave His apostles the fare to which they were
accustomed. Thus they learned that the divine life must be led amid the ordinary
conditions of mortality. Even the incarnation of Deity was wrought in the likeness of
sinful flesh. But yet the incarnation was the bringing of a new life, a strange and
unknown energy, to man.
And here, almost at the beginning of revelation, is typified, not the homely
conditions of the inner life, but its unearthly nature and essence. Here is no
multiplication of their own stores, no gift, like the quails, of such meat as they were
wont to gather. They asked "What is it?" And this teaches the Christian that his
sustenance is not of this world. They were fed "with manna which they knew not ...
to make them know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live" (Deuteronomy 8:3). The root of
worldliness is not in this indulgence or that, in gay clothing or an active career; but
in the soul's endeavour to draw its nourishment from things below. And spirituality
belongs not to an uncouth vocabulary, nor to the robes of any confraternity, to rigid

101. rules or austere deportment; it is the blessedness of a life nourished upon the bread
of heaven, and doomed to starve if that bread be not bestowed. Let not the wealthy
find an insuperable bar to spirituality in his condition, nor the poor suppose that
indigence cannot have its treasure upon earth; but let each man ask whence come
his most real and practical impulses and energies upon life's journey. If these flow
from even the purest earthly source--love of wife or child, anything else than
communion with the Father of spirits, this is not the bread of life, and can no more
nourish a pilgrim towards eternity than the husks which swine eat.
There is no mistaking the doctrine of the ew Testament as to what this bread may
be. By prayer and faith, by ordinances and sacraments rightly used, the manna may
be gathered; but Jesus Himself is the Bread of life, His Flesh is meat indeed and His
Blood is drink indeed, and He gives His Flesh for the life of the world. Christ is the
Vine, and we are the branches, fruitful only by the sap which flows from Him. As
there are diseases which cannot be overcome by powerful drugs, but by a generous
and wholesome dietary, so is it with the diseases of the soul--pride, anger,
selfishness, falsehood, lust. As the curse of sin is removed by the faith which
appropriates pardon, so its power is broken by the steady personal acceptance of
Christ; and our Bread and Wine are His new humanity, given to us, until He
becomes the second Father of the race, which is begotten again in Him. An easy
temper is not Christian meekness; dislike to witness pain is not Christian love. All
our goodness must strike root deeper than in the sensibilities, must be nourished by
the communication to us of the mind which was in Christ Jesus.
And this food is universally given, and universally suitable. The strong and the
weak, the aged chieftain and little children, ate and were nourished. o stern decree
excluded any member of the visible Church in the wilderness from sharing the
bread from heaven: they did eat the same spiritual meat, provided only that they
gathered it. Their part was to be in earnest in accepting, and so is ours; but if we
fail, whom shall we blame except ourselves? In the mystery of its origin, in the silent
and secret mode of its descent from above, in the constancy of its bestowal, and in its
suitability for all the camp, for Moses and the youngest child, the manna prefigured
Christ.
Every day a fresh supply had to be laid up, and nothing could be held over from the
largest hoard. So it is with us: we must give ourselves to Christ for ever, but we
must ask Him daily to give Himself to us. The richest experience, the purest
aspiration, the humblest self-abandonment that was ever felt, could not reach
forward to supply the morrow. Past graces will become loathsome if used instead of
present supplies from heaven. And the secret of many a scandalous fall is that the
unhappy soul grew self-confident: unlike St. Paul, he reckoned that he had already
attained; and thereupon the graces in which he trusted became corrupt and vile.
The constant supply was not more needful than it was abundant. The manna lay all
around the camp: the Bread of Life is He who stands at our door and knocks. Alas
for those who murmur for grosser indulgences! Israel demanded and obtained
them; but while the flesh was in their nostrils the angel of the Lord went forth and

102. smote them. Is there no plague any longer for the perverse? What are the discords
that convulse families, the uncurbed passions to which nothing is sacred, the jaded
appetite and weary discontent which hates the world even as it hates itself? what but
the judgment of God upon those who despise His provision, and must needs gratify
themselves? Be it our happiness, as it is our duty, to trust Him to prepare our table
before us, while He leads us to His Holy Land.
The Lord of the Sabbath already taught His people to respect His day. Upon it no
manna fell; and we shall hereafter see the bearing of this incident upon the question
whether the Sabbath is only an ordinance of Judaism. Meanwhile they who went out
to gather had a sharp lesson in the difference between faith, which expects what
God has promised, and presumption, which hopes not to lose much by disobeying
Him.
Lastly, an omer of manna was to be kept throughout all generations, before the
Testimony. Grateful remembrance of past mercies, temporal as well as spiritual,
was to connect itself with the deepest and most awful mysteries of religion. So let it
be with us. The bitter proverb that eaten bread is soon forgotten must never be true
of the Christian. He is to remember all the way that the Lord his God hath led him.
He is bidden to "forget not all His benefits, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who
healeth all thy diseases ... Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things." So foolish is
the slander that religion is too transcendental for the common life of man.
16 This is what the Lord has commanded:
‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take
an omer[a] for each person you have in your
tent.’”
BAR ES,"An omer - i. e. the tenth part of an Ephah, see Exo_16:36. The exact
quantity cannot be determined, since the measures varied at different times. Josephus
makes the omer equal to six half-pints. The ephah was an Egyptian measure, supposed
to be about a bushel or one-third of a hin. The word omer, in this sense, occurs in no
other passage. It was probably not used at a later period, belonging, like many other
words, to the time of Moses. It is found in Old Egyptian. See Lev_19:36.

103. CLARKE, "An omer for every man - I shall here once for all give a short account
of the measures of capacity among the Hebrews.
Omer, ‫עמר‬ from the root amar, to press, squeeze, collect, and bind together; hence a
sheaf of corn - a multitude of stalks pressed together. It is supposed that the omer,
which contained about three quarts English, had its name from this circumstance;
that it was the most contracted or the smallest measure of things dry known to the
ancient Hebrews; for the ‫קב‬ kab, which was less, was not known till the reign of
Jehoram, king of Israel, 2Ki_6:25 - Parkhurst.
The Ephah, ‫אפה‬ or ‫איפה‬ eiphah, from ‫אפה‬ aphah, to bake, because this was probably
the quantity which was baked at one time. According to Bishop Cumberland the
ephah contained seven gallons, two quarts, and about half a pint, wine measure;
and as the omer was the tenth part of the ephah, Exo_16:36, it must have
contained about six pints English.
The Kab, ‫קב‬ is said to have contained about the sixth part of a seah, or three pints and
one third English.
The Homer, ‫חמר‬ chomer, mentioned Lev_27:16, was quite a different measure from
that above, and is a different word in the Hebrew. The chomer was the largest
measure of capacity among the Hebrews, being equal to ten baths or ephahs,
amounting to about seventy-five gallons, three pints, English. See Eze_45:11, Eze_
45:13, Eze_45:14. Goodwin supposes that this measure derived its name from ‫חמר‬
chamor, an ass, being the ordinary load of that animal.
The Bath, ‫,בת‬ was the largest measure of capacity next to the homer, of which it was
the tenth part. It was the same as the ephah, and consequently contained about
seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint, and is always used in Scripture as a
measure of liquids.
The Seah, ‫,סאה‬ was a measure of capacity for things dry, equal to about two gallons
and a half English. See 2Ki_7:1, 2Ki_7:16, 2Ki_7:18.
The Hin, ‫,הין‬ according to Bishop Cumberland, was the one-sixth part of an ephah, and
contained a little more than one gallon and two pints. See Exo_29:40.
The Log, ‫,לג‬ was the smallest measure of capacity for liquids among the Hebrews: it
contained about three quarters of a pint. See Lev_14:10, Lev_14:12.
Take ye - for them which are in his tents - Some might have been confined in
their tents through sickness or infirmity, and charity required that those who were in
health should gather a portion for them. For though the psalmist says, Psa_105:37,
There was not one feeble person among their tribes, this must refer principally to their
healthy state when brought out of Egypt; for it appears that there were many infirm
among them when attacked by the Amalekites. See Clarke’s note on Exo_17:8.
GILL, "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded,.... Respecting the
gathering of it, the rule or rules he would have observed concerning that, as follows:
gather of it every man according to his eating; according to his appetite, and
according to the appetites of those that were in his family, as much as they can all eat;

104. and that they may have enough, the particular quantity is fixed for each of them. This act
of gathering, in the mystical sense, may respect the exercise of faith on Christ, laying
hold of him as he is held forth in the word, receiving him, and feeding upon him with a
spiritual appetite, and that freely, largely, plentifully, and encouraging others to do the
same:
an omer for every man; or head, or by poll (p); they were to take the poll of their
families, the number of them, and reckon to every head, or assign to every man, such a
measure of the manna, and which was sufficient for a man of the keenest appetite; what
this measure was; see Gill on Exo_16:36 This must be understood not of sucking infants,
and such that were sick and infirm, and of poor appetites, that could not feed upon and
digest such sort of food, only of those that could:
according to the number of your persons, take ye every man for them which
are in his tent: this was to be done after it was gathered and brought in, either by
certain overseers of this affair, or heads of families, who, according to the number of
those that were in their tents, who were eaters of such sort of food, was to take an omer
of it for everyone of them.
K&D 16-18, "After explaining the object of the manna, Moses made known to them
at once the directions of God about gathering it. In the first place, every one was to
gather according to the necessities of his family, a bowl a head, which held, according to
Exo_16:36, the tenth part of an ephah. Accordingly they gathered, “he that made much,
and he that made little,” i.e., he that gathered much, and he that gathered little, and
measured it with the omer; and he who gathered much had no surplus, and he who
gathered little had no lack: “every one according to the measure of his eating had they
gathered.” These words are generally understood by the Rabbins as meaning, that
whether they had gathered much or little, when they measured it in their tents, they had
collected just as many omers as they needed for the number in their families, and
therefore that no one had either superfluity or deficiency. Calvin, on the other hand, and
other Christian commentators, suppose the meaning to be, that all that was gathered
was placed in a heap, and then measured out in the quantity that each required. In the
former case, the miraculous superintendence of God was manifested in this, that no one
was able to gather either more or less than what he needed for the number in his family;
in the second case, in the fact that the entire quantity gathered, amounted exactly to
what the whole nation required. In both cases, the superintending care of God would be
equally wonderful, but the words of the text decidedly favour the old Jewish view.
CALVI , "16.This is the thing. The exception (180) follows, that in gathering the
food, they should take account of the Sabbath. A certain daily measure is
prescribed; but they are commanded on the day before the Sabbath to lay up twice
as much, that they may observe its rest. But, unquestionably, God so far extended
His liberality as abundantly to satisfy them. It is well known that an omer is the
tenth part of an ephah; (181) and perhaps we might discover its proportion to the
measures which are now in use amongst us; but I am unwilling to dispute
respecting’ an unnecessary point; since it is enough to be sure, that not less was
given than was amply sufficient for them.

105. COKE, "Exodus 16:16. An omer— In Exodus 16:36 an omer is said to be the tenth
part of an ephah. According to Bishop Cumberland, the ephah contains seven
gallons, two quarts, and about half a pint in wine measure; so that an omer was
about three quarts, or a little more probably than six pounds weight, Roman
measure. This was the smallest measure of things dry, known by the ancient
Hebrews. The homer, mentioned Leviticus 27:16 was a different measure from this.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:16. According to his eating — As much as is sufficient. An
omer is the tenth part of an ephah: about six pints, wine measure. This was certainly
a very liberal allowance, and such as might abundantly satisfy a man of the greatest
strength and appetite. Indeed, it would seem too much, were it not that it was very
light food, and easy of digestion.
ELLICOTT, "(16) Every man according to his eating.—Comp. Exodus 12:4. Each
man was to gather according to his immediate need and that of his family. o one
was to seek to accumulate a store.
An omer-About three pints English.
For every man.—Literally, for every head. As families would average four
members, each man would have to gather, on an average, six quarts. If even 500,000
men gathered this amount, the daily supply must have been 93,500 bushels.
His tents.—Heb., his tent.
COFFMA , "Verses 16-20
"This 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,
ye shall take it, every man for them that are in his tent. And the children of Israel
did so, and gathered some more, some less. And 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. And Moses said unto them,
Let no man leave of it till the morning. otwithstanding they hearkened not unto
Moses; but some of them left of it till the morning, and it bred worms, and became
foul: and Moses was wroth with them."
The injunction here was addressed to the problem of greed and hoarding, and the
wonder that each had exactly enough whether he gathered much or little was used
by the apostle Paul as an incentive to Christian giving (See 2 Corinthians 8:14). He
also added that Christian liberality is commanded and that such is God's way of
"proving Christians" (2 Corinthians 9:13).
"An omer a head ..." Although not a matter of world-shaking importance, it is
amazing that scholars describe this measure variously as "seven pints,"[19] "just
over two liters,"[20] "approximately four pints"[21] "six and 1/2 pints,"[22] and

106. "six half-pints."[23]
"And Moses was wroth with them ..." It is amazing that the people had so little trust
in God that they violated His laws with impunity, and such an attitude on the part
of many in Israel was enough to have kindled the anger of any righteous man.
evertheless, Moses loved them, and later, he actually offered his life as a sacrifice
to save them, an offer which God declined to accept.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 16:16
The same hand that rained manna upon their tents could have rained it into their
mouths or laps. God loves we should take pains for our spiritual food. Little would
it have availed them, that the manna lay about their tents, if they had not gone forth
and gathered it, beaten it, baked it. Let salvation be never so plentiful, if we bring it
not home and make it ours by faith, we are no whit the better.
—Bishop Hall.
An Omer for Each Man
How great a virtue is temperance, how much of moment through the whole life of
man! Yet God commits the managing so great a trust, without particular law or
prescription, wholly to the demeanour of every grown Prayer of Manasseh , and
therefore when He Himself tabled the Jews from heaven, that omer, which was
every man"s daily portion of manna, is computed to have been more than might
have well sufficed the heartiest feeder thrice as many meals. For those actions which
enter not into a Prayer of Manasseh , rather than issue out of him, and therefore
defile not, God trusts him with the gift of reason to be his own chooser.
—Milton, Areopagitica.
PETT, "Verses 16-18
‘This is what Yahweh has commanded. You gather of it every man according to his
eating. An omer a head, according to the number of your persons you will take it,
every man for those who are in his tent. And the children of Israel did so, some
more, some less. And when they measured it out 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.’
The people are commanded by Yahweh to gather an omer of manna per head. But
the fact that they may take according to their eating may suggest not so much the
use of an exact measurement as an indication of the size of vessel to use per person.
But ‘according to their eating’ may simply mean according to how many there are
who will need to eat. For the overall impression is of an omer a head. And as it
turned out that provided sufficiency for all with nothing left over.
“An omer.” This is only found here. It was probably a small bowl which contained
the tenth part of an ephah (Exodus 16:36).

107. “An omer a head.” This exact measurement suggests that ‘every man according to
his eating’ means according to the eating requirements of his whole family at an
omer a head. That is, that he collected an omer for each family member, and not
that every man gathered according to how much he wanted.
“They measured it out 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.” This probably means that those who had large families and those who were
only a small entity, both found that they had sufficiency. Some have suggested that
it means that those who had gathered too much gave any excess to those who had
not gathered enough.
SIMEO , "SCRIPTURAL EQUALITY
Exodus 16:16-18. This 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. And the children
of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with
an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no
lack.
TO exercise faith, in opposition to all the dictates of sense, is no easy attainment. For
instance; the Jews in the wilderness soon found that they had no means of
subsistence; and no prospect was before them, but that of speedily perishing by
hunger and thirst. Yet they did not well to murmur against Moses and Aaron, who,
as God’s appointed agents, had brought them forth from Egypt: in fact, their
murmuring was against God himself, to whom they should rather have applied
themselves in earnest prayer for the relief of their necessities. The wonders which he
had already wrought for them were abundantly sufficient to shew them, that, whilst
under his care, they had nothing to fear. Doubtless the pressure of hunger and of
thirst rendered it difficult for them to believe that God would provide for them; and
God therefore mercifully bore with their impatience, and relieved their wants: he
gave them water out of a rock; and supplied them with bread from the clouds, even
with bread sufficient for them from day to day. In relation to the manna, which was
rained every night round about their tents, and which they were commanded to
gather for their daily use before the risen sun had caused it to melt away, there was
this very peculiar circumstance daily occurring during the whole forty years of their
sojourning in the wilderness, that, whilst the head of every family was to gather a
certain portion (an omer, about five pints,) for every person dependent on him,
“those who had gathered more” found, when they came to measure it, that they
“had nothing over; and those who had gathered less, that they had no lack.” ow
this circumstance being so very peculiar, I shall endeavour to unfold it to you in its
proper bearings: in order to which. I shall consider it,
I. As an historic record—

108. A more curious fact we can scarcely conceive: and it is the more curious, because it
occurred, not occasionally in a few instances, but continually, for forty years,
through the whole camp of Israel.
It arose, I apprehend,
1. From God’s merciful disposition towards them—
[A variety of circumstances might occur from time to time to prevent some heads of
families from making the necessary exertion before the sun should have dissolved
the manna, and have deprived them of the portion which they ought to have
gathered. Illness, in themselves or their families, might incapacitate them for the
discharge of their duty in this matter; or a pressure of urgent business cause them to
delay it till it was too late. In this case, what must be done? God, in his mercy, took
care that there should be in some a zeal beyond what their own necessities required,
and that their abundance should he sufficient to counterbalance and supply the
wants of others. In order to this, he needed only to leave men to the operation of
their own minds. They did not collect the food by measure, but measured it after
they had brought it home; that so they might apportion it to every member of their
family, according to the divine command. Hence it would often occur, that one who
was young, active, vigorous, and disengaged, would exceed his quota; whilst another
who was enfeebled by sickness, or depressed by sorrow, or occupied with some
urgent business, as that of attending on his sick wife and family, might collect but
little. either the one might think of administering relief, nor the other of receiving
it; but in all cases where there was excess or defect found in the exertions of one,
there was a corresponding want or superfluity in another; so that, on measuring the
whole, there was no superfluity or defect throughout the whole camp.
In fact, this, in some respect, obtains throughout the whole world: for though there
is doubtless a great disparity in men’s possessions, arising from different
circumstances, the rich unwittingly supply the necessities of the poor, by dispersing
their wealth in return for the comforts or elegancies of life: and thus, to a much
greater extent than men in general are aware, is equality produced among them; all
having food and raiment, and no one possessing more.]
2. From their bountiful disposition towards each other—
[In this view St. Paul quotes the very words of my text. He is exhorting the
Corinthians to liberality in supplying the wants of their poorer brethren: he tells
them, however, that he did not mean to burthen them for the purpose of easing
others; but only that, by an equality, their present abundance might be a supply for
the wants of others; who, in return, might supply their wants, in case circumstances
should arise to admit of it and require it; that so there might be, under all
circumstances, an equality: as it is written, “He that had gathered much had
nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack [ ote: 2 Corinthians 8:13-
15.].” This sense does not at all oppose that which I have before given: on the
contrary, it rather confirms the former sense; for it supposes that the overplus was

109. collected accidentally, as it were, in the first instance, and without any express
intention to dispose of it to others: but on its being found to exceed their own wants,
they liberally dispensed it to supply the wants of others; the donors at one time
being the recipients at another; and the obligations conferred being mutual, as
occasion required.
This, too, is still agreeable to the order of God’s providence in the world. o one can
tell what change of circumstances may arise, to elevate or depress any child of man:
but events continually occur to render a reciprocation of friendly offices both
practicable and necessary, and to call forth amongst ourselves the dispositions that
were exercised amongst the persons spoken of in our text.]
But, to enter more fully into the design of God in this fact, we must notice it,
II. As a mystical ordinance or appointment—
That the manna was a type of Christ, is beyond a doubt: our blessed Lord himself
drew the parallel, in the most minute particulars [ ote: John 6:31-58.] — — — On
this account the manna is called “spiritual meat [ ote: 1 Corinthians 10:3.]:” and
when, in the bestowment of it, there was so remarkable a circumstance perpetuated
throughout the whole camp for forty years, we cannot doubt but that it was
intended to convey some particular and very important instruction. or does the
construction put upon it by St. Paul in one point of view at all militate against a
different construction of it in another view. His interpretation refers to it only as a
temporal ordinance: but, as it was a spiritual ordinance also, we must endeavour to
derive from it the instruction which. in that view, it was intended to convey [ ote:
St. Matthew’s explanation of Isaiah 53:4-5. (See Matthew 8:16-17.) does not
invalidate the construction put upon it by St. Peter, 1 Peter 2:24. Both senses were
true: but the spiritual sense was the more important.] — — — I think, then, that we
may see in it,
1. Our privilege as Believers—
[Believers now feed on Christ, as the whole Jewish nation fed upon the manna: and
from day to day it is found, that “they who gather much have nothing over; and
they who gather little have no lack.” In the Church of God at this day persons are
very differently circumstanced; some having much leisure, and deep learning, and
many opportunities of attending ordinances in public, and of acquiring information
in private; whilst others are so entirely occupied with temporal concerns, or so
remote from opportunities of instruction, that they can gather but little
comparatively of the heavenly bread. But have the one therefore any superfluity, or
the other any want? o. We will ask of those who are most devoted to the word of
God and prayer, whether they find their attainments in knowledge and in grace so
abundant, that they have more than their necessities require? o. A blind Papist
may boast of his works of supererogation, and of having merits to sell for the benefit
of less-favoured people: but “ye, Beloved, have not so learned Christ:” ye know, that
if your attainments were an hundredfold more than they are, there were scope

110. enough for the employment of them, without overburthening your souls: you would
still “forget all that was behind, and be reaching forward for that which was before,
if by any means you might obtain the prize of your high calling in Christ Jesus
[ ote: Philippians 3:13-14.].” On the other hand, I will ask of those whose
attainments are more contracted; Do you not find that your more slender portion is
sufficient for you? You feed on the Lord Jesus Christ, as the bread of life: and do
you not find that he nourishes your souls; and that pardon, and peace, and holiness,
are the fruits of your communion with him? Yes: it is said, “He that believeth” (not
he that is very strong in faith) “shall be saved;” yea, and that “all who believe
(whatever be their stature or growth in grace) are justified from all things.” If you
be but a child, incapable of digesting strong meat, you find that “the sincere milk of
the word” is sufficient to nourish and support you; and that if you be but a lamb in
Christ’s flock, “he carries the lambs in his bosom,” because “it is not the will of your
Father that one of his little ones should perish.” This is no reason for your
neglecting to exert yourselves to the uttermost: but it is a comfort to you to know,
that, though from the peculiarity of your circumstances you have been able to
gather but little, you neither have, nor shall have, any occasion to complain that you
have “lacked” what was needful for you. If you have had no superabundance of
grace, “your strength has been according to your day.”]
2. Our duty, as Saints—
[All, whilst they judged their first offices due to those who were immediately
dependent on them, considered themselves as members of one great family, and
bound to administer help to all whose necessities should require it. Thus should the
whole collective mass of believers consider themselves bound to render every
possible assistance to every part of Christ’s mystical body. Every joint is to supply a
measure of nutriment according to its capacity, for the good of the whole body; that
so the whole may be strengthened, and edified in love [ ote: Ephesians 4:15-16.].
The command is plain, “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble
knees: say unto them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong; fear not; your God will
come and save you [ ote: Isaiah 35:3-4 with Hebrews 12:12-13.].” With whatever
we be enriched, we should be ready to impart of our stores liberally and without
grudging; considering that we are but stewards of all that we possess, and that in
dispensing to others the benefits we have received, whether they be of a temporal or
spiritual nature, we most resemble our Heavenly Father, and best answer the ends
for which those blessings have been committed to us. True, indeed, we have not any
thing of our own, which we can impart to others; (we have no more oil in our lamps
than is wanted for ourselves [ ote: Matthew 25:8-9.] ;) nor can any diligence in the
head of a family supersede the necessity of every member gathering for himself; (for
“every man must bear his own burthen [ ote: Galatians 6:5.]:”) but still, as
instruments in God’s hands, we may be serviceable to many [ ote: James 5:19-20.],
and may, as golden pipes, convey the golden oil, for the enlightening and edifying of
the Church of God [ ote: Zechariah 4:12 with 1 Thessalonians 5:11; 1
Thessalonians 5:14.].]
Having thus marked the distinct views in which I conceive the fact before us ought

111. to be regarded, I will now, in conclusion, suggest the instruction to be derived from
it in a collective view. We may learn from it, I think,
1. Contentment—
[The whole people of Israel had but this food for forty years; nor, except for use on
the Sabbath-day, was any of it to be treasured up, even for a single day. The whole
people of Israel were to subsist on God’s providence, exactly as the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field. or was any thing more than food and raiment to be the
portion of so much as one amongst them: with this they were to be content; and with
a similar portion should we also be content [ ote: 1 Timothy 6:8.]. Hear St. Paul’s
experience on this subject: “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content. I know both how to be abased; and I know how to abound: everywhere,
and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need [ ote: Philippians 4:11-12.].” Precisely such should be the frame
of our minds also. We should offer continually, and from our inmost souls, that
prayer which our Lord has taught us, “Give us day by day our daily bread:” and we
should really be willing to live dependent on our God for every blessing, whether for
body or for soul, whether for time or for eternity.]
2. Confidence—
[In parting with any superfluity which they might have attained, the whole people of
Israel shewed that they looked to God alone for a supply of their necessities, and
that they had no doubt of his continued care even to the end. The same lesson should
we also learn. We should “take no thought for the morrow, but seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and rest assured that all needful blessings
shall be added unto us [ ote: Matthew 6:31-34.].” We should regard God as our
Parent; who, if he neglect not the birds of the air, or the meanest worm of the earth,
will surely not neglect his own children, but will rather feed them with bread from
heaven, and cause that bread to follow them in all their journeys, than leave them
one day without the supply that is needful for them.]
3. Liberality—
[Certainly, to give away the superabundance which they had gathered, when they
had not any thing in hand for their subsistence on the morrow, was a bright
example of generosity. I am far from saying that we, under our dispensation, should
carry our liberality to the same extent; but I have no doubt but that the spirit which
they manifested should be cultivated by us also, and that to a much greater extent
than is generally imagined. The instruction given by John the Baptist to the people
of his day was, “He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he
that hath meat, let him do likewise [ ote: Luke 3:11.].” If it be thought that this was
nothing but an Eastern proverb, I answer, that St. Paul, in the very place where he
quotes the words of my text, proposes to our imitation the example of the
Macedonians, which scarcely fell short of the very letter of St John’s instructions:
“For at a time when they were in a trial of great affliction and in deep poverty

112. themselves, they yet abounded unto the riches of liberality; being willing to give not
only to their power, but beyond their power, and praying him with much entreaty to
take upon him the office of dispensing their alms to their afflicted brethren [ ote: 2
Corinthians 8:1-4.].” ay more, he proposes to us the example of our blessed Lord
himself, who “though he was rich. yet for our sakes he became poor, that we
through his poverty might be rich [ ote: 2 Corinthians 8:9.].” Let this mind then be
in you, my beloved brethren; and account yourselves rich. not in proportion to what
you can consume upon yourselves, but according to what you are able to administer
for the benefit of others. “In bearing one another’s burthens, ye shall best fulfil the
law of Christ [ ote: Galatians 6:2.].”]
BI, "Verses 16-18
Exodus 16:16-18
Gather of it every man according to his eating.
Spiritual assimilation
Why did each receive but three quarts a day? Might not a nutritious and delicious
food like this be stored, and become an article of merchandise and a source of
wealth? o, the Edenic law was not merely a penalty, but a method of mercy, of life,
and health. It required labour. But there is a profounder reason for the prayer,
“Give us this day our daily bread.” We are to get out of to-day all we can, and trust
God for to-morrow. We possess only what we can assimilate, so the miracle does no
more than provide for one day. You say that you possess property. o; another may
more truly possess it. I who tarry by your garden, or the beggar who feasts upon its
beauty with appreciating and admiring eyes, gets more out of it than you. You hurry
away to business early in the morning, and are gone till dark, too burdened, it may
be, to give it a glance. So with your library or pictures. He possesses who assimilates.
If your wealth makes you anxious, or leads you to dissipation, then you possess not
wealth, but anxiety and disease. You may give your child wealth, but it is better to
put moral wealth into mind and heart than to burden down with money, which may
sink his soul in ruin. So with books and associates. We grow by what we eat. What
does that child read? Who are his friends? We really eat both. Christ used this
figure, and said we were to eat His flesh and drink His blood. This means the
assimilation of spiritual forces, the incorporation of His life and character as we
grow to be like those we make our bosom friends. Our character is warped,
shrivelled, and weakened, or it is enriched and ennobled by those with whom we
habitually and intimately live, as they are mean and wicked, or pure and princely.
(E. Braislin, D. D.)
Lessons
We are hereby taught--
1. Prudence and diligence in providing food convenient for ourselves and our
households; what God graciously gives we must industriously gather, with quietness
working, and eating our own bread, not the bread either of idleness or deceit. God’s
bounty leaves room for man’s duty.
2. Contentment and satisfaction with a sufficiency; they must gather, “every man

113. according to his eating”; enough is as good as a feast, and more than enough is as
bad as a surfeit. They that have most have for themselves but food and raiment and
mirth; and they that have least generally have these; so that “he who gathers much,”
etc. There is not so great a disproportion between one and another, in the comforts
and enjoyments of the things of this life, as there is in the property and possession of
the things themselves.
3. Dependence upon Providence. “Let no man leave till morning” (Exodus 16:19),
but let them learn to go to bed and sleep quietly, though they have not a bit of bread
in their tent, nor in all their camp, trusting that God, with the following day, will
bring them their daily bread. It was surer and safer in God’s storehouse than in
their own, and would thence come to them sweeter and fresher. (M. Henry, D. D.)
othing over
It is said that when J. C. Astor was once congratulated by a certain person for his
wealth, he replied by pointing to his pile of bonds and maps of property, at the same
time inquiring, “Would you like to manage these matters for your board and
clothes?” The man demurred. “Sir,” continued the rich man, “it is all that I get.” (J.
Denton.)
Self-help enforced
A young man stood listlessly watching some anglers on a bridge. He was poor and
dejected. At last, approaching a basket filled with fish he sighed, “If now I had these
I would be happy. I could sell them and buy food and lodgings.” “I will give you just
as many, and just as good,” said the owner, who chanced to overhear his words, “if
you will do me a trifling favour.” “And what is that?” asked the other. “Only to
tend this line till I come back; I wish to go on a short errand.” The proposal was
gladly accepted. The old man was gone so long that the young man began to get
impatient. Meanwhile the fish snapped greedily at the hook, and the young man lost
all his depression in the excitement of pulling them in; and when the owner returned
he had caught a large number. Counting out from them as many as were in the
basket, and presenting them to the young man, the old fisherman said, “I fulfil my
promise from the fish you have caught, to teach you, whenever you see others
earning what you need, to waste no time in foolish wishing, but cast a line for
yourself.” (W. Baxendale.)
o position has a surplus of happiness
When apoleon returned to his palace, immediately after his defeat at Waterloo, he
continued many hours without taking any refreshment. One of the grooms of the
chamber ventured to serve up some coffee, in his cabinet, by the hands of a child
whom apoleon had occasionally distinguished by his notice. The Emperor sat
motionless, with his hands spread over his eyes. The page stood patiently before
him, gazing with infantine curiosity on an image which presented so strong a
contrast to his own figure of simplicity and peace; at last the little attendant
presented his tray, exclaiming, in the familiarity of am age which knows so little
distinctions: “Eat, sire; it will do you good.” The emperor looked at; him, and
asked: “Do you not belong to Gonesse?” (a village near Paris). “ o, sire; I come
from Pierrefite.” “Where your parents have a cottage and some acres of land? Yes,

114. sire.” “There is happiness,” replied the man who was still the Emperor of France
and King of Italy. (J. Arvine.)
o satisfaction in mere accumulation
“I once had occasion to speak of a certain charity to a prosperous mechanic. He
seemed not much inclined to help it, but after listening to my representations awhile,
he suddenly gave way and promised a handsome subscription. In due time he paid it
cheerfully, and said, “Do you know what carried the point with me that day when
you made the application?” “ o,” I replied. “Well, I’ll tell you. I was not so much
moved by anything you said till you came to mention the fact about the Israelites,
‘He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.’
Thinks I, that is just my own history. Once I was a poor, hard-working young man;
now I’ve got a good deal of property, but as for real comfort and use, I get no more
out of it now than I did then. ow, when I gather much, I’ve nothing over, and then,
when I gathered little, I had no lack.” (Family Treasury.)
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some
gathered much, some little.
BAR ES,"Some more, some less - It is evidently implied that the people were in
part at least disobedient and failed in this first trial.
CLARKE, "Some more, some less - According to their respective families, an
omer for a man; and according to the number of infirm persons whose wants they
undertook to supply.
GILL, "And the children of Israel did so,.... They went out of the camp in the
morning when it was fallen, and gathered it; which is expressive of believers going out of
the camp, leaving the world, and all behind them for Christ; and of their going out of
themselves to him, and of their going in and out, and finding pasture and food for their
souls in him to live upon: and gathered some more, some less; some that were more
robust and strong, that were more active and diligent, gathered in more than others;
which may denote the different degree and exercise of faith in God's people; some are
strong in it, and others weak; some attain to a greater degree of knowledge of Christ, and
receive more grace from him, and have more spiritual peace, joy, and comfort in

115. believing, and others less; see Rom_15:1.
CALVI , "17.And the children of Israel did so. I do not think that the obedience of
the people is here greatly praised; since soon afterwards Moses adds that some, not
contented with their due allowance, collected more than was permitted them, and
that others also transgressed what was enjoined them as to the Sabbath day. But I
thus paraphrase the passage, that, when they had applied themselves to the
gathering of it, the whole amount was found sufficient to fill an omer for every
individual. For they did not each of them collect a private store; but, when all had
assisted, at length. they took their prescribed portion from the common heap Thus,
as each was more especially diligent, the more he bone. flied his slower and less
industrious neighbor, without any loss to himself. This is aptly applied by Paul to
almsgiving, (2 Corinthians 8:14,) wherein every one bestows of what he possesses on
his poor brethren, only let us remember that this is done (182) figuratively; for
though there be some likeness between the manna and our daily food, yet there is a
distinction between them to be observed, on which we shall elsewhere remark.
Since, then, the manna was a food differing from what we commonly use, and was
given daily without tillage or labor almost into their hands, it is not to be wondered
that God should have called each one of the people to partake of it equally, and
forbade any one to take more than another. The case of ordinary food is different;
for it is necessary (183) for the preservation of human society that each should
possess what is his own; that some should acquire property by purchase, that to
others it should come by hereditary right, to others by the title of presentation, that
each should increase his means in proportion to his diligence, or bodily strength, or
other qualifications. In fine, political government requires, that each should enjoy
what belongs to him; and hence it would be absurd to prescribe, as to our common
food, the law which is here laid down as to the manna. And Paul, also, wisely makes
the distinction, in enjoining that there should be an equality, not arising from a
promiscuous and confused use of property, but by the rich spontaneously and
liberally relieving the wants of their brethren, and not grudgingly or of necessity. In
this way he reminds us, that whatever goods we possess, flow from the bounty of
God, like the manna; but, since each now possesses privately and separately
whatever is given them, the same law is not in force for the mutual communication
of property, whereby God bound His ancient people. Thence it appears that the
distribution of the manna, as it is related by Moses, is properly applied to
almsgiving. This doctrine, too, extends still further; for Paul warns believers not to
be over-anxious lest they should exhaust themselves by their bounty, because no
man’s provision failed, when the Israelites by God’s command divided the manna
among them.
18 And when they measured it by the omer, the

116. one who gathered much did not have too much,
and the one who gathered little did not have too
little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they
needed.
BAR ES,"Had nothing over - Whatever quantity each person had gathered, when
he measured it in his tent, he found that he had just as many omers as he needed for the
consumption of his family.
CLARKE, "He that gathered much had nothing over - Because his gathering
was in proportion to the number of persons for whom he had to provide. And some
having fewer, others more in family, and the gathering being in proportion to the
persons who were to eat of it, therefore he that gathered much had nothing over, and he
that gathered little had no lack. Probably every man gathered as much as he could; and
then when brought home and measured by an omer, if he had a surplus, it went to
supply the wants of some other family that had not been able to collect a sufficiency, the
family being large, and the time in which the manna might be gathered, before the heat
of the day, not being sufficient to collect enough for so numerous a household, several of
whom might be so confined as not to be able to collect for themselves. Thus there was an
equality, and in this light the words of St. Paul, 2Co_8:15, lead us to view the passage.
Here the 36th verse should come in: Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
GILL, "And when they did mete it with an omer,.... What was gathered in; and
everyone had his measure, his omer dealt out to him by those that meted or measured it:
he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no
lack; when their gatherings were put together in one heap, and each had his omer
measured out to him; he that had gathered more than an omer had no more allotted to
him, and he that gathered not so much as an omer, yet had a full one measured out to
him: or he, that is, Moses, "did not cause him to abound" (q), that gathered much, he
had no more for his share than another; nor "suffer" him "to want" (r) that gathered
little, so that they all had alike; which shows, that though there may be different
exercises of grace, yet it is the same grace in all; all have alike precious faith, and an
equal interest in Christ, the object of it; all are equally redeemed by his precious blood,
and justified by his righteousness, and have their sins forgiven on the foot of his
atonement; all have the same Christ, and the same blessings of grace, and are entitled to
the same eternal glory and happiness. The apostle quotes this passage, and applies it to
that equality there should be among Christians in acts of beneficence and charity, that
what is wanting in the one through poverty, may be made up by the riches of others,
2Co_8:14,

117. they gathered every man according to his eating; according to the number of
persons he had to eat of it; there always was, upon an average, some gathering more and
others less, an omer gathered and distributed to every person. Jarchi takes this to be a
miracle, that nothing should ever be wanting of an omer to a man; and so Aben Ezra
observes, that the ancients say this is a miracle.
COKE, "Exodus 16:18. When they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much,
&c.— An omer was the quantity allowed for each person, i.e. each person might, if
he chose it, gather and use so much. Those who were aged and infirm, and could not
themselves go out to gather it, were allowed the same quantity to be gathered by
other persons for them; take ye every man for them which are in his tents, Exodus
16:16. Obedient to the injunctions of God, the children of Israel went out, and
gathered, some more, some less; "that is," says Houbigant, "because there were in
some tents or families more persons for whom manna was to be gathered, and in
others fewer; for thus Moses had commanded, and thus the children of Israel did as
they had been commanded, Exodus 16:17. But because, in that first gathering of the
manna, the Israelites had not the measure of an omer ready, it happened to them
that they guessed for the number of heads; and every one gathered as much as they
imagined would be sufficient for each person: but, upon returning to their tents,
when each came to use the omer, they found that they had, in fact, gathered so many
omers as there were persons in each tent; God admonishing them by this event, that
they should afterwards do that which he himself had now perfected by his own
immediate agency." Houbigant supposes this applicable only to the first manna
which fell. Others, averse to considering the matter as thus miraculous, imagine the
fact was, that when the Israelites came to measure out what they had gathered, more
or less, they, who had gathered more than their omer, readily imparted their
overplus to those who had not gathered so much; and further, possibly, some, who
thought an omer too much for their eating, supplied those who required more with
what they had to spare. Thus they charitably assisted each other; and this appears
to be the meaning of the passage, particularly as applied by St. Paul, 2 Corinthians
8:13-15 which, if the passage be understood in the first sense, must imply, that God,
by his providential bounty, will bless and assist those who charitably aid their
brethren.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:18. He that gathered much had nothing over —
Commentators interpret this in different ways. Some suppose that God wrought a
miracle in this case, and so ordered it, that when they came to measure what they
had gathered, the store of him that had gathered too much was miraculously
diminished to the exact number of omers he ought to have gathered, and the store of
him who had not gathered the due quantity, was miraculously increased.
Houbigant, however, supposes that this was only applicable to the first time of
gathering, “God admonishing them, by this event, that they should afterward do
that which he himself had now perfected by his own immediate agency.” But others
suppose, that had this been the case, as it was an equal miracle with any other
recorded, it would have been mentioned that the Lord had done it. And they think,
therefore, all that is meant is, that he who had not gathered a sufficient quantity to

118. make an omer for every one in his family, had it made up to him out of what others
had gathered, who had more than enough, and that they charitably assisted each
other. This sense of the passage seems to be countenanced by St. Paul, 2 Corinthians
8:13-15. If understood in the first-mentioned sense, the apostle, in the application of
it as an argument to encourage charity, must be considered as signifying that God,
in an extraordinary manner, in the course of his providences, will bless and prosper
those who in charity assist their brethren.
ELLICOTT, "(18) When they did mete it with an omer.—Each Israelite gathered
what he supposed would be about an omer for each member of his family. Some
naturally made an over, some an under estimate; but whatever the quantity
collected, when it came to be measured in the camp, the result was always the
same—there was found to be just an omer for each. This result can only have been
miraculous.
19 Then Moses said to them, “ o one is to keep
any of it until morning.”
CLARKE, "Let no man leave of it till the morning - For God would have them
to take no thought for the morrow, and constantly to depend on him for their dally
bread. And is not that petition in our Lord’s prayer founded on this very circumstance,
Give us day by day our daily bread?
GILL, "And Moses said unto them,.... At the same time he gave the direction to
them about gathering it, and measuring out to every man an omer:
let no man leave of it until the morning; not that every man was bound to eat up
the quantity distributed to him; he might give what he could not eat to those that could
eat more, if there were any such; or he might give it to his cattle, or cast it away, but he
was not to reserve it until the next day for his use; which was to teach him that God
would bestow this benefit and blessing on him daily, and he might expect it, whose
mercies are new every morning; and to instruct him to live every day upon the
providence of God for his daily food; as indeed every man ought to do so, let his
circumstances be ever so affluent; and, in a more spiritual and evangelic sense, it teaches
believers to live continually every day by faith on Christ, and to say day by day, Lord,
evermore give us this bread, Joh_6:34.

119. K&D 19-21, "In the second place, Moses commanded them, that no one was to leave
any of what had been gathered till the next morning. Some of them disobeyed, but what
was left went into worms (‫ים‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫ּול‬ ‫ם‬ ֻ‫ר‬ָ‫י‬ literally rose into worms) and stank. Israel was to
take no care for the morrow (Mat_6:34), but to enjoy the daily bread received from God
in obedience to the giver. The gathering was to take place in the morning (Exo_16:21);
for when the sun shone brightly, it melted away.
CALVI , "19.And Moses said, Let no man. Moses here recounts that, when he had
commanded them all not to take more than enough for their daily food, and to
gather a double portion the day before the Sabbath, some were disobedient on both
points. As to the former, since God would supply their food to them just as the
breast is given to babes, it was a sign of perverse unbelief that they would not
depend on God’s providence, but sought for a provision which would last them
many days. It was also a proof of their obstinacy that they would give credit to no
warnings until they were convinced by experience that they laid up in their houses
nothing’ but a mass of corruption; for they were not induced to cease from their
insatiable greediness till they had received their just punishment. ow, although the
case of the manna and the food of our ordinary nourishment is not; altogether
similar, yet the comparison holds to a certain extent, for it is so far lawful to keep
our corn and wine laid up in granaries and cellars, as that all should still ask truly
their daily bread of God. And this will be, if the rich do not greedily swallow up
whatsoever they can get together; if they do not avariciously scrape up here and
there; if they do not gorge themselves upon the hunger of the poor; if they do not, as
far as in them lies, withhold the blessing of God; in a word, if they do not
immoderately accumulate large possessions, but: are liberal out of their present
abundance, are not too anxious as to the future, and are not troubled, if needs be,
that their wealth should suffer diminution; nay, if they are ready to endure poverty,
and glory not in their abundance, but repose upon the paternal bounty of God. And
surely we often see that what misers collect by theft, rapine, fraud, cruelty, trickery,
or meanness, is often turned into corruption. When he adds that, after they saw that
their intemperate ardor profited them nothing, they submitted to the command, he
implies that their obedience was not voluntary, but extorted from them, for fools are
never wise except after adversity. (184) The melting of the manna when the sun
waxed hot was a stimulus to correct their idleness or laziness; for, if the manna had
remained entire during the whole day, they would not have been so intent upon
their duty. Wherefore, by giving them only a short time for its collection, God urged
them to diligence.
COKE, "Exodus 16:19-20. Moses said, Let no man leave of it, &c.— A striking
peculiarity of this bread from heaven is here mentioned, which abundantly proves
to us, that it was different from common manna; for this putrifies not: whereas that
which God sent for the daily food of the Israelites, if kept till the next morning, bred
worms and stank. See Dr. Bentley's 4th Sermon at Boyle's Lectures. Desirous to
keep the people dependent upon his providence, the Almighty determined to give

120. them this heavenly food from day to day. Accordingly, as the preservation of it
betrayed great want of faith in the preserver, so was it to no purpose; for, as what
remained, after the Israelites had gathered their quantity, melted away by the heat
of the sun, so, what they preserved, became utterly unserviceable; see note on
Exodus 16:4. Another proof, that this was different from the ordinary manna, is, the
way in which it was daily dropped down with the dew from heaven: for common
manna, as is generally agreed, is a kind of gum which distils from certain trees at a
certain season of the year, and is never found in the dew on the ground; nor indeed
ever on the ground, except under its own tree. So that, granting there is a species of
manna, or honey-dew, found in these parts of Arabia, there is enough in the account
of this manna to designate its miraculous and extraordinary nature. See Saurin's
50th Dissert.
REFLECTIO S.—Observe, 1. The manna and quails are sent; not only necessaries,
but delicacies. ote; He who gives us appetite for our food, has given our food
pleasing qualities to gratify it. We have his provision, not merely to live upon as
slaves fed with bread and water, but as children richly to enjoy.
2. They must gather the manna every day; for we must use the means while we are
depending on the Divine blessing. As much as they needed, and no more; because we
may not abuse God's gifts by needless hoarding or luxurious profusion. one must
be left till morning; because we ought every one to trust upon God for daily bread:
not that we are forbidden a provident care for our families, but we must avoid
anxious distrust.
3. The disobedience of some. They saved it out of covetousness or unbelief, and it
bred worms and stank; which justly provoked Moses's anger, though the meekest
man upon earth. ote; (1.) Covetousness is God's abhorrence. (2.) A holy jealousy in
a minister's heart for the people's souls will vent itself in just displeasure against
their sins.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:19. Let no man leave of it till the morning — For the
provision of the next day, as distrusting God’s care and goodness in giving him
more. ot that every one was bound to eat the whole of what he had gathered; but
they were to dissolve or burn it, as they did the remains of some sacrifices, or to
consume it some other way. Thus, they were to learn to go to bed quietly, though
they had not a bit of bread in their tents, nor in all their camp, trusting God with
the following day to bring them their daily bread. ever was there such a market of
provisions as this, where so many hundred thousand men were daily furnished
without money and without price: never was there such an open house kept as God
kept in the wilderness for forty years together, nor such free and plentiful
entertainment given. And the same wisdom, power, and goodness that now brought
food daily out of the clouds, doth, in the constant course of nature, bring food yearly
out of the earth, and gives us all things richly to enjoy.
ELLICOTT, "(19) Let no man leave of it.—Moses must have been divinely
instructed to issue this command. It was doubtless given in order that the Israelites

121. might realise their absolute dependence upon God for food from day to day, and
might so be habituated to complete trust and confidence in Him.
PETT, "Verse 19-20
‘And Moses said to them, “Let no man leave of it until the morning.” In spite of this
they did not listen to Moses but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred
worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.’
Each days supply was to be for that day alone, and Moses ordered them not to leave
any over until the morning. But some, having learned in the wilderness to preserve
food supplies, were disobedient and kept some for the next day. Then to their horror
they found it teeming with worms (or ants - the Hebrew word is a general one and
can be used of ants or any number of wriggling creatures) and smelling. This counts
against seeing it as the excretion of plant lice as, while that is gathered by ants, it
does not smell horribly.
20 However, some of them paid no attention to
Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it
was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses
was angry with them.
BAR ES,"It bred worms - This result was supernatural: no such tendency to rapid
decomposition is recorded of common manna.
CLARKE, "It bred worms - Their sinful curiosity and covetousness led them to
make the trial; and they had a mass of the most loathsome putrefaction for their pains.
How gracious is God! He is continually rendering disobedience and sin irksome to the
transgressor; that finding his evil ways to be unprofitable, he may return to his Maker,
and trust in God alone.
GILL, "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses,.... That is, not all of
them, some of them did, and perhaps the far greater part of them:
but some of them left it until the morning; out of distrust, for fear they should

122. have none the next day; being men of little faith, that could not trust God for a supply for
the morrow; the Targum of Jonathan says, these were Dathan and Abiram; and so
Jarchi:
and it bred worms, and stank; or by an "hysteron proteron", and transposition of
the words, the sense may be, that it stank, corrupted, and putrefied, and so produced
worms, in which order the words lie, Exo_16:24, and this was not from the nature of the
manna to breed worms so soon, but God so ordering and disposing it, that it should do
so; for otherwise it would keep to another day, as what was gathered on the sixth day
kept to the seventh, and there was a part of it kept for many ages, see Exo_16:24, and
since the manna was of the meal kind, perhaps those worms it bred might be of the
weevil sort, as Scheuchzer conjectures (s):
and Moses was wroth with them; for breaking the commandment of God.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:20. Some of them left of it till the morning — Either
distrusting God’s providence, for a future supply, or out of curiosity to learn the
nature of this manna, and what they might do if occasion required; it bred worms
and stank — ot so much of its own nature, which was pure and durable, as from
God’s judgment. Thus will that be corrupted in which we do not trust in God, and
which we do not employ for his glory.
ELLICOTT, "(20) It bred worms.—On the Sabbath it bred no worms (Exodus
16:24), so that we must view the result spoken of as a punishment for disobedience,
not as produced naturally. either of the natural mannas is subject to any very
rapid decomposition.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as
they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted
away.
BAR ES,"It melted - This refers to the manna which was not gathered.
GILL, "And they gathered it every morning,.... From the time the morning began,
during four hours, or to the fourth hour, as the Targum of Jonathan; that is, till ten
o'clock in the morning: this was a very wonderful thing that bread should be provided

123. and rained every morning about the camp of Israel, in such plenty as to be sufficient to
feed such a vast body of people; and that for forty years together:
every man according to his eating; according to the number of persons he had in
his family to eat of it, and as much as everyone could eat; there never was any lack or
scarcity of it, but every morning there it was for them, and they gathered it, an omer for
everyone:
and when the sun waxed hot, it melted; and so what was left ungathered, being
exhaled by the sun and laid up in the clouds, generated and increased, and became a
provision to be let down the next morning; it being the will of God that it should not be
trampled upon or exposed; and that the Israelites might be diligent, and not neglect the
time of gathering it: and the Targum of Jonathan says, from the fourth hour, or ten
o'clock and onward, the sun was hot upon it and melted it, which is the time of day when
the sun is hottest: and some things, we may observe, are hardened by the sun, and
others are softened, as the manna was, even to a liquefaction; though otherwise it was of
so hard a nature as to be beaten in a mortar and ground in a mill, Num_11:8.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:21. It melted — As much of it as was left upon the ground,
not, it seems, from its own nature, which was so solid that it could endure the fire;
but that it might not be corrupted, or trodden under foot, or despised, and that they
might be compelled, as it were, to the more entire dependance upon God.
COFFMA , "Verses 21-30
THE APPEARA CE OF THE SABBATH
"And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating: and
when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they
gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one: and all the rulers came and
told Moses. And 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. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it
did not become foul, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that
today; for today is a sabbath unto Jehovah: today ye shall not find it in the field. Six
days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be
none. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people
to gather, and they found none. And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye
to keep my commandments and my laws? See, 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. So the
people rested on the seventh day."
It should be noted that there were two great miracles connected with the
introduction of the Sabbath. First, there was the fact that whether men gathered
much or little, it always measured out exactly what God allowed; and second, there
was the fact that on the sixth day of this wonder, every man measured out exactly

124. two omers a head, exactly twice as much as on the previous six days. The Jews did
not know what to make of that. Even the rulers of the people went to Moses for an
explanation. As Keil noted:
"It is perfectly clear from this event, that the Israelites were not acquainted with
any sabbatical observances at that time, but that, while the way was practically
opened, it was through the Decalogue that it was raised into a legal institution."[24]
Therefore, we must finally reject the allegations that, "The sabbath was an ancient
institution observed by pre-Mosaic Hebrews." Such an allegation was made by
Rylaarsdam[25] and others, but the facts regarding the sabbath are as follows:
1. There is no sabbath commandment in Genesis. Some cite Genesis 29:7 as such,
but "sabbath" is not in the passage.
2. The very first occurrence of the word "sabbath" in the entire Bible is right here
in Exodus 16:23.[26]
3. Furthermore, in this passage, the sabbath is not introduced as The Sabbath, but
merely as a rest. Misunderstanding of this has come about because of an
unfortunate rendition in the King James Version, which has "The rest of thy Holy
Sabbath." Rawlinson cited the inaccuracy of this rendition, pointing out that, "the
absence of the article is a strong indication that the idea was new."[27]
4. God revealed his sabbath, not to Adam, nor to anyone on the other side of the
Flood, nor to anyone ever born upon earth before Moses, for the prophet of God
stated that "God revealed His holy sabbath through Moses ( ehemiah 9:13-14).
5. Furthermore, the very first revelation of it was "in the wilderness," as we have it
in this chapter. Ezekiel wrote: "I (God) brought them into the wilderness ... and
gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them" (Exodus 20:10-12).
6. The sabbath was never a sign between God and all people, but a sign between
God and Israel (Exodus 31:17).
7. The reason assigned by God for keeping the sabbath was not the prior existence
of the institution, but the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage
(Deuteronomy 5:15).
8. The prophet Amos foretold that the sabbath would be "gone" when God caused
the sun to go down at noon and the earth to be darkened on a clear day (Amos 8:9).
9. Paul categorically declared that the sabbath was "nailed" to the cross of Christ
(Colossians 2:14).
10. The very name "sabbath" is Jewish to the core, deriving from the Hebrew word
[~shabbath], meaning "rest."[28] This would never have been the case if the
sabbath had derived from some pre-Mosaic period.

125. Therefore, in the light of the Word of God, those who find a pre-Mosaic sabbath
institution in this chapter are finding something that definitely is OT in it. As
Ralph Langley put it, "The origin of the sabbath is datable to the wilderness period,
and in particular to the manna-miracle."[29]
PETT, "Verse 21
‘And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating, and
when the sun grew hot it melted.’
Each morning they gathered an omer per person according to the number in each
tent. And ‘when the sun grew hot it melted’. While this does not exclude ants as
partly consuming it, it demonstrates that it was not mainly ants which disposed of it.
22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as
much—two omers[b] for each person—and the
leaders of the community came and reported this
to Moses.
BAR ES,"Twice as much bread - See Exo_16:5.
From this passage and from Exo_16:5 it is inferred that the seventh day was
previously known to the people as a day separate from all others, and if so, it must have
been observed as an ancient and primeval institution.
CLARKE, "On the sixth day they gathered twice as much - This they did that
they might have a provision for the Sabbath, for on that day no manna fell, Exo_16:26,
Exo_16:27. What a convincing miracle was this! No manna fell on the Sabbath! Had it
been a natural production it would have fallen on the Sabbath as at other times; and had
there not been a supernatural influence to keep it sweet and pure, it would have been
corrupted on the Sabbath as well as on other days. By this series of miracles God showed
his own power, presence, and goodness, 1. In sending the manna on each of the six days;
2. In sending none on the seventh, or Sabbath; 3. In preserving it from putrefaction
when laid up for the use of that day, though it infallibly corrupted if kept over night on
any other day.

126. GILL, "And it came to pass, that on the sixth day,.... Of the week, or from the
first raining of the manna, which was the same:
they gathered twice as much bread; as they had used to do on other days, a greater
quantity falling, and which was more easily taken up:
two omers for one man; or, "instead of one" (t) of one omer; so it turned out when
they came to measure what they had gathered; otherwise they had no intention in
gathering it, but lying in a great quantity, they gathered as much as they could, or could
well carry, and upon measuring it so it proved; for it does not appear that Moses had as
yet acquainted them what was to be, or would be gathered on this day; nor had he any
orders so to do from the Lord, only he was told by him that so it would be, and
accordingly it came to pass, see Exo_16:5.
and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses; what had
happened, that the people that day had gathered as much more as they had used to do
on other days: these seem to be the overseers of this affair, before whom what was
gathered was brought, and in whose presence it was measured, and who took care that
everyone should have his omer and no more: this makes it plain that the people acted
without design, and knew not that they were to gather on this day double to other days;
since the rulers knew nothing of it, nor of the reason of it, and it can hardly be imagined
that the people should know and the rulers be ignorant.
HE RY 22-31, "We have here, 1. A plain intimation of the observing of a seventh day
sabbath, not only before the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai, but before the bringing
of Israel out of Egypt, and therefore, from the beginning, Gen_2:3. If the sabbath had
now been first instituted, how could Moses have understood what God said to him
(Exo_16:5), concerning a double portion to be gathered on the sixth day, without
making any express mention of the sabbath? And how could the people so readily take
the hint (Exo_16:22), even to the surprise of the rulers, before Moses had declared that
it was done with a regard to the sabbath, if they had not had some knowledge of the
sabbath before? The setting apart of one day in seven for holy work, and, in order to
that, for holy rest, was a divine appointment ever since God created man upon the earth,
and the most ancient of positive laws. The way of sabbath-sanctification is the good old
way. 2. The double provision which God made for the Israelites, and which they were to
make for themselves, on the sixth day: God gave them on the sixth day the bread of two
days, Exo_16:29. Appointing them to rest on the seventh day, he took care that they
should be no losers by it; and none ever will be losers by serving God. On that day they
were to fetch in enough for two days, and to prepare it, Exo_16:23. The law was very
strict, that they must bake and seeth, the day before, and not on the sabbath day. This
does not now make it unlawful for us to dress meat on the Lord's day, but directs us to
contrive our family affairs so that they may hinder us as little as possible in the work of
the sabbath. Works of necessity, no doubt, are to be done on that day; but it is desirable
to have as little as may be to do of things necessary to the life that now is, that we may
apply ourselves the more closely to the one thing needful. That which they kept of for
their food on the sabbath day did not putrefy, Exo_16:24. When they kept it in
opposition to a command (Exo_16:20) it stank; when they kept it in obedience to a
command it was sweet and good; for every thing is sanctified by the word of God and
prayer. 3. The intermission of the manna on the seventh day. God did not send it then,

127. and therefore they must not expect it, nor go out to gather, Exo_16:25, Exo_16:26. This
showed that it was not produced by natural causes, and that it was designed for a
confirmation of the divine authority of the law which was to be given by Moses. Thus
God took an effectual course to make them remember the sabbath day; they could not
forget it, nor the day of preparation for it. Some, it seems, went out on the seventh day,
expecting to find manna (Exo_16:27); but they found none, for those that will find must
seek in the appointed time: seek the Lord while he may be found. God, upon this
occasion, said to Moses, How long refuse you to keep my commandments? Exo_16:28.
Why did he say this to Moses? He was not disobedient. No, but he was the ruler of a
disobedient people, and God charges it upon him that he might the more warmly charge
it upon them, and might take care that their disobedience should not be through any
neglect or default of his. It was for going out to seek for manna on he seventh day that
they were thus reproved. Note, (1.) Disobedience, even in a small matter, is very
provoking. (2.) God is jealous for the honour of his sabbaths. If walking out on the
sabbath to seek for food was thus reproved, walking out on that day purely to find our
own pleasure cannot be justified.
K&D 22-26, "Moreover, God bestowed His gift in such a manner, that the Sabbath
was sanctified by it, and the way was thereby opened for its sanctification by the law. On
the sixth day of the week the quantity yielded was twice as much, viz., two omers for one
(one person). When the princes of the congregation informed Moses of this, he said to
them, “Let tomorrow be rest (‫ּון‬‫ת‬ ָ ַ‫,)שׁ‬ a holy Sabbath to the Lord.” They were to bake and
boil as much as was needed for the day, and keep what was over for the morrow, for on
the Sabbath they would find none in the field. They did this, and what was kept for the
Sabbath neither stank nor bred worms. It is perfectly clear from this event, that the
Israelites were not acquainted with any sabbatical observance at that time, but that,
whilst the way was practically opened, it was through the decalogue that it was raised
into a legal institution (see Exo_10:8.). ‫ּון‬‫ת‬ ָ ַ‫שׁ‬ is an abstract noun denoting “rest,” and ‫י‬ ָ ַ‫שׁ‬
a concrete, literally the observer, from which it came to be used as a technical term for
the seventh day of the week, which was to be observed as a day of rest to the Lord.
CALVI , "22.And it came to pass on the sixth day. The violation of the Sabbath is
not yet recounted, but only the stupidity or dense ignorance of their rulers is set
forth, for although they had heard from the mouth of Moses that God would on that
day give what would be sufficient for two days’ provision, still they marvel, and tell
it to Moses as if it were something strange and incredible. It is plain enough that
they obeyed the command, and did not spare their labor in gathering the double
quantity; but their unbelief and folly betrays itself in their astonishment when they
see that God has really performed what he promised. We may conjecture that they
accurately observed what awakened in them so much astonishment; so that it
follows that they refused to credit God’s word until its truth was effectively proved.
It came to pass, then, in God’s admirable wisdom, that their wicked and perverse
doubting availed both for the confirmation of the miracle and the observation of the
Sabbath. Hence occasion was given to Moses again to enjoin upon them what
otherwise, perhaps, they would have neglected, viz., that they should honor the
seventh day by a holy rest.

128. COKE, "Exodus 16:22. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread— In
Exodus 16:5 this order is given; and we have here a further proof of the peculiarity
of this manna, of its difference from the common sort, as well as of the immediate
interposition of God respecting it. For though, when preserved on ordinary days till
the next morning, it bred worms and stank; yet, when laid up for the sabbath-day,
no such consequence ensued, but it remained sweet and proper for use. What a
striking lesson to the people of Israel!
And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses— There can be no
doubt that Moses had informed the children of Israel of that great peculiarity which
God notified to him, respecting the double portion of manna to be gathered on the
sixth day of the week. The people were attentive to it; and, struck with awful
surprise upon finding it to be as Moses had informed them, all the rulers of the
congregation came, and, inspired with proper sentiments of gratitude, told Moses,
how wonderfully his intelligence was verified: upon which he replies to them, that
this is, in truth, what the Lord had said to him; this is that which the Lord hath
said, Exodus 16:23. What follows are the words of Moses himself to the people; To-
morrow is the rest, &c.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:22. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread —
Considering God’s present providence in causing it to fall in double proportion, and
remembering that the next day was the sabbath day, which God had blessed and
sanctified to his own immediate service, (Genesis 2:3,) and which, therefore, was not
to be employed in servile works, such as the gathering of manna was, they rightly
concluded that God’s commands (Exodus 16:16; Exodus 16:19) reached only to
ordinary days, and must, in all reason, give place to the more ancient and necessary
law of the sabbath. The rulers told Moses — Either to acquaint him with this
increase of the miracle, or to take his direction for their practice, because they found
two commands apparently clashing with each other.
ELLICOTT, "(22) On the sixth day they gathered twice as much.—See the third
ote on Exodus 16:5.
The rulers . . . came and told Moses.—They were evidently surprised, and came to
Moses for an explanation. Either he had not communicated to them the Divine
announcement of Exodus 16:5, or they had failed to comprehend it.
PETT, "Verse 22
‘And it happened on the sixth day that they gathered twice as much food, two omers
for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.’
The gathering of twice as much was in accordance with the instruction in Exodus
16:5. It is noteworthy that Moses was keeping a close watch on what was happening,
for the ‘rulers’, the chiefs, reported back what was happening.
“The rulers of the congregation.” As with ‘children of Israel’ which was abbreviated
to ‘Israel’ when applied genitivally to ‘the elders’ (Exodus 3:16; Exodus 3:18), so
‘all the congregation of the children of Israel’ can be abbreviated to ‘congregation’

129. when used genitivally with ‘the rulers’. The ‘rulers’ or ‘princes’ are the leaders of
the sub-tribes ( umbers 2:3 etc). The ‘congregation’ means here the children of
Israel as a whole.
The subject the rulers wanted to discuss was presumably as to what they should do
about the extra that had been gathered. If they were fully familiar with the law of
the Sabbath this is surprising as in that case they would have been expecting that
food for the Sabbath had to be prepared the day before. (This is the first mention of
the Sabbath in Scripture). Many therefore see this as suggesting that the Sabbath
was not yet a recognised institution at this point in time. And this might be seen as
backed up by Moses’ explanation. ote that he speaks of ‘a sabbath’ not ‘the
Sabbath’.
PULPIT, "Verses 22-30
EXPOSITIO
THE GATHERI G OF THE SIXTH DAY. When the Israelites, having collected
what seemed to them the usual quantity of manna on the sixth day, brought it home
and measured it, they found the yield to be, not an omer a head for each member of
the family, but two omers. The result was a surprise and a difficulty. They could not
consume more than an omer a-piece. What was to be done with the remainder? Was
it to be destroyed, or kept? If kept, would it not "breed worms"? To resolve their
doubts, the elders brought the matter before Moses, who replied—"This is that
which the Lord hath said." It is to be supposed that, in his original announcement to
the elders of God's purposes as to the manna, Moses had informed them that the
quantity would be double on the sixth day (Exodus 16:5); but his statement had not
made any deep impression at the time, and now they had forgotten it. So he recalls it
to their recollection. "This is no strange thing—nothing that should have surprised
you—it is only what God said would happen. And the reason of it is, that to-
morrow, the seventh day is, by God's ordinance, the rest of the Holy Sabbath,"—or
rather "a rest of a holy Sabbath to the Lord." Whether or no the Sabbath was a
primeval institution, given to our first parents in Paradise (Genesis 2:3), may be
doubted: at any rate, it had not been maintained as an institution by the Hebrews
during their sojourn in Egypt; and this was, practically, to them, the first
promulgation of it. Hence, in the original, it is not called "the sabbath," as if already
known, but "a sabbath,"—i.e; a rest—until Exodus 16:29.
Exodus 16:22
This is that which the Lord hath said. Rather, "said," i.e; declared to me when he
announced the manna. See Exodus 16:5. It has been supposed that Moses had not
communicated the declaration to the elders; but this seems unlikely. The rest of the
holy sabbath. If this translation were correct, the previous institution of the sabbath,
and the knowledge of its obligation by the Hebrews, would follow; but the absence
of the article is a strong indication that the whole idea was new, at any rate to those
whom Moses was addressing. Bake that which ye will bake, etc. "Do," i.e; "as you

130. have done on other days—bake some and seethe some—but also reserve a portion to
be your food and sustenance to-morrow."
23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord
commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath
rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you
want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save
whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
BAR ES,"Tomorrow ... - Or, Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath holy to Yahweh: i. e.
tomorrow must be a day of rest, observed strictly as a Sabbath, or festal rest, holy to
Jehovah.
Bake ... - These directions show that the manna thus given differed essentially from
the natural product. Here and in Num_11:8 it is treated in a way which shows that it had
the property of grain, could be ground in a mortar, baked and boiled. Ordinary manna is
used as honey, it cannot be ground, and it melts when exposed to a moderate heat,
forming a substance like barley sugar, called “manna tabulata.” In Persia it is boiled with
water and brought to the consistency of honey. The Arabs also boil the leaves to which it
adheres, and the manna thus dissolved floats on the water as a glutinous or oily
substance. It is obvious that these accounts are inapplicable to the manna from heaven,
which had the characteristics and nutritive properties of bread.
CLARKE, "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath - There is nothing either
in the text or context that seems to intimate that the Sabbath was now first given to the
Israelites, as some have supposed: on the contrary, it is here spoken of as being perfectly
well known, from its having been generally observed. The commandment, it is true, may
be considered as being now renewed; because they might have supposed that in their
unsettled state in the wilderness they might have been exempted from the observance of
it. Thus we find, 1. That when God finished his creation, he instituted the Sabbath; 2.
When he brought the people out of Egypt, he insisted on the strict observance of it; 3.
When he gave the Law, he made it a tenth part of the whole, such importance has this
institution in the eyes of the Supreme Being! On the supposed change of the Sabbath
from what we call Sunday to Saturday, effected on this occasion, See Clarke’s note on
Deu_5:15.

131. GILL, "And he said unto them, this is that which the Lord hath said,.... Which
he had said to Moses privately, for as yet he had said it to none else:
tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord; according to Jarchi, the
rulers asked Moses what this day was, different from other days, that double the
quantity should be gathered? from whence, he says, we learn, that Moses had not as yet
declared the sabbath to them; and this is indeed the first time we read of one; and
though, as there was divine worship before, there must be times for it; but as there was
as yet no certain place for worship, so no certain time for it, but as it was appointed by
the heads of families, or as more families might agree unto and unite in; at least no day
before this appears to be a day of rest from servile labour, as well as for holy use and
service:
bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; the phrase
"today" is not in the text, and not necessarily supplied; the sense being plainly this, that
they might take and boil what they would, and dress as much of the manna as they
pleased, and eat what they would, but not that they were to bake and boil for the next
day; for it is clear, by what follows, that the manna of the next day was not dressed either
way, for then it would be no wonder that it did not stink; and as yet the law for not
kindling a fire on the sabbath day was not given; and therefore, for aught to the contrary,
they might roast or seethe on that day, or eat it as it was, as they themselves thought fit:
and that which remaineth over; what they did not bake, nor seethe, nor eat:
lay up for you to be kept until the morning whereas on other days they were to
leave nothing of it till the morning, but destroy it or cast it away, whatever was left
uneaten.
COKE, "Exodus 16:23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath— It is amazing to
observe to what length an attachment to systems and opinions sometimes carries
men. This is evident from the method in which this passage is interpreted by those
who have entertained peculiar notions respecting the sabbath. othing can be
plainer, from this whole chapter, than that the seventh day was now held sacred as a
day of holy rest unto the Lord. In order to preserve it sacred, the Lord makes this
remarkable disposition concerning the manna; the falling of which is regulated by
the known and established law of the sabbath, which is here spoken of as a period
perfectly familiar and customary to the people: and indeed there seems no reason to
doubt, that the sabbath-day was held sacred by the people of God from its very first
institution, when God finished his works of creation, and sanctified the seventh day.
And this may very well and truly account for its institution's not being mentioned
again by the sacred historian; the observation of it having always continued from
the beginning, and therefore the mention of it being as unnecessary as that of any
other common and generally allowed principle in religion. They who are inclined to
see more on this subject may consult Hallet's otes on Scripture, vol. 3: p. 100.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:23. This is that which the Lord hath spoken — Either to
Moses, by inspiration, or to the former patriarchs, on a like occasion. It is agreeable
to the former word and law of God concerning the sabbath. To-morrow is the rest of

132. the holy sabbath — Here is a plain intimation of the observing a seventh-day
sabbath, not only before the giving of the law upon mount Sinai, but before the
bringing of Israel out of Egypt, and therefore from the beginning. If the sabbath
had now been first instituted, how could Moses have understood what God said to
him (Exodus 16:5) concerning a double portion to be gathered on the sixth day,
without making any express mention of the sabbath? And how could the people
have so readily taken the hint, (Exodus 16:22,) even to the surprise of the rulers,
before Moses had declared that it was done with regard to the sabbath, if they had
not had some knowledge of the sabbath before? The setting apart of one day in
seven for holy work, and in order to that for holy rest, was a divine appointment
ever since God created man upon the earth.
ELLICOTT, "(23) To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord.—Heb.,
to morrow is a rest of a holy Sabbath to Jehovah. If the translation of the
Authorised Version were correct, the previous institution of the Sabbath, and the
knowledge, if not the observance, of it by the Israelites would be necessarily implied,
since no otherwise would the double use of the article be intelligible. But in the
Hebrew there is no article either here or in Exodus 16:25. The absence of the article
indicates that it is a new thing which is announced—if not absolutely, at any rate to
those to whom the announcement is made. Much, no doubt, may be said in favour of
a primæval institution of the Sabbath (see the comment on Genesis 2:2-3); and its
observance in a certain sense by the Babylonians (see the first ote on Exodus 16:5)
is in favour of its having been known to the family of Abraham; but during the
Egyptian oppression the continued observance would have been impossible, and the
surprise of the elders, as well as the words of Moses, show that at this time the idea
was, to the Israelites, practically a novelty.
Bake . . . Seethe.—These directions imply a very different substance from any of the
natural forms of manna. The heavenly “gift” could be either made into a paste and
baked, or converted into a porridge.
PETT, "Verse 23
‘And he said to them, “This is that which Yahweh spoke. Tomorrow is a solemn
rest, a holy sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you will bake and seethe what you will
seethe and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.”
’
The impression given here is that Moses is imparting new information. He explains
that the seventh day is to be a holy sabbath, and therefore also every seventh day
after that. It may well therefore be that this is in fact the time when the regular
seventh day sabbath was first established, in order to commemorate the giving of
the Manna as something better than the bread of Egypt. Previously holy rest days
had been mentioned (Exodus 12:16) although not called sabbaths.
Because it is a sabbath (shabbath) they are to rest on it. It is a holy rest
(shabbathon). This would hardly need to be explained if they were familiar with it.
Moses elsewhere tells us that the reason why God commanded the observance of the
regular seventh day sabbath was because He had delivered them from the land of

133. Egypt (in Deuteronomy 5:15). This also would tie in with a post-deliverance
establishment of the Sabbath. The Creation account says nothing about the
Sabbath.
“Shabbathon”, ‘a solemn rest’ is a word only used of observance of the Sabbath
(shabbath).
So while no indication is specifically given as to whether this is a new observance on
each seventh day or the perpetuation of what was already the custom, the
probability seem to lie with the former. The sabbath has not previously been
mentioned, and the only mention of a seventh day feast previously is Exodus 13:6
and there it would not in future be on the same day of ‘the week’ each year, as it
was tied to the 14th-21st of Abib, and new moons did not follow an exact twenty
eight day pattern. And in that feast there was also a special feast on the first day of
the feast as well as the seventh. It may well be therefore that this incident of the
Manna is the first establishing of the strict seven day week pattern and of the
regular Sabbath. Previously they may simply have utilised periods of the moon for
recording time, or simply followed the ways of the Egyptians.
Indeed had the Sabbath and the seven day week already been a well recognised
feature we might have expected that those who broke it (Exodus 16:27) would be
put to death (see umbers 15:32-36). Instead they were only rebuked for having
disobeyed the command not to gather.
It is also interesting to note that there is no specific emphasis here of doing no work,
although it may possibly be seen as implied in Exodus 16:23 and Exodus 16:26-27,
the latter only being stated, however, after the failure to observe the Sabbath. This
may again be why they were only rebuked.
But its introduction was probably made easier by the fact that ‘seven days’ (not then
directly related to our week) was often seen as a holy period (see Genesis 7:4;
Genesis 7:10; Genesis 8:10; Genesis 8:12; Genesis 8:22; Genesis 29:27-28; Genesis
50:10; Exodus 7:25; Exodus 12:15; Exodus 12:19; Exodus 13:6-7 and often). Seven
was the number of divine perfection. Thus from now on their life was in a sense to
be made up of many holy periods in which God provided their food. Instead of
being controlled by sun and moon, their time was now divinely controlled.
It is true that in Genesis 2:1-3 God stopped working on ‘the seventh day’ from all
His activity in creation, but that is not applied there to the requirement for man to
observe it, and had it been a requirement when that was written we would have
expected it to be mentioned. or is the seventh day there called the sabbath
(although shabbath is related to shabath, to stop, be at a standstill, stop working
which is used there). Later in Exodus 20:10 (see also Exodus 31:17) this example is
given as proving that the idea of the seventh day was something which God has
blessed but there is no necessary suggestion or indication that the sabbath itself was
inaugurated at the time of creation. As we have seen, in Deuteronomy 5:14-15 it is
the deliverance from Egypt that is given as the reason why God instituted the

134. Sabbath. The bondmen had become free and in gladness and gratitude would
honour Yahweh by dedicating a work-free day to Him.
Attempts have been made to link the sabbath with the Babylonian ‘sabbatum’, but
that was on the day of the full moon and not a day of rest or cessation from work,
(this is revealed by contract tablets), and they had a five-day week. Ceasing of work
on certain days in the Assyrian period by certain limited important people such as
kings and priests was simply due to a desire to ward off bad luck.
“Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil.” This makes clear that the
Manna was cooked before eating. On the sixth day they would presumably do all
the cooking, and set aside what had not been eaten for the morrow.
BI, "Verses 23-26
Exodus 16:23-26
To-day ye shall not find it in the field.
The Sabbath in relation to secular toil
I. That men must not engage in secular toil on the sabbath. Men must not even earn
their daily bread on the Lord’s day,--they must provide it before.
II. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath will, as a rule, find their labour
vain and profitless.
III. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath show plainly that they have no
regard for the commands of God. They are selling their souls for gain.
IV. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath have no delight in the culture of
their moral nature. It is especially on the day of rest that men of secular toil have the
leisure and opportunity for soul-culture, by inward meditation, by earnest devotion,
by wise reading, and by the ministry of the sanctuary. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The day of rest
In one of the most densely populated parts of the city a gentleman lately visited the
house of a poor, hard-working, infidel cobbler. The man was busy at his last, and
had scarce time to look up at his unwelcome visitor. “That is hard work.” “It is, sir.
“For how many hours a day have you to labour here--twelve?” “Yes, and more, sir.
I am never off this seat under a fourteen or fifteen hours’ spell of it.” “That is sore
toil for a bit of bread.” “Indeed it is, sir; and very thankful am I when the week’s
end comes. What would become of me, and the likes of me, without that rest.?”
“And who, friend, think you, gave you that rest? Came it by accident, or
arrangement, or how?” There came no answer to that; the cobbler hung his head;

135. the man was honest; the sceptic was ashamed.
Queen Victoria and the Sabbath
One Saturday night, in this first year of Queen Victoria’s reign, a certain noble
visitor came at a late hour to Windsor. He informed the Queen that he had brought
down some documents of great importance for her inspection, but that, as they
would require to be examined in detail, he would not encroach on Her Majesty’s
time that night, but would request her attention the next morning. “Tomorrow is
Sunday, my lord,” said the Queen. “True, your Majesty, but business of the State
will not admit of delay.” The Queen then consented to attend to the papers after
Church the next morning. The nobleman was somewhat surprised that the subject
of the sermon next day turned out to be the duties and obligations of the Christian
Sabbath. “How did your lordship like the sermon?” asked the Queen on their
return from Church. “Very much indeed, your Majesty,” was the reply. “Well
then,” said the Queen, “I will not conceal from you that last night I sent the
clergyman the text from which he preached. I hope we shall all be improved by the
sermon.” Sunday passed over without another word being said about the State
papers, until at night, when the party was breaking up, the Queen said to the
nobleman, “To-morrow morning, my lord, at any hour you please--as early as seven,
my lord, if you like--we will look into the papers.” His lordship said he would not
think of intruding upon Her Majesty so early as that, and he thought nine o’clock
would be quite early enough. “ o, no, my lord,” said the Queen, “as the papers are
of importance I should like them to be attended to very early; however, if you wish
it to be nine, be it so.” Accordingly, at nine o’clock next morning the Queen was in
readiness to confer with the nobleman about his papers. (T. E. Ball.)
Training for Sabbath observance
o doubt, in the oppression and darkness of Egypt, the seventh-day (Sabbath)
observance had fallen into partial disuse; though even in Egypt in that era, as
among the more eastern peoples, the traditional seventh-day rest seems to have
lingered, and therefore the usages of Egypt may not have militated against the rest
on the seventh day. However that may be, still there was need of this training to the
Sabbath observance; and this ordinance of the manna was just the preparation
needful for their receiving heartily the statute, “Remember the Sabbath day,” when
it coma to them through Moses from the mount. (S. Robinson, D. D.)
A lesson on Sabbath keeping
In all the Jewish history there never again occurred as favourable a time for
imposing the Sabbath observance upon the people as at the giving of the manna. For
forty years, comprising more than two thousand weeks, they were to subsist upon
manna as their daily food. God was to furnish it every day; they were to gather it
every day. Thus was presented the opportunity both for God to mark the day and
for man to keep it. During all these two thousand weeks God gave them a double
supply on the sixth day, and preserved that given on that day fresh for two days
instead of one. Two thousand Sabbaths came, but on them no manna. It was vain
for them to look for it. Soon they ceased to do so altogether. What a lesson for
beginners! The most stupid and the most obdurate alike learned it. Time and the

136. world may be searched for another series of events by which it would be possible to
impress the idea of a Sabbath upon the minds of the people as effectually as by this.
(A. M. Weston, D. D.)
Sabbath gains a curse
Whatever is earned on the Sabbath is a curse in a man’s property. (A. Clarke, D. D.)
Faithful to God’s command
A delicate man, once a ringleader in all sorts of mischief, was recently found by
some of the Mildmay Deaconesses in a common London lodging-house, and as it was
discovered that the poor fellow could not work continuously at his trade, he was
started in business in a small shop. Late one Saturday night, as many, through
curiosity, or seeing the contents of the shop looking fresh and new, filled it up, and
were asking one question and another, one woman said: “Here is 4d.; I’ll come in to-
morrow with the other few pence, and you will give me the parcel then.” “This shop
will never be open for traffic on the Lord’s Day,” was the answer, at which
announcement the people all turned to gaze at the speaker. A quiet look of firm
resolve was on his delicate face, which seemed to make the crowd silent for a minute
or two; then one laughed, and said: “Are you religious?” “Yes,” said the proprietor;
“I may as well declare it from the very first night of opening. You will never, with
God’s help, see either buying or selling here on Sundays.” “Oh!” said a scoffer;
“then you will soon shut shop.” The owner of the shop replied: “Do you see that
little card with the blue ribbon tying it up?” The eyes of all were turned towards the
card, on which were the words, “Kept by the power of God.” “This,” continued the
speaker, “is my motto; He is able to keep me, and maybe some of you will find out
‘tis better to have Him as a friend than any one in the world.” (Christian Herald.)
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses
commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in
it.
GILL, "And they laid it up until the morning, as Moses bade,.... What was left
of two omers a man, what they had neither baked nor boiled:
and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein, which was the case,
when it was left or laid up on other days; and it showed that there was an interposition
of divine Providence in the keeping of it to this day, and clearly confirmed it to be the
will of God that this day should henceforward be to them the rest of the holy sabbath.

137. PETT, "Verse 24
‘And they laid it up until the morning as Moses ordered them, and it did not smell
nor was there any worm in it.’
When they laid up Manna for the seventh day it did not go bad. It may be that it
had been cooked on the previous day and that that prevented this. (Cooking was
certainly later forbidden on the Sabbath - Exodus 35:3).
PULPIT, "They laid it up. The great bulk of the Israelites obeyed Moses, and laid
by a portion (half?) of the manna gathered on the sixth day. On the morning of the
seventh, this was found to be perfectly good, and not to have "bred worms" in the
night. Either this was a miracle, or the corruption previously noticed (Exodus 16:20)
was miraculous.
25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a
sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on
the ground today.
BAR ES,"Eat that today - The practical observance of the Sabbath was thus
formally instituted before the giving of the law. The people were to abstain from the
ordinary work of every day life: they were not to collect food, nor, as it would seem, even
to prepare it as on other days.
GILL, "And Moses said, eat that today,.... That is, he said this on the seventh day
in the morning, and bid them eat of it whether baked or seethed, or as it was, or just as
they pleased; however, they had liberty to eat of it, and indeed they had no other,
because none fell on this day:
for today is a sabbath unto the Lord; a time of rest from labour, and to be
employed in the service of the Lord:
today ye shall not find it in the field: should they seek for it, which they had no
occasion to do, since there was a sufficiency provided the day before; and this he said to
prevent their going out to seek for it, which, if out of curiosity or for any other reason
any of them should do, it would be in vain and fruitless.

138. ELLICOTT, "(25) To day is a sabbath.—That is to say, a rest By these words the
Sabbath was either instituted, or re-instituted, and became thenceforth binding on
the Israelites. Its essential character of a weekly “rest” was at once assigned to it—
(1) by its name; (2) by God’s resting on it from His self-imposed task of giving the
manna; and (3) by the rest which the absence of manna on the seventh day imposed
on the people. Thus the way was prepared for the stringent law of Sabbath
observance laid down in the fourth commandment.
PETT, "Verse 25
‘And Moses said, “Eat that today. For today is a sabbath in honour of Yahweh.
Today you will not find it in the surrounding area (field, countryside). Six days you
will gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath, in it there will be none.” And so
it was that on the seventh day some of the people went out in order to gather, and
they found none.’
o Manna could be gathered on the Sabbath because there was none available. It
was ‘a Sabbath unto Yahweh’, a day of quietness for the purpose of honouring and
worshipping Him. Yet inevitably some went out to see what they could find. But
they found none as they had been told. There can be no explanation for this except
the hand of Yahweh. It is a reminder that God often controls the natural, as He had
done in Egypt, rather than doing spectacular miracles.
PULPIT, "Exodus 16:25, Exodus 16:26
And Moses said. The Sabbath being come, Moses explained fully the reason for the
order which he had given, and generalized it. God required the Sabbath to be "a
day of holy rest"—no manna would fall on it, and therefore none could be
gathered—the produce of the sixth day's gathering would be found to suffice both
for the sixth day and the seventh.
26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the
seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
GILL, "Six days ye shall gather it,.... Day after day, every morning, as they had done
the six days past, so they should during their stay in the wilderness:

139. but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath; which is repeated, being a new
thing, to impress it on their minds: in it there shall be none: no manna; none shall fall,
and so none can be gathered, and therefore it would be to no purpose to go out and seek
for it; as also there would be no need of it, since they would always have a double portion
on the sixth day.
27 evertheless, some of the people went out on
the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
BAR ES,"There went out some of the people - This was an act of willful
disobedience. It is remarkable, being the first violation of the express command, that it
was not visited by a signal chastisement: the rest and peace of the “holy Sabbath” were
not disturbed by a manifestation of wrath.
GILL, "And it came to pass,.... Perhaps the next seventh day following:
that there went out some of the people for to gather; to gather manna, as on
other days; which they did not through want of provision or a greedy appetite, for they
had bread every day, and on that day to the full, but to gratify their curiosity, or to see
whether the words of Moses stood, as Aben Ezra expresses it, that is, whether what he
said was true, or came to pass, that there should be none, and they should not be able to
find any on that day, and so it was:
and they found none; no manna; in the places where they used to find it in plenty on
other days.
K&D 27-30, "On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather manna,
notwithstanding Moses' command, but they found nothing. Whereupon God reproved
their resistance to His commands, and ordered them to remain quietly at home on the
seventh day. Through the commandments which the Israelites were to keep in relation
to the manna, this gift assumed the character of a temptation, or test of their obedience
and faith (cf. Exo_16:4).
CALVI , "27.And it came to pass. This is the second transgression, that by going
out on the seventh day they trenched upon its religious observance; and this
monstrous greediness arose from their not believing to be true what we have just
heard Moses saying, for he had plainly declared to them that they would not find

140. the manna. They, therefore, accuse him of falsehood, refusing’ to believe anything
but their own eyes. Meanwhile the obligation of the Sabbath was set at naught by
them, nay, they sought to profane the day which God had hallowed, so that it should
in no wise differ from other days. Therefore does God justly inveigh against them
with much bitterness, for, addressing Moses, in his person He arraigns the obstinate
wickedness of the whole people. Assuredly Moses was not of the number of those
who had refused to obey God’s laws, but by this general charge, the multitude, who
had transgressed, were more severely rebuked, and a greater obligation is laid on
Moses to chastise the people, when a part of the blame is transferred to himself. By
the expression “How long?” God implies the intolerableness of their perversity,
because there is no end of their offenses, but, by thus provoking greater vengeance
by new crimes, they prove themselves to be incorrigible.
PULPIT, "There went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather.
There will always be some persons in a nation, or in a Church, who will refuse to
believe God's ministers, and even God himself. They persuade themselves that they
"know better"—it will not be as announced—it will be as they wish it to be. More
especially is this so where the idea of continuance comes in—where some
interruption of the ordinary course of things is announced, which they deem
unlikely or impossible. Compare Genesis 19:14.
28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will
you[c] refuse to keep my commands and my
instructions?
BAR ES,"How long - The reference to Exo_16:4 is obvious. The prohibition
involved a trial of faith, in which as usual the people were found wanting. Every miracle
formed some part, so to speak, of an educational process
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Who had seen and taken notice of what
those men had done, who went out into the field to seek for manna on the seventh day,
and was displeased with it, and therefore spoke to Moses out of the cloud:
how long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? this is not said
merely with respect to their breach of the commandment of the sabbath, as if they had

141. long refused to observe and keep that; whereas that was but one command, and but just
given; but upon their breach of that, he takes occasion to upbraid them with their former
transgressions of other laws of his, and which they had continued in, or at least were
frequently committing; and which was a proof of their perverseness and rebellion
against him, though he was so kind and bountiful to them.
ELLICOTT, "(28) How long refuse ye to keep my commandments ?—The people
had already broken one of the positive precepts with respect to the manna (see
Exodus 16:20); now they broke another—in the spirit, at any rate—since they would
have gathered had they found anything to gather. Thus they provoked God a second
time; yet was He “so merciful, that He destroyed them not,” but “turned His anger
away, and did not stir up all His wrath” (Psalms 78:38). Apparently He made
allowance for the ordinance being a new one, to which they were not yet
accustomed.
PETT, "Verse 28
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments
and my laws?”
Yahweh rebukes the disobedient people through Moses but there is no penalty. This
can surely only be because it was a new institution. The cry of Yahweh hear is
reflected in every generation. How He longs that His people will obey Him.
PULPIT, "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments! Though Moses is
addressed, it is the people who are blamed. Hence the plural verb, "refuse ye."
Already there had been one act of disobedience in connection with the manna (see
Exodus 16:20)—now there was another—when would such sinful folly come to an
end? When would the people learn that they could gain nothing by disobedience? It
was "long" indeed before they were taught the lesson.
29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the
Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you
bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they
are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.”
BAR ES,"Abide ye every man in his place - The expression in Hebrew is unique

142. and seems almost to enjoin a position of complete repose: “in his place” is literally under
himself, as the Oriental sits with his legs drawn up under him. The prohibition must
however be understood with reference to its immediate object; they were not to go forth
from their place in order to gather manna, which was on other days without the camp.
The spirit of the law is sacred rest. The Lord gave them this Sabbath, as a blessing and
privilege. It was “made for man.” Mar_2:27.
CLARKE, "Abide ye every man in his place - Neither go out to seek manna nor
for any other purpose; rest at home and devote your time to religious exercises. Several
of the Jews understood by place in the text, the camp, and have generally supposed that
no man should go out of the place, i.e., the city, town, or village in which he resides, any
farther than one thousand cubits, about an English mile, which also is called a Sabbath
day’s journey, Act_1:12; and so many cubits they consider the space round the city that
constitutes its suburbs, which they draw from Num_35:3, Num_35:4. Some of the Jews
have carried the rigorous observance of the letter of this law to such a length, that in
whatever posture they find themselves on the Sabbath morning when they awake, they
continue in the same during the day; or should they be up and happen to fall, they refuse
even to rise till the Sabbath be ended! Mr. Stapleton tells a story of one Rabbi Solomon,
who fell into a slough on the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, and refused to be pulled out,
giving his reason in the following Leonine couplet: -
Sabbatha sancta colo De stereore surgere nolo.
“Out of this slough I will not rise
For holy Sabbath day I prize.”
The Christians, finding him thus disposed determined he should honor their Sabbath
in the same place, and actually kept the poor man in the slough all Sunday, giving their
reasons in nearly the same way: -
Sabbatha nostra quidem, Solomon, celebrabis ibidem.
“In the same slough, thou stubborn Jew,
Our Sabbath day thou shalt spend too.”
This might have served to convince him of his folly, but certainly was not the likeliest
way to convert him to Christianity.
Fabyan, in his Chronicles, tells the following story of a case of this kind. “In this yere
also (1259) fell that happe of the Iewe of Tewkysbury, which fell into a gonge upon the
Satyrday, and wolde not for reverence of his sabbot day be pluckyd out; whereof heryng
the Erle of Gloucetyr, that the Iewe dyd so great reverence to his sabbot daye, thought he
wolde doo as moche unto his holy day, which was Sonday, and so kepte hym there tyll
Monday, at whiche season he was foundyn dede.” Then the earl of Gloucester murdered
the poor man.
GILL, "See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath,.... These are either the
words of Jehovah, the Angel of the Lord, out of the cloud continued; or the words of
Moses to the children of Israel, upon what the Lord had said to him, and would have
them observe and take notice, that whereas the Lord had given them a sabbath, or

143. enjoined them a day of rest:
therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; wherefore they
had no occasion to go out in search of manna, as well as it was a vain thing to do it; and
especially as it was against a command of God, and being ungrateful in them, as there
was such a provision made for them:
abide ye every man in his place; in his tent for that day, giving himself up to
religious exercises, to pray and praise, instruct his family, and in all things serve the
Lord he was directed to:
let no man go out of his place on the seventh day; not beyond two thousand
cubits, as the Targum of Jonathan, which is the space the Jews generally fix upon for a
man to walk on a sabbath day, so far he might go and no further; and which perhaps is
the same space as is called a sabbath day's journey; see Gill on Act_1:12.
COKE, "Exodus 16:29. See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, &c.—
You see that the Lord giveth you rest, Houbigant; who observes, that "rest is more
suitable to the context than sabbath: besides, the sabbath is called by the name of
the seventh day, not ‫שׁבת‬ shabat, rest. Add to this, that the phrase to give sabbath, or
rest, is not of the same import as to command the observation of the sabbath; so that
it cannot be argued from this place, that the precept concerning the sabbath was
now first given: one would rather say, that the sabbath is so touched upon here, as
an institution well and long since known to the Israelites."
Abide ye every man in his place— Still incredulous, the people could not confide in
the word of God: some of them went out to gather manna on the sabbath, but they
found none; upon which the Lord expostulates with them, (Exodus 16:28 compared
with Exodus 16:24.) and orders every man to abide, on the seventh day, in his place.
The Hebrew is, literally, rest every man with himself. The Vulgate is the same:
Maneat unusquisque apud semetipsum. Sit every one in your houses, say the
Septuagint. So that the meaning evidently is, let every one rest at home: in the due
performance of this holy day of rest, let no one depart from his place; his home, that
is, his place of abode; or, at the utmost, the camp, on the sabbath day: and
accordingly, it is added, in the next verse, that, agreeably to this injunction, the
people rested on the sabbath-day.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:29. The Lord hath given you the sabbath — Hath granted to
you and to your fathers the great privilege of it, and the command to observe it. Let
no man go out of his place — Out of his house or tent into the field to gather manna,
as appears from the occasion and reason of the precept here before mentioned. For
otherwise, they might and ought to go out of their houses to the public assemblies,
Leviticus 23:3; Acts 15:21; and to lead their cattle to watering, or to help them out
of a pit, Luke 13:15; and a sabbath day’s journey was permitted, Acts 1:12.
ELLICOTT, "(29) Abide ye every man in his place.—Some Jews took this direction
absolutely literally, and remained all the Sabbath Day in the position in which they
found themselves at waking; but this slavish adherence to the letter was in general

144. repudiated, and the command understood as having forbidden persons to leave the
camp on the Sabbath. Hence the “Sabbath Day’s journey,” which was fixed at six
stadia, because that was (traditionally) the extreme distance from the centre of the
camp to its furthest boundary.
PETT, "Verse 29-30
“See. Because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, that is why he gives you on the
sixth day food for two days. Let every man of you remain in his place. Let no man
go out of his place on the Sabbath day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.’
The purpose of the solemn Sabbath is so that every man will remain in his place,
presumably his tent, although the minimum need for the tending of the herds and
flocks will be necessary. This gives them a chance to rest and to think and to
remember Yahweh’s doings. This is the primitive Sabbath. It would remind them of
their bondage in Egypt and of the giving of the manna. Later these requirements
would be amplified to forbid all forms of work.
“How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?” The incident is
seen as reminding Yahweh of the many times they have disobeyed Him. Once again
they have set a command of His at variance. All the previous failures come flooding
back. The rebuke is for their general attitude as revealed by the particular
misdemeanour.
“Because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was not to be seen as a
hard duty but as a gift. Only those whose lives are those of constant toil can
appreciate how great a gift it was in those days. Those who ignore it do so to their
own disadvantage.
“So the people rested on the seventh day.” This would hardly need to have been
stated if it was already the normal state of affairs. It was to be a new convention.
PULPIT, "See, for that, etc. Rather, "See, that." Consider that God has given you
the Sabbath, or the holy rest: and therefore it is that he gives you on the sixth day
the food for two days—that the rest may not be interfered with. abide ye every man
in his place. One Jewish sect, the Masbothei, took this command absolutely literally,
and held that in whatsoever position a man was at the commencement of the
Sabbath day, he was bound to retain it to the close. But generally it was held that
the "place" intended was the camp, which the Israelites were forbidden to quit; and
hence was derived the idea of the "sabbath day's journey," which was reckoned at
six stadia—the supposed distance of the furthest bounds of the camp from its centre.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

145. GILL, "So the people rested on the seventh day. Did not attempt to go out of
their tents in quest of manna, as on other days, and observed it as a day of rest from
labour, and so they continued to do in successive generations.
PULPIT, "So the people rested. Having found by experience that nothing was to be
gained by seeking manna on the sabbath, and received the severe rebuke of Exodus
16:28, the people henceforth obeyed the new commandment, and "rested on the
sabbath day." Of the nature of the "rest" intended more will be said in the comment
on Exodus 20:8-11.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d]
It was white like coriander seed and tasted like
wafers made with honey.
BAR ES,"manna - It was not indeed the common manna, as they then seem to
have believed, but the properties which are noted in this passage are common to it and
the natural product: in size, form and color it resembled the seed of the white coriander,
a small round grain of a whitish or yellowish grey.
CLARKE, "Called the name thereof Manna - See Clarke’s note on Exo_16:15.
GILL, "And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna,.... For till now
they had given it no name; which shows that the words are not to be read as we render
them in Exo_16:15 it is manna, unless this is to be considered as a confirmation of that
name; but rather as an interrogation, "what is it?" though, from thence, "man" being the
first word they made use of on sight of it, might so call it; or as others, from its being
now an appointed, prepared, portion and gift, which they every day enjoyed; see Gill on
Exo_16:15,
and it was like coriander seed, white that the colour of the manna was white is not
only here asserted, but is plain from other passages, it being like the hoar frost, which is
white, Exo_16:14 and its colour is the colour of bdellium, Num_11:7 or pearl, which is of

146. a white bright colour, as the word is interpreted by the Jews; and who say (u), that the
manna was round as a coriander seed, and white as a pearl; but then if it is here
compared to the coriander seed on that account, some other seed than what we call
coriander seed must be meant, since that is off darkish colour; though it is thought by
most that the comparison with it is not on account of the colour, but its form being
round, as a coriander seed is, and as the manna is said to be, Exo_16:14. Josephus (w)
thinks it is compared to the coriander seed for its being about the size of that seed;
though I must confess it seems to me to be compared to the coriander seed for its colour,
and therefore "Gad", the word used, must signify something else than what we call
coriander seed; but what that is, is not easy to say: Ben Gersom is of the same mind, and
thinks it refers to colour, and fancies the "Gad" had his name from his whiteness, Gen_
20:11. Artapanus (x), the Heathen, makes mention of this food of the Jews in the
wilderness, where, he says, they were thirty years; during which time God rained upon
them meal like to panic (a sort of grain like millet), in colour almost as white as snow:
and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey; or cakes that had honey mixed in
them: though in Num_11:8 the taste of it is said to be as the taste of fresh oil, which
Saadiah Gaon, Aben Ezra, and others, account for thus; that if a man ate of it as it came
down, it was as cakes of honey, but, when dressed, it was as the taste of fresh oil;
however, it was very palatable and agreeable to the taste; honey that drops from palm
trees is said to be not much different in taste from oil: the Jews (y) have a notion that
there were all kinds of tastes in the manna, suited to the ages and appetites of persons,
and that as they would have it, so it tasted; which notion the author of the book of
Wisdom seems to give into,"Instead whereof thou feddest thine own people with angels'
food, and didst send them from heaven bread prepared without their labour, able to
content every man's delight, and agreeing to every taste. For thy sustenance declared thy
sweetness unto thy children, and serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to
every man's liking.'' (Wisdom 16:20-21)Leo Africanus (z) speaks of a sort of manna
found in great plenty in the deserts in Libya, which the inhabitants gather in vessels
every morning to carry to market, and which being mixed with water is drank for
delight, and being put into broth has a very refreshing virtue: of the round form and
white colour of manna, as applicable to Christ, notice has been taken on Exo_16:14 and
the sweetness of its taste well agrees with him the antitype: his person is so to them who
have tasted that the Lord is gracious; his word or Gospel is sweeter than the honey or the
honeycomb; his mouth is most sweet, the doctrines that proceed from it, and the
exceeding great and precious promises of it; his fruits and the blessings of his grace,
peace, pardon, righteousness, &c. are sweet to those that sit under his shadow, where
faith often feeds sweetly and with delight upon him,
K&D, "The manna was “like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it like cake with
honey.” ‫ד‬ַ: Chald. ‫א‬ ָ‫יד‬ִ; lxx κόριον; Vulg. coriandrum; according to Dioscorid. 3, 64, it
was called γοίδ by the Carthaginians. ‫ת‬ ִ‫יח‬ ִ ַ‫צ‬ is rendered ᅞγκρις by the lxx; according to
Athenaeus and the Greek Scholiasts, a sweet kind of confectionary made with oil. In
Num_11:7-8, the manna is said to have had the appearance of bdellium, a fragrant and
transparent resin, resembling wax (Gen_2:12). It was ground in handmills or pounded
in mortars, and either boiled in pots or baked on the ashes, and tasted like ‫ן‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ֶ ַ‫ה‬ ‫ד‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫,ל‬
“dainty of oil,” i.e., sweet cakes boiled with oil.
This “bread of heaven” (Psa_78:24; Psa_105:40) Jehovah gave to His people for the
first time at a season of the year and also in a place in which natural manna is still found.

147. It is ordinarily met with in the peninsula of Sinai in the months of June and July, and
sometimes even in May. It is most abundant in the neighbourhood of Sinai, in Wady
Feirân and es Sheikh, also in Wady Gharandel and Taiyibeh, and some of the valleys to
the south-east of Sinai (Ritter, 14, p. 676; Seetzen's Reise iii. pp. 76, 129). In warm nights
it exudes from the branches of the tarfah-tree, a kind of tamarisk, and falls down in the
form of small globules upon the withered leaves and branches that lie under the trees; it
is then gathered before sunrise, but melts in the heat of the sun. In very rainy seasons it
continues in great abundance for six weeks long; but in many seasons it entirely fails. It
has the appearance of gum, and has a sweet, honey-like taste; and when taken in large
quantities, it is said to act as a mild aperient (Burckhardt, Syr. p. 954; Wellsted in Ritter,
p. 674). There are striking points of resemblance, therefore, between the manna of the
Bible and the tamarisk manna. Not only was the locality in which the Israelites first
received the manna the same as that in which it is obtained now; but the time was also
the same, inasmuch as the 15th day of the second month (Exo_16:1) falls in the middle
of our May, if not somewhat later. The resemblance in colour, form, and appearance is
also unmistakeable; for, though the tamarisk manna is described as a dirty yellow, it is
also said to be white when it falls upon stones. Moreover, it falls upon the earth in
grains, is gathered in the morning, melts in the heat of the sun, and has the flavour of
honey. But if these points of agreement suggest a connection between the natural manna
and that of the Scriptures, the differences, which are universally admitted, point with no
less distinctness of the miraculous character of the bread of heaven. This is seen at once
in the fact that the Israelites received the manna for 40 years, in all parts of the desert, at
every season of the year, and in sufficient quantity to satisfy the wants of so numerous a
people. According to Exo_16:35, they ate manna “until they came to a land inhabited,
unto the borders of the land of Canaan;” and according to Jos_5:11-12, the manna
ceased, when they kept the Passover after crossing the Jordan, and ate of the produce of
the land of Canaan on the day after the Passover. Neither of these statements is to be so
strained as to be made to signify that the Israelites ate no other bread than manna for
the whole 40 years, even after crossing the Jordan: they merely affirm that the Israelites
received no more manna after they had once entered the inhabited land of Canaan; that
the period of manna or desert food entirely ceased, and that of bread baked from corn,
or the ordinary food of the inhabited country, commenced when they kept the Passover
in the steppes of Jericho, and ate unleavened bread and parched cakes of the produce of
the land as soon as the new harvest had been consecrated by the presentation of the
sheaf of first-fruits to God.
But even in the desert the Israelites had other provisions at command. In the first
place, they had brought large flocks and herds with them out of Egypt (Exo_12:38; Exo_
17:3); and these they continued in possession of, not only at Sinai (Exo_34:3), but also
on the border of Edom and the country to the east of the Jordan (Num_20:19; Num_
32:1). Now, if the maintenance of these flocks necessitated, on the one hand, their
seeking for grassy spots in the desert; on the other hand, the possession of cattle secured
them by no means an insignificant supply of milk and flesh for food, and also of wool,
hair, and skins for clothing. Moreover, there were different tribes in the desert at that
very time, such as the Ishmaelites and Amalekites, who obtained a living for themselves
from the very same sources which must necessarily have been within reach of the
Israelites. Even now there are spots in the desert of Arabia where the Bedouins sow and
reap; and no doubt there was formerly a much larger number of such spots than there
are now, since the charcoal trade carried on by the Arabs has interfered with the growth
of trees, and considerably diminished both the fertility of the valleys and the number
and extent of the green oases (cf. Rüppell, Nubien, pp. 190, 201, 256). For the Israelites
were not always wandering about; but after the sentence was pronounced, that they were

148. to remain for 40 years in the desert, they may have remained not only for months, but in
some cases even for years, in certain places of encampment, where, if the soil allowed,
they could sow, plant, and reap. There were many of their wants, too, that they could
supply by means of purchases made either from the trading caravans that travelled
through the desert, or from tribes that were settled there; and we find in one place an
allusion made to their buying food and water from the Edomites (Deu_2:6-7). It is also
very obvious from Lev_8:2; Lev_26:31-32; Lev_9:4; Lev_10:12; Lev_24:5., and Num_
7:13., that they were provided with wheaten meal during their stay at Sinai.
(Note: Vide Hengstenberg's Geschichte Bileam's, p. 284ff. For the English
translation, see “Hengstenberg on the Genuineness of Daniel, etc.,” p. 566. Clark.
1847.)
But notwithstanding all these resources, the desert was “great and terrible” (Deu_9:19;
Deu_8:15); so that, even though it is no doubt the fact that the want of food is very
trifling in that region (cf. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 901), there must often have been districts
to traverse, and seasons to endure, in which the natural resources were either
insufficient for so numerous a people, or failed altogether. It was necessary, therefore,
that God should interpose miraculously, and give His people bread and water and flesh
by supernatural means. So that it still remains true, that God fed Israel with manna for
40 years, until their entrance into an inhabited country rendered it possible to dispense
with these miraculous supplies. We must by no means suppose that the supply of manna
was restricted to the neighbourhood of Sinai; for it is expressly mentioned after the
Israelites had left Sinai (Num_11:7.), and even when they had gone round the land of
Edom (Num_21:5). But whether it continued outside the true desert, - whether, that is
to say, the Israelites were still fed with manna after they had reached the inhabited
country, viz., in Gilead and Bashan, the Amoritish kingdoms of Sihon and Og, which
extended to Edrei in the neighbourhood of Damascus, and where there was no lack of
fields, and vineyards, and wells of water (Num_21:22), that came into the possession of
the Israelites on their conquest of the land, - or during their encampment in the fields of
Moab opposite to Jericho, where they were invited by the Moabites and Edomites to join
in their sacrificial meals (Num_25:2), and where they took possession, after the defeat of
the Midianites, of their cattle and all that they had, including 675,000 sheep and 72,000
beeves (Num_31:31.), - cannot be decided in the negative, as Hengstenberg supposes;
still less can it be answered with confidence in the affirmative, as it has been by C. v.
Raumer and Kurtz. For if, as even Kurtz admits, the manna was intended either to
supply the want of bread altogether, or where there was bread to be obtained, though
not in sufficient quantities, to make up the deficiency, it might be supposed that no such
deficiency would occur in these inhabited and fertile districts, where, according to Jos_
1:11, there were sufficient supplies, at hand to furnish ample provision for the passage
across the Jordan. It is possible too, that as there were more trees in the desert at that
time than there are now, and, in fact, more vegetation generally, there may have been
supplies of natural manna in different localities, in which it is not met with at present,
and that this manna harvest, instead of yielding only 5 or 7 cwt., as is the case now,
produced considerably more.
(Note: The natural manna was not exclusively confined to the tamarisk, which
seems to be the only tree in the peninsula of Sinai that yields it now; but, according
to both ancient and modern testimony, it has been found in Persia, Chorasan, and
other parts of Asia, dropping from other trees. Cf. Rosenmüller ubi supra, and
Ritter, 14, pp. 686ff.)
Nevertheless, the quantity which the Israelites gathered every day, - Viz. an omer a head,
or at least 2 lbs., - still remains a divine miracle; though this statement in Exo_16:16. is

149. not to be understood as affirming, that for 40 years they collected that quantity every
day, but only, that whenever and wherever other supplies failed, that quantity could be
and was collected day by day.
Moreover, the divine manna differed both in origin and composition from the natural
produce of the tamarisk. Though the tamarisk manna resembles the former in
appearance, colour, and taste, yet according to the chemical analysis to which it has been
submitted by Mitscherlich, it contains no farina, but simply saccharine matter, so that
the grains have only the consistency of wax; whereas those of the manna supplied to the
Israelites were so hard that they could be ground in mills and pounded in mortars, and
contained so much meal that it was made into cakes and baked, when it tasted like
honey-cake, or sweet confectionary prepared with oil, and formed a good substitute for
ordinary bread. There is no less difference in the origin of the two. The manna of the
Israelites fell upon the camp with the morning dew (Exo_16:13, Exo_16:14; Num_11:9),
therefore evidently out of the air, so that Jehovah might be said to have rained it from
heaven (Exo_16:4); whereas the tamarisk manna drops upon the ground from the fine
thin twigs of this shrub, and, in Ehrenberg's opinion, in consequence of the puncture of
a small, yellow insect, called coccus maniparus. But it may possibly be produced apart
from this insect, as Lepsius and Tischendorf found branches with a considerable
quantity of manna upon them, and saw it drop from trees in thick adhesive lumps,
without being able to discover any coccus near (see (Ritter, 14, pp. 675-6). Now, even
though the manna of the Bible may be connected with the produce of the tamarisk, the
supply was not so inseparably connected with these shrubs, as that it could only fall to
the earth with the dew, as it was exuded from their branches. After all, therefore, we can
neither deny that there was some connection between the two, nor explain the gift of the
heavenly manna, as arising from an unrestricted multiplication and increase of this gift
of nature. We rather regard the bread of heaven as the production and gift of the grace of
God, which fills all nature with its powers and productions, and so applies them to its
purposes of salvation, as to create out of that which is natural something altogether new,
which surpasses the ordinary productions of nature, both in quality and quantity, as far
as the kingdom of nature is surpassed by the kingdom of grace and glory.
CALVI , "31.And the house of Israel called. It is not without reason that Moses
repeats what he had said before, that the name of Manna was given to the new kind
of food which God had supplied, in order that they might be brought under
condemnation for their stubborn impiety, who shall dare to raise a question on so
manifest a point, since the conspicuous nature of the thing had extorted this name
from people otherwise malicious and ungrateful. Its form is mentioned to prove the
certainty of the miracle, viz., that its grains were round and like coriander-seed,
because nothing like it had been seen before. Its taste reproves the people’s
ingratitude in rejecting a food which was not only appropriate and wholesome, but
also very sweet in savor.
COKE, "Exodus 16:31. It was like coriander-seed— This expression must refer to
the size of the manna, not to its colour, for, in umbers 11:7 these are plainly
distinguished: there it is said, the manna was as coriander-seed, and the colour
thereof as the colour of bdellium; so that the coriander-seed plainly refers to the
size, as the bdellium or pearl does to its colour. In this verse, therefore, three things

150. are predicated of the manna: that its size was like coriander-seed; its colour, white;
its taste, like wafers, or little cakes, with honey. The word ‫גד‬ gad, which we translate
coriander, is of a very doubtful interpretation. It is generally agreed, that it signifies
some small seed; but whether the coriander, or not, is very much questioned.
REFLECTIO S.—1. Before the law was given, the sabbath was observed. This was
an institution from the beginning, not peculiar to the Jewish economy, but
universally binding.
ote; (1.) o man was ever a loser by a conscientious observance of the Lord's day,
while the abuse of it has brought a curse upon many. (2.) The less we have to do on
sabbath-days, to divert us from the immediate work and service of God, the better.
2. Some of the people go out on the sabbath, notwithstanding the express direction
to the contrary; and God justly resents their perverseness. They are rebuked, and
enjoined strict obedience: God will have his day hallowed; they who dishonour it, do
it at their peril. Let those who spend these sacred hours in idle company, parties of
pleasure, or works of wickedness, remember that God will visit them for these
things.
BE SO ,"Exodus 16:31. It was like coriander-seed — In size, not in colour, for
that is dark coloured, but this was white, as is here said, or like bdellium or pearl,
umbers 11:7; and its taste like wafers — Or little cakes made with honey; that is,
when it was raw, for when it was dressed, it was like fresh oil. The reader ought to
be informed, however, that the Hebrew word here used, and rendered coriander-
seed, is of rather doubtful interpretation. It may possibly mean some other small
seed.
ELLICOTT, "(31) Manna.—Rather, man. (See ote on Exodus 16:15.) “Manna” is
a Greek form, first used by the LXX. translator of umbers (Exodus 11:6-7; Exodus
11:9).
It was like coriander seed.—The appearance of the manna is compared above to
hoar frost (Exodus 16:14); here, and in umbers 11:7, to coriander seed. The
former account describes its look as it lay on the ground, the latter its appearance
after it was collected and brought in. The coriander seed is “a small round grain, of
a whitish or yellowish grey.” In umbers it is further said that the colour was that
of bdellium, which is a whitish resin.
The taste of it was like wafers made with honey.—In umbers the taste is compared
to that of fresh oil ( umbers 11:8). The wafers or cakes used by the Egyptians,
Greeks, and other ancient nations as offerings, were ordinarily composed of fine
wheaten flour, oil, and honey. According to a Jewish tradition which finds a place in
the Book of Wisdom (Exodus 16:20-21), the taste of the manna varied according to
the wish of the eater, and “tempered itself to every man’s liking.”
COFFMA , "Verses 31-36

151. "And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander
seed, white; and the taste thereof was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said,
This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Let an omer-ful 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. And Moses said unto
Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer-ful of manna therein, and lay it up before
Jehovah, to be kept throughout your generations. As Jehovah commanded Moses, so
Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And 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 into the borders of the land of Canaan. ow an omer is the tenth
part of an ephah."
It is a gross error to date this paragraph late because it "implies the Ark and the
Tabernacle."[30] To be sure, these were not yet given to Israel, but Moses, writing
near the end of the forty-year wilderness experience, included right here in the
narrative where it belongs the things that God did later to memorialize the manna.
It is impossible to construe any sacred writing as a chronological account of
everything mentioned. Anyone familiar with the gospels is aware that many things
are recorded out of sequence chronologically. As Dobson explained it:
"The writer of Exodus is not saying that the manna was put in the Ark of the
Covenant in the wilderness of Sin. He is describing here something that was done
later on, because it has to do with the manna, which is the subject of the story.
Students of the Gospels will know that the Gospel writers also sometimes arranged
what they wanted to write according to subject, and not always according to the
time when it happened."[31]
Who can fail to be amused at Dummelow's "contradiction," based on the fact that,
"The pot of manna was said to be deposited before the Testimony (the tables of the
Decalogue), but in Hebrews 9:4 it is said to have been in the Ark."[32] For the
benefit of all such nit-pickers, both the tables of the Law and the pot of manna were
in the Ark!"
It is also a matter of great importance to some commentators that the mention of the
children of Israel and their coming into the borders of Canaan, and the continuation
of the manna until that time is boldly ascribed to some later writer. Such a
deduction of course is founded upon the rather naive conclusion that the Servant of
God who so magnificently prophesied the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was
incapable of prophesying such a thing as the cessation of the manna when Israel
came into Canaan. We do not believe that a deduction of that kind is intelligent.
evertheless, if God needed another, and a later writer, to include these details in
the narrative, he might very well have used Joshua or Ezra, both of whom were
inspired and who could easily have done so. As Fields stated it:
Exodus 16:35 sounds as if it were written after the manna had ceased to be
provided. If so, this one verse was inserted by Joshua, or some other writer after
Moses' death. This probability no more casts doubt on the Mosaic authorship of
Exodus, than does the insertion of the facts about Moses' death casts doubt on the

152. Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy.[33]
We should remember, as one of the wisest men of a whole millennium stated it, that,
"Joshua wrote some things in the Law of God (the Pentateuch) (Joshua 24:26) ...
these were public books and therefore not written without the authority of
Moses."[34]
CO STABLE, "Verses 31-36
Evangelical commentators generally have felt that the manna was a substance
unique from any other edible food ( Exodus 16:31). Some interpreters believe it was
the sap-like secretion of the tamarisk tree or the secretion of certain insects common
in the desert. [ ote: E.g, F. S. Bodenheimer, "The Manna of Sinai," Biblical
Archaeologist10:1 (February1947):2-6.] In the latter case the miracle would have
been the timing with which God provided it and the abundance of it. ormally this
sap only flows in the summer months. If this is the explanation, it was a miracle
similar to the plagues, not totally unknown phenomena but divinely scheduled and
reinforced. Even though there are similarities between these secretions and the
manna, the differences are more numerous and point to a unique provision. [ ote:
Cf. Ellison, pp89-90; and Davis, pp181-83.]
The "testimony" was the tables of the Mosaic Law that Aaron later kept in the ark
of the covenant (cf. Exodus 25:16). Moses told Aaron to preserve a pot of manna
before the Lord"s presence ( Exodus 16:33-34; cf. umbers 17:10-11). [ ote: See
Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., pp274-75.] These physical objects memorialized
God"s faithful provision of both spiritual and physical foods (cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).
The Israelites were not completely separate from other people during their years in
the wilderness. As they traveled the caravan routes they would meet travelers and
settlements of tribes from time to time. They evidently traded with these people (cf.
Deuteronomy 2:6-7). Consequently their total diet was not just manna, milk, and a
little meat, though manna was one of their staple commodities. [ ote: See Itzhaq
Beit-Arieh, "Fifteen Years in Sinai," Biblical Archaeology Review10:4 (July-
August1984):28-54.]
God sought to impress major lessons on His people through the events recorded in
this chapter. These included His ability and willingness to provide regularly for
their daily needs and His desire that they experience His blessing. He gave them
Sabbath rest to refresh and strengthen their spirits as well as ample, palatable food
for their bodies: manna in the mornings and quail in the evenings.
PETT, "Verses 31-36
The Manna Preserved As a Memorial For the Future (Exodus 16:31-34).
Exodus 16:31
‘And the house of Israel called its name Manna (Hebrew ‘man’), and it was white
like coriander seed, and its taste was like wafers made with honey.’

153. ote the unusual ‘house of Israel’, only found in Exodus here and in Exodus 40:38,
but compare ‘house of Jacob’ which parallels ‘children of Israel’ (Exodus 19:3). It
contains an extra emphasis that Israel are one ‘household’.
We may sum up the information about the Manna.
1). It was ‘white’, or creamy yellow coloured (like coriander, and bdellium -
umbers 11:7), and, when cooked, tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus
16:31), and like cakes baked in oil ( umbers 11:7-8). Different methods may have
been fond for cooking them which may have altered the taste somewhat.
2). It was sufficient to replace the bread of Egypt which had filled them to the full
(Exodus 16:3-4; Exodus 16:8). Psalms 78:24 calls it ‘corn from heaven’.
3). It had to be cooked (Exodus 16:23), after being ground in mills, making cakes of
it ( umbers 11:8).
4). It was small and flaky (Exodus 16:14).
5). It melted in the sun (Exodus 16:21).
6). It went bad, wormy and smelly if kept raw overnight (Exodus 16:20) but possibly
not if cooked (Exodus 16:23-24).
7). If Exodus 16:4 is to be taken literally it came down like the dew (Exodus 16:4;
Exodus 16:13-14).
8). It continued to provide for them for forty years (Exodus 16:35) (although not
necessarily all the time) until they reached Canaan where it was replaced by the
corn of the land (Joshua 5:12).
This tends to exclude the popular examples of what it was and where it came from
but leaves room for a natural explanation with a miraculous element, which is
typical of many Old Testament miracles.
PULPIT, "Verses 31-36
EXPOSITIO
THE APPEARA CE OF THE MA A, ITS CO TI UA CE, A D ITS
DEPOSITIO I THE TABER ACLE.—In bringing the subject of the manna to a
conclusion, the writer adds a few words.
1. On its appearance;
2. On its deposition by divine command in the Ark of the Covenant; and
3. On its continuance during the forty years of the wanderings.
It is evident that Exodus 16:32-34 cannot have been written until after the sojourn
in Sinai, and the command to make a tabernacle (Exodus 26:1-37.): as also that
Exodus 16:35 cannot have been written till the arrival of the Israelites at the verge
of the land of Canaan. But there is nothing in the passage that militates against the
Mosaic authorship of the whole.

154. Exodus 16:31
The house of Israel. This expression is unusual, and is not admitted by the
Septuagint, the Syriac, or the Arabic versions, which all have "the children of
Israel." Several Hebrew MSS. have bent, "sons," instead of beyth "house." Manna.
Literally, as in the Septuagint, man—the word used when they first beheld the
substance (Exodus 16:15), and probably meaning "a gift.:' The elongated form
manna, first appears in the Sept. rendering of umbers 11:6, umbers 11:7. It was
like coriander seed. This is "a small round grain of a whitish or yellowish grey."
The comparison is made again in umbers 11:7, where it is added that the colour
was that of bdellium—either the gum so called, or possibly the pearl. The taste of it
was like wafers made with honey. Such wafers or cakes were constantly used as
offerings by the Egyptians, Greeks, and other nations. They were ordinarily
compounded of meal, oil, and honey. Hence we can reconcile with the present
passage the statement in umbers 11:8, that "the taste of it was as the taste of fresh
oil."
32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has
commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it
for the generations to come, so they can see the
bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I
brought you out of Egypt.’”
GILL, "And Moses said,.... At another time, though it is here inserted to give the
account of the mamma all together:
this is the thing which the Lord commandeth; namely, what follows:
fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; which was the quantity allowed
a man every day; this measure was to be laid up, and reserved for posterity in future
generations, not to eat, nor so much as taste of, for then it would soon have been gone,
but to look at, as follows:
that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness,

155. when I brought you out of the land of Egypt; that they might see what sort of food
was provided for them, and what quantity each man had of it every day; and so have an
ocular proof of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, in providing for their support
in a wilderness, where no supplies were to be had; and when they were just come out of
an enemy's country: thus Christ is the food of his people, while they are in the wilderness
of this world; and is never so until they are brought out of the state of nature's darkness
and bondage, like that of the Egyptians; and who, being the food of the saints in ages
past, is presented to the eye of faith, for its encouragement to look to him and believe in
him, receive, embrace, and feed upon him.
HE RY 32-36, "
God having provided manna to be his people's food in the wilderness, and to be to
them a continual feast, we are here told, 1. How the memory of it was preserved. An
omer of this manna was laid up in a golden pot, as we are told (Heb_9:4), and kept
before the testimony, or the ark, when it was afterwards made, Exo_16:32-34. The
preservation of this manna from waste and corruption was a standing miracle, and
therefore the more proper memorial of this miraculous food. “Posterity shall see the
bread,” says God, “wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness,” see what sort of food it
was, and how much each man's daily proportion of it was, that it may appear they were
neither kept to hard fare nor to short allowance, and then judge between God and Israel,
whether they had any cause given them to murmur and find fault with their provisions,
and whether they and their seed after them had not a great deal of reason gratefully to
won God's goodness to them. Note, Eaten bread must not be forgotten. God's miracles
and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in
him at all times. 2. How the mercy of it was continued as long as they had occasion for it.
The manna never ceased till they came to the borders of Canaan, where there was bread
enough and to spare, Exo_16:35. See how constant the care of Providence is; seedtime
and harvest fail not, while the earth remains. Israel was very provoking in the
wilderness, yet the manna never failed them: thus still God causes his rain to fall on the
just and unjust. The manna is called spiritual meat (1Co_10:3), because it was typical of
spiritual blessings in heavenly things. Christ himself is the true manna, the bread of life,
of which this was a figure, Joh_6:49-51. The word of God is the manna by which our
souls are nourished, Mat_4:4. The comforts of the Spirit are hidden manna, Rev_2:17.
These come from heaven, as the manna did, and are the support and comfort of the
divine life in the soul, while we are in the wilderness of this world. It is food for
Israelites, for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire. It is to be gathered;
Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace are to be used. We
must every one of us gather for ourselves, and gather in the morning of our
opportunities, which if we let slip, it may be too late to gather. The manna they gathered
must not be hoarded up, but eaten; those that have received Christ must by faith live
upon him, and not receive his grace in vain. There was manna enough for all, enough for
each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a complete sufficiency, and no
superfluity. But those that did eat manna hungered again, died at last, and with many of
them God was not well-pleased; whereas those that feed on Christ by faith shall never
hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be for ever well pleased. The Lord
evermore give us this bread!
JAMISO 32-36, "Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations — The
mere fact of such a multitude being fed for forty years in the wilderness, where no food

156. of any kind is to be obtained, will show the utter impossibility of their subsisting on a
natural production of the kind and quantity as this tarfa-gum [see on Exo_16:13]; and,
as if for the purpose of removing all such groundless speculations, Aaron was
commanded to put a sample of it in a pot - a golden pot (Heb_9:4) - to be laid before the
Testimony, to be kept for future generations, that they might see the bread on which the
Lord fed their fathers in the wilderness. But we have the bread of which that was merely
typical (1Co_10:3; Joh_6:32).
K&D 32-35, "As a constant memorial of this bread of God for succeeding generations,
Jehovah commanded Moses to keep a bowl full (‫ר‬ ֶ‫ּמ‬‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ּא‬‫ל‬ ְ‫,מ‬ the filling of a bowl) of the
manna. Accordingly Aaron placed a jar of manna (as it is stated in Exo_16:34, Exo_
16:35, by way of anticipation, for the purpose of summing up everything of importance
relating to the manna) “before Jehovah,” or speaking still more exactly, “before the
testimony,” i.e., the tables of the law (see Exo_25:16), or according to Jewish tradition,
in the ark of the covenant (Heb_9:4). ‫ת‬ֶ‫נ‬ ֶ‫צ‬ְ‫נ‬ ִ‫,צ‬ from ‫ן‬ַ‫נ‬ ָ‫צ‬ to guard round, to preserve, signifies
a jar or bottle, not a basket. According to the Jerusalem Targum, it was an earthenware
jar; in the lxx it is called στάµνος χρυσοሞς, a golden jar, but there is nothing of this kind in
the original text.
CALVI , "32.And Moses said. Moses does not proceed with the history in order,
but by interposing these circumstances by anticipation, he the more confirms the
fact that this food was then created for the people by God’s special bounty, because
He desired an omer of it to be preserved as a memorial, which, undergoing no
putrefaction, handed down to posterity the gloriousness of the miracle. And first, he
propounds generally God’s command, and then, in the next verse, describes the
manner in which it was done, viz., that Aaron put it in a bottle or pot, and laid it up
by the Ark of the Covenant. Whence, too, it appears how high importance God
would have attached to this His bounty, since he wished its memorial to exist in the
sanctuary together with the tables of His covenant. The two expressions, conveying
the same meaning, “before the Lord,” and “before the Testimony,” are used in
commendation of the worship of the Law, that the people might know God’s power
to be near them in the sanctuary, not as if he were shut up in that place, or wished
their minds to be fixed upon the visible sign, but, desiring to provide against their
weakness, He in a manner descends to them, when he testified to the presence of His
power by external images. He descends to them, therefore, not (185) to occupy their
minds with a gross superstition, but to raise them up by degrees to spiritual
worship.
COKE, "Exodus 16:32. Fill an omer of it, &c.— We have here another peculiarity
of this manna, which sufficiently distinguishes it from the common sort, and
abundantly testifies its extraordinary nature; for though it stank when preserved to
the next morning, except on the sabbath-day, yet here, by the Divine Power, it was
preserved from putrefaction through successive generations. Had it been ordinary
manna, or that kind of liquid honey which is gathered in those deserts, why need an
omer of it have been laid up, that future generations might see the bread,

157. WHEREWITH, says GOD, I have fed you in the wilderness? othing can more
strongly demonstrate that this food was divine and peculiar; and the appellation of
bread is alone sufficient to overthrow the hypothesis of those who fancy it to have
been either ordinary manna, or a species of honey; which could neither have been
wrought up into cakes, nor have proved nutritive to such a great multitude of
people. This also is a clear proof of its miraculous nature, namely, its falling daily in
quantities sufficient to sustain so many thousands for so many years; to sustain
them in such health, and to agree with them so well: add to which, the double
portion that fell on the sixth day, and its ceasing to fall at all on the seventh day;
that though it melted with the heat of the sun, it was of so hard a consistence as to be
beaten in mortars, ground in mills, to endure the fire, and to be baked in cakes; that
it continued with the Israelites during their abode in the wilderness, (see Exodus
16:35.) and then wholly ceased.
Lay all these particulars together, and you will have no doubt that this manna was
peculiar and supernatural.
ELLICOTT, "(32-35) And Moses said . . . Fill an omer.—This narrative, which
must belong to a later date than any other part of Exodus, since it assumes that the
Tabernacle is set up (Exodus 16:34), seems to have been placed here on account of
its subject-matter. The writer wishes to conclude the history of the manna, and has
two further points to note concerning it: (1) the preservation of an omer of it as a
perpetual memorial (Exodus 16:32-34); and (2) the fact of its continuance until the
Israelites reached the borders of Canaan. The passage is probably an addition to the
original “Book,” but contains nothing that may not have been written by Moses.
PETT, "Exodus 16:32
‘And Moses said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded. Let an omerful of it be
kept for your generations that they may see the food with which I fed you in the
wilderness when I brought you forth out of the land of Egypt.”
Moses now explains, presumably to the elders of the people, that Yahweh has
commanded that an omerful (a day’s provision for one person) be kept as a
reminder to future generations so that they might be able to see the food with which
Yahweh had fed them in the wilderness when He had brought them forth out of the
land of Egypt.
Yahweh’s Commandment Is Obeyed (Exodus 16:33-36).
Resulting from Yahweh’ previously expressed commandment to lay up an omerful
for future generations Moses makes provision accordingly.
PULPIT, "And Moses said. ot at the moment, but some time subsequently. See the
introductory paragraph. Fill an omer. In the original it is "the omer," and so the
LXX.; but the reason for the introduction of the article is obscure. For your
generations—i.e; "for your descendants."

158. BI, "Verses 32-36
Exodus 16:32-36
Put an omer full of manna therein.
An instructive memorial
I. By whom the memorial was enjoined. “The Lord.” We have need to set up
memorials in our lives which shall call upon our souls to remember the benefits of
the Lord. It is the will of heaven that its gifts should be held in constant
remembrance.
II. In what the memorial consisted. “Fill an omer of it to be kept for your
generations.”
1. This memorial was reasonable.
2. Expressive.
3. Instructive.
4. Valuable. Golden pot (Hebrews 9:2).
And the memorials of the soul should not find expression in valueless things, but in
the richest treasures of man. God is worthy our best offerings.
III. Where the memorial was deposited. “And lay it up before the Lord.” “So Aaron
laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.” And so this memorial was laid up
before the Lord, in the ark of the covenant. Thus we must keep the memorials of the
soul in devout spirit, and with a constant trust in the mediatorial work of Christ.
IV. The design the memorial contemplated. “That ye may see the bread wherewith I
have fed you in the wilderness.” “To be kept for your generations.” Each generation
leaves a moral deposit behind it, for good or evil. Lessons:
1. The soul must have a memorial of the Divine mercy.
2. The memorial of the soul must consist of the best thing it possesses.
3. The memorial of the soul will have respect to the redemptive work of Christ. (J. S.
Exell, M. A.)
An instructive memorial
One day when George Moore--now a man of wealth--was accompanying his friend,
Colonel Henderson, through the Waver wood on a partridge-shooting expedition, a
curious ramshackle object appeared before them. It seemed to be a sort of big
dhrosky with a long, broad trunk at the back end. “What is that?” asked the
colonel. “Why,” said George Moore, “that is the trap which I have driven into every
market town in Great Britain and Ireland!” It was the carriage he had used whilst
achieving such great success as a commercial traveller. (H. O. Mackey.)

159. Former mercies remembered
Mr. Kidd, minister of Queensferry, near Edinburgh, was one day very much
depressed and discouraged. He sent a note to Mr. L--minister of Culross, a few miles
off, informing him of his distress of mind, and desiring a visit as soon as possible.
Mr. L--told the servant he was so busy that he could not wait upon his master, but
desired him to tell Mr. Kidd to remember Torwood. When the servant returned, he
said to his master, “Mr. L--could not come, but he desired me to tell you to
remember Torwood.” This answer immediately struck Mr. Kidd, and he cried out,
“Yes, Lord! I will remember Thee, from the hill Mizar, and from the Hermonites!”
All his troubles and darkness vanished upon the recollection of a day which he had
formerly spent in prayer along with Mr. L--in Torwood, where he had enjoyed
eminent communion with God. (W. Baxendale.)
An expressive memorial
It was during the wars that raged from 1652 to 1660, between Frederick III. of
Denmark, and Charles Gustavus, of Sweden, that after a battle in which the victory
had remained with the Danes, a stout burgher of Flensburg was about to refresh
himself, ere retiring to have his wounds dressed, with a draught of beer from a
wooden bottle, when an imploring cry from a wounded Swede lying on the field
made him turn, and, with the very words of Sidney--“Thy need is greater than
mine,” he knelt down by the fallen enemy to pour the liquor into his mouth. His
requital was a pistol-shot in the shoulder from the treacherous Swede. “Rascal!” he
cried, “I would have befriended you, and you would murder me in return! ow will
I punish you. I would have given you the whole bottle, but now you shall only have
half.” And drinking off half himself, he gave the rest to the Swede. The king,
hearing the story, sent for the burgher, and asked him how he came to spare the life
of such a rascal. “Sire,” said the honest burgher, “I could never kill a wounded
enemy.” “Thou meritest to be a noble,” the king said, and created him one
immediately, giving him as armorial bearings a wooden bottle pierced with an
arrow. The family only lately became extinct in the person of an old maiden lady.
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put
an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the
Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”
BAR ES,"A pot - The word here used occurs in no other passage. It corresponds in

160. form and use to the Egyptian for a casket or vase in which oblations were presented.
GILL, "And Moses said unto Aaron, take a pot,.... The Targum of Jonathan calls
it an earthen pot; and so Jarchi; which, if it could be supported, might be considered as
an emblem of the ministers of the word, in whom, as in earthen vessels, the Gospel of
Christ is put: Aben Ezra says, it was a vessel either of earth or brass, which latter is more
likely for duration; since an earthen vessel can hardly be supposed to continue so long as
this did, and much less a glass pot, as others take it to be: but the Septuagint version
renders it a golden pot; and so it is said to be by Philo the Jew (a), and which is
confirmed by the apostle, Heb_9:4 and which puts the thing out of question; and this
may denote the word and ordinances which retain and hold forth Christ as the bread of
life, and are a memorial of him, as evidently set forth, crucified, and slain, to future ages,
comparable to gold; both for the preciousness of them, being more to be desired than
gold, yea, than fine gold, and for the duration of them, they being to continue until the
second coming of Christ:
and put an omer full of manna therein; the manna, and the full measure of it,
according to a man's eating, was to be put into it, denoting that a full Christ, or Christ in
all the fulness of his person and grace, is to be held forth in the word and ordinances to
the eye of faith:
and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations; in a place where
the Lord would hereafter fix the symbol of his presence, the ark, cherubim, and mercy
seat; and may signify the presence of Christ with his Father, the efficacy of his blood,
righteousness, and sacrifice, his mediation and intercession; for he is not only held forth
in the word, for faith to look at, but he is before the throne as though he had been slain,
Rev_5:6.
COKE, "Exodus 16:33-34. Take a pot, &c.— It is probable that this command is
mentioned here by way of anticipation, and that the pot of manna was not laid up
before the testimony, till after the giving of the law. This pot, in which the manna
was deposited, was of gold, (St. Paul tells us, Hebrews 9:4.) as were all the vessels of
the sanctuary. There are disputes among the learned about the figure of this vessel.
The Lexicons upon the Hebrew word say, that it signifies an urn or pot, with a wide
belly, and strait pointed mouth. Reland is of opinion, that it had such a lid or cover
as those pots into which they put wine; and like to those by which it is represented
on some Samaritan medals, of which he gives a draft in his learned dissertation: he
is of opinion, that the vessel had two handles. Before the Lord signifies the same as
before the testimony; an expression which we shall have occasion to explain
hereafter.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:33-34. Take a pot — A golden pot, Hebrews 9:4. For all the
vessels of the sanctuary were of gold. Lay it up before the Lord — That is, in the
tabernacle, and by the ark, when they should be built: Before the testimony — The
ark of the testimony, or witness, because in it were the tables of the covenant, or the
law of God, which was a testimony of God’s authority and will, and of man’s
subjection and duty, or of the covenant made between God and man. The
preservation of this pot of manna from waste and corruption, was a standing

161. miracle; and, therefore, the more proper memorial of this miraculous food. The
manna is called spiritual meat, (1 Corinthians 10:3,) because it was typical of
spiritual blessings. Christ himself is the true manna, the bread of life, of which that
was a figure, John 6:49-51. The word of God is the manna by which our souls are
nourished, Matthew 4:4. The comforts of the Spirit are hidden manna, Revelation
2:17. These comforts come from heaven, as the manna did, and are the support of
the divine life in the soul, while we are in the wilderness of this world: it is food for
Israelites, for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire: it is to be gathered;
Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace must be used:
we must every one of us gather for ourselves. There was manna enough for all,
enough for each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a complete
sufficiency, and no superfluity. But they that did eat manna hungered again, died at
last, and with many of them God was not well pleased: whereas they that feed on
Christ by faith shall never hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be
for ever well pleased. The Lord evermore give us this bread!
ELLICOTT, "(33) Lay it up before the Lord.—Comp. Exodus 16:33, where Aaron
is said to have “laid it up before the Testimony,” i.e., the Two Tables. According to
the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Ark of the Covenant contained three
things only—the tables, the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded (Hebrews
9:4). The deposit of the manna in so sacred a place may be accounted for by its
typifying “the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32).
PETT, "Exodus 16:33
‘And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omerful of Manna in it, and lay
it up before Yahweh to be kept for your generations.”
As Yahweh had commanded, an omerful of the Manna was put by Aaron into a pot
to be preserved for the future. This was probably cooked which helped to preserve it
and prevent it from melting. If it was placed in an earthenware jar, possibly later
replaced by a golden one (Hebrews 9:4), this would also help to keep it cool (or it
may have been put in a gold one from the start). It was to be a permanent reminder
of God’s miraculous provision. It was probably put in the old Tent of Meeting. It
was later put in the Ark (Hebrews 9:4), but by the time of Solomon it had
disappeared (1 Kings 8:9).
PULPIT, "Take a pot. The word here translated "pot" does not occur elsewhere in
Scripture, and is believed to be of Egyptian origin Gesenius translates it "basket;"
but the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews 9:4 follows the LXX. in representing
the word used by στάµνος, which certainly means "a jar" or "pot." Lay it up before
the Lord. The "pot of manna" was laid up before the Lord with the "tables of the
covenant,'' and "Aaron's rod that budded" as symbolical that God's mercy was as
eternal and essential, and as much to be remembered as his justice, and perhaps also
as especially symbolising the "true bread of life."

162. 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the
manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so
that it might be preserved.
CLARKE, "Laid it up before the testimony - The ‫עדות‬ eduth or testimony
belonged properly to the tabernacle, but that was not yet built. Some are of opinion that
the tabernacle, built under the direction of Moses, was only a renewal of one that had
existed in the patriarchal times. See Clarke’s note on Exo_16:9. The word signifies
reference to something beyond itself; thus the tabernacle, the manna, the tables of stone,
Aaron’s rod, etc., all bore reference and testimony to that spiritual good which was yet to
come, viz., Jesus Christ and his salvation.
GILL, "As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the
testimony, to be kept. That is, before the ark of the testimony; when that was made,
as it was in a little time after this, called the testimony, because it contained in it the law,
which was a testimony or testification of the mind and will of God unto Israel, see Exo_
25:16 the apostle says, the pot of manna was in the ark, Heb_9:4 that is, on one side of
it; see Gill on Heb_9:4.
PETT, "Exodus 16:34
‘As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony to be
kept.’
“The Testimony” means ‘the record of God’s covenant with His people’. So even
prior to the covenant of Sinai there is a ‘Testimony’ which was kept, presumably in
the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:7-11) which would later be replaced by the
Dwellingplace (Tabernacle). At this stage it may well have been a container or
containers containing the various covenant documents with respect to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, which would make up much of Genesis (which Moses may have
been putting in more completed form, along with the history of Joseph), reminders
of God’s covenant with His people, together with the laws formulated by Moses and
backed by Yahweh (Exodus 15:25). Being kept in the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:7-
11), they would provide a focus for worshippers who sought Yahweh, who would
know that they were there and represented God’s covenants with His people. This
would then later be replaced by the Ark of the Covenant which also contained a
covenant record, this time the covenant of the ten words (The Ten Commandments).
But the old container with its sacred associations would almost certainly be
preserved.

163. By the time of Solomon the pot and any other sacred objects which were kept in the
Ark, other than the two tables of stone, had been lost (1 Kings 8:9). But these
records may in fact never have been put in the Ark, being preserved in some other
way, possibly in their old container. The central focus then being on the Sinai
covenant.
Alternately we may see this as saying that Aaron, having preserved the pot
containing the Manna, later put it ‘before the Testimony’ to be kept. But it seems
more probable that there was already something called the Testimony on which the
later references were patterned, the new Testimony replacing the old in importance
at the time of the founding of the new nation.
“The Testimony” initially means the record of God’s covenant with His people.
Thus after the making of the covenant at Sinai the ‘ten words’ on the tablets of
stone are called ‘the Testimony’ (Exodus 25:16; Exodus 25:21; Exodus 31:18;
Exodus 32:15; Exodus 34:29; Exodus 40:20; Leviticus 16:13; umber 9:15; 10:11).
Then the Ark of the covenant which contains them is called the Ark of the
Testimony (Exodus 25:22; Exodus 26:34; Exodus 30:6; Exodus 30:26; Exodus 31:7;
Exodus 39:35; Exodus 40:3; Exodus 40:5; Exodus 40:21; umbers 4:5; umbers
7:89; Joshua 4:16) and then by abbreviation ‘the Testimony’ as containing and
including the Testimony (Exodus 27:21; Exodus 30:36; Leviticus 24:3; umbers
17:4). The Tabernacle is also called the Tent or Tabernacle of the Testimony
(Exodus 38:21; umbers 1:50; umbers 1:53; umbers 9:15; umbers 10:11). This
demonstrates the supreme importance later given to the Sinai covenant so that it
was not felt necessary or important to mention the other records.
It is significant that we know nothing of objects around which worship centred in
the centuries prior to the Tabernacle and its contents. Once they were replaced or
amalgamated they ceased to be of importance in ancient eyes. But there must have
been some central object, on which their worship focused. This may well have been
the Tent of Meeting mentioned in Exodus 33:7-11, which probably contained sacred
objects, and would contain among other things the ancient covenant records and the
primitive statutes laid down by Moses (Exodus 15:25).
PULPIT, "Aaron laid it up before the testimony. "The testimony" is not the Ark of
the Covenant, which is never so called, but the Covenant itself, or the two tables of
stone engraved by the finger of God, which are termed "the testimony" in Exodus
25:16-21; Exodus 40:20; etc. The pot of manna was laid up inside the ark (Hebrews
9:4) in front of the two tables.
35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they

164. came to a land that was settled; they ate manna
until they reached the border of Canaan.
BAR ES,"Did eat manna forty years - This does not necessarily imply that the
Israelites were fed exclusively on manna, or that the supply was continuous during forty
years: but that whenever it might be needed, owing to the total or partial failure of other
food, it was given until they entered the promised land. They had numerous flocks and
herds, which were not slaughtered (see Num_11:22), but which gave them milk, cheese
and of course a limited supply of flesh: nor is there any reason to suppose that during a
considerable part of that time they may not have cultivated some spots of fertile ground
in the wilderness. We may assume, as in most cases of miracle, that the supernatural
supply was commensurate with their actual necessity. The manna was not withheld in
fact until the Israelites had passed the Jordan.
CLARKE, "The children of Israel did eat manna forty years - From this verse
it has been supposed that the book of Exodus was not written till after the miracle of the
manna had ceased. But these words might have been added by Ezra, who under the
direction of the Divine Spirit collected and digested the different inspired books, adding
such supplementary, explanatory, and connecting sentences, as were deemed proper to
complete and arrange the whole of the sacred canon. For previously to his time,
according to the universal testimony of the Jews, all the books of the Old Testament
were found in an unconnected and dispersed state.
GILL, "And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years,.... Wanting thirty
days, as Jarchi observes; reckoning from their coming out of Egypt, and the passover
they kept there, to their coming to the borders of the land of Canaan to Gilgal, and
keeping the passover there, when the manna ceased, were just forty years; but then they
had been out of Egypt a month before the manna fell; but the round number is given, as
is common: it was on the sixteenth of Ijar, the second month, the manna fell; and it was
in the month of Nisan, about the sixteenth or seventeenth of the month, that it ceased,
see Jos_5:10.
until they came to a land inhabited: where the ground was cultivated, and corn was
produced to make bread of, which could not be had in a wilderness; and therefore God
graciously provided for them every day, and fed them with manna till they came to such
a place:
they did eat manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan; that
is, Gilgal: the Targum of Jonathan is,"they ate manna forty years in the life of Moses,
until they came unto the land of habitation; they ate manna forty days after his death,
until they passed over Jordan, and entered the extremities of the land of Canaan:''some
have thought this verse was not written by Moses, but Joshua, or some other hand after
his death since he did not live quite to the cessation of the manna; which need not be

165. much disputed or objected to; though it may be considered that Moses led Israel to the
borders of the land of Canaan, though he did not go with them so far as Gilgal, and died
before the manna ceased; yet, as he was assured of it, he could write this in certain faith
of it, and especially by a spirit of prophecy: this signifies that the children of God are to
live by faith upon Christ, while they are in the wilderness of this world; nor will this
spiritual food be wanting to them while in it; but when they are come to Canaan's land,
to the heavenly glory, they will no more walk and live by faith, but by sight: the word and
ordinances will then cease; Christ will be no more held forth to them in that way, but
they shall see him as he is, and behold his glory,
COKE, "Exodus 16:35. The children of Israel did eat manna forty years— A round
number is here, as usual, applied for one which is imperfect. It appears, from
Joshua 5:11-12 that it was short of forty years by about a month. The manna fell
from Friday the fifth of June, in the year of the world 2513, to the second day of the
passover, which was on Wednesday the fifth of May, in the year of the world 2553,
before Jesus Christ 1447 years, and before the vulgar AEra, 1451 years. Some have
supposed, that as Moses lived not to the end of these forty years, these words were
added by Ezra; but, as he conducted the Israelites to the frontiers of Canaan, what
inconvenience is there in supposing that he inserted these words a little before his
death in this place, being in their proper and natural order.
BE SO , "Exodus 16:35. Israel did eat manna forty years — That is, save one
month, as appears from Joshua 5:11-12. As Moses did not live to see the cessation of
the manna, some have supposed that the words of this verse were added by Ezra.
But although Moses did not go into Canaan, yet he came to the borders of it, and he
perfectly knew, both from the nature of the thing, and by revelation from God, that
the manna would immediately cease upon their entering into Canaan; and therefore
might well write in this manner.
ELLICOTT, "(35) The children of Israel did eat manna forty years.—Moses may
have added this verse to the present chapter shortly before his death, when the
manna had continued for thirty-nine years and nine months. He does not say that it
had ceased to be given. We know that in fact it did not cease till the Jordan was
crossed by the Israelites under Joshua, and Canaan was actually reached (Joshua
5:10-12).
PETT, "Exodus 16:35
‘And 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.’
The Manna came for forty years and at times the children of Israel got sick of it
( umbers 11:6). But we are not told that it came every day summer and winter alike
although that is often the assumption (but see ehemiah 9:20). The question is, if it
did not what other supplies were there? They would, of course, eat meat from
sacrificial offerings and they may have traded at various times for other food,
especially when at Kadesh. They may well have spent some time at different places

166. in the wilderness, and thus been able to some extent to grow their own crops, both in
the more fertile parts of the wilderness, and later when travelling through
Transjordan, for we are told so little about the thirty eight years in the wilderness
that we do not know how long they remained at the various places visited. But
certainly the Manna was there at the end as at the beginning (Joshua 5:12).
ote that the writer knows that they had been able to eat it for forty years up to the
border of Canaan, but does not say that it ceased there. He is remembering the past
but making no comment about the future, as we would expect if the record was
made by Moses and he died shortly after.
The analysis reveals how there is in Moses’ mind a connection between the Sabbath
rest and the entry into Canaan.
SIMEO ,"SE DI G OF THE MA A
Exodus 16:35. And 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.
THE history of the Israelites in the wilderness contains an uninterrupted series of
miracles. It might be well expected, that two millions of people encamped in a
barren desert would soon begin to want fresh supplies of food. And so it happened.
In a month after their first departure from Egypt, they had exhausted the store that
they had brought with them. But God, who had brought them thus far, would not
suffer them to remain destitute any longer than was necessary to try their faith and
patience. He therefore gave them from the clouds a peculiar kind of food, (such as
had never been seen before,) a small white substance, like coriander-seed, which,
when ground in a mill and baked or seethed in water, was extremely palatable.
We propose to make some observations upon,
I. The provision he gave them—
Let the occasion on which he gave it be first considered—
[Instead of confiding in that God who had so often, and so wonderfully interposed
for them, they murmured against him in a most impious manner, wishing that he
had involved them in the judgments which had desolated Egypt, rather than that he
should have brought them into their present difficulties. And though their
complaints were directed professedly only against Moses and Aaron, they were, in
fact, against God himself, by whose direction alone any step had been taken. How
astonishing was it that God should take occasion from such a grievous act of impiety
to give them such tokens of his love and mercy! Might we not have expected rather
that he should execute upon them his severest judgments? But thus he has done in
all ages, in order to display the sovereignty and the riches of his grace [ ote: To
Adam, Genesis 3:6; Genesis 3:12; Genesis 3:15. To Saul, Acts 26:10-16. To ourselves

167. in unnumbered instances, making our sins the occasion of deeper humiliation.] —
— —]
ext, let us notice the directions he gave respecting it—
[They ere to gather the manna from day to day, reserving none of it for the morrow
[ ote:, 19.]. This was to teach them their entire dependence upon God, and impress
them with a sense of God’s continued care of them. And though we are not
forbidden, yea rather are commanded, to make suitable provision for our families,
yet in the habit of our minds we are to be continually dependent on God, and free
from all anxious care or distrust — — —
They were not to gather any on the Sabbath, but to provide a double portion on the
day preceding it [ ote: 9.]. How early was the observance of the Sabbath inculcated!
The law was not yet given; therefore the observance of the Sabbath was not a mere
ceremonial commandment. or was the injunction relative to it either given by
Moses, or received by Israel, as a new thing: it doubtless had been enforced from the
beginning of the world: and consequently we, no less than the Jews, are bound to lay
aside all temporal concerns, as much as possible, on that day, and to consecrate it
wholly to the service of our God — — —
They were to preserve some of it in a pot, and lay it up before the Lord as a
memorial for future generations [ ote: 2, 33.]. They were not to forget the mercies
vouchsafed to them; but rather to transmit to their latest posterity the remembrance
of them; in order that they also might be led to serve and trust in the living God.
And have not we also memorials of the love of God to us? Search the records of our
national history, or let every one consult his own personal experience; and We shall
find abundant reason to adore that God, who has interposed for us in ten thousand
dangers, and supplied our continually returning wants — — —]
The peculiar interposition of God in relation to it deserves also particular notice—
[It was so ordered by his providence, that, when the members of the different
families had put together the portions which they had severally collected, and
measured it out again for the purpose of distributing to each his regular portion,
there never was found any redundancy, or any want [ ote: 6–18.]. What this was
designed to teach us, we are at no loss to determine; since God himself has suggested
the proper improvement of it. We all are members of one great family. Some, by
God’s blessing on their diligence, or by some other means, possess much; whilst
others, through a variety of circumstances, possess but little: we ought therefore
(not indeed to make one common stock, but) to “lay by us for the poor, according as
God has prospered us; “that, as far at least as the enjoyment of the necessaries of
life are concerned, there may be an equality; the abundance of the rich supplying
the necessities of their less-favoured brethren [ ote: 2 Corinthians 8:14-15.]. O that
there were in all of us such an heart, and that, instead of scraping together all that
we can save, for the purpose of enriching our families, we found our happiness in
doing good, being “glad to distribute, and willing to communicate!”— — —]

168. From viewing the mercies God vouchsafed to the Israelites, let us turn our attention
to,
II. The corresponding provision he has given us—
St. Paul tells us, that the manna of which we have been speaking, was “spiritual
meat [ ote: 1 Corinthians 10:3.].” It was carnal indeed in its immediate use; but it
typically shadowed forth the food on which our souls must live: and, to those who
partook of it in faith, it was a source of spiritual and eternal blessings. The Lord
Jesus Christ has fully explained the subject to us; and drawn a parallel between the
manna on which the Israelites subsisted, and himself as the life of our souls [ ote:
John 6:32-58.]. We shall not trace that parallel here [ ote: The parallel is drawn in
Dis. on John 6:34 and 1 Corinthians 10:3-4.], but consider the subject in a more
appropriate view.
Three things then we wish you to remark;
1. The freeness of this provision—
[What have we done to merit the gift of God’s dear Son? We were rebels against the
Majesty of heaven, and deserved nothing but “wrath and fiery indignation to
consume us”— — —The manna rained round the tents of the murmuring Israelites
was not more freely given, than Christ is sent to us, and salvation by him is offered
us in the Gospel [ ote: Isaiah 55:1.] — — —]
2. The suitableness—
[The manna was adapted to nourish equally the infant and adult. And to whom is
not Christ suited? The great sinner will find in him precisely such a Saviour as his
necessities require — — —The weak, the timid, the disconsolate, yea, all persons in
all possible circumstances, shall find, that he is as much suited to their individual
cases, as if God had sent him for them alone; and to their palate, as though they
themselves had chosen what kind of a Saviour they would have — — —]
3. The sufficiency—
[The vigour of all was renewed from day to day by means of the food provided for
them; and they were enabled to march or fight, as occasion required. And what
cannot he do who feeds upon the Lord Jesus Christ? What conflicts shall not he
support; what victories shall not he gain? “The grace of Christ will be sufficient for
him;” and he will be “able to do all things through Christ who strengtheneth
him”— — —“He that gathers most of this heavenly manna, will indeed have
nothing over; but he who gathers ever so little, shall have no lack” — — — Twice is
it repeated in our text, that they ate of the manna till they arrived at the promised
land: never did it fail them; nor did they ever need any other food. And thus
assuredly shall Christ continue to the end the support of all who feed upon him;

169. and, in possessing “that hidden manna,” they shall have all that they can want in
this dreary wilderness; they shall have an earnest and antepast of heaven itself
[ ote: Revelation 2:17.].]
PULPIT, "The children of Israel did eat manna forty years. Kalisch observes that
the actual time was not forty full years, but about one month short of that period,
since the manna began after the fifteenth day of the second month of the first year
(Exodus 16:1) and terminated just after Passover of the forty-first year (Joshua
5:10-12). It may be added that Mesas cannot have written the present passage later
than about the eleventh month of the fortieth year (Deuteronomy 1:3; Deuteronomy
34:10; Joshua 4:19); when the manna had continued thirty-nine years and nine
months. Until they came to a land inhabited. Kalisch translates "the land of their
habitation," or "which they were to inhabit," remarking that they had reached
inhabited countries, e.g; those of Sihon and Og, much earlier. But the words will not
bear this rendering. What the writer intends to note is, that the manna continued all
the time they were in the wilderness, until they reached inhabited territory, and
then further (in the next clause), that it lasted after that, until they came to the
borders of Canaan. He does not say that it even then left off. He writes exactly as
Moses might be expected to have written towards the close of his life. A later writer
would, as Canon Cook observes, have been more specific.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
CLARKE, "Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah - About six pints,
English. See Clarke’s note on Exo_16:16. The true place of this verse seems to be
immediately after Exo_16:18, for here it has no connection.
1. On the miracle of the manna, which is the chief subject in this chapter, a good deal
has already been said in the preceding notes. The sacred historian has given us the
most circumstantial proofs that it was a supernatural and miraculous supply; that
nothing of the kind had ever been seen before, and probably nothing like it had
ever afterwards appeared. That it was a type of our blessed Redeemer, and of the
salvation which he has provided for man, there can be no doubt, for in this way it
is applied by Christ himself; and from it we may gather this general conclusion,
that salvation is of the Lord. The Israelites must have perished in the wilderness,
had not God fed them with bread from heaven; and every human soul must have
perished, had not Jesus Christ come down from heaven, and given himself for the
life of the world.
2. God would have the Israelites continually dependent on himself for all their
supplies; but he would make them, in a certain way, workers with him. He

170. provided the manna; they gathered and ate it. The first was God’s work; the latter,
their own. They could not produce the manna, and God would not gather it for
them. Thus the providence of God appears in such a way as to secure the co-
operation of man. Though man should plant and water, yet it is God who giveth
the increase. But if man neither plant nor water, God will give no increase. We
cannot do God’s work, and he will not do ours. Let us, therefore, both in things
spiritual and temporal, be workers together with Him.
3. This daily supply of the manna probably gave rise to that petition, Give us to-day
our daily bread. It is worthy of remark, 1. That what was left over night contrary to
the command of God bred worms and stank; 2. That a double portion was
gathered on the day preceding the Sabbath; 3. That this alone continued
wholesome on the following day; and, 4. That none fell on the Sabbath! Hence we
find that the Sabbath was considered a Divine institution previously to the giving
of the Mosaic law; and that God continued to honor that day by permitting no
manna to fall during its course. Whatever is earned on the Sabbath is a curse in a
man’s property. They who Will be rich, fall into temptation and into a snare, etc.;
for, using illicit means to acquire lawful things, they bring God’s curse upon
themselves, and are drowned in destruction and perdition. Reader, dost thou work
on the Sabbath to increase thy property? See thou do it not! Property acquired in
this way will be a curse both to thee and to thy posterity.
4. To show their children and children’s children what God had done for their
fathers, a pot of manna was laid up before the testimony. We should remember
our providential and gracious deliverances in such a way as to give God the praise
of his own grace. An ungrateful heart is always associated with an unbelieving
mind and an unholy life. Like Israel, we should consider with what bread God has
fed our fathers, and see that we have the same; the same Christ - the bread of life,
the same doctrines, the same ordinances, and the same religious experience. How
little are we benefited by being Protestants, if we be not partakers of the Protestant
faith! And how useless will even that faith be to us, if we hold the truth in
unrighteousness. Our fathers had religion enough to enable them to burn
gloriously for the truth of God! Reader, hast thou so much of the life of God in thy
soul, that thou couldst burn to ashes at the stake rather than lose it? In a word,
couldst thou be a martyr? Or hast thou so little grace to lose, that thy life would be
more than an equivalent for thy loss? Where is the manna on which thy fathers
fed?
GILL, "Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. Frequent mention being
made of this measure in the above relation, as containing the quantity of each man's
share of the manna daily, during the forty years' stay in the wilderness; an account is
given by the historian how much it contained, by which it may appear what a sufficient
provision was made: an ephah, according to Jarchi, contained three seahs (or pecks); a
scab, six kabs; a kab, four logs; a log, six egg shells; and the tenth part of an ephah was
forty three egg shells, and the fifth part of one: but Dr. Cumberland (b) has reduced this
to our measure, and has given it more clearly and distinctly; an ephah, according to him,
contained, in wine measure, seven gallons, two quarts, and about half a pint; in corn
measure, six gallons, three pints, and three solid inches; and an omer three quarts;
which being made into bread, must be more than any ordinary man could well eat; for,
as Ainsworth observes, an omer was twice as much as the choenix, (a measure

171. mentioned in Rev_6:6.) which was wont to be a man's allowance of bread corn for a day;
and what a vast quantity must fall every day to supply so large a number of people with
such a measure; some have reckoned it at 94,466 bushels every day, and that there must
be consumed in forty years 1,379,203,600 bushels (c).
K&D, "In conclusion, the quantity of the manna collected for the daily supply of each
individual, which was preserved in the sanctuary, is given according to the ordinary
measurement, viz., the ephah. The common opinion, that ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ּמ‬‫ע‬ was the name for a
measure of capacity, which was evidently shared by the Seventy, who have rendered the
word γοµόρ, has no foundation so far as the Scriptures are concerned. Not only is it a
fact, that the word omer is never used as a measure except in this chapter, but the tenth
of an ephah is constantly indicated, even in the Pentateuch, by “the tenth part of an
ephah” (Lev_5:11; Lev_6:13; Num_5:15; Num_28:5), or “a tenth deal” (Exo_29:40;
Lev_14:10, etc.; in all 30 times). The omer was a small vessel, cup, or bowl, which
formed part of the furniture of every house, and being always of the same size, could be
used as a measure in case of need.
(Note: Omer proprie nomen poculi fuit, quale secum gestare solent Orientales,
per deserta iter facientes, ad hauriendam si quam rivus vel fons offerret aquam....
Hoc in poculo, alia vasa non habentes, et mannam collegerunt Israelitae (Michaelis,
Supplem. ad Lex. hebr., p. 1929). Cf. Hengstenberg, Dissertations on the Pentateuch, vol. ii.
p. 172.)
The ephah is given by Bertheau as consisting of 1985—77 Parisian cubic inches, and
holding 739,800 Parisian grains of water; Thenius, however, gives only 1014—39 Parisian,
or 1124—67 Rhenish inches. (See my Archäologie, ii. 141-2.)
ELLICOTT, "(36) ow an omer.—The “omer” and the “ephah” were both of them
Egyptian measures. One—the latter—continued in use among the Hebrews, at any
rate, until the captivity (Ezekiel 45, 46); the other—the omer—fell out of use very
early. Hence this parenthetic verse, which is exegetical of the word “omer,” and may
have been added by the completer of Deuteronomy, or by some later editor—
perhaps Ezra.
COKE, "Exodus 16:36. ow an omer, &c.— See note on Exodus 16:16.
Reflections on the manna in the wilderness, considered as a type of Christ.
We have seen how the horrors of the wilderness were considerably abated by the
miraculous cloud. But soon their provision, which they brought from Egypt, is
exhausted; and unless some new miracle be wrought for them, they have nothing
before their eyes but the melancholy prospect of perishing with hunger. The
faithless multitude, forgetting their late deliverance at the Red-sea, fall to
murmuring against Moses, and wish that they had never stirred from their house of
bondage. Had they got what they deserved on this occasion, the Lord had sent fire

172. from heaven upon them instead of food; but God, who is rich in mercy, chore to still
the fretful murmurs of his firstborn with the breast, rather than the rod. He bids the
heaven supply, by its bounty, what the earth denied by its barrenness; and without
their toil or sweat gives them plenty of bread, even in a land which was not sown.
"He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them of the corn of heaven.
Man did eat angels' food; he sent them meat to the full." (Psalms 78:24-25.) How
happy are they who are walking after the Lord, though in a wilderness! It was a
convincing proof, that man does not live by bread alone. But God intended, by this
good gift, not only to supply their present necessity, but also to prefigure that
spiritual meat presented in the Gospel. In this interpretation we cannot possibly be
wrong, when we have no less an authority for it than Jesus Christ himself, who,
speaking to his hearers on this very subject, says, "Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the Bread
of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. I am the
Bread of life." (John 6:32-33; John 6:35.) Having therefore such infallible testimony
to the general meaning of this heavenly food, let us endeavour to find out the
principal traces of resemblance between it and Jesus Christ. In order to this, we
shall briefly attend to the following things:
1. Its falling. "The manna fell from heaven;" Christ is he that comes down from
above. It fell "round about their camp;" Christ is, in an especial sense, to be found
in the visible church——"With the dew when they slept;" Jesus Christ is purely the
gift of God, who descends like dew upon the grass——"When they were in the most
absolute need, and ready to perish;" when we were without strength, in due time
Christ died for the ungodly——"When they were grievously sinning, by preferring
the flesh-pots of Egypt to the prospects of Canaan;" and Christ laid down his life,
when sinners were preferring the pleasures of sin and the vanities of the world to all
the things above. Lastly, it fell "in such large quantities" as to "suffice that
numerous host;" and in Jesus Christ there is enough to supply our every want.
2. Its being gathered by all the Israelites, may signify the improvement we should all
make of the offered Saviour. It was gathered every day; so Christ should be daily
improved by faith. It was gathered in the morning; so we must devote the best part
of our time to the seeking his face, as it is said, "O God, early will I seek thee."
Psalms 63:1. It was gathered without the camp; so must the soul that seeks him
retire from the hurry of the world, or, to use the expression of the sacred page, "go
out into the fields, and lodge in the villages." (Song of Solomon 7:11.) A double
portion of it was gathered on the sixth day; but on the seventh, which was the
sabbath, they stirred not from their tents, but lived on what they had laid up the day
before: so in the season of this mortal life must we labour for that meat which
endures to everlasting life, in the believing improvement of the means of grace; and
when the eternal sabbath comes, we shall enjoy the hidden manna without means or
any painful endeavours.
3. Its being prepared in mills, mortars, and pans, where it was ground, beaten, and
baked, to make it fit for digestion and nourishment, may remind us of the various
sufferings of Christ's body and soul. It behoved him, as it were, to be beaten in the

173. mortar of adversity, ground in the mill of vindictive justice, baked as in the oven of
the wrath of God, and, at last, to die, that he might prove the bread of life, and that
his flesh might be meat indeed.
4. Its tasting so sweet when thus prepared, (for it resembled the fatness of oil, and
the sweetness of honey,) and its proving so wholesome and nutritive to all, though of
different constitutions;—may it not signify, that Jesus Christ is to the soul both
sweet and wholesome food, adapted to the taste of all, of children, young men, and
fathers? And as the manna is supposed not to have needed any other ingredients to
make it palatable, no more does Jesus Christ, or the doctrine of his Gospel, need any
foreign recommendation to the spiritual taste. "O taste and see that the Lord is
good," (Psalms 34:8.) says the sweet singer of Israel; and in another place, "How
sweet are thy words unto my taste; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalms
119:103.)
5. Its putrefying, if kept contrary to God's command;—might not this denote, that
when the wholesome doctrines of Christ's Gospel are hoarded up in idle speculation,
without being received in love, or digested in spiritual nourishment, they are so far
from being the savour of life unto life, that they become the savour of death unto
death, and breed the worms of various lusts and of a condemning conscience? On
which account it may be said, "He that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow."
(Ecclesiastes 1:18.)
6. Its being despised by the multitude as light food, by which their soul was dried
away, ( umbers 11:4; umbers 11:35.) in comparison with their rank Egyptian
fare, renders it a proper emblem of Jesus Christ, the true bread, who is despised
and rejected of men. Though the pure doctrine of Christ is like the manna, angels'
food, (for into these things they desire to pry,) yet are there found those to whom the
word of the Lord is a reproach, and they have no delight in it. A romance, a
philosophical disquisition, a political harangue, is far more grateful than a sermon,
whose theme is a crucified Redeemer. What is this, but to prefer the fish, the
cucumbers; the melons, and the garlick of Egypt, to the corn of heaven? For their
contempt of this celestial food, the Lord sent fiery serpents to plague the
murmurers. or do the despisers of Jesus Christ expose themselves to less dreadful
strokes, though they should not be of a corporal kind: for "all these things
happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11.)
7. The preserving it in a golden pot, where, for a number of ages, it was deposited in
the most holy place, and remained without corruption;—was it not a representation
of Christ's ascension into heaven, where he appears in the presence of God, death
having no more dominion over him, and where he will be contained till the time of
the restitution of all things? Why else should communion with Christ in glory be
spoken of in terms alluding to this very thing? For thus it is promised, in the words
which the Spirit saith unto the churches, "To him that overcometh, will I give to eat
of the hidden manna." (Revelation 2:17.)

174. 8. The continuance of this heavenly bread for the space of forty years, during their
abode in the wilderness; does it not clearly intimate, that Jesus Christ will ever
remain with his church, while militant here below? Still shall the bread of God
descend in the dispensation of the everlasting Gospel, while the necessities of his
people call for it; for so he promises, when about to depart from the earth: "Go,"
said he to his apostles, "teach all nations; and lo! I am with you alway, even to the
end of the world." (Matthew 28:19-20.)
9. The ceasing of the manna upon their tasting the corn of Canaan;—may it not be
viewed as a figure of the ceasing of ordinances, when the wandering tribes shall gain
their promised rest? Know your mercy, ye distinguished favourites of Heaven! nor
envy their happiness who eat the calves out of the stall, and the lambs out of the
fold, but are not fed with the heritage of Jacob. Let the sensual voluptuary glut
himself with the impure pleasures of sin, which, like the little book that John did
eat, are sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly; and to whom we may adapt the
significant words in Job, (xx. 14.) "His meat in his bowels is turned: it is the gall of
asps within him." Let the rapacious worldling, who is smitten with the dull charms
of gold and silver; who is all hurry, hurry, about the business of this transitory life;
let him fill his belly with the hidden treasure, which never yet did satisfy a soul
immortal. But let the Christian, who knows the gift of God, and the excellency of the
heavenly provision; let him labour, not for the meat which perisheth, but for that
which endureth unto everlasting life. Hungry and starving soul, you ask for bread,
and the world gives you a stone; what else are worldly riches? You ask a fish, and
the world presents you with a serpent; what else are sinful pleasures? Hearken,
therefore, diligently to him who is himself the living bread; "Eat that which is good,
and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto him; hear,
and your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:2-3.) What is a happy old age to a happy
eternity? This, O Jesus, is thy unspeakable gift! He that eats thee by faith, shall live
for ever. He that cometh to thee, shall never hunger; and what is more, shall never
die. O Lord, deny as what else thou wilt, but give us this bread evermore!
PETT, "Exodus 16:36
‘ ow an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.’
The omer is only mentioned in this passage. This may therefore be a learned note
added by a later scribe when the omer had gone out of use, but the chiasmus
suggests that it is an integral part of the narrative. ‘An omer’ may have been the
name of a standard vessel regularly in use. An ephah was a large cereal measure
large enough to hold a person (Zechariah 5:6-10) and was an exact measure
(Leviticus 19:36), being one tenth of a homer (Ezekiel 45:11). Its liquid equivalent
the bath could contain about twenty two or so litres.
ote to Christians.
The theme behind this passage appears regularly in the ew Testament and is
specifically referred to by Jesus Himself in John 6. We would expect this to be so for

175. bread is regularly a symbol of spiritual life and blessing. In John 6 Jesus tells us that
He had come as the bread of life, so that those who came to Him would never
hunger, and those who believed on Him would never thirst. By receiving Him as the
bread of God men receive eternal life through the Spirit. Compare also 1
Corinthians 10:3.
There may be times of drought when that Bread seems far away, but in those times
we must remember that He is ever near, and that they are often allowed in order to
test us and strengthen our faith. What we must not do is murmur like the Israelites
do (although many of us have had times in our lives when we have fully understood
them). For we can be sure that just as happened with the Israelites here, He will
eventually come to us and show us His glory.
The theme of the Sabbath reminds us that in gratitude for His giving of Himself for
us and to us we should ensure that we keep a time as set aside in which to serve Him
and glorify Him. For the Sabbath was given for men’s benefit (Mark 2:27-28),
although not to do as they liked with. He did not abrogate the Sabbath and we must
remember that He, and He alone, is the Lord of the Sabbath. But later in the ew
Testament Paul stresses that it is not which day we keep that matters, but ensuring
that we do have time set aside for Him (Romans 14:5-6). Whether Sabbath or
Sunday (or any other day) Jesus made clear that such a day was for works of
compassion as well as for worship. It is especially a day for doing good and
remembering those worse off than ourselves.
PULPIT, "An omer. The "omer" must be distinguished from the "homer" of later
times. It was an Egyptian measure, as also was the" ephah." It is not improbable
that the verse is an addition by a later writer, as Joshua, or Ezra.