To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord. — Heb., to morrow is a rest of a holy Sabbath to Jehovah. If the translation of the Authorised Version were correct, the previous institution of the Sabbath, and the knowledge, if not the observance, of it by the Israelites would be necessarily implied, since no otherwise would the double use of the article be intelligible. But in the Hebrew there is no article either here or in Exodus 16:25. The absence of the article indicates that it is a new thing which is announced — if not absolutely, at any rate to those to whom the announcement is made. Much, no doubt, may be said in favour of a primæval institution of the Sabbath (see the comment on Genesis 2:2-3); and its observance in a certain sense by the Babylonians (see the first Note on Exodus 16:5) is in favour of its having been known to the family of Abraham; but during the Egyptian oppression the continued observance would have been impossible, and the surprise of the elders, as well as the words of Moses, show that at this time the idea was, to the Israelites, practically a novelty.
Bake... Seethe. — These directions imply a very different substance from any of the natural forms of manna. The heavenly “gift” could be either made into a paste and baked, or converted into a porridge.