Exodus 16:18
in Exodus 16When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
KJV
And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
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This verse in Exodus 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe that gathered much had nothing over - Because his gathering was in proportion to the number of persons for whom he had to provide. And some having fewer, others more in family, and the gathering being in proportion to the persons who were to eat of it, therefore he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.
This site's exposition
gather as much as he needs
on Exodus 16:16-18
Verse 18 reports that he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Paul quotes that line at 2 Corinthians 8:15 when he asks one church to even out a collection for another.
This site's exposition
When they measured it by the omer
Adam Clarke explains the even result by the size of each household, since every man gathered for the number who ate in his tent. Measured by the omer, large and small families came out level.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The glory of the Lord - An extra-ordinary and sudden brightness. And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God - This gave proof of his power as the Lord, and his particular favour to them as their God; when God plagued the Egyptians, it was to make them know that he is the Lord; when he provided for the Israelites, it was to make them know that he was their God.
And when they did mete it with an omer,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Had nothing over - Whatever quantity each person had gathered, when he measured it in his tent, he found that he had just as many omers as he needed for the consumption of his family.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּמֹ֣דּוּ | vaiyamodu | and they measured [it] | H4058 → | |
| בָעֹ֔מֶר | vaomer | by the omer | H6016 → | 14 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶעְדִּיף֙ | he'dif | he had a surplus | H5736 → | 9 times |
| הַמַּרְבֶּ֔ה | hamarbeh | the [one who] made much | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וְהַמַּמְעִ֖יט | vehamamit | and the [one who] made little | H4591 → | 22 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶחְסִ֑יר | hechsir | he had a lack | H2637 → | |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְפִֽי־ | lefi- | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אָכְל֖וֹ | ʾakhelo | food his | H400 → | 43 times |
| לָקָֽטוּ׃ | lakatu | they had gathered | H3950 → | 37 times |
וַיָּמֹ֣דּוּand they measured [it]
vaiyamoduH4058 →
בָעֹ֔מֶרby the omer
vaomerH6016 →14 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הֶעְדִּיף֙he had a surplus
he'difH5736 →9 times
הַמַּרְבֶּ֔הthe [one who] made much
hamarbehH7235 →227 times
וְהַמַּמְעִ֖יטand the [one who] made little
vehamamitH4591 →22 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הֶחְסִ֑ירhe had a lack
hechsirH2637 →
אִ֥ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְפִֽי־to [the] mouth of
lefi-H6310 →498 times
אָכְל֖וֹfood his
ʾakheloH400 →43 times
לָקָֽטוּ׃they had gathered
lakatuH3950 →37 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
On this chapter
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.