Manna From Heaven
16 They journeyed on from Elim, and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 But the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 Bnei-Yisrael said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of Adonai in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full. But you have brought us into the wilderness, to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”
4 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I can test them to find out whether they will walk according to My Torah or not. 5 So on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather day by day.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all Bnei-Yisrael, “In the evening you will know that Adonai has brought you out from the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning, then you will see the glory of Adonai. For He heard your complaining against Him. What are we? You complain against us?” 8 Then Moses said, “Adonai will give you meat to eat in the evening and enough bread to fill you in the morning, since Adonai hears your complaints that you mutter against Him, what are we? Your complaining is not against us, but against Adonai!”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, ‘Come near before Adonai, because He has heard your complaining.’”
10 Then, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of Adonai appeared in the cloud. 11 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 12 “I have heard the complaining of Bnei-Yisrael. Speak to them saying, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Adonai your God.’”
13 So when evening fell, quails came up and covered the camp. Moreover, in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew was gone, on the surface of the desert was a thin, flake-like frost, as fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When Bnei-Yisrael saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Then Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Adonai has given you to eat. 16 This is the word that Adonai has commanded. Every man is to gather according to his needs, an omer per person, according to the number of people per household. Each man is to take it for those who are in his tent.”
17 Bnei-Yisrael did so, and some gathered more, some less. 18 When they measured it with an omer, those who gathered more had nothing left over, and those that gathered less did not lack at all. Every man gathered according to his appetite.
19 Also Moses said to them, “Let no one save any of it until the morning.”
20 However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them preserved it until the morning—but it bred worms and rotted. So Moses was angry with them.
21 So they gathered it morning by morning, each man according to his needs, and as the sun became hot it melted. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each individual. So all the leaders of the community came and informed Moses. 23 But he said to them, “This is what Adonai has said. Tomorrow is a Shabbat rest, a holy Shabbat to Adonai. Bake whatever you would bake, and boil what you would boil. Store up for yourselves everything that remains, to be kept until the morning.”
24 So they set it aside until the morning, just as Moses instructed, and it did not rot nor were there any worms. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, because today is a Shabbat to Adonai. Today you will not find it in the field. 26 You are to gather it for six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat, and there will be none.”
27 Yet on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and they found none. 28 Adonai said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My mitzvot and My Torah? 29 See, Adonai has given you the Shabbat, so on the sixth day He gives you the bread of two days. Let every man stay in his place, and let no man go out on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel named it manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is what Adonai has commanded. Let a full omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna inside. Store it up before Adonai, to be kept throughout your generations.”
34 Just as Adonai commanded Moses, Aaron stored it up in front of the Testimony, to be preserved. 35 Bnei-Yisrael ate the manna for 40 years. They ate the manna until they came to an inhabited land, when they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:4
- Exodus 16:15
- Exodus 16:16
- Exodus 16:36
