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Exodus 16:1

in Exodus 16

On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

KJV

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

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This verse in Exodus 16

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
The the wilderness of Sin - The desert tract, called Debbet er Ramleh, extend nearly across the peninsula from the Wady Nasb in a south-easterly direction, between the limestone district of Et Tih and the granite of Sinai. The journey from the station at Elim, or even from that on the Red Sea, could be performed in a day: at that time the route was kept in good condition by the Egyptians.

This site's exposition

came unto the wilderness of Sin

on Exodus 16:1-2

Numbers 33:3 dates the departure from Egypt to the fifteenth day of the first month, so the fifteenth of the second month is a month to the day since they walked out. Whatever food came out of Egypt has run out on schedule. This is the third of four complaints in four chapters, after the sea at 14:11 and the bitter water at 15:24, and the fourth comes at Rephidim in 17:2.

The record, by era

The Reformation1 voice

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

proposed

And they took their journey. Moses relates, that, when after a month the people came to the wilderness of Sin near Mount Sinai, and when their provision failed, they rebelled against God and Moses, and manna, a new and unusual kind of food, was given them from heaven. It is uncertain with what foods they were sustained in the meantime.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And they took their journey from Elim,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

This passage represents the Israelites as advanced into the great plain, which, beginning near El-Murkah, extends with a greater or less breadth to almost the extremity of the peninsula. In its broadest part northward of Tur it is called El-Kaa, which is probably the desert of Sin [ROBINSON].

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The wilderness of Sin - This desert lies between Elim and Sinai, and from Elim, Dr. Shaw says, Mount Sinai can be seen distinctly. Mr. Ainsworth supposes that this wilderness had its name from a strong city of Egypt called Sin, near which it lay. See Eze 30:15, Eze 30:16. Before they came to the wilderness of Sin, they had a previous encampment by the Red Sea after they left Elim, of which Moses makes distinct mention Num 33:10, Num 33:11. The fifteenth day of the second month - This was afterwards called Ijar, and they had now left Egypt one month, during which It is probable they lived on the provisions they brought with them from Rameses, though it is possible they might have had a supply from the seacoast. Concerning Mount Sinai, See Clarke’s note on Exo 19:1.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

They journeyed from Eilim, and the entire community of the B’nei Yisrael came to the desert of Sin, which is between Eilim and Sinai.
Targum · Onkelos Exodus 16:1, via Sefaria, Metsudah Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009 [with Onkelos translation]

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּסְעוּ֙and they set out

    vaiyisuH5265 →146 times

  • מֵֽאֵילִ֔םfrom Elim

    meeilimH362 →6 times

  • וַיָּבֹ֜אוּand they came

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • עֲדַ֤ת[the] congregation of

    ʾadatH5712 →149 times

  • בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מִדְבַּר־[the] wilderness of

    midbar-H4057 →270 times

  • סִ֔יןSin

    sinH5512 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בֵּין־[is] between

    bein-H996 →407 times

  • אֵילִ֖םElim

    ʾeilimH362 →6 times

  • וּבֵ֣יןand between

    uveinH996 →407 times

  • סִינָ֑יSinai

    sinaiH5514 →35 times

  • בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨הon [the] fif-

    bachamishahH2568 →343 times

  • עָשָׂ֥רteen

    ʾasarH6240 →338 times

  • יוֹם֙day

    yomH3117 →2304 times

  • לַחֹ֣דֶשׁof the month

    lachodeshH2320 →284 times

  • הַשֵּׁנִ֔י<the> second

    hasheniH8145 →156 times

  • לְצֵאתָ֖םof going out their

    letzetamH3318 →1067 times

  • מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of

    meeretzH776 →2504 times

  • מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 33:10–12They set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.5 worksExodus 17:1Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.3 worksExodus 19:1In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.3 worksNumbers 33:11They set out from the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.3 worksExodus 15:27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.2 worksNumbers 33:15They set out from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 30:15–16I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the crowds of Thebes.0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 15:27

    Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 22:2

      down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month.…

    • Revelation 7:17

      For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

    • Numbers 33:9

      They set out from Marah and came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

    • Isaiah 12:3

      With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,

    • Ezekiel 47:12

      Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from…

  • Through

    Exodus 17:1

    Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 19:2

      After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

    • Numbers 33:12–14

      They set out from the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

    • Exodus 17:8

      After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 16 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 16 →