1 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, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
10 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 the LORD appeared in the cloud.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 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 the LORD your God.
13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16 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.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
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.
36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
1 And they took their journey H5265 from Elim, H362 and all the congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 came H935 unto the wilderness H4057 of Sin, H5512 which is between Elim H362 and Sinai, H5514 on the fifteenth H2568 H6240 day H3117 of the second H8145 month H2320 after their departing out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
2 And the whole congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 murmured H3885 against Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 in the wilderness: H4057
3 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 said H559 unto them, Would to God H4310 H5414 we had died H4191 by the hand H3027 of the LORD H3068 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 when we sat H3427 by the flesh H1320 pots, H5518 and when we did eat H398 bread H3899 to the full; H7648 for ye have brought us forth H3318 into this wilderness, H4057 to kill H4191 this whole assembly H6951 with hunger. H7458
4 Then said H559 the LORD H3068 unto Moses, H4872 Behold, I will rain H4305 bread H3899 from heaven H8064 for you; and the people H5971 shall go out H3318 and gather H3950 a certain rate H1697 every day, H3117 H3117 that I may prove H5254 them, whether they will walk H3212 in my law, H8451 or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth H8345 day H3117 they shall prepare H3559 that which H834 they bring in; H935 and it shall be twice H4932 as much as they gather H3950 daily. H3117 H3117
6 And Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 said H559 unto all the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 At even, H6153 then ye shall know H3045 that the LORD H3068 hath brought you out H3318 from the land H776 of Egypt: H4714
7 And in the morning, H1242 then ye shall see H7200 the glory H3519 of the LORD; H3068 for that he heareth H8085 your murmurings H8519 against the LORD: H3068 and what are we, H5168 that ye murmur H3885 H3885 against us?
8 And Moses H4872 said, H559 This shall be, when the LORD H3068 shall give H5414 you in the evening H6153 flesh H1320 to eat, H398 and in the morning H1242 bread H3899 to the full; H7646 for that the LORD H3068 heareth H8085 your murmurings H8519 which ye murmur H3885 against him: and what are we? H5168 your murmurings H8519 are not against us, but against the LORD. H3068
9 And Moses H4872 spake H559 unto Aaron, H175 Say H559 unto all the congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 Come near H7126 before H6440 the LORD: H3068 for he hath heard H8085 your murmurings. H8519
10 And it came to pass, as Aaron H175 spake H1696 unto the whole congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 that they looked H6437 toward the wilderness, H4057 and, behold, the glory H3519 of the LORD H3068 appeared H7200 in the cloud. H6051
11 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
12 I have heard H8085 the murmurings H8519 of the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 speak H1696 unto them, saying, H559 At even H996 H6153 ye shall eat H398 flesh, H1320 and in the morning H1242 ye shall be filled H7646 with bread; H3899 and ye shall know H3045 that I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430
13 And it came to pass, that at even H6153 the quails H7958 came up, H5927 and covered H3680 the camp: H4264 and in the morning H1242 the dew H2919 lay H7902 round about H5439 the host. H4264
14 And when the dew H2919 that lay H7902 was gone up, H5927 behold, upon the face H6440 of the wilderness H4057 there lay a small H1851 round thing, H2636 as small H1851 as the hoar frost H3713 on the ground. H776
15 And when the children H1121 of Israel H3478 saw H7200 it, they said H559 one H376 to another, H251 It is manna: H4478 for they wist H3045 not what it was. And Moses H4872 said H559 unto them, This is the bread H3899 which the LORD H3068 hath given H5414 you to eat. H402
16 This is the thing H1697 which H834 the LORD H3068 hath commanded, H6680 Gather H3950 of it every man H376 according H6310 to his eating, H400 an omer H6016 for every man, H1538 according to the number H4557 of your persons; H5315 take H3947 ye every man H376 for them which are in his tents. H168
17 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did H6213 so, and gathered, H3950 some more, H7235 some less. H4591
18 And when they did mete H4058 it with an omer, H6016 he that gathered much H7235 had nothing over, H5736 and he that gathered little H4591 had no lack; H2637 they gathered H3950 every man H376 according H6310 to his eating. H400
19 And Moses H4872 said, H559 Let no man H376 leave H3498 of it till the morning. H1242
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened H8085 not unto Moses; H4872 but some H582 of them left H3498 of it until the morning, H1242 and it bred H7311 worms, H8438 and stank: H887 and Moses H4872 was wroth H7107 with them.
21 And they gathered H3950 it every morning, H1242 every man H376 according H6310 to his eating: H400 and when the sun H8121 waxed hot, H2552 it melted. H4549
22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth H8345 day H3117 they gathered H3950 twice H4932 as much bread, H3899 two H8147 omers H6016 for one H259 man: and all the rulers H5387 of the congregation H5712 came H935 and told H5046 Moses. H4872
23 And he said H559 unto them, This is that which the LORD H3068 hath said, H1696 To morrow H4279 is the rest H7677 of the holy H6944 sabbath H7676 unto the LORD: H3068 bake H644 that which ye will bake H644 to day, and seethe H1310 that ye will seethe; H1310 and that which H3605 remaineth over H5736 lay up H3240 for you to be kept H4931 until the morning. H1242
24 And they laid it up H3240 till the morning, H1242 as Moses H4872 bade: H6680 and it did not stink, H887 neither was there any worm H7415 therein.
25 And Moses H4872 said, H559 Eat H398 that to day; H3117 for to day H3117 is a sabbath H7676 unto the LORD: H3068 to day H3117 ye shall not find H4672 it in the field. H7704
26 Six H8337 days H3117 ye shall gather H3950 it; but on the seventh H7637 day, H3117 which is the sabbath, H7676 in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out H3318 some of the people H5971 on the seventh H7637 day H3117 for to gather, H3950 and they found H4672 none.
28 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 How long refuse H3985 ye to keep H8104 my commandments H4687 and my laws? H8451
29 See, H7200 for that the LORD H3068 hath given H5414 you the sabbath, H7676 therefore he giveth H5414 you on the sixth H8345 day H3117 the bread H3899 of two days; H3117 abide H3427 ye every man H376 in his place, let no man H376 go out H3318 of his place H4725 on the seventh H7637 day. H3117
30 So the people H5971 rested H7673 on the seventh H7637 day. H3117
31 And the house H1004 of Israel H3478 called H7121 the name H8034 thereof Manna: H4478 and it was like coriander H1407 seed, H2233 white; H3836 and the taste H2940 of it was like wafers H6838 made with honey. H1706
32 And Moses H4872 said, H559 This is the thing H1697 which the LORD H3068 commandeth, H6680 Fill H4393 an omer H6016 of it to be kept H4931 for your generations; H1755 that they may see H7200 the bread H3899 wherewith I have fed H398 you in the wilderness, H4057 when I brought you forth H3318 from the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
33 And Moses H4872 said H559 unto Aaron, H175 Take H3947 a H259 pot, H6803 and put H5414 an omer H6016 full H4393 of manna H4478 therein, and lay it up H3240 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 to be kept H4931 for your generations. H1755
34 As the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses, H4872 so Aaron H175 laid it up H3240 before H6440 the Testimony, H5715 to be kept. H4931
35 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did eat H398 manna H4478 forty H705 years, H8141 until they came H935 to a land H776 inhabited; H3427 they did eat H398 manna, H4478 until they came H935 unto the borders H7097 of the land H776 of Canaan. H3667
36 Now an omer H6016 is the tenth H6224 part of an ephah. H374
1 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, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness:
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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;
7 and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your murmurings against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 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 murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah.
9 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.
10 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.
11 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
12 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.
13 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 the camp.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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, shall ye take it, every man for them that are in his tent.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.
18 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.
19 And Moses said unto them, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22 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 of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 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.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not become foul, neither was there any worm therein.
25 And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto Jehovah: to-day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none.
28 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 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.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers `made' with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before Jehovah, to be kept throughout your generations.
34 As Jehovah commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35 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 unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
1 And they journey from Elim, and all the company of the sons of Israel come in unto the wilderness of Sin, which `is' between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt.
2 And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
3 and the sons of Israel say unto them, `Oh that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, in our sitting by the flesh-pot, in our eating bread to satiety -- for ye have brought us out unto this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.'
4 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, I am raining to you bread from the heavens -- and the people have gone out and gathered the matter of a day in its day -- so that I try them whether they walk in My law, or not;
5 and it hath been on the sixth day, that they have prepared that which they bring in, and it hath been double above that which they gather day `by' day.'
6 And Moses saith -- Aaron also -- unto all the sons of Israel, `Evening -- and ye have known that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;
7 and morning -- and ye have seen the honour of Jehovah, in His hearing your murmurings against Jehovah, and what `are' we, that ye murmur against us?'
8 And Moses saith, `In Jehovah's giving to you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety -- in Jehovah's hearing your murmurings, which ye are murmuring against Him, and what `are' we? your murmurings `are' not against us, but against Jehovah.'
9 And Moses saith unto Aaron, `Say unto all the company of the sons of Israel, Come ye near before Jehovah, for He hath heard your murmurings;'
10 and it cometh to pass, when Aaron is speaking unto all the company of the sons of Israel, that they turn towards the wilderness, and lo, the honour of Jehovah is seen in the cloud.
11 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
12 `I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied `with' bread, and ye have known that I `am' Jehovah your God.'
13 And it cometh to pass in the evening, that the quail cometh up, and covereth the camp, and in the morning there hath been the lying of dew round about the camp,
14 and the lying of the dew goeth up, and lo, on the face of the wilderness a thin, bare thing, thin as hoar-frost on the earth.
15 And the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, `What `is' it?' for they have not known what it `is'; and Moses saith unto them, `It `is' the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food.
16 `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Gather of it each according to his eating, an omer for a poll; and the number of your persons, take ye each for those in his tent.'
17 And the sons of Israel do so, and they gather, he who is `gathering' much, and he who is `gathering' little;
18 and they measure with an omer, and he who is `gathering' much hath nothing over, and he who is `gathering' little hath no lack, each according to his eating they have gathered.
19 And Moses saith unto them, `Let no man leave of it till morning;'
20 and they have not hearkened unto Moses, and some of them do leave of it till morning, and it bringeth up worms and stinketh; and Moses is wroth with them.
21 And they gather it morning by morning, each according to his eating; when the sun hath been warm, then it hath melted.
22 And it cometh to pass on the sixth day, they have gathered a second bread, two omers for one, and all the princes of the company come in, and declare to Moses.
23 And he saith unto them, `It `is' that which Jehovah hath spoken `of'; a rest -- a holy sabbath to Jehovah -- `is' to-morrow; that which ye bake, bake; and that which ye boil, boil; and all that is over, let rest for yourselves in charge till the morning.'
24 And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it.
25 And Moses saith, `Eat it to-day, for to-day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah; to-day ye find it not in the field:
26 six days ye do gather it, and in the seventh day -- the sabbath -- in it there is none.'
27 And it cometh to pass on the seventh day, some of the people have gone out to gather, and have not found.
28 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `How long have ye refused to keep My commands, and My laws?
29 see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days; abide ye each `in' his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.'
30 And the people rest on the seventh day,
31 and the house of Israel call its name Manna, and it `is' as coriander seed, white; and its taste `is' as a cake with honey.
32 And Moses saith, `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Fill the omer with it, for a charge for your generations, so that they see the bread which I have caused you to eat in the wilderness, in My bringing you out from the land of Egypt.'
33 And Moses saith unto Aaron, `Take one pot, and put there the fulness of the omer of manna, and let it rest before Jehovah, for a charge for your generations;'
34 as Jehovah hath given commandment unto Moses, so doth Aaron let it rest before the Testimony, for a charge.
35 And the sons of Israel have eaten the manna forty years, until their coming in unto the land to be inhabited; the manna they have eaten till their coming in unto the extremity of the land of Canaan.
36 and the omer is a tenth of the ephah.
1 And they journeyed from Elim, and the whole assembly 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 departure out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness.
3 And the children of Israel said to 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 ate bread to the full; for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole congregation with hunger!
4 Then said Jehovah to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather the daily need on its day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.
5 And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare what they have brought in; and it shall be twice as much as they shall gather daily.
6 And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, In the evening, then shall ye know that Jehovah has brought you out from the land of Egypt;
7 and in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings against Jehovah; -- and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 And Moses said, When Jehovah gives you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for Jehovah hears your murmurings which ye murmur against him ... and what [are] we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah.
9 And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel, Come near into the presence of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings.
10 And it came to pass, when Aaron spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud.
11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak to them, saying, Between the two evenings ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God.
13 And it came to pass in the evening, that quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round the camp.
14 And when the dew that lay [round it] was gone up, behold, on the face of the wilderness there was [something] fine, granular, fine as hoar-frost, on the ground.
15 And the children of Israel saw [it], and said one to another, What is it? for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat.
16 This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded: Gather of it every man according to what he can eat, an omer a poll, [according to] the number of your persons: ye shall take every man for those that are in his tent.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some much, some little.
18 And they measured with the omer: then he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little wanted nothing: they had gathered every man according to the measure of his eating.
19 And Moses said to them, Let no man leave [any] of it until the morning.
20 But they did not hearken to Moses; and some men left of it until the morning; then worms bred in it and it stank. And Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man as much as he could eat; and when the sun became hot, it melted.
22 And it came to pass on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one; and all the princes of the assembly came and told Moses.
23 And he said to them, This is what Jehovah has said: To-morrow is the rest, the holy sabbath, of Jehovah: bake what ye will bake, and cook what ye will cook; and lay up for yourselves all that remains over, to be kept for the morning.
24 And they laid it up for the morning, as Moses had commanded; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm in it.
25 And Moses said, Eat it to-day; for to-day is sabbath to Jehovah: to-day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day is sabbath: on it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass on the seventh day that there went out [some] from the people to gather [it], and they found none.
28 And Jehovah said to Moses, How long do ye refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for Jehovah hath given you the sabbath; therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread for two days. Abide every man in his place: let no man go from his place on the seventh day.
30 And the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was like cake with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded: Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread that I gave you to eat in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot, and put in it an omer full of manna, and deposit it before Jehovah, to be kept for your generations.
34 As Jehovah had commanded Moses, so Aaron deposited it before the Testimony, to be kept.
35 And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came into an inhabited land: they ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is the tenth [part] of an ephah.
1 They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
3 and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4 Then said Yahweh to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.
5 It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt;
7 and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of Yahweh; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?"
8 Moses said, "Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh."
9 Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.'"
10 It happened, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
12 "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.'"
13 It happened at evening that quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.
14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the hoar-frost on the ground.
15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?" For they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat."
16 This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall you take it, every man for those who are in his tent."
17 The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.
18 When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating.
19 Moses said to them, "Let no one leave of it until the morning."
20 Notwithstanding they didn't listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them.
21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 It happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning."
24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, neither was there any worm in it.
25 Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none."
27 It happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.
28 Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day."
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel called the name of it Manna,{"Mana" means "What is it?"} and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt."
33 Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations."
34 As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35 The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
1 And they went on their way from Elim, and all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they went out of the land of Egypt.
2 And all the children of Israel were crying out against Moses and Aaron in the waste land:
3 And the children of Israel said to them, It would have been better for the Lord to have put us to death in the land of Egypt, where we were seated by the flesh-pots and had bread enough for our needs; for you have taken us out to this waste of sand, to put all this people to death through need of food.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I will send down bread from heaven for you; and the people will go out every day and get enough for the day's needs; so that I may put them to the test to see if they will keep my laws or not.
5 And on the sixth day they are to make ready what they get in, and it will be twice as much as they get on the other days.
6 And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, This evening it will be clear to you that it is the Lord who has taken you out of the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord; for your angry words against the Lord have come to his ears: and what are we that you are crying out against us?
8 And Moses said, The Lord will give you meat for your food at evening, and in the morning bread in full measure; for your outcry against the Lord has come to his ears: for what are we? your outcry is not against us but against the Lord.
9 And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the people of Israel, Come near before the Lord for he has given ear to your outcry.
10 And while Aaron was talking to the children of Israel, their eyes were turned in the direction of the waste land, and they saw the glory of the Lord shining in the cloud.
11 And the Lord said to Moses,
12 The outcry of the children of Israel has come to my ears: say to them now, At nightfall you will have meat for your food, and in the morning bread in full measure; and you will see that I am the Lord your God.
13 And it came about that in the evening little birds came up and the place was covered with them: and in the morning there was dew all round about the tents.
14 And when the dew was gone, on the face of the earth was a small round thing, like small drops of ice on the earth.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is it? for they had no idea what it was. And Moses said to them, It is the bread which the Lord has given you for your food.
16 This is what the Lord has said, Let every man take up as much as he has need of; at the rate of one omer for every person, let every man take as much as is needed for his family.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and some took more and some less.
18 And when it was measured, he who had taken up much had nothing over, and he who had little had enough; every man had taken what he was able to make use of.
19 And Moses said to them, Let nothing be kept till the morning.
20 But they gave no attention to Moses, and some of them kept it till the morning and there were worms in it and it had an evil smell: and Moses was angry with them.
21 And they took it up morning by morning, every man as he had need: and when the sun was high it was gone.
22 And on the sixth day they took up twice as much of the bread, two omers for every person: and all the rulers of the people gave Moses word of it.
23 And he said, This is what the Lord has said, Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord: what has to be cooked may be cooked; and what is over, put on one side to be kept till the morning.
24 And they kept it till the morning as Moses had said: and no smell came from it, and it had no worms.
25 And Moses said, Make your meal today of what you have, for this day is a Sabbath to the Lord: today you will not get any in the fields.
26 For six days you will get it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.
27 But still on the seventh day some of the people went out to get it, and there was not any.
28 And the Lord said to Moses, How long will you go against my orders and my laws?
29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, he gives you on the sixth day bread enough for two days; let every man keep where he is; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people took their rest on the seventh day.
31 And this bread was named manna by Israel: it was white, like a grain seed, and its taste was like cakes made with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the order which the Lord has given: Let one omer of it be kept for future generations, so that they may see the bread which I gave you for your food in the waste land, when I took you out from the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put one omer of manna in it, and put it away before the Lord, to be kept for future generations.
34 So Aaron put it away in front of the holy chest to be kept, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
35 And the children of Israel had manna for their food for forty years, till they came to a land with people in it, till they came to the edge of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 16
Commentary on Exodus 16 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Quails and Manna in the Desert of Sin. - Exodus 16:1. From Elim the congregation of Israel proceeded into the desert of Sin. According to Numbers 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 Tr by the sea-coast, and then proceed in a north-easterly direction to Sinai, or take a more direct road through Wady Shellגl and Badireh into Wady Mukatteb and Feirגn , 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 , 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 Kגa . 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 Kגa to the neighbourhood of Tr , 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 Numbers 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 Numbers 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 Shellגl, and so continues through Wady Mukatteb to Wady Ferגn (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 Kגa 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. Shellגl. 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 Kגa , but only on the eastern border of it; so that if they proceeded thence into the Wady Shellגl, and so on to the Wady Feirגn, 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. 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 (Exodus 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 סין has the same meaning as סנה . 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.
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 (Exodus 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 ויּלּינוּ is a Hiphil according to the consonants, and should be pointed ילּינוּ , from הלּין for הלין (see Ges. §72, Anm. 9, and Ewald , §114c.). As the want really existed, Jehovah promised them help (Exodus 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 Exodus 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 Exodus 16:5 and Exodus 16:22. הכין , to prepare , is to be understood as applying partly to the measuring of what had been gathered (Exodus 16:18), and partly to the pounding and grinding of the grains of manna into meal (Numbers 11:8). In what respect this was a test for the people, is pointed out in Exodus 16:16. Here, in Exodus 16:4 and Exodus 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 Exodus 16:6, Exodus 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 Exodus 16:10, but in their perception or experience of that glory in the miraculous gift of flesh and bread (Exodus 16:8, cf. Numbers 14:22). “ By His hearing ” ( בּשׁמעו ), i.e., because He has heard, “ your murmuring against Jehovah (“Against Him” in Exodus 16:8, as in Genesis 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 Exodus 16:8, and the explanation is linked on to the leading clause in Exodus 16:7 by the words, “when He giveth,” etc. Ye shall see the glory of Jehovah, when Jehovah shall give you, etc.
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” (Exodus 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” (Exodus 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 (Exodus 16:11, Exodus 16:12).
The same evening (according to Exodus 16:12, “between the two evenings,” vid., Exodus 12:6) quails came up and covered the camp. עלה : to advance, applied to great armies. השּׂלו , with the article indicating the generic word, and used in a collective sense, are quails, ὀρτυγομήτρα (lxx); i.e., the quail-king, according to Hesychius ὄρτυξ ὑπερμεγέθης , and Phot . ὄρτυξ μέγας , hence a large species of quails, ὄρτυγες ( 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 ἁπ. λεγ. מחספּס is uncertain. The meaning, scaled off, scaly, decorticatum , which is founded upon the Chaldee rendering מקלּף , 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 מן , τί ἐστι τοῦτο (lxx), “ what is this? ” for they knew not what it was. מן for מה 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 (Exodus 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 מנה , to divide, to apportion, and render הוּא מן “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.
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 Exodus 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.
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 ( תּולעים ירם literally rose into worms) and stank. Israel was to take no care for the morrow (Matthew 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 (Exodus 16:21); for when the sun shone brightly, it melted away.
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 ( שׁבּתון ), 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 Exodus 10:8.). שׁבּתון is an abstract noun denoting “rest,” and שׁבּי 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.
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. Exodus 16:4).
The manna was “ like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it like cake with honey .” גּד : Chald. גּידא ; lxx κόριον ; Vulg . coriandrum ; according to Dioscorid. 3, 64, it was called γοίδ by the Carthaginians. צפּיחת is rendered ἔγκρις by the lxx; according to Athenaeus and the Greek Scholiasts, a sweet kind of confectionary made with oil. In Numbers 11:7-8, the manna is said to have had the appearance of bdellium , a fragrant and transparent resin, resembling wax (Genesis 2:12). It was ground in handmills or pounded in mortars, and either boiled in pots or baked on the ashes, and tasted like השּׁמן לשׁד , “dainty of oil,” i.e., sweet cakes boiled with oil.
This “bread of heaven” (Psalms 78:24; Psalms 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. 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 (Exodus 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 Exodus 16:35, they ate manna “until they came to a land inhabited, unto the borders of the land of Canaan;” and according to Joshua 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 (Exodus 12:38; Exodus 17:3); and these they continued in possession of, not only at Sinai (Exodus 34:3), but also on the border of Edom and the country to the east of the Jordan (Numbers 20:19; Numbers 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 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 (Deuteronomy 2:6-7). It is also very obvious from Leviticus 8:2; Leviticus 26:31-32; Leviticus 9:4; Leviticus 10:12; Leviticus 24:5., and Numbers 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” (Deuteronomy 9:19; Deuteronomy 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 (Numbers 11:7.), and even when they had gone round the land of Edom (Numbers 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 (Numbers 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 (Numbers 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 (Numbers 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 Joshua 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 Exodus 16:16. is 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 (Exodus 16:13, Exodus 16:14; Numbers 11:9), therefore evidently out of the air, so that Jehovah might be said to have rained it from heaven (Exodus 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.
As a constant memorial of this bread of God for succeeding generations, Jehovah commanded Moses to keep a bowl full ( העמר מלא , the filling of a bowl) of the manna. Accordingly Aaron placed a jar of manna (as it is stated in Exodus 16:34, Exodus 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 Exodus 25:16), or according to Jewish tradition, in the ark of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4). צנצנת , from צנן 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 χρυσοῦς , a golden jar, but there is nothing of this kind in the original text.
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 עמר 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” (Leviticus 5:11; Leviticus 6:13; Numbers 5:15; Numbers 28:5), or “a tenth deal” (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 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.)