Exo 16:21-27 | NETfull | STEP | So they gathered it each morning, each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.

Exodus 16:21-27

21 So they gathered it each morning, ^{▼▼ Heb “morning by morning.” This is an example of the repetition of words to express the distributive sense; here the meaning is “every morning” (see GKC 388 #121.c).} each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt. ^{▼▼ The perfect tenses here with vav (ו) consecutives have the frequentative sense; they function in a protasis-apodosis relationship (GKC 494 #159.g).} 22 And ^{▼▼ Heb “and it happened/was.”} on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers ^{▼▼ This construction is an exception to the normal rule for the numbers 2 through 10 taking the object numbered in the plural. Here it is “two of the omer” or “the double of the omer” (see GKC 433 #134.e).} per person; ^{▼▼ Heb “for one.”} and all the leaders ^{▼▼ The word suggests “the ones lifted up” above others, and therefore the rulers or the chiefs of the people.} of the community ^{▼▼ Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).} came and told ^{▼▼ The meaning here is probably that these leaders, the natural heads of the families in the clans, saw that people were gathering twice as much and they reported this to Moses, perhaps afraid it would stink again (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 197).} Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, ^{▼▼ The noun שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton) has the abstract ending on it: “resting, ceasing.” The root word means “cease” from something, more than “to rest.” The Law would make it clear that they were to cease from their normal occupations and do no common work.} a holy Sabbath ^{▼▼ The technical expression is now used: שַׁבַּת־קֹדֶשׁ (shabbat-qodesh, “a holy Sabbath”) meaning a “cessation of/for holiness” for Yahweh. The rest was to be characterized by holiness.} to the Lord. Whatever you want to ^{▼▼ The two verbs in these objective noun clauses are desiderative imperfects – “bake whatever you want to bake.”} bake, bake today; ^{▼▼ The word “today” is implied from the context.} whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area. ^{▼▼ Heb “in the field” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); NAB, NIV, NLT “on the ground.”} 26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing.