1 And they journey from Elim, and all the company of the sons of Israel come in unto the wilderness of Sin, which [is] between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt.

2 And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness ;

3 and the sons of Israel say unto them, 'Oh that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, in our sitting by the flesh-pot, in our eating bread to satiety — for ye have brought us out unto this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.'

4 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Lo, I am raining to you bread from the heavens — and the people have gone out and gathered the matter of a day in its day — so that I try them whether they walk in My law, or not ;

5 and it hath been on the sixth day, that they have prepared that which they bring in, and it hath been double above that which they gather day [by] day.'

6 And Moses saith — Aaron also — unto all the sons of Israel, 'Evening — and ye have known that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt ;

7 and morning — and ye have seen the honour of Jehovah, in His hearing your murmurings against Jehovah, and what [are] we, that ye murmur against us ?'

8 And Moses saith, 'In Jehovah's giving to you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety — in Jehovah's hearing your murmurings, which ye are murmuring against Him, and what [are] we ? your murmurings [are] not against us, but against Jehovah.'

9 And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Say unto all the company of the sons of Israel, Come ye near before Jehovah, for He hath heard your murmurings ;'

10 and it cometh to pass, when Aaron is speaking unto all the company of the sons of Israel, that they turn towards the wilderness, and lo, the honour of Jehovah is seen in the cloud.

11 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

12 'I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel ; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied [with] bread, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah your God.'

Note · Exode 16.1–12

La plainte reçoit une réponse matérielle

La faim n’est pas seulement un problème d’attitude religieuse. Dieu annonce une nourriture réelle. Le récit souligne aussi que les murmures contre les envoyés touchent la relation à celui qui les a mandatés, sans autoriser tout responsable à qualifier de révolte contre Dieu la moindre critique de sa conduite.

13 And it cometh to pass in the evening, that the quail cometh up, and covereth the camp, and in the morning there hath been the lying of dew round about the camp,

14 and the lying of the dew goeth up, and lo, on the face of the wilderness a thin, bare thing, thin as hoar-frost on the earth.

15 And the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, 'What [is] it ?' for they have not known what it [is] ; and Moses saith unto them, 'It [is] the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food.

16 'This [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded : Gather of it each according to his eating, an omer for a poll ; and the number of your persons, take ye each for those in his tent.'

17 And the sons of Israel do so, and they gather, he who is [gathering] much, and he who is [gathering] little ;

18 and they measure with an omer, and he who is [gathering] much hath nothing over, and he who is [gathering] little hath no lack, each according to his eating they have gathered.

19 And Moses saith unto them, 'Let no man leave of it till morning ;'

20 and they have not hearkened unto Moses, and some of them do leave of it till morning, and it bringeth up worms and stinketh ; and Moses is wroth with them.

21 And they gather it morning by morning, each according to his eating ; when the sun hath been warm, then it hath melted.

Note · Exode 16.13–21

Assez pour chacun plutôt qu’une réserve sans limite

La mesure est adaptée aux personnes de chaque tente. La conservation contraire à l’ordre reçu ne donne pas la sécurité espérée. Le passage décrit un régime de confiance particulier ; il ne condamne pas toute réserve alimentaire, mais met ici en question la volonté de se soustraire seul aux conditions données à tous.

22 And it cometh to pass on the sixth day, they have gathered a second bread, two omers for one, and all the princes of the company come in, and declare to Moses.

23 And he saith unto them, 'It [is] that which Jehovah hath spoken [of] ; a rest — a holy sabbath to Jehovah — [is] to-morrow ; that which ye bake, bake ; and that which ye boil, boil ; and all that is over, let rest for yourselves in charge till the morning.'

24 And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it.

25 And Moses saith, 'Eat it to-day, for to-day [is] a sabbath to Jehovah ; to-day ye find it not in the field :

26 six days ye do gather it, and in the seventh day — the sabbath — in it there is none.'

27 And it cometh to pass on the seventh day, some of the people have gone out to gather, and have not found.

28 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'How long have ye refused to keep My commands, and My laws ?

29 see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days ; abide ye each [in] his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.'

30 And the people rest on the seventh day,

Note · Exode 16.22–30

Le repos fait partie du don

La provision du sixième jour permet de ne pas sortir chercher le septième. Le repos n’est pas un oubli des besoins mais une manière de leur faire place autrement. L’apprentissage inclut des résistances : certains continuent de chercher, comme si cesser l’activité était impossible.

31 and the house of Israel call its name Manna, and it [is] as coriander seed, white ; and its taste [is] as a cake with honey.

32 And Moses saith, 'This [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded : Fill the omer with it, for a charge for your generations, so that they see the bread which I have caused you to eat in the wilderness, in My bringing you out from the land of Egypt.'

33 And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Take one pot, and put there the fulness of the omer of manna, and let it rest before Jehovah, for a charge for your generations ;'

34 as Jehovah hath given commandment unto Moses, so doth Aaron let it rest before the Testimony, for a charge.

35 And the sons of Israel have eaten the manna forty years, until their coming in unto the land to be inhabited ; the manna they have eaten till their coming in unto the extremity of the land of Canaan.

36 and the omer is a tenth of the ephah.

Note · Exode 16.31–36

Conserver une mémoire sans conserver pour soi

Un échantillon est gardé pour les générations, à la différence des réserves personnelles interdites plus tôt. La fonction n’est pas la même : il s’agit de transmettre le souvenir de la nourriture reçue. Le regard sur les quarante années dépasse déjà le seul jour que le récit vient de raconter.