Bible Strands
Exodus 16:8
And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite congregation in the wilderness after they voice hunger complaints. He responds to their immediate demand for food while redirecting the target of their grievance.
The words — בָּשָׂר (ba.Sar) means meat or flesh, paired with לֶחֶם (Le.chem) for bread, specifying the exact provisions Yahweh will supply. These concrete terms ground the promise in physical sustenance rather than vague comfort.
The thread — The principle that opposition to God’s appointed messengers equals opposition to God appears in 1 Samuel 8:7, Luke 10:16, and Romans 13:2. These references trace a consistent biblical pattern where grumbling against human leadership is ultimately grumbling against divine authority.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that complaints directed at spiritual intermediaries are complaints against God. It demands that grievances be addressed to Yahweh rather than displaced onto human agents.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.
Cross-references
- Romans 13:2 Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
- 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
- Luke 10:16 Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
- Numbers 14:27 “How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8 Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- Numbers 21:7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people.
- Exodus 16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’”
- Exodus 16:12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
- Isaiah 32:6 For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
- Isaiah 37:29 Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’