Exodus 16:29
in Exodus 16Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
KJV
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
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This verse in Exodus 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseMoreover in regard to the celebrated sabbath, a careful reader will see that the command, "You shall sit each one in your dwellings; let none of you go out from his place on the sabbath day," is an impossible one to observe literally, for no living creature could sit for a whole day and not move from his seat.
This site's exposition
the Lord hath given you the sabbath
on Exodus 16:29-30
The day is described as something given, and the double portion on the sixth day is given because the rest is given. The restriction that follows, abide ye every man in his place, is read by most commentators as staying out of the field rather than staying indoors, and the later rabbinic sabbath limit on how far a man may walk is drawn from this verse. Verse 30 reports the people resting on the seventh day, which is the first rest the narrative records of anyone but God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Abide ye every man in his place - The expression in Hebrew is unique and seems almost to enjoin a position of complete repose: “in his place” is literally under himself, as the Oriental sits with his legs drawn up under him. The prohibition must however be understood with reference to its immediate object; they were not to go forth from their place in order to gather manna, which was on other days without the camp. The spirit of the law is sacred rest. The Lord gave them this Sabbath, as a blessing and privilege.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Though it may be exhaled by the heat and afterwards fall with the dew, it is a medicine, not food--it is well known to the natives of the desert, while the Israelites were strangers to theirs; and in taste as well as in the appearance of double quantity on Friday, none on Sabbath, and in not breeding worms, it is essentially different from the manna furnished to the Israelites.
Abide ye every man in his place - Neither go out to seek manna nor for any other purpose; rest at home and devote your time to religious exercises. Several of the Jews understood by place in the text, the camp, and have generally supposed that no man should go out of the place, i.e., the city, town, or village in which he resides, any farther than one thousand cubits, about an English mile, which also is called a Sabbath day’s journey, Act 1:12; and so many cubits they consider the space round the city that constitutes its suburbs, which they draw from Num 35:3, Num 35:4. Some of the Jews have carried the rigorous observance of the letter of this law to such a length, that in whatever posture they find themselves on the Sabbath morning when they awake, they continue in the same during the day; or should they be up and happen to fall, they refuse even to rise till the Sabbath be ended! Mr. Stapleton tells a story of one Rabbi Solomon, who fell into a slough on the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, and refused to be pulled out, giving his reason in the following Leonine couplet: - Sabbatha sancta colo De stereore surgere nolo. “Out of this slough I will not rise For holy Sabbath day I prize.” The Christians, finding him thus disposed determined he should honor their Sabbath in the same place, and actually kept the poor man in the slough all Sunday, giving their reasons in nearly the same way: - Sabbatha nostra quidem, Solomon, celebrabis ibidem. “In the same slough, thou stubborn Jew, Our Sabbath day thou shalt spend too.” This might have served to convince him of his folly, but certainly was not the likeliest way to convert him to Christianity. Fabyan, in his Chronicles, tells the following story of a case of this kind. […]
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רְא֗וּ | reu | consider | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָה֮ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נָתַ֣ן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָכֶ֣ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| הַשַּׁבָּת֒ | hashabat | the sabbath | H7676 → | 110 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֠ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [is] giving | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשִּׁשִּׁ֖י | hashishi | <the> sixth | H8345 → | 28 times |
| לֶ֣חֶם | lechem | bread of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| יוֹמָ֑יִם | yomayim | two days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| שְׁב֣וּ׀ | shevu | remain | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| תַּחְתָּ֗יו | tachtav | in place his | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יֵ֥צֵא | yetze' | him go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹ | mimekomo | from place his | H4725 → | 401 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃ | hashevii | <the> seventh | H7637 → | 98 times |
רְא֗וּconsider
reuH7200 →1300 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְהוָה֮Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
נָתַ֣ןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
לָכֶ֣םto <the> you
lakhem
הַשַּׁבָּת֒the sabbath
hashabatH7676 →110 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֠ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[is] giving
notenH5414 →2011 times
לָכֶ֛םto <the> you
lakhem
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַשִּׁשִּׁ֖י<the> sixth
hashishiH8345 →28 times
לֶ֣חֶםbread of
lechemH3899 →298 times
יוֹמָ֑יִםtwo days
yomayimH3117 →2304 times
שְׁב֣וּ׀remain
shevuH3427 →1079 times
אִ֣ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
תַּחְתָּ֗יוin place his
tachtavH8478 →505 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יֵ֥צֵאhim go out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
אִ֛ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹfrom place his
mimekomoH4725 →401 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃<the> seventh
hasheviiH7637 →98 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 31:13“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:20
Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:12
I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 20:8–11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:30
You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
- Exodus 31:17
It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
- Ezekiel 20:20
Through
Nehemiah 9:14You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
it leads to
- Genesis 2:3
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.
- Genesis 2:3
Through
Ezekiel 20:12I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 37:28
Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”
- Leviticus 21:23
but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”
- Ezekiel 37:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Exodus
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.3.2.