Exodus 16:13-23

13 In the evening 1quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning 2dew lay around the camp.
14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.
15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 3"What is it?"[a] For they 4did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 5"It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an 6omer,[b] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'"
17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.
18 But when they measured it with an omer, 7whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
19 And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning."
20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and 8it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On 9the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23 he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of 10solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'"

Exodus 16:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 16

This chapter begins with an account of the journeying of the children of Israel from Elim to the wilderness of Sin, where they murmured for want of bread, Ex 16:1-3, when the Lord told Moses that he would rain bread from heaven for them, which Moses informed them of; and withal, that the Lord took notice of their murmurings, Ex 16:4-12 which promise the Lord fulfilled; and a description of the bread, and the name of it, are given, Ex 16:13-15, and some instructions are delivered out concerning the quantity of it to be gathered, Ex 16:16-18, the time of gathering and keeping it, Ex 16:19-21, the gathering a double quantity on the sixth day for that and the seventh day, with the reason of it, Ex 16:22-30 and a further description of it, Ex 16:31, and an order to preserve an omer of it in a pot, to be kept for generations to come, that it might be seen by them, Ex 16:32-34, and the chapter is concluded with observing, that this bread was ate by the Israelites forty years, even till they came to the borders of the land of Canaan, and the quantity they ate every day is observed what it was, Ex 16:35,36.

Cross References 10

  • 1. Numbers 11:31; Psalms 78:27, 28; Psalms 105:40
  • 2. Numbers 11:9
  • 3. ver. 31
  • 4. Deuteronomy 8:3
  • 5. Deuteronomy 8:3; See ver. 4
  • 6. ver. 36
  • 7. Cited 2 Corinthians 8:15
  • 8. [ver. 24]
  • 9. ver. 5
  • 10. Exodus 35:2, 3; Genesis 2:3; Leviticus 23:3; See Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:14-17

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or "It is manna." Hebrew man hu
  • [b]. An omer was about 2 quarts or 2 liters
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.