Exodus 16

Chap. XVI. Ver. 1-15. The Israelites murmur for want of food, and are fed with manna, and with quails.—In the last chapter we find the children of Israel murmuring for want of water; now it is for want of bread, and anon for want of meat: so discontented is human nature. The former mutiny, it is thought, was of a few only, perhaps the mixed multitude which came up from Egypt; this is of the whole congregation. All cry out for bread, and for meat. “Would to God (say they) we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full!” Yet then their lives were “made bitter with servitude;” then “the iron entered into their soul;” but present troubles are always the heaviest to a discontented mind. It is true Moses and Aaron are the persons against whom their murmurings are directed, in the first instance.

But who are Moses and Aaron? Are they not “the servants of the Lord?” Is it not an insult to Him that sent them? “Against thine image, in thy saint, O Lord.” So saith Moses, His word “your murmurings against him;”—against him who had so lately delivered them from the land of Egypt:—who had given them a passage through the Red sea:—who had sweetened the waters of Marah, and led them to the wells of Elim. Here Henry well remarks, “Experiences of God’s mercies greatly aggravate our distrusts and murmurings.” If the breath that is spent in murmuring were spent in prayer, it would surely turn to far better use. But notwithstanding this, God supplies their hunger no less bountifully than their thirst. He gives them bread from heaven; he rains it around their camp; and so new and unexpected is the blessing, that they ask, with surprise, “What is it?” From which phrase, probably, it received its name.

Let us endeavour to answer this! It is described here as “a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost;” and in Numbers xi. 7. it is added, “the manna was as coriander seed, (in form,) and the colour thereof as bdellium;” that is, a kind of pearl, or gum, nearly white, and transparent. It was remade, or accompanied, by a copious dew, and when that went off, the manna became visible, and was gathered in great quantities, an omer for each person, (which is a Hebrew measure of nearly three quarts of our measure;) and double the quantity on the day before the sabbath. An immense quantity, therefore, must have fallen, to feed more than a million of people. It is added, “At even ye shall eat flesh.” So it “came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp;” that is, they lighted upon the tents, and round about, within three feet from the earth, (see (Numbers 11:31).) so that even the children might gather them. Many have supposed that these were locusts, (which are certainly eaten by the Arabs,) but they were probably small birds like pigeons, but fat and tender: so that Israel had bread from heaven, and flesh fit for the table of a king. But whence, it may be said, was the necessity of this? Their bread might, indeed, be exhausted, as they neither could produce nor procure corn in the wilderness; but what had become of their numerous flocks and herds? By all the circumstances, it is probable that these murmurers were “more afraid than hurt;” their wants were more in anticipation than in fact; and, like covetous persons, who are always dreading penury, their murmuring arose more from disposition than distress and was therefore so much the more criminal.

Indeed it is difficult to conceive of a more unthankful and unworthy race than this generation of Israelites, generally speaking, were; and they are therefore selected as an example, to show that the Lord “hath mercy on whom he will have mercy;” as were the Egyptians, on the contrary, to prove, that “whom he will he hardeneth.” ((Romans 9:15-18).) - Ver. 16—36. Directions respecting the manna.—Every circumstance of the history confirms what we have remarked of the character of this people, and gives a reason for many precepts enjoined on them, particularly as to industry and cleanliness. “Those who have been used to work under the lash of the whip, will scarcely work without it: hence the work of one free labourer is reckoned equal to that of several slaves.”

It was see this indolent disposition that they wished themselves back into Egypt; for though they were compelled to labour, and laboured hard, they had no care to provide their food; they had only to sit and feed beside the flesh pots; for it appears the Egyptians had too much policy to starve their slaves. To counteract their indolence and improvidence, whatever God sent them required labour to prepare it. The manna, in particular, was to be gathered all round the camp and that early in the morning, for when the sun arose it melted. No more was to be gathered than was likely to be eaten: it was not to be hoarded. This some found to their cost; for when they gathered a surplus, probably to save gathering the next day, it putrified; and yet this was not the case on the sabbath, because of its profanation.

Probably the manna was dressed like rice ground or whole, baked or boiled; (ver. 23.) which furnished them still farther employment. And if it was of similar quality to that useful grain, that will account for its subsisting (in a great measure) the whole nation for full forty years; for on this a great part of the world live, even in the present day. The last verses of this chapter, it has been said, could not have been written by Moses, because he speaks of the children of Israel eating manna “forty years.” That the five last verses were not written at this time is evident, not only from this circumstance, but the laying up the golden pot of manna in the “Ark of the Testimony” could not be done till the ark was made.

We therefore consider them as notes, subjoined by Moses forty years afterwards, and just before his death; but it may be the book was not compiled till that period. It is, however, highly important to inquire into the moral and spiritual meaning of this miraculous food. We have reason to believe, that the true seed of Abraham considered many of these circumstances as figurative of “good things to come.” ((Hebrews 10:1).) And our Lord has given us such a key to this type, that we cannot be mistaken in the application of it to himself. The first object of the miracle was to teach them to live upon Providence; but not without the use of means. “Give us this day, our daily bread.” The second, and more sublime design, to suggest that God had provided some better things for their descendants in futurity.

So the ancient Rabbins, according to Ainsworth, admitted it to be a figure of “the food of just men in the world to come;” that is, in the age of the Messiah. It was in consistency, therefore, with these ideas, that our Lord applied the manna to himself. When the Jews spake of parent manna in the wilderness, ((John 6:32-34).) our Lord replied, “Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven: for, the bread of God is he that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Well may we reply with these Jews,—and may it be with a better understanding of his words,—“Lord, ever give us this bread!” The people murmur for want of

Notes on the verses

Chap. XVI. Ver. 1. Wilderness of Sin.—This desert is described by Dr. Shaw, (as in the text,) as lying between Elim and Sinai: he traversed it in nine hours, being all the day diverted by varieties of lizards and vipers, which abound there.—Bagster. Ver. 10. Behold the glory, &c.—It should be remarked, that the Shekinah appeared as a cloud all day, and was only luminous by night, except on peculiar occasions, as here, to show that the Almighty was displeased. It was in the form of fire and light, that the Shekinah stood before Moses and the people, upon the rock at Horeb. Ver. 13. Quails.—Selav, in Chaldee, seʿav, Syriac and Arabic, selva, is without doubt the quail; so the LXX. render it, a large kind of quail.

Ethiopic, ferferat, and Vulgate, coturnices, quails, with which agree Philo and the Rabbins.—The quail is a bird of the gallinaceous kind, somewhat less than a pigeon, but larger than a sparrow. Hasselquist describes the quail of the larger kind as very much resembling the red partridge, but not larger than the turtle dove; found in Judea as well as in the deserts of Arabia Petræa, and Egypt: and affording a most agreeable and delicate dish. But Ludolf endeavours to prove that a species of locusts is intended; and Scheuchzer and Bp. Patrick, from the difficulties which seem to encumber the text, follow his opinion. The opinion of Ludolf, however, is ably confuted by Paxton, (Illustrations of Scripture,) and the objections of Bp.

Patrick fairly and fully met by Harmer.—Bagster. This supply of quails appears to have been very partial, and perhaps for one evening only; afterwards they lived on them for a month together. (Numbers 11:20).—Calmet’s Dict. Ver. 15. It is manna.—Our margin gives two versions of this expression: 1. “What is it? for they wist not what it was;” or, 2. “It is a portion; for,” &c. Either way, Moses answers, “This is the bread,” &c. [What the substance called Manna was, is utterly unknown; but from the circumstances in the text, it is evident, that it was not a natural production, but was miraculously sent by JEHOVAH. These the learned Abarbinel, a most judicious Jewish interpreter, has thus enumerated: ‘The natural manna was never found in the desert where this fell;—where the common manna does fall, it is only in the spring time, in March and April, whereas this fell throughout all the months in the year;—the ordinary manna does not melt in the sun, as this did;—it does not stink and breed worms, as this did, when kept till the morning, (ver. 20.);—it cannot be ground or beaten in a mortar, so as to make cakes, as this was;—the common manna is medicinal and purgative, and cannot be used for food and nutriment as this was;—this fell in a double portion on the sixth day, and not on the sabbath, as it certainly would have done had it fallen naturally;—it followed them in all their journeys, wherever they pitched their tents;—and it ceased at the very time of the year when the other falls, namely, in March, when the Israelites were come to Gilgal. Whatever this substance was, it does not appear to have been common to the wilderness. From (Deuteronomy 7:3, 16).

it is evident that the Israelites never saw it before; and from a pot of it being preserved, it is probable that nothing of the kind ever appeared again.—Bagster.] Ver. 31, Manna.—Manna is the common name for the thick, clammy, and sweet sap which in southern countries oozes from certain trees and shrubs, partly by the rays of the sun, partly by the punctures of some kinds of insects, and partly by artificial means. The manna common in our druggists’ shops comes from Calabria and Sicily, where it oozes out of a kind of ash tree, from the end of June to the end of July. But the European manna is not so good partly from the Oriental oak and partly from a shrub which is called in Persia Teranjabin.

Raurwolf and Gmelin say that the manna is as white as snow, and consists of grains like coriander seed as above described. But though this manna very much resembles that described by Moses, in its form, appearance, &c. yet we find a peculiar circumstance by which it is distinguished from the common. It is expressly said (ver. 14.) that the manna lay round the camp like hoar frost, which does not agree with the manna which exudes from trees in the air from the quantity of sweet juices expelled from different kinds of trees by the great heats of Arabia.—Bagster. (See previous Note on)