Exodus 16 - Introduction

Chapter 16 God Provides Manna and Quails for His People - The Sign of the Seventh Day (Exodus 16:2).

In this chapter God provides both meat and ‘bread' for His people. The passage continues to reveal chiastic patterns, a pattern which also appears in Leviticus and predominates in the book of Numbers (see our commentary). The chapter can be divided into two. Up to Exodus 16:15 it deals specifically with the promise of bread from heaven and the provision of the manna and the quails, and the remainder deals with various provisions and especially the institution of the Sabbath. This is then concluded in the final few verses by describing the storing up of the manna as a memorial.