THIRD MURMURING. SENDING OF THE MANNA 1. Pursuing their march southward, the Israelites come at the end of the first month after their departure from Egypt to the WILDERNESS OF SIN, forming the SW. border of the peninsula: see on Exodus 15:22. All the stations in the march are not mentioned. In Num... [ Continue Reading ]
This was the third murmuring. The first was at Pi-hahiroth (Exodus 14:10), the second at Marah (Exodus 15:24). The supplies which the Israelites had brought with them out of Egypt being now exhausted, they expect to perish with hunger, and begin to regret having left Egypt, where, with all their har... [ Continue Reading ]
A CERTAIN RATE EVERY DAY] RV 'a day's portion every day': see Exodus 16:16. THAT I MAY PROVE THEM] The miracle had a moral purpose. It was intended not merely to satisfy their hunger, but to teach them dependence upon God and obedience to Him. The goodness of God should lead to repentance (Romans 2:... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SIXTH DAY] the day before the sabbath, an indication that the sabbath was known previous to the giving of the law at Sinai: see on Exodus 20:8. On the method of preparing the manna, see Numbers 11:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL KNOW] by the quails.... [ Continue Reading ]
BEFORE THE LORD] This common phrase denotes the place where God specially manifests Himself: see Exodus 16:33; Exodus 16:34. Here it seems to mean at the pillar of fire in front of the host.... [ Continue Reading ]
TOWARD THE WILDERNESS] As they are at present in the wilderness, this must mean 'towards the interior of the wilderness,' in the direction of the march and the guiding pillar. THE GLORY OF THE LORD] Here a special radiance is meant. God's self-manifestation is frequently accompanied with an appearan... [ Continue Reading ]
QUAILS] The quail is a bird belonging to the partridge family, about 7 in. long, and of a buff colour. Its flesh is considered a great delicacy. Quails are migratory. In spring vast flocks pass northwards from the interior of Africa to Syria, crossing the peninsula of Sinai in their flight. They als... [ Continue Reading ]
IT _IS_ MANNA] Heb. 'what is it?' so rightly in RV. What is now known as manna is a sweet gum which exudes from various shrubs and from the tamarisk tree, and is used medicinally. None of its varieties corresponds to the description given here. These are found only in small quantities, in special lo... [ Continue Reading ]
AN OMER is a little more than seven pints. Ten omers make an ephah, which is. roughly, equal to a bushel: see Exodus 16:36. The pint measure is called a 'log': see e.g. Leviticus 14:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
METE] i.e. measure: cp. Matthew 7:2. The total quantity of manna amounted exactly to an omer per head. This is evidently regarded here as miraculous, and designed to check want of trust and greed on the one hand and over anxiety on the other. Those who gathered too much wasted their labour, and thos... [ Continue Reading ]
God's gift is spoiled by selfish and miserly hoarding.... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY MORNING] cp. the petition 'Give us this day our daily bread.'... [ Continue Reading ]
See on Exodus 16:5. The divine sanction of the sabbath is shown by the cessation of the manna on that day as well as by the double quantity sent on the previous day. The people are to observe the sabbath by resting from the labour of gathering manna: see Exodus 16:30. Those who faithlessly and disob... [ Continue Reading ]
LET NO MAN GO OUT OF HIS PLACE] Jewish legalists interpreted this commandment to mean strictly that throughout the sabbath day a man must maintain the same posture in which he was found at its commencement. As this was practically impossible it was held to be allowable to walk on the sabbath day a d... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TESTIMONY] the Law which 'testifies' to God's will, inscribed on the two tables of stone and deposited in the ark (Exodus 25:16), which is accordingly called the 'ark of the testimony' (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 4:5) and sometimes simply 'the testimony'; see Numbers 17:4. The tent containing the ark... [ Continue Reading ]
See Joshua 5:10.... [ Continue Reading ]