Bible Strands
Numbers 15:32
While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records an event during the Israelite wilderness journey where a man is discovered collecting wood on the Sabbath day. The account appears in the narrative sequence following the declaration of Sabbath violation penalties.
The words — The Hebrew מְקֹשֵׁשׁ (me.ko.shesh) denotes the active process of gathering or collecting, paired with עֵצִים ('e.tzim) for wood. The narrative verb וַ/יִּמְצְא֗וּ (va/i.yim.tze.u) indicates the people discovered the man in the act.
The thread — The Sabbath restriction against work and gathering appears in Exodus 35:2 and Exodus 16:23, while Exodus 16:27 records people attempting to gather on the seventh day without success. These passages establish the Sabbath as a day of complete rest commanded by the LORD.
Why it lands — The verse presents a factual record of a Sabbath violation that requires judicial response. It establishes the concrete boundary of the Sabbath command before detailing the congregation's reaction in the following verse.
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 while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
Cross-references
- Exodus 35:2 For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
- Exodus 16:23 He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Then set aside whatever remains and keep it until morning.’”
- Exodus 16:27 Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find anything.
- Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Exodus 31:14 Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people.