Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 16:23
And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake [that] which ye will bake [today], and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
23. This is that which Jehovah hath spoken ] Lev 10:3 (P), also introducing an explanation of something unexpected.
a solemn rest ] a cessation or resting; Heb. shabbthn (analogous in form to shiddphn, blasting, Deu 28:22, timmhn, astonishment, ib. v. 28, zikkrn, memorial, Exo 12:14, &c.), akin to shabbth (‘sabbath’): there is nothing in the word to suggest the idea of ‘solemn.’ The term is a technical one in P: it is used of New Year’s Day, Lev 23:24, of the first and eighth days of the Feast of Booths, ib. v. 39, and of the sabbatical year, Lev 25:5; also, in the expression shabbath shabbthn, ‘sabbath of cessation ’ (intensifying the idea of cessation from work), of the sabbath, Exo 31:15; Exo 35:2, Lev 23:3; of the Day of Atonement, Lev 16:31; Lev 23:32; and of the sabbatical year, Lev 25:4 .
bake, &c.] i.e. bake and boil to-day, in each way, whatever you please; and what you do not eat to-day, keep for to-morrow.
lay up ] as Lev 7:15 (EVV. leave), in a similar connexion.
to be kept ] Heb. for a keeping, as Exo 12:6 (see the note), Num 19:9; and (for a permanency) vv. 32, 33, 34 below, Num 17:10. Another of P’s technical expressions.
27 30 (J). From the disregard shewn by some of the people to the promise of v. 5 (which was followed, presumably, in J, when J’s narrative was intact, by an express prohibition to gather the manna on the seventh day), Moses takes occasion to inculcate the observance of the sabbath.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Tomorrow … – Or, Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath holy to Yahweh: i. e. tomorrow must be a day of rest, observed strictly as a Sabbath, or festal rest, holy to Jehovah.
Bake … – These directions show that the manna thus given differed essentially from the natural product. Here and in Num 11:8 it is treated in a way which shows that it had the property of grain, could be ground in a mortar, baked and boiled. Ordinary manna is used as honey, it cannot be ground, and it melts when exposed to a moderate heat, forming a substance like barley sugar, called manna tabulata. In Persia it is boiled with water and brought to the consistency of honey. The Arabs also boil the leaves to which it adheres, and the manna thus dissolved floats on the water as a glutinous or oily substance. It is obvious that these accounts are inapplicable to the manna from heaven, which had the characteristics and nutritive properties of bread.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 16:23-26
To-day ye shall not find it in the field.
The Sabbath in relation to secular toil
I. That men must not engage in secular toil on the sabbath. Men must not even earn their daily bread on the Lords day,–they must provide it before.
II. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath will, as a rule, find their labour vain and profitless.
III. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath show plainly that they have no regard for the commands of God. They are selling their souls for gain.
IV. That men engaged in secular toil on the sabbath have no delight in the culture of their moral nature. It is especially on the day of rest that men of secular toil have the leisure and opportunity for soul-culture, by inward meditation, by earnest devotion, by wise reading, and by the ministry of the sanctuary. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The day of rest
In one of the most densely populated parts of the city a gentleman lately visited the house of a poor, hard-working, infidel cobbler. The man was busy at his last, and had scarce time to look up at his unwelcome visitor. That is hard work. It is, sir. For how many hours a day have you to labour here–twelve? Yes, and more, sir. I am never off this seat under a fourteen or fifteen hours spell of it. That is sore toil for a bit of bread. Indeed it is, sir; and very thankful am I when the weeks end comes. What would become of me, and the likes of me, without that rest.? And who, friend, think you, gave you that rest? Came it by accident, or arrangement, or how? There came no answer to that; the cobbler hung his head; the man was honest; the sceptic was ashamed.
Queen Victoria and the Sabbath
One Saturday night, in this first year of Queen Victorias reign, a certain noble visitor came at a late hour to Windsor. He informed the Queen that he had brought down some documents of great importance for her inspection, but that, as they would require to be examined in detail, he would not encroach on Her Majestys time that night, but would request her attention the next morning. Tomorrow is Sunday, my lord, said the Queen. True, your Majesty, but business of the State will not admit of delay. The Queen then consented to attend to the papers after Church the next morning. The nobleman was somewhat surprised that the subject of the sermon next day turned out to be the duties and obligations of the Christian Sabbath. How did your lordship like the sermon? asked the Queen on their return from Church. Very much indeed, your Majesty, was the reply. Well then, said the Queen, I will not conceal from you that last night I sent the clergyman the text from which he preached. I hope we shall all be improved by the sermon. Sunday passed over without another word being said about the State papers, until at night, when the party was breaking up, the Queen said to the nobleman, To-morrow morning, my lord, at any hour you please–as early as seven, my lord, if you like–we will look into the papers. His lordship said he would not think of intruding upon Her Majesty so early as that, and he thought nine oclock would be quite early enough. No, no, my lord, said the Queen, as the papers are of importance I should like them to be attended to very early; however, if you wish it to be nine, be it so. Accordingly, at nine oclock next morning the Queen was in readiness to confer with the nobleman about his papers. (T. E. Ball.)
Training for Sabbath observance
No doubt, in the oppression and darkness of Egypt, the seventh-day (Sabbath) observance had fallen into partial disuse; though even in Egypt in that era, as among the more eastern peoples, the traditional seventh-day rest seems to have lingered, and therefore the usages of Egypt may not have militated against the rest on the seventh day. However that may be, still there was need of this training to the Sabbath observance; and this ordinance of the manna was just the preparation needful for their receiving heartily the statute, Remember the Sabbath day, when it coma to them through Moses from the mount. (S. Robinson, D. D.)
A lesson on Sabbath keeping
In all the Jewish history there never again occurred as favourable a time for imposing the Sabbath observance upon the people as at the giving of the manna. For forty years, comprising more than two thousand weeks, they were to subsist upon manna as their daily food. God was to furnish it every day; they were to gather it every day. Thus was presented the opportunity both for God to mark the day and for man to keep it. During all these two thousand weeks God gave them a double supply on the sixth day, and preserved that given on that day fresh for two days instead of one. Two thousand Sabbaths came, but on them no manna. It was vain for them to look for it. Soon they ceased to do so altogether. What a lesson for beginners! The most stupid and the most obdurate alike learned it. Time and the world may be searched for another series of events by which it would be possible to impress the idea of a Sabbath upon the minds of the people as effectually as by this. (A. M. Weston, D. D.)
Sabbath gains a curse
Whatever is earned on the Sabbath is a curse in a mans property. (A. Clarke, D. D.)
Faithful to Gods command
A delicate man, once a ringleader in all sorts of mischief, was recently found by some of the Mildmay Deaconesses in a common London lodging-house, and as it was discovered that the poor fellow could not work continuously at his trade, he was started in business in a small shop. Late one Saturday night, as many, through curiosity, or seeing the contents of the shop looking fresh and new, filled it up, and were asking one question and another, one woman said: Here is 4d.; Ill come in to-morrow with the other few pence, and you will give me the parcel then. This shop will never be open for traffic on the Lords Day, was the answer, at which announcement the people all turned to gaze at the speaker. A quiet look of firm resolve was on his delicate face, which seemed to make the crowd silent for a minute or two; then one laughed, and said: Are you religious? Yes, said the proprietor; I may as well declare it from the very first night of opening. You will never, with Gods help, see either buying or selling here on Sundays. Oh! said a scoffer; then you will soon shut shop. The owner of the shop replied: Do you see that little card with the blue ribbon tying it up? The eyes of all were turned towards the card, on which were the words, Kept by the power of God. This, continued the speaker, is my motto; He is able to keep me, and maybe some of you will find out tis better to have Him as a friend than any one in the world. (Christian Herald.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath] There is nothing either in the text or context that seems to intimate that the Sabbath was now first given to the Israelites, as some have supposed: on the contrary, it is here spoken of as being perfectly well known, from its having been generally observed. The commandment, it is true, may be considered as being now renewed; because they might have supposed that in their unsettled state in the wilderness they might have been exempted from the observance of it. Thus we find,
1. That when God finished his creation, he instituted the Sabbath;
2. When he brought the people out of Egypt, he insisted on the strict observance of it;
3. When he gave the LAW, he made it a tenth part of the whole, such importance has this institution in the eyes of the Supreme Being!
On the supposed change of the Sabbath from what we call Sunday to Saturday, effected on this occasion, See Clarke on De 5:15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is that which the Lord hath said; either to Moses by inspiration, or to the former patriarchs upon like occasions: this practice is agreeable to the former word and law of God concerning the sabbath, as it follow.
Bake and seethe: the manna was dressed these two ways, Num 11:8. The words to-day are not in the original, and possibly are better left out than taken in; or if they be taken in, they do not seem to me, as they do to many others, to prove that they were commanded to bake or seethe on the sixth day all that they were to eat both that day and upon the following sabbath, or that they were forbidden to bake or seethe it upon the sabbath day; for there is not a word here to that purpose; and it is apparent from the whole context, that the rest of the sabbath is not opposed to their baking or seething of it, but to their going out into the field to gather it. Nay, the contrary is here implied, because after they had baken and sodden what they intended to bake or seethe, part of the
manna did, as is here expressly added,
remain over, and was reserved for the sabbath days provision, and that unbaken and unsodden, otherwise it would not have been noted as a miraculous thing, that it did not stink nor breed worms, Exo 16:24.
Lay up until the morning: what you do not eat this day, keep for the next days provision.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he said unto them, this is that which the Lord hath said,…. Which he had said to Moses privately, for as yet he had said it to none else:
tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord; according to Jarchi, the rulers asked Moses what this day was, different from other days, that double the quantity should be gathered? from whence, he says, we learn, that Moses had not as yet declared the sabbath to them; and this is indeed the first time we read of one; and though, as there was divine worship before, there must be times for it; but as there was as yet no certain place for worship, so no certain time for it, but as it was appointed by the heads of families, or as more families might agree unto and unite in; at least no day before this appears to be a day of rest from servile labour, as well as for holy use and service:
bake that which ye will bake [today], and seethe that ye will seethe; the phrase “today” is not in the text, and not necessarily supplied; the sense being plainly this, that they might take and boil what they would, and dress as much of the manna as they pleased, and eat what they would, but not that they were to bake and boil for the next day; for it is clear, by what follows, that the manna of the next day was not dressed either way, for then it would be no wonder that it did not stink; and as yet the law for not kindling a fire on the sabbath day was not given; and therefore, for aught to the contrary, they might roast or seethe on that day, or eat it as it was, as they themselves thought fit:
and that which remaineth over; what they did not bake, nor seethe, nor eat;
lay up for you to be kept until the morning whereas on other days they were to leave nothing of it till the morning, but destroy it or cast it away, whatever was left uneaten.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(23) To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord.Heb., to morrow is a rest of a holy Sabbath to Jehovah. If the translation of the Authorised Version were correct, the previous institution of the Sabbath, and the knowledge, if not the observance, of it by the Israelites would be necessarily implied, since no otherwise would the double use of the article be intelligible. But in the Hebrew there is no article either here or in Exo. 16:25. The absence of the article indicates that it is a new thing which is announcedif not absolutely, at any rate to those to whom the announcement is made. Much, no doubt, may be said in favour of a primval institution of the Sabbath (see the comment on Gen. 2:2-3); and its observance in a certain sense by the Babylonians (see the first Note on Exo. 16:5) is in favour of its having been known to the family of Abraham; but during the Egyptian oppression the continued observance would have been impossible, and the surprise of the elders, as well as the words of Moses, show that at this time the idea was, to the Israelites, practically a novelty.
Bake . . . Seethe.These directions imply a very different substance from any of the natural forms of manna. The heavenly gift could be either made into a paste and baked, or converted into a porridge.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath This passage shows that the sabbath was known and observed among the Hebrews before the fourth commandment was given at Sinai . The division of the days into weeks seems to have been known among all the Shemitic nations from the earliest historic period, and this cannot fairly be accounted for except by a wide-spread tradition of the sacredness of the number seven, descending from the very origin of the race . Wilkinson shows that the seven-day division was known to the Egyptians, as proved by the seven days’ fete of Apis, the four times seven years of Osiris, the ten times seven days’ mourning for the dead, and the six times seven days of mortification imposed upon the priests . The Pythagoreans borrowed the week from Egypt, and the Roman world adopted it early in the second century . (Rawlinson’s Herod . , 2: 282 . ) It is probable that the week division and the sanctity of the sabbath were known to the Hebrews from their very origin as a people . We find that a week was the period of duration of the wedding feast in the time of Jacob . Gen 29:27. Here, as in the creative week, God observes the sabbath as an example to man .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said to them, “This is that which Yahweh spoke. Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you will bake and seethe what you will seethe and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.” ’
The impression given here is that Moses is imparting new information. He explains that the seventh day is to be a holy sabbath, and therefore also every seventh day after that. It may well therefore be that this is in fact the time when the regular seventh day sabbath was first established, in order to commemorate the giving of the Manna as something better than the bread of Egypt. Previously holy rest days had been mentioned (Exo 12:16) although not called sabbaths.
Because it is a sabbath (shabbath) they are to rest on it. It is a holy rest (shabbathon). This would hardly need to be explained if they were familiar with it. Moses elsewhere tells us that the reason why God commanded the observance of the regular seventh day sabbath was because He had delivered them from the land of Egypt (in Deu 5:15). This also would tie in with a post-deliverance establishment of the Sabbath. The Creation account says nothing about the Sabbath.
“Shabbathon”, ‘a solemn rest’ is a word only used of observance of the Sabbath (shabbath).
So while no indication is specifically given as to whether this is a new observance on each seventh day or the perpetuation of what was already the custom, the probability seem to lie with the former. The sabbath has not previously been mentioned, and the only mention of a seventh day feast previously is Exo 13:6 and there it would not in future be on the same day of ‘the week’ each year, as it was tied to the 14th-21st of Abib, and new moons did not follow an exact twenty eight day pattern. And in that feast there was also a special feast on the first day of the feast as well as the seventh. It may well be therefore that this incident of the Manna is the first establishing of the strict seven day week pattern and of the regular Sabbath. Previously they may simply have utilised periods of the moon for recording time, or simply followed the ways of the Egyptians.
Indeed had the Sabbath and the seven day week already been a well recognised feature we might have expected that those who broke it (Exo 16:27) would be put to death (see Num 15:32-36). Instead they were only rebuked for having disobeyed the command not to gather.
It is also interesting to note that there is no specific emphasis here of doing no work, although it may possibly be seen as implied in Exo 16:23 and Exo 16:26-27, the latter only being stated, however, after the failure to observe the Sabbath. This may again be why they were only rebuked.
But its introduction was probably made easier by the fact that ‘seven days’ (not then directly related to our week) was often seen as a holy period (see Gen 7:4; Gen 7:10; Gen 8:10; Gen 8:12; Gen 8:22; Gen 29:27-28; Gen 50:10; Exo 7:25; Exo 12:15; Exo 12:19; Exo 13:6-7 and often). Seven was the number of divine perfection. Thus from now on their life was in a sense to be made up of many holy periods in which God provided their food. Instead of being controlled by sun and moon, their time was now divinely controlled.
It is true that in Gen 2:1-3 God stopped working on ‘the seventh day’ from all His activity in creation, but that is not applied there to the requirement for man to observe it, and had it been a requirement when that was written we would have expected it to be mentioned. Nor is the seventh day there called the sabbath (although shabbath is related to shabath, to stop, be at a standstill, stop working which is used there). Later in Exo 20:10 (see also Exo 31:17) this example is given as proving that the idea of the seventh day was something which God has blessed but there is no necessary suggestion or indication that the sabbath itself was inaugurated at the time of creation. As we have seen, in Deu 5:14-15 it is the deliverance from Egypt that is given as the reason why God instituted the Sabbath. The bondmen had become free and in gladness and gratitude would honour Yahweh by dedicating a work-free day to Him.
Attempts have been made to link the sabbath with the Babylonian ‘sabbatum’, but that was on the day of the full moon and not a day of rest or cessation from work, (this is revealed by contract tablets), and they had a five-day week. Ceasing of work on certain days in the Assyrian period by certain limited important people such as kings and priests was simply due to a desire to ward off bad luck.
“Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil.” This makes clear that the Manna was cooked before eating. On the sixth day they would presumably do all the cooking, and set aside what had not been eaten for the morrow.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Exo 16:23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath It is amazing to observe to what length an attachment to systems and opinions sometimes carries men. This is evident from the method in which this passage is interpreted by those who have entertained peculiar notions respecting the sabbath. Nothing can be plainer, from this whole chapter, than that the seventh day was now held sacred as a day of holy rest unto the Lord. In order to preserve it sacred, the Lord makes this remarkable disposition concerning the manna; the falling of which is regulated by the known and established law of the sabbath, which is here spoken of as a period perfectly familiar and customary to the people: and indeed there seems no reason to doubt, that the sabbath-day was held sacred by the people of God from its very first institution, when God finished his works of creation, and sanctified the seventh day. And this may very well and truly account for its institution’s not being mentioned again by the sacred historian; the observation of it having always continued from the beginning, and therefore the mention of it being as unnecessary as that of any other common and generally allowed principle in religion. They who are inclined to see more on this subject may consult Hallet’s Notes on Scripture, vol. 3: p. 100.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The process of preparing the manna we read, Num 11:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said, To morrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake [that] which ye will bake [to day], and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Ver. 23. Lay up for you, &c. ] This is no plea for the Popish keeping of their breaden god in a pyx; for here was a command so to do, lest the Sabbath should be profaned: but for the other there is none.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rest of the [holy] sabbath. Hebrew “a sabbath of sabbaths”. Occurs seven times (see App-10). Four times of the weekly sabbath (Exo 16:23; Exo 31:15; Exo 35:2. Lev 23:3). Twice of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:31; Lev 23:32). Once of the sabbath of years (Lev 25:4).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
rest: Exo 20:8-11, Exo 31:15, Exo 35:3, Gen 2:2, Gen 2:3, Lev 23:3, Mar 2:27, Mar 2:28, Luk 23:56, Rev 1:10
bake: Num 11:8
Reciprocal: Exo 12:16 – no manner Exo 16:5 – prepare Exo 16:25 – General Num 15:32 – they found a man Jer 17:22 – neither do
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 16:23. This is that which the Lord hath spoken Either to Moses, by inspiration, or to the former patriarchs, on a like occasion. It is agreeable to the former word and law of God concerning the sabbath. To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath Here is a plain intimation of the observing a seventh-day sabbath, not only before the giving of the law upon mount Sinai, but before the bringing of Israel out of Egypt, and therefore from the beginning. If the sabbath had now been first instituted, how could Moses have understood what God said to him (Exo 16:5) concerning a double portion to be gathered on the sixth day, without making any express mention of the sabbath? And how could the people have so readily taken the hint, (Exo 16:22,) even to the surprise of the rulers, before Moses had declared that it was done with regard to the sabbath, if they had not had some knowledge of the sabbath before? The setting apart of one day in seven for holy work, and in order to that for holy rest, was a divine appointment ever since God created man upon the earth.