16:16 “This is what 3 the Lord has commanded: 4 ‘Each person is to gather 5 from it what he can eat, an omer 6 per person 7 according to the number 8 of your people; 9 each one will pick it up 10 for whoever lives 11 in his tent.’”
1 tn Heb “and it will be on the sixth day.”
2 sn There is a question here concerning the legislation – the people were not told why to gather twice as much on the sixth day. In other words, this instruction seems to presume that they knew about the Sabbath law. That law will be included in this chapter in a number of ways, suggesting to some scholars that this chapter is out of chronological order, placed here for a purpose. Some argue that the manna episode comes after the revelation at Sinai. But it is not necessary to take such a view. God had established the Sabbath in the creation, and if Moses has been expounding the Genesis traditions in his teachings then they would have known about that.
3 tn Heb “the thing that.”
4 tn The perfect tense could be taken as a definite past with Moses now reporting it. In this case a very recent past. But in declaring the word from Yahweh it could be instantaneous, and receive a present tense translation – “here and now he commands you.”
5 tn The form is the plural imperative: “Gather [you] each man according to his eating.”
6 sn The omer is an amount mentioned only in this chapter, and its size is unknown, except by comparison with the ephah (v. 36). A number of recent English versions approximate the omer as “two quarts” (cf. NCV, CEV, NLT); TEV “two litres.”
7 tn Heb “for a head.”
8 tn The word “number” is an accusative that defines more precisely how much was to be gathered (see GKC 374 §118.h).
9 tn Traditionally “souls.”
10 tn Heb “will take.”
11 tn “lives” has been supplied.