Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 16:31

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it [was] like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it [was] like wafers [made] with honey.

31. the house of Israel ] Unusual: cf. Exo 40:38, Num 20:29, Jos 21:45 (all P). Lev 10:6; Lev 17:3; Lev 17:8; Lev 17:10; Lev 22:18 (P and H) are rather different.

like coriander seed ] So Num 11:7. Coriander is an umbelliferous plant, which grows wild in Egypt and Palestine, producing small greyish white round seeds, about the size of a peppercorn, with a pleasant spicy flavour. The seeds are used largely in the East as a spice to mix with bread, and to give an aromatic flavour to sweetmeats ( NHB. p. 440). In Num 11:8 the manna is also said to have resembled bdellium (Gen 2:12), i.e. the transparent wax-like gum or resin, valued for its fragrance, called by the Greeks .

wafers ] Only here: LXX. , i.e. (Athen. xiv. 54, p. 645, cited by Kn.) pastry made with oil and honey. The root means in Arab. and Eth. to spread out. In Num 11:8 the taste of the manna is said to have been like a rich oily cake ( , i.e. oily richness; LXX. , Vulg. panis oleatus; RVm. cakes baked with oil). Travellers state that the manna gathered from trees (see below) is used by the natives of the Sinaitic Peninsula as ‘a dainty instead of honey.’

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

31 34. A further description of the manna, and directions for a pot of it to be preserved in the sanctuary, as a witness to future generations how Israel had been sustained in the wilderness.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

manna – It was not indeed the common manna, as they then seem to have believed, but the properties which are noted in this passage are common to it and the natural product: in size, form and color it resembled the seed of the white coriander, a small round grain of a whitish or yellowish grey.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 31. Called the name thereof Manna] See Clarke on Ex 16:15.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

It was like coriander seed, in shape and figure, but not in colour, for that is dark-coloured, but this white, as it follows here, like bdellium, &c., Num 11:7.

The taste of it, when it was raw; but when it was drest it was like fresh oil, Num 11:8.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna,…. For till now they had given it no name; which shows that the words are not to be read as we render them in Ex 16:15 it is manna, unless this is to be considered as a confirmation of that name; but rather as an interrogation, “what is it?” though, from thence, “man” being the first word they made use of on sight of it, might so call it; or as others, from its being now an appointed, prepared, portion and gift, which they every day enjoyed, [See comments on Ex 16:15],

and it was like coriander seed, white that the colour of the manna was white is not only here asserted, but is plain from other passages, it being like the hoar frost, which is white, Ex 16:14 and its colour is the colour of bdellium, Nu 11:7 or pearl, which is of a white bright colour, as the word is interpreted by the Jews; and who say u, that the manna was round as a coriander seed, and white as a pearl; but then if it is here compared to the coriander seed on that account, some other seed than what we call coriander seed must be meant, since that is off darkish colour; though it is thought by most that the comparison with it is not on account of the colour, but its form being round, as a coriander seed is, and as the manna is said to be, Ex 16:14. Josephus w thinks it is compared to the coriander seed for its being about the size of that seed; though I must confess it seems to me to be compared to the coriander seed for its colour, and therefore “Gad”, the word used, must signify something else than what we call coriander seed; but what that is, is not easy to say: Ben Gersom is of the same mind, and thinks it refers to colour, and fancies the “Gad” had his name from his whiteness, Ge 20:11. Artapanus x, the Heathen, makes mention of this food of the Jews in the wilderness, where, he says, they were thirty years; during which time God rained upon them meal like to panic (a sort of grain like millet), in colour almost as white as snow: and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey; or cakes that had honey mixed in them: though in Nu 11:8 the taste of it is said to be as the taste of fresh oil, which Saadiah Gaon, Aben Ezra, and others, account for thus; that if a man ate of it as it came down, it was as cakes of honey, but, when dressed, it was as the taste of fresh oil; however, it was very palatable and agreeable to the taste; honey that drops from palm trees is said to be not much different in taste from oil: the Jews y have a notion that there were all kinds of tastes in the manna, suited to the ages and appetites of persons, and that as they would have it, so it tasted; which notion the author of the book of Wisdom seems to give into,

“Instead whereof thou feddest thine own people with angels’ food, and didst send them from heaven bread prepared without their labour, able to content every man’s delight, and agreeing to every taste. For thy sustenance declared thy sweetness unto thy children, and serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man’s liking.” (Wisdom 16:20-21)

Leo Africanus z speaks of a sort of manna found in great plenty in the deserts in Libya, which the inhabitants gather in vessels every morning to carry to market, and which being mixed with water is drank for delight, and being put into broth has a very refreshing virtue: of the round form and white colour of manna, as applicable to Christ, notice has been taken on Ex 16:14 and the sweetness of its taste well agrees with him the antitype: his person is so to them who have tasted that the Lord is gracious; his word or Gospel is sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb; his mouth is most sweet, the doctrines that proceed from it, and the exceeding great and precious promises of it; his fruits and the blessings of his grace, peace, pardon, righteousness, &c. are sweet to those that sit under his shadow, where faith often feeds sweetly and with delight upon him,

u T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 75. 1. w Antiqu. l. 3. c. 1. sect. 6. x Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 436. y Shemot Rabba, sect 25. fol. 108. 4. & Bemidar Rabba, sect. 7. fol. 188. z Descriptio Africae, l. 7. p. 631.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The manna was “ like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it like cake with honey.” : Chald. ; lxx ; Vulg. coriandrum ; according to Dioscorid. 3, 64, it was called by the Carthaginians. is rendered by the lxx; according to Athenaeus and the Greek Scholiasts, a sweet kind of confectionary made with oil. In Num 11:7-8, the manna is said to have had the appearance of bdellium, a fragrant and transparent resin, resembling wax (Gen 2:12). It was ground in handmills or pounded in mortars, and either boiled in pots or baked on the ashes, and tasted like , “dainty of oil,” i.e., sweet cakes boiled with oil.

This “bread of heaven” (Psa 78:24; Psa 105:40) Jehovah gave to His people for the first time at a season of the year and also in a place in which natural manna is still found. It is ordinarily met with in the peninsula of Sinai in the months of June and July, and sometimes even in May. It is most abundant in the neighbourhood of Sinai, in Wady Feirn and es Sheikh, also in Wady Gharandel and Taiyibeh, and some of the valleys to the south-east of Sinai ( Ritter, 14, p. 676; Seetzen’s Reise iii. pp. 76, 129). In warm nights it exudes from the branches of the tarfah-tree, a kind of tamarisk, and falls down in the form of small globules upon the withered leaves and branches that lie under the trees; it is then gathered before sunrise, but melts in the heat of the sun. In very rainy seasons it continues in great abundance for six weeks long; but in many seasons it entirely fails. It has the appearance of gum, and has a sweet, honey-like taste; and when taken in large quantities, it is said to act as a mild aperient ( Burckhardt, Syr. p. 954; Wellsted in Ritter, p. 674). There are striking points of resemblance, therefore, between the manna of the Bible and the tamarisk manna. Not only was the locality in which the Israelites first received the manna the same as that in which it is obtained now; but the time was also the same, inasmuch as the 15th day of the second month (Exo 16:1) falls in the middle of our May, if not somewhat later. The resemblance in colour, form, and appearance is also unmistakeable; for, though the tamarisk manna is described as a dirty yellow, it is also said to be white when it falls upon stones. Moreover, it falls upon the earth in grains, is gathered in the morning, melts in the heat of the sun, and has the flavour of honey. But if these points of agreement suggest a connection between the natural manna and that of the Scriptures, the differences, which are universally admitted, point with no less distinctness of the miraculous character of the bread of heaven. This is seen at once in the fact that the Israelites received the manna for 40 years, in all parts of the desert, at every season of the year, and in sufficient quantity to satisfy the wants of so numerous a people. According to Exo 16:35, they ate manna “until they came to a land inhabited, unto the borders of the land of Canaan;” and according to Jos 5:11-12, the manna ceased, when they kept the Passover after crossing the Jordan, and ate of the produce of the land of Canaan on the day after the Passover. Neither of these statements is to be so strained as to be made to signify that the Israelites ate no other bread than manna for the whole 40 years, even after crossing the Jordan: they merely affirm that the Israelites received no more manna after they had once entered the inhabited land of Canaan; that the period of manna or desert food entirely ceased, and that of bread baked from corn, or the ordinary food of the inhabited country, commenced when they kept the Passover in the steppes of Jericho, and ate unleavened bread and parched cakes of the produce of the land as soon as the new harvest had been consecrated by the presentation of the sheaf of first-fruits to God.

But even in the desert the Israelites had other provisions at command. In the first place, they had brought large flocks and herds with them out of Egypt (Exo 12:38; Exo 17:3); and these they continued in possession of, not only at Sinai (Exo 34:3), but also on the border of Edom and the country to the east of the Jordan (Num 20:19; Num 32:1). Now, if the maintenance of these flocks necessitated, on the one hand, their seeking for grassy spots in the desert; on the other hand, the possession of cattle secured them by no means an insignificant supply of milk and flesh for food, and also of wool, hair, and skins for clothing. Moreover, there were different tribes in the desert at that very time, such as the Ishmaelites and Amalekites, who obtained a living for themselves from the very same sources which must necessarily have been within reach of the Israelites. Even now there are spots in the desert of Arabia where the Bedouins sow and reap; and no doubt there was formerly a much larger number of such spots than there are now, since the charcoal trade carried on by the Arabs has interfered with the growth of trees, and considerably diminished both the fertility of the valleys and the number and extent of the green oases (cf. Rppell, Nubien, pp. 190, 201, 256). For the Israelites were not always wandering about; but after the sentence was pronounced, that they were to remain for 40 years in the desert, they may have remained not only for months, but in some cases even for years, in certain places of encampment, where, if the soil allowed, they could sow, plant, and reap. There were many of their wants, too, that they could supply by means of purchases made either from the trading caravans that travelled through the desert, or from tribes that were settled there; and we find in one place an allusion made to their buying food and water from the Edomites (Deu 2:6-7). It is also very obvious from Lev 8:2; Lev 26:31-32; Lev 9:4; Lev 10:12; Lev 24:5., and Num 7:13., that they were provided with wheaten meal during their stay at Sinai.

(Note: Vide Hengstenberg’s Geschichte Bileam’s, p. 284ff. For the English translation, see “Hengstenberg on the Genuineness of Daniel, etc.,” p. 566. Clark. 1847.)

But notwithstanding all these resources, the desert was “great and terrible” (Deu 9:19; Deu 8:15); so that, even though it is no doubt the fact that the want of food is very trifling in that region (cf. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 901), there must often have been districts to traverse, and seasons to endure, in which the natural resources were either insufficient for so numerous a people, or failed altogether. It was necessary, therefore, that God should interpose miraculously, and give His people bread and water and flesh by supernatural means. So that it still remains true, that God fed Israel with manna for 40 years, until their entrance into an inhabited country rendered it possible to dispense with these miraculous supplies. We must by no means suppose that the supply of manna was restricted to the neighbourhood of Sinai; for it is expressly mentioned after the Israelites had left Sinai (Num 11:7.), and even when they had gone round the land of Edom (Num 21:5). But whether it continued outside the true desert, – whether, that is to say, the Israelites were still fed with manna after they had reached the inhabited country, viz., in Gilead and Bashan, the Amoritish kingdoms of Sihon and Og, which extended to Edrei in the neighbourhood of Damascus, and where there was no lack of fields, and vineyards, and wells of water (Num 21:22), that came into the possession of the Israelites on their conquest of the land, – or during their encampment in the fields of Moab opposite to Jericho, where they were invited by the Moabites and Edomites to join in their sacrificial meals (Num 25:2), and where they took possession, after the defeat of the Midianites, of their cattle and all that they had, including 675,000 sheep and 72,000 beeves (Num 31:31.), – cannot be decided in the negative, as Hengstenberg supposes; still less can it be answered with confidence in the affirmative, as it has been by C. v. Raumer and Kurtz. For if, as even Kurtz admits, the manna was intended either to supply the want of bread altogether, or where there was bread to be obtained, though not in sufficient quantities, to make up the deficiency, it might be supposed that no such deficiency would occur in these inhabited and fertile districts, where, according to Jos 1:11, there were sufficient supplies, at hand to furnish ample provision for the passage across the Jordan. It is possible too, that as there were more trees in the desert at that time than there are now, and, in fact, more vegetation generally, there may have been supplies of natural manna in different localities, in which it is not met with at present, and that this manna harvest, instead of yielding only 5 or 7 cwt., as is the case now, produced considerably more.

(Note: The natural manna was not exclusively confined to the tamarisk, which seems to be the only tree in the peninsula of Sinai that yields it now; but, according to both ancient and modern testimony, it has been found in Persia, Chorasan, and other parts of Asia, dropping from other trees. Cf. Rosenmller ubi supra, and Ritter, 14, pp. 686ff.)

Nevertheless, the quantity which the Israelites gathered every day, – Viz. an omer a head, or at least 2 lbs., – still remains a divine miracle; though this statement in Exo 16:16. is not to be understood as affirming, that for 40 years they collected that quantity every day, but only, that whenever and wherever other supplies failed, that quantity could be and was collected day by day.

Moreover, the divine manna differed both in origin and composition from the natural produce of the tamarisk. Though the tamarisk manna resembles the former in appearance, colour, and taste, yet according to the chemical analysis to which it has been submitted by Mitscherlich, it contains no farina, but simply saccharine matter, so that the grains have only the consistency of wax; whereas those of the manna supplied to the Israelites were so hard that they could be ground in mills and pounded in mortars, and contained so much meal that it was made into cakes and baked, when it tasted like honey-cake, or sweet confectionary prepared with oil, and formed a good substitute for ordinary bread. There is no less difference in the origin of the two. The manna of the Israelites fell upon the camp with the morning dew (Exo 16:13, Exo 16:14; Num 11:9), therefore evidently out of the air, so that Jehovah might be said to have rained it from heaven (Exo 16:4); whereas the tamarisk manna drops upon the ground from the fine thin twigs of this shrub, and, in Ehrenberg’s opinion, in consequence of the puncture of a small, yellow insect, called coccus maniparus . But it may possibly be produced apart from this insect, as Lepsius and Tischendorf found branches with a considerable quantity of manna upon them, and saw it drop from trees in thick adhesive lumps, without being able to discover any coccus near (see ( Ritter, 14, pp. 675-6). Now, even though the manna of the Bible may be connected with the produce of the tamarisk, the supply was not so inseparably connected with these shrubs, as that it could only fall to the earth with the dew, as it was exuded from their branches. After all, therefore, we can neither deny that there was some connection between the two, nor explain the gift of the heavenly manna, as arising from an unrestricted multiplication and increase of this gift of nature. We rather regard the bread of heaven as the production and gift of the grace of God, which fills all nature with its powers and productions, and so applies them to its purposes of salvation, as to create out of that which is natural something altogether new, which surpasses the ordinary productions of nature, both in quality and quantity, as far as the kingdom of nature is surpassed by the kingdom of grace and glory.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Verses 31-36:

The appearance of manna was like “coriander seed.” Coriander is a plant in the carrot family. The seeds are whitish or yellowish in color, round, and about the size of a peppercorn. They have a sharp, pleasant aroma. They are ‘commonly used for medicinal and culinary purposes.

Nu 11:7 describes manna, as having the appearance of bdellium, a tree common to the Middle East. The gum of this tree, when dry, is transparent and wax-like and resembles a pearl.

Manna had a pleasant taste: like “wafers” tsappihith, made with honey. The text gives no further description.

Jehovah instructed that Aaron gather a pot of manna, and preserve it for display to future generations. This memorial was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, along with the tablets of the Law and Aaron’s rod that budded, see Ex 25:16-21; Heb 9:24. The text implies that the pot was filled with manna at a later date.

The supply of manna continued until Israel entered Canaan, following the Passover of the forty-first year, after Israel left Egypt, see Jos 5:10-12.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

31. And the house of Israel called. It is not without reason that Moses repeats what he had said before, that the name of Manna was given to the new kind of food which God had supplied, in order that they might be brought under condemnation for their stubborn impiety, who shall dare to raise a question on so manifest a point, since the conspicuous nature of the thing had extorted this name from people otherwise malicious and ungrateful. Its form is mentioned to prove the certainty of the miracle, viz., that its grains were round and like coriander-seed, because nothing like it had been seen before. Its taste reproves the people’s ingratitude in rejecting a food which was not only appropriate and wholesome, but also very sweet in savor.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(31) Manna.Rather, man. (See Note on Exo. 16:15.) Manna is a Greek form, first used by the LXX. translator of Numbers (Exo. 11:6-7; Exo. 11:9).

It was like coriander seed.The appearance of the manna is compared above to hoar frost (Exo. 16:14); here, and in Num. 11:7, to coriander seed. The former account describes its look as it lay on the ground, the latter its appearance after it was collected and brought in. The coriander seed is a small round grain, of a whitish or yellowish grey. In Numbers it is further said that the colour was that of bdellium, which is a whitish resin.

The taste of it was like wafers made with honey.In Numbers the taste is compared to that of fresh oil (Num. 11:8). The wafers or cakes used by the Egyptians, Greeks, and other ancient nations as offerings, were ordinarily composed of fine wheaten flour, oil, and honey. According to a Jewish tradition which finds a place in the Book of Wisdom (Exo. 16:20-21), the taste of the manna varied according to the wish of the eater, and tempered itself to every mans liking.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

31. Like coriander seed It lay on the ground in small seed-like, pearl-coloured grains . Though called bread it is not to be imagined as a loaf, but as like a grain or seed .

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Manna Preserved As a Memorial For the Future ( Exo 16:31-34 ).

Exo 16:31

‘And the house of Israel called its name Manna (Hebrew ‘man’), and it was white like coriander seed, and its taste was like wafers made with honey.’

Note the unusual ‘house of Israel’, only found in Exodus here and in Exo 40:38, but compare ‘house of Jacob’ which parallels ‘children of Israel’ (Exo 19:3). It contains an extra emphasis that Israel are one ‘household’.

We may sum up the information about the Manna.

1). It was ‘white’, or creamy yellow coloured (like coriander, and bdellium – Num 11:7), and, when cooked, tasted like wafers made with honey (Exo 16:31), and like cakes baked in oil (Num 11:7-8). Different methods may have been fond for cooking them which may have altered the taste somewhat.

2). It was sufficient to replace the bread of Egypt which had filled them to the full (Exo 16:3-4; Exo 16:8). Psa 78:24 calls it ‘corn from heaven’.

3). It had to be cooked (Exo 16:23), after being ground in mills, making cakes of it (Num 11:8).

4). It was small and flaky (Exo 16:14).

5). It melted in the sun (Exo 16:21).

6). It went bad, wormy and smelly if kept raw overnight (Exo 16:20) but possibly not if cooked (Exo 16:23-24).

7). If Exo 16:4 is to be taken literally it came down like the dew (Exo 16:4; Exo 16:13-14).

8). It continued to provide for them for forty years (Exo 16:35) (although not necessarily all the time) until they reached Canaan where it was replaced by the corn of the land (Jos 5:12).

This tends to exclude the popular examples of what it was and where it came from but leaves room for a natural explanation with a miraculous element, which is typical of many Old Testament miracles.

Exo 16:32

‘And Moses said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded. Let an omerful of it be kept for your generations that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you forth out of the land of Egypt.”

Moses now explains, presumably to the elders of the people, that Yahweh has commanded that an omerful (a day’s provision for one person) be kept as a reminder to future generations so that they might be able to see the food with which Yahweh had fed them in the wilderness when He had brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.

Yahweh’s Commandment Is Obeyed ( Exo 16:33-36 ).

Resulting from Yahweh’ previously expressed commandment to lay up an omerful for future generations Moses makes provision accordingly.

Exo 16:33

‘And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omerful of Manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh to be kept for your generations.”

As Yahweh had commanded, an omerful of the Manna was put by Aaron into a pot to be preserved for the future. This was probably cooked which helped to preserve it and prevent it from melting. If it was placed in an earthenware jar, possibly later replaced by a golden one (Heb 9:4), this would also help to keep it cool (or it may have been put in a gold one from the start). It was to be a permanent reminder of God’s miraculous provision. It was probably put in the old Tent of Meeting. It was later put in the Ark (Heb 9:4), but by the time of Solomon it had disappeared (1Ki 8:9).

Exo 16:34

‘As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony to be kept.’

“The Testimony” means ‘the record of God’s covenant with His people’. So even prior to the covenant of Sinai there is a ‘Testimony’ which was kept, presumably in the Tent of Meeting (Exo 33:7-11) which would later be replaced by the Dwellingplace (Tabernacle). At this stage it may well have been a container or containers containing the various covenant documents with respect to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which would make up much of Genesis (which Moses may have been putting in more completed form, along with the history of Joseph), reminders of God’s covenant with His people, together with the laws formulated by Moses and backed by Yahweh (Exo 15:25). Being kept in the Tent of Meeting (Exo 33:7-11), they would provide a focus for worshippers who sought Yahweh, who would know that they were there and represented God’s covenants with His people. This would then later be replaced by the Ark of the Covenant which also contained a covenant record, this time the covenant of the ten words (The Ten Commandments). But the old container with its sacred associations would almost certainly be preserved.

By the time of Solomon the pot and any other sacred objects which were kept in the Ark, other than the two tables of stone, had been lost (1Ki 8:9). But these records may in fact never have been put in the Ark, being preserved in some other way, possibly in their old container. The central focus then being on the Sinai covenant.

Alternately we may see this as saying that Aaron, having preserved the pot containing the Manna, later put it ‘before the Testimony’ to be kept. But it seems more probable that there was already something called the Testimony on which the later references were patterned, the new Testimony replacing the old in importance at the time of the founding of the new nation.

“The Testimony” initially means the record of God’s covenant with His people. Thus after the making of the covenant at Sinai the ‘ten words’ on the tablets of stone are called ‘the Testimony’ (Exo 25:16; Exo 25:21; Exo 31:18; Exo 32:15; Exo 34:29; Exo 40:20; Lev 16:13; Number 9:15; 10:11). Then the Ark of the covenant which contains them is called the Ark of the Testimony (Exo 25:22; Exo 26:34; Exo 30:6; Exo 30:26; Exo 31:7; Exo 39:35; Exo 40:3; Exo 40:5; Exo 40:21; Num 4:5; Num 7:89; Jos 4:16) and then by abbreviation ‘the Testimony’ as containing and including the Testimony (Exo 27:21; Exo 30:36; Lev 24:3; Num 17:4). The Tabernacle is also called the Tent or Tabernacle of the Testimony (Exo 38:21; Num 1:50; Num 1:53; Num 9:15; Num 10:11). This demonstrates the supreme importance later given to the Sinai covenant so that it was not felt necessary or important to mention the other records.

It is significant that we know nothing of objects around which worship centred in the centuries prior to the Tabernacle and its contents. Once they were replaced or amalgamated they ceased to be of importance in ancient eyes. But there must have been some central object, on which their worship focused. This may well have been the Tent of Meeting mentioned in Exo 33:7-11, which probably contained sacred objects, and would contain among other things the ancient covenant records and the primitive statutes laid down by Moses (Exo 15:25).

Exo 16:35

‘And the 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.’

The Manna came for forty years and at times the children of Israel got sick of it (Num 11:6). But we are not told that it came every day summer and winter alike although that is often the assumption (but see Neh 9:20). The question is, if it did not what other supplies were there? They would, of course, eat meat from sacrificial offerings and they may have traded at various times for other food, especially when at Kadesh. They may well have spent some time at different places in the wilderness, and thus been able to some extent to grow their own crops, both in the more fertile parts of the wilderness, and later when travelling through Transjordan, for we are told so little about the thirty eight years in the wilderness that we do not know how long they remained at the various places visited. But certainly the Manna was there at the end as at the beginning (Jos 5:12).

Note that the writer knows that they had been able to eat it for forty years up to the border of Canaan, but does not say that it ceased there. He is remembering the past but making no comment about the future, as we would expect if the record was made by Moses and he died shortly after.

The analysis reveals how there is in Moses’ mind a connection between the Sabbath rest and the entry into Canaan.

Exo 16:36

‘Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.’

The omer is only mentioned in this passage. This may therefore be a learned note added by a later scribe when the omer had gone out of use, but the chiasmus suggests that it is an integral part of the narrative. ‘An omer’ may have been the name of a standard vessel regularly in use. An ephah was a large cereal measure large enough to hold a person (Zec 5:6-10) and was an exact measure (Lev 19:36), being one tenth of a homer (Eze 45:11). Its liquid equivalent the bath could contain about twenty two or so litres.

Note to Christians.

The theme behind this passage appears regularly in the New Testament and is specifically referred to by Jesus Himself in John 6. We would expect this to be so for bread is regularly a symbol of spiritual life and blessing. In John 6 Jesus tells us that He had come as the bread of life, so that those who came to Him would never hunger, and those who believed on Him would never thirst. By receiving Him as the bread of God men receive eternal life through the Spirit. Compare also 1Co 10:3.

There may be times of drought when that Bread seems far away, but in those times we must remember that He is ever near, and that they are often allowed in order to test us and strengthen our faith. What we must not do is murmur like the Israelites do (although many of us have had times in our lives when we have fully understood them). For we can be sure that just as happened with the Israelites here, He will eventually come to us and show us His glory.

The theme of the Sabbath reminds us that in gratitude for His giving of Himself for us and to us we should ensure that we keep a time as set aside in which to serve Him and glorify Him. For the Sabbath was given for men’s benefit (Mar 2:27-28), although not to do as they liked with. He did not abrogate the Sabbath and we must remember that He, and He alone, is the Lord of the Sabbath. But later in the New Testament Paul stresses that it is not which day we keep that matters, but ensuring that we do have time set aside for Him (Rom 14:5-6). Whether Sabbath or Sunday (or any other day) Jesus made clear that such a day was for works of compassion as well as for worship. It is especially a day for doing good and remembering those worse off than ourselves.

End of note.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett