Exodus 16:20

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.

Exodus 16:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 16:20

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 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, ( Exodus 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 ( Exodus 16:24-33 ) , and since the manna was of the meal kind, perhaps those worms it bred might be of the weevil sort, as Scheuchzer conjectures F19:

and Moses was wroth with them;
for breaking the commandment of God.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 Physica Sacra, vol. 2. p. 179.

Exodus 16:20 In-Context

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.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.