Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 16:29
See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
29. in his place ] where he is: see in the Heb 10:23, Hab 3:16 al. ( Lex. 1065b 2a). His place in the following clause is in the Heb. quite different.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Abide ye every man in his place – The expression in Hebrew is unique and seems almost to enjoin a position of complete repose: in his place is literally under himself, as the Oriental sits with his legs drawn up under him. The prohibition must however be understood with reference to its immediate object; they were not to go forth from their place in order to gather manna, which was on other days without the camp. The spirit of the law is sacred rest. The Lord gave them this Sabbath, as a blessing and privilege. It was made for man. Mar 2:27.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 29. Abide ye every man in his place] Neither go out to seek manna nor for any other purpose; rest at home and devote your time to religious exercises. Several of the Jews understood by place in the text, the camp, and have generally supposed that no man should go out of the place, i.e., the city, town, or village in which he resides, any farther than one thousand cubits, about an English mile, which also is called a Sabbath day’s journey, Ac 1:12; and so many cubits they consider the space round the city that constitutes its suburbs, which they draw from Nu 35:3-4. Some of the Jews have carried the rigorous observance of the letter of this law to such a length, that in whatever posture they find themselves on the Sabbath morning when they awake, they continue in the same during the day; or should they be up and happen to fall, they refuse even to rise till the Sabbath be ended! Mr. Stapleton tells a story of one Rabbi Solomon, who fell into a slough on the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, and refused to be pulled out, giving his reason in the following Leonine couplet: –
Sabbatha sancta colo De stereore surgere nolo.
“Out of this slough I will not rise
For holy Sabbath day I prize.”
The Christians, finding him thus disposed determined he should honour their Sabbath in the same place, and actually kept the poor man in the slough all Sunday, giving their reasons in nearly the same way: –
Sabbatha nostra quidem, Solomon, celebrabis ibidem.
“In the same slough, thou stubborn Jew,
Our Sabbath day thou shalt spend too.”
This might have served to convince him of his folly, but certainly was not the likeliest way to convert him to Christianity.
FABYAN, in his Chronicles, tells the following story of a case of this kind. “In this yere also (1259) fell that happe of the Iewe of Tewkysbury, which fell into a gonge upon the Satyrday, and wolde not for reverence of his sabbot day be pluckyd out; whereof heryng the Erle of Gloucetyr, that the Iewe dyd so great reverence to his sabbot daye, thought he wolde doo as moche unto his holy day, which was Sonday, and so kepte hym there tyll Monday, at whiche season he was foundyn dede.” Then the earl of Gloucester murdered the poor man.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hath given you the sabbath; hath given to you, and to your fathers, that great command and privilege of the sabbath. Let no man go out of his place, out of his house or tent, into the field to gather manna, as appears from the occasion and reason of the law here before mentioned. For otherwise they might and ought to go out of their houses to the public assemblies, as appears from Lev 23:3; Act 15:21; and to lead their cattle to watering, Luk 13:15; or to help them out of a pit, Mat 12:11; and a sabbath days journey was permitted, Act 1:12.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath,…. These are either the words of Jehovah, the Angel of the Lord, out of the cloud continued; or the words of Moses to the children of Israel, upon what the Lord had said to him, and would have them observe and take notice, that whereas the Lord had given them a sabbath, or enjoined them a day of rest:
therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; wherefore they had no occasion to go out in search of manna, as well as it was a vain thing to do it; and especially as it was against a command of God, and being ungrateful in them, as there was such a provision made for them:
abide ye every man in his place; in his tent for that day, giving himself up to religious exercises, to pray and praise, instruct his family, and in all things serve the Lord he was directed to:
let no man go out of his place on the seventh day; not beyond two thousand cubits, as the Targum of Jonathan, which is the space the Jews generally fix upon for a man to walk on a sabbath day, so far he might go and no further; and which perhaps is the same space as is called a sabbath day’s journey, [See comments on Ac 1:12].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(29) Abide ye every man in his place.Some Jews took this direction absolutely literally, and remained all the Sabbath Day in the position in which they found themselves at waking; but this slavish adherence to the letter was in general repudiated, and the command understood as having forbidden persons to leave the camp on the Sabbath. Hence the Sabbath Days journey, which was fixed at six stadia, because that was (traditionally) the extreme distance from the centre of the camp to its furthest boundary.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“See. Because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, that is why he gives you on the sixth day food for two days. Let every man of you remain in his place. Let no man go out of his place on the Sabbath day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.’
The purpose of the solemn Sabbath is so that every man will remain in his place, presumably his tent, although the minimum need for the tending of the herds and flocks will be necessary. This gives them a chance to rest and to think and to remember Yahweh’s doings. This is the primitive Sabbath. It would remind them of their bondage in Egypt and of the giving of the manna. Later these requirements would be amplified to forbid all forms of work.
“How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?” The incident is seen as reminding Yahweh of the many times they have disobeyed Him. Once again they have set a command of His at variance. All the previous failures come flooding back. The rebuke is for their general attitude as revealed by the particular misdemeanour.
“Because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was not to be seen as a hard duty but as a gift. Only those whose lives are those of constant toil can appreciate how great a gift it was in those days. Those who ignore it do so to their own disadvantage.
“So the people rested on the seventh day.” This would hardly need to have been stated if it was already the normal state of affairs. It was to be a new convention.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Exo 16:29. See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, &c. You see that the Lord giveth you rest, Houbigant; who observes, that “rest is more suitable to the context than sabbath: besides, the sabbath is called by the name of the seventh day, not shabat, rest. Add to this, that the phrase to give sabbath, or rest, is not of the same import as to command the observation of the sabbath; so that it cannot be argued from this place, that the precept concerning the sabbath was now first given: one would rather say, that the sabbath is so touched upon here, as an institution well and long since known to the Israelites.”
Abide ye every man in his place Still incredulous, the people could not confide in the word of God: some of them went out to gather manna on the sabbath, but they found none; upon which the Lord expostulates with them, (Exo 16:28 compared with Exo 16:24.) and orders every man to abide, on the seventh day, in his place. The Hebrew is, literally, rest every man with himself. The Vulgate is the same: Maneat unusquisque apud semetipsum. Sit every one in your houses, say the Septuagint. So that the meaning evidently is, let every one rest at home: in the due performance of this holy day of rest, let no one depart from his place; his home, that is, his place of abode; or, at the utmost, the camp, on the sabbath day: and accordingly, it is added, in the next verse, that, agreeably to this injunction, the people rested on the sabbath-day.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Exo 16:29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Ver. 29. Hath given you the Sabbath. ] And a great gift is was. Neh 9:14 Were it not for the weekly Sabbath we should all run wild.
Abide ye every man in his place.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
See. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
seventh day. See App-50.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hath given: Exo 31:13, Neh 9:14, Isa 58:13, Isa 58:14, Eze 20:12
abide ye: Luk 23:56
Reciprocal: Exo 7:1 – See Exo 12:16 – no manner Exo 16:25 – General Exo 18:23 – and all this Lev 19:3 – keep Lev 23:3 – General Lev 25:21 – I will Deu 5:14 – the sabbath Pro 30:8 – feed Mat 24:20 – neither Heb 12:25 – See
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 16:29. The Lord hath given you the sabbath Hath granted to you and to your fathers the great privilege of it, and the command to observe it. Let no man go out of his place Out of his house or tent into the field to gather manna, as appears from the occasion and reason of the precept here before mentioned. For otherwise, they might and ought to go out of their houses to the public assemblies, Lev 23:3; Act 15:21; and to lead their cattle to watering, or to help them out of a pit, Luk 13:15; and a sabbath days journey was permitted, Act 1:12.