Exodus 16:12

12 "I have heard the grumblings of the {Israelites}. Speak to them, saying, '{At twilight} you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be full [with] bread, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh your God.'"

Exodus 16:12 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 16:12

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, 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.

Exodus 16:12 In-Context

10 And at the moment of Aaron's speaking to all the community of the {Israelites}, they turned to the desert, {and just then} the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.
11 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
12 "I have heard the grumblings of the {Israelites}. Speak to them, saying, '{At twilight} you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be full [with] bread, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh your God.'"
13 And so it was, in the evening, the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning, a layer of dew was all around the camp.
14 And the layer of dew came up, {and there} on the face of the desert was a fine granular substance, fine like frost on the ground.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [b]. Literally "between the evenings"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.