16:22–30 Sabbath. The revelation of Sabbath as sacred time is a crucial event in the P History (16:22–26). It inaugurates the wilderness journey, which signals the initial reclaiming of the lost structure of creation from Genesis 1. The verbal form of “Sabbath,” šābat, means “to rest.” The seventh day of creation is made holy, qādaš, in the creation story of the P History, because God rested (šābat) from work (Gen 2:1–3). The P History is a quest to reclaim the lost origin of creation from Genesis 1. The revelation of manna brings the ideal structure of creation into focus for the Israelites, because God does not provide food on the day of divine rest. The six-day rhythm of manna reveals that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is holy to Yahweh, set apart from the other days of the week. Thus the wilderness journey brings the Israelites one step closer to the goal of salvation history. As a result, the location for the recovery of Sabbath is memorialized at the specific setting, the wilderness of Sin.

The date of the manna in the wilderness of Sin is carefully noted, month 2, day 15. The reemergence of Sabbath in human history is accompanied by a new appearance of God as the Glory of Yahweh (see the commentary above). Sabbath will continue to play a central role in the P History. The revelation of the Decalogue (20:8–11) and the formation of the tabernacle cult (31:12–17; 35:2–3) will strengthen the structure of the Sabbath in creation. But even further clarification will be required in the second stage of the wilderness journey in Num 15:32–41.

Exodus 16:27–30 recounts the Non-P version of the Israelite failure to observe the law. The failure is the opposite of the account in the P History, where the people horded the food for the next day (16:20). In the Non-P History the people take the food for granted by not observing the law of limitation, which required that they collect a two-day portion for the Sabbath. In the Non-P History some of the Israelites seek to glean manna on the Sabbath like every other morning (16:27), thus illustrating their assumption that food will always be abundant and that it is not dependent on God. The disobedience, however, is not followed by divine punishment. Instead, Yahweh reiterates the law to Moses (16:28–29) underscoring that the people failed to observe Torah. The story of manna in the Non-P History is the first test of the Israelite people during their period of courtship before the revelation of law in chaps. 19–24. The section concludes with the people resting on the seventh day (16:30).

When the Non-P and P Histories are read together the Israelites break both parts of the law (see 16:4–5). They retain food for two days and they fail to collect a double amount of food for the Sabbath. They are guilty both of the sin of hording the food (the P History) and of taking it for granted (the Non-P History). Both acts violate the command to be dependent on Yahweh in the wilderness journey.