Exodus 16:20

20 which heard not him, but some of them left thereof till to the morrowtide, and it began to boil with worms, and it was rotten; and Moses was wroth against them. (but some of them did not listen to him, and saved some of it for the next day, and it began to boil with worms, and it was rotten; and Moses was angry at 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Exodus 16:20 In-Context

18 and they meted [it] at the measure of omer; neither he that gathered more had more, neither he that made ready less found less, but all gathered by that that they might eat. (and they measured it at the measure of an omer per person, and he who gathered more did not have too much, nor he who gathered less had not enough, but they all gathered just what they could eat.)

19 And Moses said to them, No man leave thereof into the morrowtide; (And Moses said to them, No one leave any of it until the next morning;)

20 which heard not him, but some of them left thereof till to the morrowtide, and it began to boil with worms, and it was rotten; and Moses was wroth against them. (but some of them did not listen to him, and saved some of it for the next day, and it began to boil with worms, and it was rotten; and Moses was angry at them.)

21 Forsooth all they gathered in the morrowtide as much as sufficed to be eaten; and when the sun was hot, it was molten. (So every morning they all gathered as much as sufficed to be eaten; and when the sun was risen, it melted away.)

22 Soothly in the sixth day they gathered double meats, that is, two omers each man (And on the sixth day they gathered double the amount, that is, two omers for each person). Forsooth all the princes of the multitude came, and told (that) to Moses,