Exodus 16:6 kjv
And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
Exodus 16:6 nkjv
Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 16:6 niv
So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,
Exodus 16:6 esv
So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
Exodus 16:6 nlt
So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 16 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Note |
|---|---|---|
| Exo 6:6-7 | "Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD... and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians... and you shall know that I am the LORD your God...'" | God's initial promise to deliver and make Himself known |
| Exo 7:5 | "The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." | God revealing Himself through judgment and deliverance |
| Exo 14:18 | "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." | God revealing Himself through the Red Sea miracle |
| Exo 16:2-3 | "The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron... 'Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots...'" | Immediate context of Israel's complaining |
| Exo 16:7-8 | "In the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD... For what are we, that you grumble against us? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD." | Connecting evening revelation to morning glory, grumbling against God |
| Exo 32:11 | "But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, 'O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?'" | Reminding God of His great act of deliverance |
| Num 11:20 | "...until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. Because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, 'Why did we come out of Egypt?'" | Israelites' rejection of God and desire for Egypt |
| Num 14:27 | "How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me." | God's repeated acknowledgement of grumbling |
| Num 16:28 | "And Moses said, 'By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord:'" | God proving the authority of His chosen leaders |
| Deut 4:34 | "Or has any god attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm... as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" | Uniqueness of God's deliverance for Israel |
| Deut 8:2 | "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." | Wilderness as a place of testing and knowing |
| Psa 78:24-25 | "and He rained down manna upon them to eat... Man ate of the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance." | Remembering God's miraculous provision of manna |
| Psa 105:40 | "They asked, and He brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance." | Recalling the specific provisions of quail and manna |
| Isa 45:6 | "that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other." | God's universal revelation of His unique sovereignty |
| Neh 9:15 | "You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them." | Acknowledging God's sustenance in the wilderness |
| Jn 6:31-32 | "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness... Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.'" | Foreshadowing of Christ as the true Bread of Life |
| Jn 17:3 | "And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." | New Covenant understanding of "knowing God" |
| 1 Cor 10:9 | "We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents." | Warning against tempting God as Israel did |
| Heb 3:10 | "Therefore, I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known My ways.'" | God's perspective on their lack of "knowing" |
| Judg 6:8-9 | "thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you..." | A later prophet reminding Israel of God's deliverance |
| Rev 15:3 | "And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!'" | Cosmic remembrance of God's deliverance in salvation history |
Exodus 16 verses
Exodus 16 6 Meaning
Exodus 16:6 communicates Moses and Aaron's assurance to the Israelites that the visible divine provision about to occur would prove unmistakably that it was the LORD, Yahweh, who had delivered them from Egyptian bondage. This was God's direct response to their murmuring and distrust, transforming their complaints into a profound experiential knowing of His covenantal faithfulness and identity as their sole deliverer and provider.
Exodus 16 6 Context
Exodus 16 is set approximately a month and a half after the Israelites' miraculous departure from Egypt and their crossing of the Red Sea. They had just arrived in the Wilderness of Sin after passing through Elim. Despite experiencing numerous divine interventions, including the plagues and the Red Sea deliverance, the people quickly fell into despair and grumbling when their food supplies ran out. Their complaint was against Moses and Aaron, wishing they had died in Egypt, thereby implicitly blaming God for bringing them into a place of scarcity. This verse, Exodus 16:6, serves as Moses and Aaron's divinely inspired reply. It sets the stage for God's provision of quail in the evening and manna in the morning, which would unmistakably demonstrate His ongoing care and identity as the one who genuinely liberated them from slavery. It frames the coming miracles not merely as provision, but as a proof, designed to lead them to "know" who brought them out of Egypt and why they should trust Him. This revelation functions as a direct counter-narrative to their doubts, challenging their assumption that they would have been better off dying in Egypt, and affirming God's continued faithfulness.
Exodus 16 6 Word Analysis
- So Moses and Aaron said: This signifies the divine authority and intermediary role of Moses and Aaron. They are spokesmen for God, delivering a prophetic word directly answering the people's grumbling (Exo 16:2).
- to all the Israelites: The message is for the entire community, highlighting the collective nature of their complaint and the communal experience of God's coming revelation and provision. God addresses the entire nation, not just their leaders.
- In the evening (בָּעֶרֶב - ba'erev): This specifies the precise timing of the first manifestation of God's proof. Historically, quail appeared in the evening (Exo 16:13). This specific timing is significant, aligning with the Jewish understanding of a day beginning at sunset and hinting at the specific sequence of God's provisions: quail in the evening, manna in the morning.
- you will know (וִידַעְתֶּם - vi'da'tem): From the Hebrew root yada (ידע), meaning to know, to perceive, to discern, often with an experiential and intimate connotation. It is not merely intellectual recognition but an acknowledgment gained through personal experience and undeniable evidence. It signifies a profound understanding forged by direct observation of God's action. The wilderness trials were designed for Israel to "know" God and themselves (Deut 8:2-3).
- that it was the LORD (כִּי יְהוָה - ki YHWH): This is the core theological statement. "The LORD" is YHWH, the personal, covenant name of the God of Israel. This phrase emphasizes God's self-revelation. The Israelites had forgotten, or questioned, the identity of their Deliverer in their immediate distress. God is asserting His identity and His sovereign agency. This statement directly refutes any notion that their deliverance was by human power, chance, or another deity; it was singularly the act of YHWH. This carries a strong polemic against the numerous Egyptian deities and the human tendency to ascribe credit to secondary causes.
- who brought you out (הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם - hotzi etchem): From the verb yatsa (יצא), to go out, to bring out. This verb is foundational to the Exodus narrative, repeated numerous times (e.g., Exo 12:51, 13:3). It anchors God's present act of provision to His past act of deliverance, reminding Israel of the central event of their national formation and covenant. God is consistently the one who brings His people out of bondage and into His freedom.
- of Egypt (מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם - me'eretz Mitzrayim): Refers to the land of their bitter slavery. This repeated phrase firmly connects God's ongoing work to their recent, foundational experience as a redeemed people. It counters their wish to return to the 'meat pots' of Egypt (Exo 16:3) by highlighting the true nature of their former residence as a place of slavery, not abundance.
Words-group Analysis:
- "In the evening you will know": This phrase functions as a divine prophecy and promise of immediate, undeniable evidence. It indicates a temporal distinction between their current ignorance and their imminent enlightenment, signaling that God's demonstration will occur quickly and clearly.
- "that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt": This constitutes the crucial theological assertion. It reframes the current crisis and its impending solution back to the defining event of their nationhood—the Exodus. It underscores that the same God who delivered them from powerful Egypt is still with them and able to provide in the desolate wilderness. This connection implicitly communicates that their present hardship does not negate His past powerful redemption, but rather provides another context for His continued faithfulness and care. The "knowing" is specifically about who was ultimately responsible for their entire journey.
Exodus 16 6 Bonus section
- The frequent "knowing that I am the LORD" (e.g., Exo 7:17; 8:10, 22; 9:14, 29; 10:2; 14:4, 18) serves as a motif throughout Exodus, establishing God's sovereignty not only over Israel but also over Pharaoh and the natural world. This verse applies that same principle to the grumbling Israelites, revealing God's patient yet firm resolve to ensure His people understand His true identity.
- The wilderness served as a divine classroom, where God stripped away their previous supports to teach them complete reliance on Him, fostering a knowledge of His character that could not have been learned otherwise (Deut 8:3). Their faith was tested (Deut 8:2) to bring them to this experiential knowing.
- This verse subtly rebukes any latent polytheism or a naturalistic worldview among the Israelites that might attribute their escape to chance or lesser powers. God’s self-declaration through His acts asserts His exclusive and omnipotent agency.
- The evening-morning sequence of the quail and manna is intentional, teaching them daily dependence and revealing different aspects of God's glory—the quail often seen as an answer to their fleshly desire for "meat," and the manna as their spiritual and daily provision, foreshadowing the "true bread from heaven" in Christ.
Exodus 16 6 Commentary
Exodus 16:6 captures a pivotal moment where divine authority confronts human grumbling, aiming to re-establish a foundational truth for the murmuring Israelites. Facing a crisis of food in the wilderness, their complaints revealed a deeper spiritual ailment: they had forgotten or were questioning who truly led them out of Egypt. Moses and Aaron, speaking with God's authority, declare that the upcoming visible provision (quail) will serve as irrefutable proof. This proof isn't merely about sustenance; it's a profound lesson in God's unchanging character and covenantal faithfulness.
The phrase "you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt" links the immediate wilderness experience with their very identity as a liberated people. Their grumbling effectively denied God's authorship of their Exodus. By providing quail, and then manna, God directly addressed this denial. He chose to answer their rebellious murmuring not with immediate judgment, but with demonstration of His unwavering power and care. This process was designed for them to gain an experiential "knowing" (Hebrew yada), transforming intellectual awareness into an intimate conviction that the God of the plagues, the Red Sea, and now the wilderness, was the singular, true, and active deity committed to His covenant people. It's a vivid lesson in recognizing God's hand in all circumstances, even in His allowing for seasons of want and dependence, which ultimately serve to deepen faith and bring glory to His name.