Exodus 16:2

2 There in the desert the whole community of the people of Isra'el grumbled against Moshe and Aharon.

Exodus 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 16:2

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured,
&c.] 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 F7 and other Jewish writers F8 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 15. sect. 1.
F8 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 5. p. 17.

Exodus 16:2 In-Context

1 They traveled on from Eilim, and the whole community of the people of Isra'el arrived at the Seen Desert, between Eilim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt.
2 There in the desert the whole community of the people of Isra'el grumbled against Moshe and Aharon.
3 The people of Isra'el said to them, "We wish ADONAI had used his own hand to kill us off in Egypt! There we used to sit around the pots with the meat boiling, and we had as much food as we wanted. But you have taken us out into this desert to let this whole assembly starve to death!"
4 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Here, I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a day's ration every day. By this I will test whether they will observe my Torah or not.
5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, it will turn out to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.