Exodus 16 · WEB
Manna and Quail in the Wilderness
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They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.
2The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
3and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
5It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
6Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening, you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt;
7and in the morning, you shall see Yahweh's glory, because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?"
8Moses said, "Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning, bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. What are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh."
9Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.'"
10As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.
11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
12"I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.'"
13In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14When the layer of dew had evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, as small as the frost on the ground.
15When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" for they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.
16This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: 'Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.'"
17The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.
18When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating.
19Moses said to them, "Let no one leave of it until the morning."
20Notwithstanding they didn't listen to Moses, and some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.
21They gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers apiece; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken. Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning."
24They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, and there were no worms in it.
25Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field.
26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none."
27On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.
28Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
29Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"
33Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations."
34As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
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Summary
One month after leaving Egypt, Israel grumbles in the wilderness of Sin, longing for Egypt's food. God responds not with rebuke but with provision: quail in the evening and manna — bread from heaven — each morning. The manna is gathered daily according to need, and miraculously distributes equally regardless of how much each person collects. God uses the manna to teach the Sabbath rhythm: gather double on the sixth day, rest on the seventh. Those who defy the instructions (storing overnight, going out on the Sabbath) find the system doesn't work for them. A jar of manna is preserved as a perpetual memorial.
Themes
- Daily dependence on God — bread given one day at a time
- The Sabbath embedded in the structure of creation and provision
- God's generosity responding to Israel's grumbling
- The manna as a type of Christ, the true Bread of Heaven
Key verses
- Ex 16:18 — “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
- Ex 16:31 — “The house of Israel called its name Manna… its taste was like wafers made with honey.”
- Ex 16:4 — “I will rain bread from the sky for you… that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Context & background
The wilderness of Sin (distinct from Sinai) is located in the western Sinai Peninsula in modern Egypt, between the Gulf of Suez and the Sinai mountain range. The manna has been compared to the secretion of certain insects on tamarisk trees in the Sinai, which produces a sweet, whitish substance. However, the biblical manna appears in unprecedented quantity, ceases on the Sabbath, and spoils instantly — making it clearly a divine provision beyond natural phenomena. The daily omer (about 2 liters) per person, which equalized regardless of effort (v. 18), is quoted by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:15 as a model for economic sharing in the church.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 8:15 — Paul quotes Exodus 16:18 as a model for generous equality in Christian giving.
- Hebrews 9:4 — The jar of manna was kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a memorial.
- John 6:31-35 — Jesus identifies himself as "the bread of life," greater than the manna, which he calls "bread from heaven" that Moses gave.
- Revelation 2:17 — Jesus promises "hidden manna" to the church at Pergamum — a new, heavenly manna for the faithful.