The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Exodus16:22–30

The Sabbath Observed

✣
⚙
Generated by AI. It can be wrong, and it has no authority. Every note here is fallible commentary — never the Word itself. Public-domain sources are quoted and named; machine synthesis is marked and meant to be checked. Weigh all of it against Scripture. “They received the word with all readiness… and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” — Acts 17:11
✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Exodus 16:22–30 — The Sabbath Observed. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

22“On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food—two omers per…”+

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.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî haš·šiš·šî bay·yō·wm lā·qə·ṭū miš·neh le·ḥem šə·nê hā·‘ō·mer lā·’e·ḥāḏ kāl- nə·śî·’ê hā·‘ê·ḏāh way·yā·ḇō·’ū way·yag·gî·ḏū lə·mō·šeh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And it came to pass, on the sixth day they gathered bread of doubling — two of the omer for the one — and all the lifted-up ones of the assembly came and told plainly to Moses.

Where the English smooths the original

  • מִשְׁנֶ֔ה BSB's "twice as much" smooths mishneh (H4932), which is properly "a repetition / a double" — a noun, not an adverb. The Hebrew names a doubling of the same portion, the very thing announced beforehand in 16:5.
  • נְשִׂיאֵ֣י "the leaders" renders nesi'e (H5387), literally "the lifted-up / exalted ones" — those raised above the rest. Cambridge notes it is "lit. one lifted up above others." The English flattens the picture of elevation into the colorless office-word "leaders."
  • וַיַּגִּ֖ידוּ "reported this" is the Hiphil of nagad (H5046), "to put in front, declare, make conspicuous." It is a formal bringing-of-news, not a casual mention — the elders carry a difficulty up the chain to Moses.
  • לֶ֙חֶם֙ "food" softens lechem (H3899), "bread." The narrative deliberately calls the manna bread — the staple, the daily ration — not generic "food."
Word by word15 · parsed+
וַיְהִ֣י׀way·hîH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·hî — the stock narrative opener "and it came to pass," marking a new scene in the manna account.
הַשִּׁשִּׁ֗יhaš·šiš·šîOn the sixthH8345
√ shishshîy — sixth, ordArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
The ordinal shishshî (H8345, only 26 occurrences) anchors the whole episode: it is the sixth day that carries the surplus, the hinge on which the seventh-day rest turns.
בַּיּ֣וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
לָֽקְט֥וּlā·qə·ṭūthey gatheredH3950
√ lâqaṭ — properly, to pick up, iVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
lâqaṭ (H3950), "to pick up, glean," is the chapter's working verb for the daily gathering of manna; the same root governs Ruth's gleaning and binds this unit to 16:5, 16:16, and 16:26.
מִשְׁנֶ֔הmiš·nehtwiceH4932
√ mishneh — properly, a repetition, iNounmasculine singular
mishneh here is the structural pivot of the verse: a double portion, fulfilling the prediction of 16:5 without the people yet grasping why.
לֶ֙חֶם֙le·ḥemas much foodH3899
√ lechem — food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)Nounmasculine singular construct
שְׁנֵ֥יšə·nêtwoH8147
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumbermasculine dual construct
הָעֹ֖מֶרhā·‘ō·meromersH6016
√ ʻômer — properly, a heap, iArticleNounmasculine singular
לָאֶחָ֑דlā·’e·ḥāḏper personH259
√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iPreposition-l, ArticleNumbermasculine singular
כָּל־kāl-and allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
נְשִׂיאֵ֣יnə·śî·’êthe leadersH5387
√ nâsîyʼ — properly, an exalted one, iNounmasculine plural construct
nesi'e ha-'edah, "the lifted-up ones of the congregation," is, as Cambridge observes, "a standing phrase of P's" (the Priestly source) — a fixed administrative title recurring in Exodus 34:31 and Numbers.
הָֽעֵדָ֔הhā·‘ê·ḏāhof the congregationH5712
√ ʻêdâh — a stated assemblage (specifically, a concourse, or generally, a family or crowd)ArticleNounfeminine singular
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙way·yā·ḇō·’ūcameH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
וַיַּגִּ֖ידוּway·yag·gî·ḏūand reportedH5046
√ nâgad — properly, to front, iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
לְמֹשֶֽׁה׃lə·mō·šehthis to MosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
it does not appear that Moses had as yet acquainted them what was to be, or would be gathered on this day; nor had he any orders so to do from the Lord, only he was told by him that so it would be, and accordingly it came to pass
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
From this passage and from Exodus 16:5 it is inferred that the seventh day was previously known to the people as a day separate from all others, and if so, it must have been observed as an ancient and primeval institution.
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
they rightly concluded that God’s commands ( Exodus 16:16 ; Exodus 16:19 ) reached only to ordinary days, and must, in all reason, give place to the more ancient and necessary law of the sabbath. The rulers told Moses — Either to acquaint him with this increase of the miracle, or to take his direction for their practice, because they found two commands apparently clashing with each other.
Benson reads the leaders' report as a genuine perplexity: the standing manna rules (gather daily, leave nothing) seemed to collide with the sixth-day doubling, so they carried the apparent conflict up to Moses.
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
God bestowed His gift in such a manner, that the Sabbath was sanctified by it, and the way was thereby opened for its sanctification by the law.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
the rulers of the congregation ] A standing phrase of P’s: see Exodus 34:31 , Numbers 16:2 ; Numbers 31:13 al.
Cambridge reads "rulers of the congregation" as a fixed Priestly-source formula; cited for the lexical observation, not as endorsement of its source-critical frame.
23“He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to b…”+

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.’”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yō·mer ’ă·lê·hem hū ’ă·šer Yah·weh dib·ber mā·ḥār šab·bā·ṯō·wn qō·ḏeš šab·baṯ- Yah·weh ’êṯ tō·p̄ū ’ă·šer- ’ê·p̄ū wə·’êṯ tə·ḇaš·šə·lū ’ă·šer- baš·šê·lū han·nî·ḥū wə·’êṯ kāl- hā·‘ō·ḏêp̄ lā·ḵem lə·miš·me·reṯ ‘aḏ- hab·bō·qer

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And he said to them: This is what the LORD has spoken — tomorrow is a sabbath-keeping, a holy sabbath to the LORD. What you would bake, bake; and what you would boil, boil; and all that is left over, set it to rest for yourselves as a keeping until the morning.

Where the English smooths the original

  • שַׁבָּת֧וֹן "a day of complete rest" unpacks the single Hebrew word shabbâthôn (H7677), an abstract noun meaning "a sabbatism, a cessation." Cambridge stresses there is "nothing in the word to suggest the idea of 'solemn'"; it is, plainly, a resting. The English adds emphasis the noun itself does not carry.
  • שַׁבַּת־ Note the absence of the article in the Hebrew: it is a sabbath, not "the sabbath" (cf. 16:25). Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary both argue this anarthrous form signals that the institution is, to these hearers, "practically a novelty" — the BSB's definite "a holy Sabbath" rightly keeps it indefinite.
  • הַנִּ֧יחוּ "set aside" renders the Hiphil of nûach (H5117), "to cause to rest, give rest, lay down." The surplus manna is literally "given rest" — the same root family that gives Noah his name and Israel its land-rest. The English "set aside" loses the rest-motif woven even into the storage command.
  • לְמִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת "keep it" compresses le-mishmereth (H4931), "for a keeping / a charge / a deposit." Cambridge calls this "another of P's technical expressions" (cf. the kept Passover lamb, Exodus 12:6); it denotes a sacred reserved portion, not mere leftovers.
Word by word27 · parsed+
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרway·yō·merHe told themH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֲלֵהֶ֗ם’ă·lê·hem. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine plural
ה֚וּאhūThisH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šeris whatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יְהוָ֔הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
דִּבֶּ֣רdib·berhas saidH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular
dibber (H1696, Piel), "has spoken / decreed" — Moses grounds the command not in his own authority but in a prior word of YHWH (looking back to 16:5).
מָחָ֑רmā·ḥārTomorrowH4279
√ mâchâr — properly, deferred, iAdverb
שַׁבָּת֧וֹןšab·bā·ṯō·wn[is to be] a day of complete restH7677
√ shabbâthôwn — a sabbatism or special holidayNounmasculine singular
shabbâthôn is the rare technical term (only 10 occurrences in all Scripture). Keil calls it "an abstract noun denoting 'rest.'" Its scarcity makes it a near-fingerprint linking this verse to the Priestly festal calendar (Leviticus 23:3; 25:4) and the great Sabbath statutes (Exodus 31:15; 35:2).
קֹ֛דֶשׁqō·ḏeša holyH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
qôdesh (H6944), "holiness, a sacred thing" — the day is not merely empty of work but positively set apart to YHWH. This is the first time in the Pentateuch a day is called holy since Genesis 2:3 blessed and sanctified the seventh.
שַׁבַּת־šab·baṯ-SabbathH7676
√ shabbâth — intermission, iNouncommon singular construct
shabbâth (H7676) here in construct with qôdesh forms the phrase "a holy sabbath to YHWH" — the verbal nucleus the Sinai legislation will later quote and expand (the same triad shabbâthôn–qôdesh–laYHWH reappears in Exodus 31:15; 35:2; Leviticus 23:3). Note it stands here without the article ("a sabbath"), as Ellicott observes — the formula is being coined before the people, not recalled as familiar.
לַֽיהוָ֖הYah·wehto the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
אֵ֣ת’êṯSoH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
תֹּאפ֞וּtō·p̄ūbakeH644
√ ʼâphâh — to cook, especially to bakeVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine plural
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-whatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
אֵפ֗וּ’ê·p̄ūyou want to bakeH644
√ ʼâphâh — to cook, especially to bakeVerbQalImperativemasculine plural
וְאֵ֤תwə·’êṯandH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
תְּבַשְּׁלוּ֙tə·ḇaš·šə·lūboilH1310
√ bâshal — properly, to boil upVerbPielImperfectsecond person masculine plural
אֲשֶֽׁר־’ă·šer-whatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
בַּשֵּׁ֔לוּbaš·šê·lūyou want to boilH1310
√ bâshal — properly, to boil upVerbPielImperativemasculine plural
הַנִּ֧יחוּhan·nî·ḥūThen set asideH5117
√ nûwach — to rest, iVerbHifilImperativemasculine plural
The imperative hannîchû ("give rest to / lay up") quietly makes the act of storing manna itself a participation in the rest being commanded.
וְאֵת֙wə·’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כָּל־kāl-whateverH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
הָ֣עֹדֵ֔ףhā·‘ō·ḏêp̄remainsH5736
√ ʻădaph — to be (causatively, have) redundantArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
לָכֶ֛םlā·ḵem
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
לְמִשְׁמֶ֖רֶתlə·miš·me·reṯand keep itH4931
√ mishmereth — watch, iPreposition-lNounfeminine singular
עַד־‘aḏ-untilH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
הַבֹּֽקֶר׃hab·bō·qermorningH1242
√ bôqer — properly, dawn (as the break of day)ArticleNounmasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
in the Hebrew there is no article either here or in Exodus 16:25 . The absence of the article indicates that it is a new thing which is announced—if not absolutely, at any rate to those to whom the announcement is made.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
a cessation or resting ; Heb. shabbâthôn (analogous in form to shiddâphôn, blasting , Deuteronomy 28:22 , timmâhôn, astonishment, ib. v. 28, zikkârôn, memorial , Exodus 12:14 , &c.), akin to shabbâth (‘sabbath’): there is nothing in the word to suggest the idea of
A careful philological note on the rare noun shabbâthôn; the bracketed source-labels (P) are Cambridge's, not the editor's.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
the rest of the sabbath is not opposed to their baking or seething of it, but to their going out into the field to gather it.
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
It is perfectly clear from this event, that the Israelites were not acquainted with any sabbatical observance at that time, but that, whilst the way was practically opened, it was through the decalogue that it was raised into a legal institution
24“So they set it aside until morning as Moses had commanded, and i…”+

24So they set it aside until morning as Moses had commanded, and it did not smell or contain any maggots.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yan·nî·ḥū ’ō·ṯōw ‘aḏ- hab·bō·qer ka·’ă·šer mō·šeh ṣiw·wāh wə·lō hiḇ·’îš lō- hā·yə·ṯāh bōw wə·rim·māh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And they set it to rest until the morning, as Moses had commanded; and it did not stink, neither was there a maggot in it.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיַּנִּ֤יחוּ "they set it aside" again renders the Hiphil of nûach (H5117), "caused to rest." The verb deliberately echoes the command of 16:23: the people rest the manna on the eve of the day they will rest themselves.
  • הִבְאִ֔ישׁ "smell" is the Hiphil of bâ'ash (H887), "to stink, become foul" — the precise verb used in 16:20 when hoarded manna rotted. The English "smell" is neutral; the Hebrew is the stench of corruption, and its absence here is the miracle.
  • וְרִמָּ֖ה "any maggots" renders rimmâh (H7415), "a maggot (as rapidly bred)." This rare word (only 7 occurrences) elsewhere marks decay and death — the worm of Sheol (Isaiah 14:11) and of frail mortality (Job 25:6). Its non-appearance signals that the Sabbath portion is, by divine charge, preserved from corruption.
Word by word13 · parsed+
וַיַּנִּ֤יחוּway·yan·nî·ḥūSo they set it asideH5117
√ nûwach — to rest, iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
The waw-consecutive way-yannîchû reports obedience: what was commanded (hannîchû, v.23) is now done. The narrative measures Israel by whether word and deed match.
אֹתוֹ֙’ō·ṯōwH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular
עַד־‘aḏ-untilH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
הַבֹּ֔קֶרhab·bō·qermorningH1242
√ bôqer — properly, dawn (as the break of day)ArticleNounmasculine singular
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רka·’ă·šerasH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative
מֹשֶׁ֑הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
צִוָּ֣הṣiw·wāhhad commandedH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular
וְלֹ֣אwə·lōand it did notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
הִבְאִ֔ישׁhiḇ·’îšsmellH887
√ bâʼash — to smell badVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular
hib'îsh deliberately recalls 16:20, where manna kept against the command "bred worms and stank." Poole's comment captures the contrast: "the difference between the doing of a thing upon God's command... and against his will."
לֹא־lō-[or]H3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
הָ֥יְתָהhā·yə·ṯāhcontainH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person feminine singular
בּֽוֹ׃bōw. . .
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
וְרִמָּ֖הwə·rim·māhany maggotsH7415
√ rimmâh — a maggot (as rapidly bred), literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
rimmâh (H7415) is a low-frequency lexeme (7 verses) that lexically ties this verse to the canon's poetry of decay; here its very absence preaches that obedience preserves what disobedience rots.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
So great a difference there is between the doing of a thing upon God’s command, and with his blessing, and the doing of the same thing against his will, and with his curse.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
it showed that there was an interposition of divine Providence in the keeping of it to this day, and clearly confirmed it to be the will of God that this day should henceforward be to them the rest of the holy sabbath.
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
When they kept manna against a command, it stank; when they kept it by a command, it was sweet and good; every thing is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
in not breeding worms, it is essentially different from the manna furnished to the Israelites.
JFB compares the wilderness manna with the naturally occurring tamarisk gum (also called "manna") of the region and concludes the two are essentially different — the gum cannot be baked or boiled (Exodus 16:23) and does breed worms; the very non-corruption of v.24 is one of the marks that sets the biblical manna apart as miraculous.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
On the morning of the seventh, this was found to be perfectly good, and not to have "bred worms" in the night. Either this was a miracle, or the corruption previously noticed (ver. 20) was miraculous.
25““Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the L…”+

25“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find anything in the field.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’iḵ·lu·hū hay·yō·wm mō·šeh way·yō·mer kî- hay·yō·wm šab·bāṯ Yah·weh hay·yō·wm lō ṯim·ṣā·’u·hū baś·śā·ḏeh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And Moses said: Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

Where the English smooths the original

  • אִכְלֻ֣הוּ "Eat it today" is a single imperative-with-suffix, 'iklûhû (H398), "eat it!" — the object (the manna) is fused into the verb. The day of rest is also a day of provided eating; rest and feast are joined, not opposed.
  • שַׁבָּ֥ת Here shabbâth (H7676) still lacks the article — "a sabbath to YHWH" — consistent with 16:23. Ellicott: "By these words the Sabbath was either instituted, or re-instituted, and became thenceforth binding on the Israelites."
  • בַּשָּׂדֶֽה "in the field" (ba-sâdeh, H7704) localizes the prohibition: the manna's normal place of gathering is the open field beyond the camp. The Sabbath ban is concrete and spatial — do not go out to the field — not yet the abstract "no work" of the Decalogue.
Word by word12 · parsed+
אִכְלֻ֣הוּ’iḵ·lu·hūEat it todayH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperativemasculine pluralthird person masculine singular
The threefold drumbeat of hay-yôwm ("today... today... today," vv. words 1, 5, 8) presses the day's singularity: this one day stands apart from the six.
הַיּ֔וֹםhay·yō·wm. . .H3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
כִּֽי־kî-becauseH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
הַיּ֖וֹםhay·yō·wmtodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
שַׁבָּ֥תšab·bāṯis a SabbathH7676
√ shabbâth — intermission, iNouncommon singular
shabbâth laYHWH, "a sabbath belonging to YHWH" — the lamed of possession makes the day God's own, not the people's leisure.
לַיהוָ֑הYah·wehto the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
הַיּ֕וֹםhay·yō·wmTodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
לֹ֥אlōyou will notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
תִמְצָאֻ֖הוּṯim·ṣā·’u·hūfind anythingH4672
√ mâtsâʼ — properly, to come forth to, iVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine pluralthird person masculine singular
timtsâ'ûhû (H4672), "you shall find it," carries the third-person suffix "it" (the manna). The promise is also a test: those who go looking will find emptiness, as v.27 records.
בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃baś·śā·ḏehin the fieldH7704
√ sâdeh — a field (as flat)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
By these words the Sabbath was either instituted, or re-instituted, and became thenceforth binding on the Israelites.
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
The practical observance of the Sabbath was thus formally instituted before the giving of the law. The people were to abstain from the ordinary work of every day life
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
God took away the opportunity for their labour, to signify how holy he would have the Sabbath kept.
The Geneva note here is the marginal gloss keyed to "find it in the field."
26“For six days you may gather, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath…”+

26For six days you may gather, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be there.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

šê·šeṯ yā·mîm til·qə·ṭu·hū haš·šə·ḇî·‘î ū·ḇay·yō·wm šab·bāṯ yih·yeh- bōw lō

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day — a sabbath — there shall be none in it.

Where the English smooths the original

  • שֵׁ֥שֶׁת "For six days" renders the construct numeral shesheth (H8337). The cadence "six days... but the seventh" is the exact rhythm that the fourth commandment will later inscribe (Exodus 20:9–10); the manna teaches the pattern before the law engraves it.
  • תִּלְקְטֻ֑הוּ "you may gather" is tilqetûhû (H3950) — the gleaning-verb of the whole chapter — with the suffix "it." The permission is bounded: gather it the six days, not the seventh.
  • שַׁבָּ֖ת "the Sabbath" — BSB supplies "the," but the Hebrew shabbâth is again anarthrous, in apposition to "the seventh day." The day is defined by its character (cessation) before it is fixed as a proper name.
Word by word9 · parsed+
שֵׁ֥שֶׁתšê·šeṯFor sixH8337
√ shêsh — six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the hand)Numbermasculine singular construct
shesheth yâmîm, "six days," establishes the work-week as the frame within which gathering is licit; the seventh is carved out as exception.
יָמִ֖יםyā·mîmdaysH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural
תִּלְקְטֻ֑הוּtil·qə·ṭu·hūyou may gatherH3950
√ lâqaṭ — properly, to pick up, iVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine pluralthird person masculine singular
The verb governs the rest of the chapter's logic: gathering is the labor; its cessation is the Sabbath. Gill notes the repetition is deliberate, "being a new thing, to impress it on their minds."
הַשְּׁבִיעִ֛יhaš·šə·ḇî·‘îbut on the seventhH7637
√ shᵉbîyʻîy — seventhArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
וּבַיּ֧וֹםū·ḇay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
שַׁבָּ֖תšab·bāṯthe SabbathH7676
√ shabbâth — intermission, iNouncommon singular
יִֽהְיֶה־yih·yeh-it will not be [there]H1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yihyeh (H1961) with the negative "none in it" turns absence itself into the lesson: the field will testify to the rhythm of grace by withholding on the seventh.
בּֽוֹ׃bōw. . .
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
לֹ֥אlō. . .H3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath; which is repeated, being a new thing, to impress it on their minds: in it there shall be none: no manna; none shall fall, and so none can be gathered
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
On the seventh day God did not send the manna, therefore they must not expect it, nor go out to gather. This showed that it was produced by miracle.
27“Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, bu…”+

27Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find anything.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî haš·šə·ḇî·‘î bay·yō·wm min- hā·‘ām yā·ṣə·’ū lil·qōṭ wə·lō mā·ṣā·’ū

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And it came to pass on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather — and they did not find.

Where the English smooths the original

  • יָצְא֥וּ "went out" is yâtse'û (H3318), "to go forth." The same verb names the Exodus itself (Israel "went out" of Egypt). Here it is misused: a going-out in disobedience, against the command that none should "leave his place" (v.29).
  • מָצָֽאוּ "find anything" is mâtsâ'û (H4672), "they found" — bluntly without an object: "they found not." The terse Hebrew lets the emptiness land. Their labor met the void God had promised in v.25–26.
  • מִן־הָעָ֖ם "some of the people" — the partitive min marks that this was not all Israel but a faction. Barnes notes this "first violation of the express command" was strikingly not met with "a manifestation of wrath."
Word by word9 · parsed+
וַֽיְהִי֙way·hîYetH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔יhaš·šə·ḇî·‘îon the seventhH7637
√ shᵉbîyʻîy — seventhArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
בַּיּ֣וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
מִן־min-some ofH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition
The partitive min (H4480) preserves the truth that disobedience is a faction's choice, not the whole congregation's — Israel is not yet condemned wholesale.
הָעָ֖םhā·‘āmthe peopleH5971
√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular
יָצְא֥וּyā·ṣə·’ūwent outH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
yâtse'û (Qal perfect) frames the act as completed defiance; the going-out into the field is the very thing v.29 will forbid.
לִלְקֹ֑טlil·qōṭto gatherH3950
√ lâqaṭ — properly, to pick up, iPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
וְלֹ֖אwə·lōbut they did notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
מָצָֽאוּ׃סmā·ṣā·’ūfind anythingH4672
√ mâtsâʼ — properly, to come forth to, iVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
mâtsâ'û with no object — the sentence simply stops at "and they found not." The Masoretic setumah marker (ס) after the word closes the scene on their failure.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
This was an act of willful disobedience. It is remarkable, being the first violation of the express command, that it was not visited by a signal chastisement: the rest and peace of the "holy Sabbath" were not disturbed by a manifestation of wrath.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
There will always be some persons in a nation, or in a Church, who will refuse to believe God's ministers, and even God himself. They persuade themselves that they "know better"
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
Their unfaithfulness was so great, that they did exactly the opposite of God's commandment.
28“Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep M…”+

28Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·yō·mer ’el- mō·šeh ‘aḏ- ’ā·nāh mê·’an·tem liš·mōr miṣ·wō·ṯay wə·ṯō·w·rō·ṯāy

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the LORD said to Moses: How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?

Where the English smooths the original

  • מֵֽאַנְתֶּ֔ם "will you refuse" is me'antem (H3985, Piel), "you have refused" — a perfect, plural "you all." Though Moses is addressed, the verb is plural: the people refuse. The English future "will you refuse" loses that the Hebrew already indicts a settled pattern.
  • מִצְוֺתַ֖י "My commandments" is mitswôthay (H4687), "My charges, My precepts." Strong's notes it can stand "collectively, the Law." These are God's binding orders, not advice.
  • וְתוֹרֹתָֽי "and instructions" renders tôrôthay (H8451), the plural of tôrâh — "My teachings / directions," the very word that becomes "the Torah." Strong's: "a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch." "Instructions" is accurate but undersized for so weighty a term.
Word by word10 · parsed+
יְהוָ֖הYah·wehThen the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
מֹשֶׁ֑הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
עַד־‘aḏ-How longH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
'ad-'ânâh, "until where/when" — the formula of divine exasperation, the same reproachful "how long" of Numbers 14:11 and the Psalms. It is the question of a long-suffering God, not a sudden one.
אָ֙נָה֙’ā·nāh. . .H575
√ ʼân — where?Adverb
מֵֽאַנְתֶּ֔םmê·’an·temwill you refuseH3985
√ mâʼên — to refuseVerbPielPerfectsecond person masculine plural
me'antem is plural: God speaks to Moses but charges the people. Poole hears in it that disobedience "was an old disease in them." Ellicott softens it: God "made allowance for the ordinance being a new one."
לִשְׁמֹ֥רliš·mōrto keepH8104
√ shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), iPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
מִצְוֺתַ֖יmiṣ·wō·ṯayMy commandmentsH4687
√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)Nounfeminine plural constructfirst person common singular
וְתוֹרֹתָֽי׃wə·ṯō·w·rō·ṯāyand instructionsH8451
√ tôwrâh — a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or PentateuchConjunctive wawNounfeminine plural constructfirst person common singular
The pairing mitswôth + tôrôth (commandments and teachings) is the standard Hebrew merism for the whole revealed will of God — already invoked before Sinai, showing Israel was under obligation prior to the Decalogue.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
Thus they provoked God a second time; yet was He “so merciful, that He destroyed them not,” but “turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath” ( Psalm 78:38 ). Apparently He made allowance for the ordinance being a new one, to which they were not yet accustomed.
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
The prohibition involved a trial of faith, in which as usual the people were found wanting. Every miracle formed some part, so to speak, of an educational process.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
Though Moses is addressed, it is the people who are blamed. Hence the plural verb, "refuse ye ."
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
He signifies that this was an old disease in them, to disobey God’s precepts, and to pollute his sabbaths.
29“Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why …”+

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.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

rə·’ū kî- Yah·weh nā·ṯan lā·ḵem haš·šab·bāṯ ‘al- kên haš·šiš·šî bay·yō·wm hū nō·ṯên lā·ḵem le·ḥem yō·w·mā·yim haš·šə·ḇî·‘î bay·yō·wm ’îš šə·ḇū taḥ·tāw ’al- ’îš yê·ṣê mim·mə·qō·mōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

See, for the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He is giving you on the sixth day bread of two days. Stay, each man, where he is; let no man go out from his place on the seventh day.

Where the English smooths the original

  • רְא֗וּ "Understand" renders re'û (H7200), the plain imperative "see! / look!" — the verb of sight pressed into the service of insight. The Pulpit Commentary corrects the AV's "See, for that" to "See, that" — i.e., "consider that..."
  • נָתַ֣ן "has given" is nâthan (H5414), perfect: the Sabbath is a completed gift, not a burden imposed. Benson: God "hath granted to you... the great privilege of it." The day is grace before it is law.
  • שְׁב֣וּ "everyone must stay" is shebû (H3427), "sit / remain / dwell." Paired with tachtâw ("under himself"), Barnes notes the idiom "seems almost to enjoin a position of complete repose" — the posture of one who sits, legs drawn under, at rest.
  • תַּחְתָּ֗יו "where he is" flattens tachtâw (H8478), literally "under him / in his under-place." Barnes: "in his place is literally under himself." The Hebrew pictures stillness in one's own appointed spot, not merely a vague location.
Word by word24 · parsed+
רְא֗וּrə·’ūUnderstandH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)VerbQalImperativemasculine plural
כִּֽי־kî-thatH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
יְהוָה֮Yah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
נָתַ֣ןnā·ṯanhas givenH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
nâthan ha-shabbâth — the Sabbath is the object of divine giving; the same verb ("give") governs the manna in the next clause. Both rest and bread are gifts from the same open hand.
לָכֶ֣םlā·ḵemyou
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
הַשַּׁבָּת֒haš·šab·bāṯthe SabbathH7676
√ shabbâth — intermission, iArticleNouncommon singular
ha-shabbâth now appears with the article — the first articular "the Sabbath" in the chapter (cf. anarthrous vv.23, 25). The Pulpit Commentary marks this shift: the new thing is now the known thing.
עַל־‘al-that is whyH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
כֵּ֠ןkên. . .H3651
√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb
הַשִּׁשִּׁ֖יhaš·šiš·šîon the sixthH8345
√ shishshîy — sixth, ordArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
בַּיּ֥וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
ה֣וּאhūHeH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
נֹתֵ֥ןnō·ṯênwill giveH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
לָכֶ֛םlā·ḵemyou
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
לֶ֣חֶםle·ḥembreadH3899
√ lechem — food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)Nounmasculine singular construct
יוֹמָ֑יִםyō·w·mā·yimfor two daysH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmd
הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃haš·šə·ḇî·‘îOn the seventhH7637
√ shᵉbîyʻîy — seventhArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
בַּיּ֥וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
אִ֣ישׁ’îševeryoneH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
שְׁב֣וּ׀šə·ḇūmust stayH3427
√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgeVerbQalImperativemasculine plural
shebû tachtâw, "sit, each under himself," generated the whole later tradition of the "Sabbath day's journey" (Acts 1:12), as Ellicott and Gill note — the rabbis fixing how far one might go without "leaving his place."
תַּחְתָּ֗יוtaḥ·tāwwhere he isH8478
√ tachath — the bottom (as depressed)Prepositionthird person masculine singular
אַל־’al-noH408
√ ʼal — not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative)Adverb
אִ֛ישׁ’îšoneH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
יֵ֥צֵאyê·ṣêmay leaveH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹmim·mə·qō·mōwhis placeH4725
√ mâqôwm — properly, a standing, iPreposition-mNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
mimmeqômô (H4725, "from his place/standing") is, Cambridge observes, a different word from tachtâw in the prior clause — Hebrew varies the term for "place," which the English levels to one.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
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.
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
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, Leviticus 23:3 ; Acts 15:21 ; and to lead their cattle to watering, or to help them out of a pit, Luke 13:15 ; and a sabbath day’s journey was permitted, Acts 1:12 .
Benson reads the prohibition narrowly — against going out to gather manna — and lists the standing exceptions later Scripture grants: assembling for worship (Leviticus 23:3; Acts 15:21), tending livestock (Luke 13:15), and the permitted "sabbath day's journey" (Acts 1:12).
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
the command understood as having forbidden persons to leave the camp on the Sabbath. Hence the “Sabbath Day’s journey,” which was fixed at six stadia, because that was (traditionally) the extreme distance from the centre of the camp to its furthest boundary.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
in his place ] where he is : see in the Hebrews 10:23 , Habakkuk 3:16 al. ( Lex. 1065b 2a). His place in the following clause is in the Heb. quite different.
Cambridge flags that the two phrases rendered "place" translate two different Hebrew words.
30“So the people rested on the seventh day.”+

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·‘ām way·yiš·bə·ṯū haš·šə·ḇi·‘î bay·yō·wm

Literal — word-for-word from the original

So the people rested on the seventh day.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיִּשְׁבְּת֥וּ "rested" is way-yishbethû (H7673), "and they ceased / kept sabbath" — the verb shâbath from which "sabbath" itself is named. Cambridge renders it "desisted (from work), or, kept sabbath." The English "rested" is true but loses that the people are now doing the verb the day is named for.
  • הַשְּׁבִעִֽי "on the seventh" is ha-shebi'î (H7637), closing the chapter on the same ordinal that opened the Sabbath theme in v.23. The frame is complete: a sixth-day surplus, a seventh-day cessation.
Word by word4 · parsed+
הָעָ֖םhā·‘āmSo the peopleH5971
√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular
וַיִּשְׁבְּת֥וּway·yiš·bə·ṯūrestedH7673
√ shâbath — to repose, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
way-yishbethû is the narrative seal of the whole unit: the cognate verb of "sabbath" finally describes Israel's action. What was commanded (v.26), tested (v.27), and rebuked (v.28) is now simply, quietly obeyed. Gill: "so they continued to do in successive generations."
הַשְּׁבִעִֽי׃haš·šə·ḇi·‘îon the seventhH7637
√ shᵉbîyʻîy — seventhArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
The ordinal shebi'î recurs once more, binding the episode shut; the people's rest matches the day's name and God's own pattern in Genesis 2:2–3.
בַּיּ֥וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
rested ] desisted (from work), or, kept sabbath. See on Exodus 20:8 .
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
Did not attempt to go out of their tents in quest of manna, as on other days, and observed it as a day of rest from labour, and so they continued to do in successive generations.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
Or ceased , to wit, from gathering manna , by comparing this with Exodus 16:27 , and consequently from all works of that nature.
✣

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The sixth-day surprise — 16:22

The unit opens on a quiet anomaly: on the sixth day the people lâqaṭ mishneh lechem — "gathered a doubling of bread" — and the nesi'e ha-'edah, the "lifted-up ones of the congregation," come and tell plainly (Hiphil of nagad) to Moses. John Gill (1746–63) stresses they acted blind to the cause: "it does not appear that Moses had as yet acquainted them what was to be... gathered on this day... only he was told by him that so it would be, and accordingly it came to pass." Albert Barnes (1834) reads the doubling as evidence "that the seventh day was previously known to the people... an ancient and primeval institution," while Keil & Delitzsch (1860s) frame the whole episode theologically: "God bestowed His gift in such a manner, that the Sabbath was sanctified by it." Whether the Sabbath is here re-instituted or first revealed is the unit's hinge question, and the commentators divide on it honestly.

ii. "A holy sabbath to the LORD" — the anarthrous word — 16:23, 16:25

Moses answers with a word of YHWH: shabbâthôn qôdesh shabbâth laYHWH — "a sabbath-keeping, a holy sabbath to the LORD." The rare noun shabbâthôn (only ten occurrences in all Scripture) is, as Cambridge (1880s) notes, simply "a cessation or resting... there is nothing in the word to suggest the idea of 'solemn.'" Ellicott (1878) builds his whole case on a missing article: "in the Hebrew there is no article either here or in Exodus 16:25. The absence of the article indicates that it is a new thing which is announced." By 16:29 the article appears ("the Sabbath"), tracing in grammar the day's passage from novelty to known institution. Ellicott again: "By these words the Sabbath was either instituted, or re-instituted, and became thenceforth binding on the Israelites."

iii. The kept portion that did not corrupt — 16:24

The reserved manna, given rest (Hiphil of nûach) until morning, "did not stink (bâ'ash), neither was there a maggot (rimmâh) in it" — a pointed reversal of 16:20, where hoarded manna "bred worms and stank." Matthew Poole (1685) draws the lesson sharply: "So great a difference there is between the doing of a thing upon God's command... and the doing of the same thing against his will, and with his curse." Gill sees in the preservation "an interposition of divine Providence... that this day should henceforward be to them the rest of the holy sabbath." Matthew Henry (1706) compresses the whole lesson into a single antithesis: "When they kept manna against a command, it stank; when they kept it by a command, it was sweet and good; every thing is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." The same act — keeping manna overnight — rots under disobedience and is preserved under command. (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown add that this very trait — "in not breeding worms" — is one of the marks distinguishing the biblical manna from the natural tamarisk gum of the region.)

iv. The going-out that found nothing — 16:26–16:28

Against the rhythm "six days... but the seventh," some of the people went out (yâtse'û) to gather and found not. Barnes marks the restraint of the response: this "first violation of the express command... was not visited by a signal chastisement." The divine reproach — 'ad-'ânâh me'antem, "how long do you refuse?" — is plural though Moses is addressed; the Pulpit Commentary notes "it is the people who are blamed. Hence the plural verb." Poole hears an old wound reopened: "this was an old disease in them, to disobey God's precepts." Yet Ellicott presses the mercy: God "made allowance for the ordinance being a new one, to which they were not yet accustomed," citing Psalm 78:38 — "He destroyed them not."

v. "Stay, each man, where he is" — and so the people rested — 16:29–16:30

The climax doubles "give": the LORD has given the Sabbath and therefore gives double bread — gift answering gift. Benson (1810s): God "hath granted to you... the great privilege of it." The command shebû tachtâw, "sit, each under himself," is, says Barnes, "unique and seems almost to enjoin a position of complete repose." From this single verse grew the rabbinic "Sabbath day's journey" (Ellicott, citing the six-stadia camp radius; cf. Acts 1:12). The unit ends in one short clause — way-yishbethû, "and they kept sabbath" — the verb that names the day at last describing the people's act. Gill: "so they continued to do in successive generations."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under Sola Scriptura, before a single tablet is engraved at Sinai, God teaches the Sabbath not by statute but by provision: He withholds the manna on the seventh day and over-gives it on the sixth, so that rest is learned as a gift one receives rather than a labor one performs. The chapter's grammar carries its theology — shabbâth arrives first without the article ("a sabbath," vv.23, 25) and only later with it ("the Sabbath," v.29), as a new mercy hardens into a known institution. And the same verb governs both halves of v.29: God gives the day and gives the bread. This is my fallible reading, offered to be tested: the manna-Sabbath is the gospel of rest in miniature — you cannot store up enough to be secure, and you cannot work the day God has set apart; you can only trust the hand that doubles the portion. The bread that did not rot under command (v.24) and the bread that could not be found by self-will (v.27) together preach that creaturely security is received, never seized.

Rest was given before it was commanded — the manna taught the Sabbath that the tablets would later only engrave.

⚙Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The doubled portion foretold (internal back-reference) verbal / quotation — confirmed

The sixth-day surplus of 16:22 is the literal fulfillment of the prediction in 16:5, and the gathering language continues in 16:16. The Verifier records a strong internal verbal link: this passage and 16:5 share the rare lexemes mishneh ("double," H4932) and shishshî ("sixth," H8345) alongside the chapter's working verb lâqaṭ ("gather," H3950). The narrative is quoting its own earlier announcement.

Exodus 16:5 · Exodus 16:16

basis: shared lexemes within Exodus 16: H4932 mishneh (in 34 vv), H8345 shishshîy (in 26 vv), H3950 lâqaṭ (in 34 vv) — an internal back-reference fulfilling 16:5's prediction

"A holy sabbath to the LORD" — the Priestly Sabbath formula verbal / quotation — confirmed

The phrase shabbâthôn ... qôdesh ... shabbâth laYHWH in 16:23 recurs nearly word-for-word in the great Sabbath statutes (Exodus 31:15; 35:2) and the festal calendar (Leviticus 23:3). The Verifier flags the rare term shabbâthôn (H7677), found in only ten verses of the entire Hebrew Bible — its scarcity makes the shared wording a genuine verbal/formulaic link, not a coincidence of common vocabulary. Cambridge independently lists exactly these cross-references as the technical Priestly idiom.

Exodus 16:23 · Exodus 31:15 · Exodus 35:2 · Leviticus 23:3

basis: shared rare lexeme H7677 shabbâthôwn (in 10 vv) + H7676 shabbâth (in 89 vv) + H6944 qôdesh (in 382 vv); the fixed formula 'a holy sabbath to YHWH'

The worm that did not breed (rimmâh as the mark of decay) structural / thematic — confirmed

That the kept manna bred no rimmâh ("maggot," 16:24) gains weight against the canon's use of the same rare word for corruption and death — the worm of fallen Babylon (Isaiah 14:11) and of frail mortality (Job 25:6; 7:5; 24:20). The link is lexical but the connection is thematic, not a quotation: rimmâh (H7415, only 7 occurrences) is the shared token, and its absence in Exodus 16:24 is precisely what makes the contrast preach. Marked structural/thematic rather than verbal because no passage cites another — they only share a motif-word.

Exodus 16:24 · Isaiah 14:11 · Job 25:6

basis: shared rare motif-lexeme H7415 rimmâh (in 7 vv); a shared theme of decay/corruption, with no quotation claim — its absence here inverts the motif

Gathering and the omer (the gleaning motif) structural / thematic — confirmed

The chapter's lâqaṭ ("gather/glean," H3950) and the measure ʻômer (H6016) reappear together in Ruth's gleaning narrative (Ruth 2:7, 2:15). The Verifier surfaces the shared lexemes, but honesty requires a downgrade: ʻômer means a dry measure in Exodus and a sheaf in Ruth, and there is no claim of one text quoting the other. The bond is the shared agricultural motif of gathering daily provision, not verbal dependence.

Exodus 16:22 · Ruth 2:7 · Exodus 16:18

basis: shared lexemes H3950 lâqaṭ (in 34 vv) + H6016 ʻômer (in 14 vv); a gleaning/daily-provision motif — ʻômer carries different senses (measure vs. sheaf), so no quotation is claimed

Six days... but the seventh — the Decalogue pattern structural / thematic — confirmed

The cadence of 16:26 — shesheth yâmîm... ha-shebi'î shabbâth, "six days... the seventh, a sabbath" — is the exact rhythm later engraved in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8–11) and the cessation language sealed in 16:30 with shâbath (H7673), the very verb from which 'sabbath' is named. The manna teaches the work/rest pattern before Sinai legislates it. Cambridge ties 16:30's "rested" forward to Exodus 20:8 explicitly.

Exodus 16:26 · Exodus 16:30 · Exodus 20:8

basis: shared six-day/seventh-day cessation pattern; cognate verb H7673 shâbath (16:30) and the ordinal H7637 shᵉbîyʻîy linking to the Sabbath command — a pattern, not a quotation

And they kept sabbath — the creation rest behind the wilderness rest structural / thematic — confirmed

When 16:30 closes with way-yishbethû ... ba-yôwm ha-shebi'î — "and they rested on the seventh day" — it reaches back to the only prior seventh-day rest in Scripture: God Himself, who on the seventh day shâbath ("ceased") from all His work and blessed and hallowed it (Genesis 2:2–3). The Verifier records the shared cognate verb shâbath (H7673) and the ordinal shᵉbîyʻîy (H7637); the bond is the seventh-day cessation pattern, not a quotation. This is exactly the disputed seam in the unit: Matthew Henry, Benson, and Barnes hear in Israel's ready response (16:22) proof that the Sabbath was "known... from the beginning, Ge 2:3," the most ancient of divine laws merely recalled here; Keil & Delitzsch and Ellicott hear instead a new institution whose "way was practically opened" before Sinai engraved it. The shared vocabulary establishes the link; it does not settle the debate.

Exodus 16:30 · Genesis 2:2 · Genesis 2:3

basis: shared cognate verb H7673 shâbath (in 67 vv) + ordinal H7637 shᵉbîyʻîy (in 94 vv); a shared seventh-day-cessation pattern, not a quotation — the very link the commentators dispute (primeval institution vs. new mercy)

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The true Bread from heaven ancient/widely-held

The manna of Exodus 16 — bread given from heaven, gathered fresh each day, sufficient and not to be hoarded — is the figure our Lord takes up in John 6: "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ... I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:49–51). The link is typological and cross-Testament; it cannot rest on shared Strong's numbers (Greek to Hebrew), but it rests on Christ's own explicit appropriation of the manna narrative. That the Sabbath portion did not corrupt (16:24) deepens the figure: the Bread of Life is not subject to decay. This reading is ancient and widely held, drawn from the Lord's words themselves.

Exodus 16:24 · John 6:31-35 · John 6:49-51

The rest that remains for the people of God ancient/widely-held

The Sabbath given in the wilderness — rest received as gift, not seized by labor (16:29–30) — opens into the New Testament's larger theology of rest: Christ's invitation, "Come to Me... and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28); His declaration that "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27, cited by Barnes on this very passage); and Hebrews' "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). Paul names the Sabbath "a shadow of the things to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:16–17). Cross-Testament and typological: not a verbal/Strong's link, but a figural reading in which the wilderness Sabbath prefigures the rest found in Christ. Ancient and widely held, though the precise relation of Sabbath to the Christian Lord's Day is contested among the traditions.

Exodus 16:29 · Exodus 16:30 · Hebrews 4:9-10 · Mark 2:27

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Three honesty notes specific to this unit. (1) Source-critical labels. Several voices here (Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch) speak of "P" (the Priestly source) and reconstruct the narrative's original placement. Those bracketed labels are the commentators' own and are reproduced verbatim where quoted; this synthesis cites them for their lexical observations (e.g., that nesi'e ha-'edah and le-mishmereth are fixed technical phrases) without endorsing their documentary-hypothesis frame. (2) Tier discipline on the Verifier output. The Verifier returns "verbal / quotation — confirmed" for every shared-lexeme pair, but this author has down-tiered two of them to "structural / thematic": the Ruth gleaning link (where ʻômer shifts sense from measure to sheaf) and the rimmâh decay link (a shared motif-word, not a citation). Shared vocabulary is not the same as quotation, and under-claiming is preferred. (3) Christ-links are cross-Testament. Both christological threads (manna→John 6; Sabbath rest→Hebrews 4) join Hebrew to Greek and therefore cannot be carried by shared Strong's numbers; they are tiered typological and rest on the New Testament's own explicit appropriation of these texts, not on lexical overlap. The standing question the commentators dispute — whether the Sabbath was a primeval institution (Genesis 2:3) merely recalled here, or a genuine novelty first promulgated to Israel — is left open in the synthesis, as the Hebrew evidence (the moving article on shabbâth) genuinely cuts both ways. (4) The natural-manna comparison. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (cited at 16:24) compare the biblical manna with the tamarisk gum of the Sinai region that locals also call "manna," and conclude the two are "essentially different" — the gum cannot be baked or boiled (16:23) and does breed worms. That comparison is a nineteenth-century naturalist observation, reproduced verbatim for its bearing on the non-corruption miracle of v.24; the synthesis cites it for that contrast, not as a settled identification of the substance, and the text's own claim is theological (a portion preserved by divine charge), not botanical.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)