07-26-2025, 02:07 AM
Well, I certainly have a lot of questions when it comes to Exodus 16. As some of you probably know, I'm on a deep dive quest to do a thorough (sometimes too thorough) analysis of Exodus, going chapter by chapter, and posting questions, comments, and my thoughts in general. Today, I post on Exodus 16, the story of manna from heaven. My source, as always, is here.
So just a technical question on the math... this means that if the Israelites collect X amount of bread per day, thus accumulating 6X on the 6th day, the Lord is saying He will double it (for 12X total) on day 6... correct?
There's that phrase again... "you shall know that the Lord..." I brought this up before, that knowing that it is indeed the Lord that did X or said Y (or whatever) is a recurring theme. On a first reading, this passage sounds odd... don't the Israelites already know the Lord brought them out of Egypt? Weren't they there? But as mentioned earlier, I feel the emphasis is on "the Lord" rather than "brought you out of Egypt". It's as if the Israelites doubt it is the Lord who is guiding them, and instead some demigod or demon, or maybe nothing at all (as if Moses and Aaron are deceiving them or are mad). So the Lord's show of providence will convince them, this passage is saying, that it is indeed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The second part of this verse is rather cryptic. I googled Exodus 16:7 and came across this alternate wording at BibleGateway:
Is Moses and Aaron saying (essentially): "Hey, don't blame us. It's the Lord's doing."?
Reading ahead to Exodus 16:8, it sounds exactly like Moses and Aaron are saying "Hey, don't blame us" (though with a hint that the Israelites are treading on thin ice as any complaints they level against Moses and Aaron are, in reality, leveled against God).
Here again, we find Aaron performing a very specific role. Moses just finished speaking to the Israelites directly, but for the purposes of the miracle the Lord is about to perform, Aaron is the appropriate one to address the crowd. It's as if Moses can speak directly to the Israelites if it's just casual talk, but in the case of ceremonial formalities, it must be Aaron who speaks directly to the crowd.
However, in the passages that immediately follow, it's not clear what the miracle or act of God was:
Are the people witnessing God speaking to Moses? If the people are witnessing this, why doesn't the Lord speak to them directly? He even instructs Moses to "speak to [the people], saying..." as if the people aren't already hearing this. Is it that Moses and Aaron must act as intermediaries? But then, why must the people witness this at all? Why can't Moses and Aaron just "pass on the message" as they usually do? If the people aren't witnessing this, then the only miracle they witness must be the Lord (or the "glory" of the Lord, whatever that is) appearing in the cloud. But then why does the passage cut it short there and immediately transition to what the Lord said to Moses? What's the significance of appearing in a cloud for the crowd to witness? Given that verse 9 ends with "for [God] has heard your complaints" it seems logical that the Lord intends to address these complaints, which suggests the people were witness to what God said to Moses. But then all the questions above.
So the quails are the meat God promised in the afternoon (not clear how they captured them... shot them with spears? Bow & Arrows? Did they fall down dead?) and the dew that surfaces on the ground in the morning leaves behind the bread as a residue. Google tells me that "manna" actually means (in the original Hebrew) "what is it?" (so technically, "manna" doesn't really mean bread).
This reminds me of one of the rules God laid down for Passover:
Interesting that this command reasserts itself more than once.
So they only had the morning on each day to gather an omer (or at least until the sun got too hot)? An omer must be a large portion then (unless the sun gets hot really quickly). In any case, an omer is described as one's eating capacity, so it's about a full stomach's worth. How long this takes to gather depends (I guess) on how sparse the bread is across the landscape.
So I guess I got the math wrong. If after 6 days, they gather 6X worth of bread (though they can't keep it more than a day), the Lord is not saying He will double it. He is saying only that on the 6th day He will allow the Israelites to gather double what they usually gather per day. I also interpreted Exodus 16:5 to mean God would provide double the bread, but from this passage it's only clear that the Israelites gathered double the bread. Given that they only have a limited amount of time to gather 1 omer each day (before the sun melts it), it would make sense that the Lord did in fact double the yield (then again, maybe God just saw to it that it was a cool day).
It's also unclear whether the Israelites are just carelessly breaking the 1 omer per day rule here (even though, unbeknownst to them, God permits it) or if they were told beforehand that on this day they were to gather double what they normally would gather. Exodus 16:5 only foretells what they would do on day 6, but not why. It makes sense to me, however, that Moses told them that gathering twice the amount was permitted. Furthermore, the next passage makes sense of this exception to the rule: it will be the 7th day (the Sabbath) and so it makes sense to gather double the yield and to save whatever they wish to leave over for the next day (this too being an exception to the rule, that of consuming the entire yield on the day it was gathered).
This passage also contains the first mention (that I recall) of "princes" of the community. Is this an accurate translation of the original Hebrew? Are there all of a sudden monarchical structures in the tribes of Israel?
A little unclear what's happening in these passages (whether some of the Israelites went out on the Sabbath to collect bread or they did not), but it sounds like this is the order of events: 27 - some of the Israelites go out to gather bread on the Sabbath, finding none; 28 - the Lord (for some reason) blames Moses rather than the ones who went out to gather the bread; 29 - Moses rectifies the situation by telling the Israelites not to go out; 30 - the Israelites obey. Perhaps Moses' sin was that he didn't adequately instruct the Israelites on what to do on the Sabbath (just a guess), but the way the Lord phrased His criticism sounds more fitting for the Israelites who went out to gather bread on the Sabbath.
Just out of curiosity, I looked up what "testimony" means here and I found this translation:
So the "testimony" is the 10 Commandments. The manna (bread*) was preserved with the tablets in the Arch of the Covenant.
So the Israelites ate the 1 omer's worth of bread over 40 years? How often did they eat it? What portion sizes did they eat? Was it a formal part of a ceremony or ritual? Was it like Jesus multiplying the fish such that there was always a sufficient supply for all to eat? When Exodus 16:34 uses the term "preserved" does that describe not only the freshness of the bread but its quantity as well?
According to Google AI, an ephah is about 22 liters, making an omer a bit more than 2 liters (that'll fill one's belly for sure!). Why the need to mention this in such an awkward place in the story (or at all), I'm not sure. We already know from Exodus 16:16 that an omer is approximately one's "eating capacity" (so a full stomach's worth). But who am I to complain about extra information being inserted at any point in the story?
* I no longer like calling it "manna" since manna means "what is it".
Exodus 16:5 Wrote:And it shall be on the sixth day that when they prepare what they will bring, it will be double of what they gather every day.
So just a technical question on the math... this means that if the Israelites collect X amount of bread per day, thus accumulating 6X on the 6th day, the Lord is saying He will double it (for 12X total) on day 6... correct?
Exodus 16:6 Wrote:[Thereupon,] Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, [In the] evening, you shall know that the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt.
There's that phrase again... "you shall know that the Lord..." I brought this up before, that knowing that it is indeed the Lord that did X or said Y (or whatever) is a recurring theme. On a first reading, this passage sounds odd... don't the Israelites already know the Lord brought them out of Egypt? Weren't they there? But as mentioned earlier, I feel the emphasis is on "the Lord" rather than "brought you out of Egypt". It's as if the Israelites doubt it is the Lord who is guiding them, and instead some demigod or demon, or maybe nothing at all (as if Moses and Aaron are deceiving them or are mad). So the Lord's show of providence will convince them, this passage is saying, that it is indeed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Exodus 16:7 Wrote:And [in the] morning, you shall see the glory of the Lord when He hears your complaints against the Lord but [of] what [significance] are we, that you make [the people] complain against us?
The second part of this verse is rather cryptic. I googled Exodus 16:7 and came across this alternate wording at BibleGateway:
Exodus 16:7 Wrote:and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?
Is Moses and Aaron saying (essentially): "Hey, don't blame us. It's the Lord's doing."?
Reading ahead to Exodus 16:8, it sounds exactly like Moses and Aaron are saying "Hey, don't blame us" (though with a hint that the Israelites are treading on thin ice as any complaints they level against Moses and Aaron are, in reality, leveled against God).
Exodus 16:9-10 Wrote:9 And Moses said to Aaron, Say to the entire community of the children of Israel, Draw near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints. 10 And it came to pass when Aaron spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, that they turned toward the desert, and behold! the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
Here again, we find Aaron performing a very specific role. Moses just finished speaking to the Israelites directly, but for the purposes of the miracle the Lord is about to perform, Aaron is the appropriate one to address the crowd. It's as if Moses can speak directly to the Israelites if it's just casual talk, but in the case of ceremonial formalities, it must be Aaron who speaks directly to the crowd.
However, in the passages that immediately follow, it's not clear what the miracle or act of God was:
Exodus 16:11-12 Wrote:11 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, In the afternoon you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be sated with bread, and you shall know that I am the Lord, your God.
Are the people witnessing God speaking to Moses? If the people are witnessing this, why doesn't the Lord speak to them directly? He even instructs Moses to "speak to [the people], saying..." as if the people aren't already hearing this. Is it that Moses and Aaron must act as intermediaries? But then, why must the people witness this at all? Why can't Moses and Aaron just "pass on the message" as they usually do? If the people aren't witnessing this, then the only miracle they witness must be the Lord (or the "glory" of the Lord, whatever that is) appearing in the cloud. But then why does the passage cut it short there and immediately transition to what the Lord said to Moses? What's the significance of appearing in a cloud for the crowd to witness? Given that verse 9 ends with "for [God] has heard your complaints" it seems logical that the Lord intends to address these complaints, which suggests the people were witness to what God said to Moses. But then all the questions above.
Exodus 16:13-15 Wrote:13 It came to pass in the evening that the quails went up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 The layer of dew went up, and behold, on the surface of the desert, a fine, bare [substance] as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the children of Israel saw [it], they said to one another, It is manna, because they did not know what it was, and Moses said to them, It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
So the quails are the meat God promised in the afternoon (not clear how they captured them... shot them with spears? Bow & Arrows? Did they fall down dead?) and the dew that surfaces on the ground in the morning leaves behind the bread as a residue. Google tells me that "manna" actually means (in the original Hebrew) "what is it?" (so technically, "manna" doesn't really mean bread).
Exodus 16:19 Wrote:And Moses said to them, Let no one leave over [any] of it until morning.
This reminds me of one of the rules God laid down for Passover:
Exodus 12:10 Wrote:And you shall not leave over any of [the lamb] until morning, and whatever is left over of it until morning, you shall burn in fire
Interesting that this command reasserts itself more than once.
Exodus 16:21 Wrote:They gathered it morning by morning, each one according to his eating capacity, and [when] the sun grew hot, it melted.
So they only had the morning on each day to gather an omer (or at least until the sun got too hot)? An omer must be a large portion then (unless the sun gets hot really quickly). In any case, an omer is described as one's eating capacity, so it's about a full stomach's worth. How long this takes to gather depends (I guess) on how sparse the bread is across the landscape.
Exodus 16:22 Wrote:It came to pass on the sixth day that they gathered a double portion of bread, two omers for [each] one, and all the princes of the community came and reported [it] to Moses.
So I guess I got the math wrong. If after 6 days, they gather 6X worth of bread (though they can't keep it more than a day), the Lord is not saying He will double it. He is saying only that on the 6th day He will allow the Israelites to gather double what they usually gather per day. I also interpreted Exodus 16:5 to mean God would provide double the bread, but from this passage it's only clear that the Israelites gathered double the bread. Given that they only have a limited amount of time to gather 1 omer each day (before the sun melts it), it would make sense that the Lord did in fact double the yield (then again, maybe God just saw to it that it was a cool day).
It's also unclear whether the Israelites are just carelessly breaking the 1 omer per day rule here (even though, unbeknownst to them, God permits it) or if they were told beforehand that on this day they were to gather double what they normally would gather. Exodus 16:5 only foretells what they would do on day 6, but not why. It makes sense to me, however, that Moses told them that gathering twice the amount was permitted. Furthermore, the next passage makes sense of this exception to the rule: it will be the 7th day (the Sabbath) and so it makes sense to gather double the yield and to save whatever they wish to leave over for the next day (this too being an exception to the rule, that of consuming the entire yield on the day it was gathered).
This passage also contains the first mention (that I recall) of "princes" of the community. Is this an accurate translation of the original Hebrew? Are there all of a sudden monarchical structures in the tribes of Israel?
Exodus 16:27-30 Wrote:27 It came about that on the seventh day, [some] of the people went out to gather [manna], but they did not find [any]. 28 The Lord said to Moses, How long will you refuse to observe My commandments and My teachings? 29 See that the Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day, He gives you bread for two days. Let each man remain in his place; let no man leave his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
A little unclear what's happening in these passages (whether some of the Israelites went out on the Sabbath to collect bread or they did not), but it sounds like this is the order of events: 27 - some of the Israelites go out to gather bread on the Sabbath, finding none; 28 - the Lord (for some reason) blames Moses rather than the ones who went out to gather the bread; 29 - Moses rectifies the situation by telling the Israelites not to go out; 30 - the Israelites obey. Perhaps Moses' sin was that he didn't adequately instruct the Israelites on what to do on the Sabbath (just a guess), but the way the Lord phrased His criticism sounds more fitting for the Israelites who went out to gather bread on the Sabbath.
Exodus 16:34 Wrote:As the Lord had commanded Moses, Aaron deposited it before the testimony to be preserved.
Just out of curiosity, I looked up what "testimony" means here and I found this translation:
Exodus 16:34 Wrote:As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.
So the "testimony" is the 10 Commandments. The manna (bread*) was preserved with the tablets in the Arch of the Covenant.
Exodus 16:35 Wrote:And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
So the Israelites ate the 1 omer's worth of bread over 40 years? How often did they eat it? What portion sizes did they eat? Was it a formal part of a ceremony or ritual? Was it like Jesus multiplying the fish such that there was always a sufficient supply for all to eat? When Exodus 16:34 uses the term "preserved" does that describe not only the freshness of the bread but its quantity as well?
Exodus 16:36 Wrote:The omer is one tenth of an ephah.
According to Google AI, an ephah is about 22 liters, making an omer a bit more than 2 liters (that'll fill one's belly for sure!). Why the need to mention this in such an awkward place in the story (or at all), I'm not sure. We already know from Exodus 16:16 that an omer is approximately one's "eating capacity" (so a full stomach's worth). But who am I to complain about extra information being inserted at any point in the story?
* I no longer like calling it "manna" since manna means "what is it".
