Bible Glide

Exodus 16

Exodus 16 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Exodus 16 shows Israel in the wilderness learning to depend on God's daily care. When the people complain about food, the LORD provides quail in the evening and manna in the morning. The chapter also introduces the Sabbath pattern and preserves a jar of manna as a lasting witness.

Read in ReaderShare Passage

What happens in Exodus 16?

After leaving Elim, the Israelites arrive in the Desert of Sin and complain against Moses and Aaron, saying they would rather have died in Egypt than face hunger. God responds by promising bread from heaven and meat in the evening, and by using the daily supply to test their obedience. Quail come at twilight, and manna appears with the morning dew. The people are told to gather only what they need, and those who try to keep it overnight find it spoiled. On the sixth day they gather enough for two days, and the seventh day is set apart as a day of rest. A jar of manna is kept as a memorial, and the chapter ends by noting that God fed Israel this way for forty years.

Exodus 16 comes after the song and celebration at the Red Sea in Exodus 15 and before the water-from-the-rock scenes in Exodus 17. It marks a new stage in Israel's journey, where freedom from Egypt gives way to the hard lessons of trust in the wilderness. The chapter also begins to shape Israel's rhythm of life around God's provision and the Sabbath.

Themes to notice

  • Daily provisionGod gives enough food for each day, teaching the people to rely on him rather than store up control.
  • Trust and obedienceThe manna tests whether Israel will follow God's instructions, especially about gathering and resting.
  • Sabbath restThe sixth-day double portion and seventh-day rest show that God's people are meant to stop and trust him.

Questions for Exodus 16

  • What do the people's complaints reveal about their fear and memory of Egypt?
  • Why does God tell them to gather manna only for each day?
  • How does the Sabbath command change the way Israel is meant to live in the wilderness?

Read the full text of Exodus 16 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Exodus 16

Manna and Quail from Heaven

1On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.2And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.3“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”

4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.5Then on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,7and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we that you should grumble against us?”8And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’”10And as Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and there in a cloud the glory of the LORD appeared.11Then the LORD said to Moses,12“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.14When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground.15When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.16This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. You may take an omer for each person in your tent.’”17So the Israelites did this. Some gathered more, and some less.18When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.19Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.”20But they did not listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.21Every morning each one gathered as much as was needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

The Sabbath Observed

22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food—two omers per person —and all the leaders of the congregation came and reported this to Moses.23He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Then set aside whatever remains and keep it until morning.’”24So they set it aside until morning as Moses had commanded, and it did not smell or contain any maggots.25“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find anything in the field.26For six days you may gather, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be there.”27Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find anything.28Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?29Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.”30So the people rested on the seventh day.

The Jar of Manna

31Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.32Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Keep an omer of manna for the generations to come, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”33So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with an omer of manna. Then place it before the LORD to be preserved for the generations to come.”34And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses.35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.36(Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Keep studying

Save notes and ask about Exodus 16

Create a free account to keep highlights and notes across devices, or open Bible Glide Chat with this passage already attached.

Create Free AccountAsk About This Passage