Preface: The people of Israel are upset again with Moses and Aaron, believing them responsible for carrying out a devious plan to have them starve in the desert-wilderness. God will provide both manna (bread) and quail for the people; and He will also institute a nascent Sabbath to be followed.

The Bible Summary of Exodus 16 (in 140 characters or less): The Israelites grumbled to Moses that they had no food, so each day the LORD provided quails and manna. They rested on the sabbath.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 16, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 16:

Introduction

         vv.     1–15         God Provides Logistical Grace for Israel in the Form of Manna and Quail

         vv.    15d–21       God Gives Israel Specific Instructions About Collecting Manna Each Day

         vv.    22–30         The Sabbath Is Introduced by Way of Collecting Manna

         vv.    31–36         A Pot of Manna Is Collected for a Permanent Memorial to God’s Grace

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Exodus 16 (a graphic)

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Exodus 16 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Exodus 16 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 16

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 16

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 16

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 16

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 16

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 16 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 16 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus 15–18)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Exodus 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 16)

         Introduction 

         v.       1              Exodus 16:1 (a graphic)

         v.       1              Wilderness of Sin (a graphic)

         v.       2              Exodus 16:1–2 briefly

         v.       2              Murmuring Against God (a graphic)

         v.       3              The People Murmur Against Moses (a graphic)

         v.       4              Exodus 16:3–4 briefly

         v.       4              Exodus 16:3–4 (a graphic)

         v.       5              Exodus 16:1–5 (NIV) (a graphic)

         v.       7              The Doctrine of Glory (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         v.       7              Exodus 16:6–7 briefly

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      12              Quail in Israel (a photo)

         v.      13              The Giving of Quail (a graphic)

         v.      14              A Brief Review of Exodus 16:11–14

         v.      16              Strange Picture of Israel in the Desert (a graphic)

         v.      17              Exodus 16:14–17 briefly

         v.      18              2Corinthinas 8:9–15 — Basic Exegesis

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      21              Manna—a summary so far

         v.      22              Applying Manna Instructions

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      29              The subtle change of voice

         v.      29              Exodus 16:22–28 briefly

         v.      31              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Manna

         v.      32              The Artifacts from Israel’s Past

         v.      33              Food Containers

         v.      33              Evidence that Exodus was mostly written as its events unfolded

         v.      33              Could the Book of Exodus Have Been Written Later?

         v.      33              When Was Exodus 16:35 Written?

         v.      34              Where or what is the testimony?

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 16 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 16

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 16

         Summary            A Brief Review of Exodus 16

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 16

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 16

         Addendum          The Doctrine of the Sabbath (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.—from notebook 1)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 16

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Exodus 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 16

——————————

An Introduction to Exodus 16

I ntroduction: Exodus 16 continues the series of tests for the people of Israel which we find in Exodus. Here, the people complain to Moses that they lack food and water. Then they suggest that they would have been better off, had they remained Egypt as slaves, enjoying pots of meat and other such foods, which they remember having in abundance.

The sons of Jacob failed on so many occasions. This chapter is more about their failure and God’s continued faithfulness.

Exodus 16 (a graphic); from YouTube; accessed August 24, 2022.

As the Israelites move further and further into the desert wilderness, there are no crops growing anywhere, and it seems impossible for the two million Israelites to be sustained in the desert-wilderness. There just is not enough of any sort of food product out there for such a massive collection of people.

We all have an idea in our minds of what this region looks like. Miles and miles of sand. However, that is not what it looked lack back at this time. The worldwide flood had occurred perhaps 2000–2500 years previous. The water table was relative high (that is how deep you must dig a well before you hit water). There would have been many trees, plants and bushes; and very few (if any) cacti. There was probably more rain in that era and there were lakes and rivers. On the other hand, this was all uncultivated, as it was a desert-wilderness (meaning that no people lived there). Therefore, there was not enough food to sustain the Israelites. And the Israelites were not going to stop and cultivate the land. They had places to go.

Whedon: In reading the narrative of the desert sojourn we are not to consider the people of Israel as constantly in motion. The greater part of the forty years they spent at fertile halting places in the desert wadies, where they scattered over several square miles for pasturage; and when they moved to another camping place it is probable that the cattle carried the water for their own use in leathern bottles or sacks, as Baker tells us that the cattle in the Abyssinian deserts do today. Holland, who has four times visited the Peninsula, and wandered over it for months on foot, sees no difficulty in finding pasturage for the flocks of the Israelites, and says that “it is wonderful how apparent difficulties melt away as one’s acquaintance with the country increases.” 

I postulate that the land was even more hospitable at that time, and that they had the best possible guide—God.

A small group today could travel in this region. However, Israel consisted of about two million people in total. So, even under the best of conditions, there would not be enough food in this wilderness to sustain them. That would have required cultivation, and that is not what God wanted them to do (when you cultivate a land, you are then tied to that land; and God did not want them to be tied to the Sinai desert).

Because it is clear to the people that there is not enough food and their food supplies had run out, they complained to Moses. They are not stopping to plant crops because they are simply moving through this region.

A delegation from the people ought to come to Moses and ask, “We have many promises from God; but we have no food to eat. What is our God going to do about that?” Unfortunately, that is not their attitude, or their understanding of the circumstances. Their complaint will be, “It is better if we died in Egypt at the hand of God; at least we would have had full stomachs.”

God chooses to feed them at this point—with bread from heaven, which will be called manna (meaning, what is it?). God would also provide them with quail to eat.

With this provision from God comes a requirement for the Israelites to observe the Sabbath. The word Sabbath occurs for the first time in this chapter (it occurs 4x in Exodus 16). There will be basic requirements to be followed by the Israelites which relate to the Sabbath and to the collecting of manna.

At the end of this chapter, there will be a description of the manna and its use which extends into the future. We certainly will need to sort this out when we come to it.

Timeline for Exodus 16

——————————

God Provides Logistical Grace for Israel in the Form of Manna and Quail

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Exodus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so they set out from Elim and came all a congregation of sons of Israel unto a desert-wilderness of Sin, which [is] between Elim and between Sinai in a five-teen day of the month the second regarding their departure from a land of Egypt.

Targum (Onkelos)                  And they came to Elim, and there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there before the waters. And they journeyed from Elim, and came, the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, to the desert of Sir, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month from their outgoing from the land of Mizraim. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

This targum places the final verse of Exodus 15 at the beginning of this chapter.

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And the whole congregation of Israel jour-neyed from Elim, and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the month of Ijar, the second month from their going forth from the land of Mizraim.

Revised Douay-Rheims         And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of B'nai Yisrael came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt..

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND they journeyed from Elim, and the whole congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Seen, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And they departed from Ælim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Ælim and Sina; and on the fifteenth day, in the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt,...

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And they went on their way from Elim, and all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they went out of the land of Egypt.

Easy English                          God sends bread and meat

Then all the Israelites left Elim and they came into the desert called Sin. This is between Elim and Sinai. They arrived in the desert on the 15th day of the second month after they had left the country called Egypt.

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  Israel Complains, So God Sends Food

Then all the Israelites left Elim. They reached the western Sinai desert,[a] between Elim and Mount Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month[b] after leaving Egypt.

God’s Word™                         The Lord Provides Manna and Quails for the Israelites to Eat

The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The Manna and the Quails

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.

The Message                         On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, the whole company of Israel moved on from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai.

NIRV                                      The Lord Gives Israel Food Every Day

The whole community of Israel started out from Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. It was between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.

New Simplified Bible              The whole congregation of Israelites moved from Elim to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left Egypt.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       On the fifteenth day of the second month after the Israelites had escaped from Egypt, they left Elim and started through the western edge of the Sinai Desert in the direction of Mount Sinai.

The Living Bible                     Now they left Elim and journeyed on into the Sihn Desert, between Elim and Mount Sinai, arriving there on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Bread in the Morning, Meat in the Evening

All the people of Israel left Elim, and came to the Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai. It was the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.

New Living Translation           Manna and Quail from Heaven

Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin [The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word sin.], between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. The Exodus had occurred on the fifteenth day of the first month (see Num 33:3).

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Thereafter, they left AiLim, and the entire gathering of the children of IsraEl traveled into the Sin Desert, which is between AiLim and Sinai. And on the fifteenth day of the second month from their leaving the land of Egypt,

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Wilderness food: manna and quail

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month[a] after they had left the land of Egypt.

International Standard V        Manna and Quail Provided

Later, they left Elim, and the whole congregation of the Israelis came to the desert [Or wilderness] of Sin, which lay between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Then, leaving Elim, the Israelite people marched to the desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai. It was now the fifteenth day of the second month since they had left Egypt.

Translation for Translators                                 Yahweh gave them quail and manna to eat

They/We left Elim, and all the Israeli people came to the desert named Sin. That is between Elim and Sinai Mountain. That was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they/we left Egypt.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       Traveling from Elim, the entire assembly of the Sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the 15th day of the 2nd month after they had gone out of the land of Egypt. That month was named Zif in those days; the name was changed to Iyar after the Exile. So they had been traveling for a month.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Mana Given.

Then the children of Israel marched from Ailim and came to Arath, in the Desert of Sin, which is between Ailim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month from their departure out of the land of the Mitzeraim.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And they came to Elim where were twelve wells of water and seventy date trees, and they pitched there by the water. And they took their journey from Elim, and all the whole company of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which lies between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month after that they were come out of the land of Egypt. Tyndale placed the final verse of Exodus 15 and began Exodus 16 with it.

HCSB                                     Manna and Quail Provided

The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh Provides Food in the Desert

And they set out from Elim, and all the community of the {Israelites} came to the desert of Sin, which [is] between Elim {and Sinai}, in the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt.

Tree of Life Version                .

Unlocked Literal Bible            The people journeyed on from Elim, and all the community of Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Urim-Thummim Version         And they continued their journey from Elim and all the company of the children of Israel came to the Desert of Sin, that is between Elim and Sinai, on the 15th day of the 2nd month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And they drove off from Eilim, and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Eilim and the Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month of their leaving the land of Egypt.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The Israelites left Elim and the entire community reached the desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt.

The Heritage Bible                 And they pulled up from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the desert of Siyn,¹ which is between Elim, and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second new moon after their going out of the land of Egypt.

¹ 16:1 Siyn, Wilderness of Sin in Bible dictionaries.

New American Bible (2002)   Having set out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

[1] On the fifteenth day of the second month: just one full month after their departure from Egypt. Cf ⇒ Exodus 12:2, ⇒ 51; ⇒ Numbers 33:3, 4. They encamped in the desert of Sin on a Friday; the murmuring (⇒ Exodus 16:2, 3) occurred on the sabbath, the arrival of the quail (⇒ Exodus 16:13) the evening before Sunday, followed by six mornings (⇒ Exodus 16:14-27) of collecting manna before the next sabbath.

New American Bible (2011)   The Wilderness of Sin.

Having set out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month* after their departure from the land of Egypt.

* [16:1] On the fifteenth day of the second month: just one full month after their departure from Egypt. Cf. 12:2, 51; Nm 33:3–4. The Septuagint takes the date to be the beginning of the Israelites’ grumbling.

New English Bible–1970        Elim to the desert of Sin - Manna and quails.

he whole community of the Israelites set out from Elim and came into the wilderness of Sin, which lies between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.

New Jerusalem Bible             Setting out from Elim, the whole community of Israelites entered the desert of Sin, lying between Elim and Sinai -- on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   And they pull stakes from Elim;

and all the witness of the sons of Yisra El

come to the wilderness of Sin

between Elim and Sinay

- on the fifteenth day of the second month

after departing from the land of Misrayim:...

Kaplan Translation                 . The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures 1998              And they set out from Ělim, and all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Ělim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their going out of the land of Mitsrayim.

Tree of Life Version                Manna From Heaven

They journeyed on from Elim, and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Awful Scroll Bible                   They were to pull up from Elim, even was the assembly of the sons of Isra-el coming into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the five and tenth day of the second moon month, that they are to be led out from the solid grounds of Egypt.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And they took their journey from Elim, and kol Adat Bnei Yisroel came unto the midbar of Siyn (pronounced "Seen"), which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of Eretz Mitzrayim.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Then moved they on from Elim, and all the assembly of the sons of Israel entered into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month, by their coming forth out of the land of Egypt.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Lord Provides Manna

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of ^[a]Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.

^[a] Pronounced “seen” in Hebrew, it means “the place.” Although the words are spelled the same in English, “Sin” is not related in any way to “sin” (an offense against God).

The Expanded Bible              The People Demand Food

The whole ·Israelite community [^L congregation/assembly of the sons/^T children of Israel] left Elim and came to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai; they arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-8

The Murmuring about the Food

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

The Voice                               Then the entire community of Israel departed from Elim and entered the desert of Sin, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from Egypt.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           They journeyed from Elim, and the entire community of the children of Israel came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Kaplan Translation                 Elim and Sin

They moved on from Elim, and the entire community of Israel came to the Sin Desert, between Elim and Sinai. It was the 15th of the second month after they had left Egypt.

Sin Desert

See note on Exodus 15:22; Numbers 11:33; Ezekiel 30:15,16. This is the plain along the edge of the Sinai plateau called Debbet er-Ramleh.

Shur Desert (Exodus 15:22)

See Genesis 16:7, 20:1, 25:18 (cf. Targum; Targum Yonathan). Josephus identifies this with the Pelusian Desert (Antiquities 6:7:3). Saadia, on the other hand identifies it with Jifur, an old name for Es Sur, south-west of the desert of Et-tih (Etham?) near Egypt. A number of sources identify Shur with Etham mentioned above (Exodus 13:20; see Numbers 33:8; Ibn Ezra; Bachya).

Along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, there is a strip of level land. The northern part of this is known as Shur, extending toward the Mediterranean, while the southern part is the Sin Desert (Exodus 16:1). Local traditions identify the first stop with Ayun Musa (the Springs of Moses), on the east side of the Gulf, 9 miles south of Suez and 1.5 miles from the coast.

the 15^th...

This was 30 days after the Exodus (see Exodus 12:6). Some say that this occurred in Alush (Numbers 33:13; Seder Olam Rabbah 5; Ramban). See note on Exodus 17:1.

The Geneva Bible                  And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of ^(a) Sin, which [is] between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

^(a) This is the eighth place in which they had camped, there is another place called Zin, which was the 33rd place in which they camped, and is also called Kadesh, (Num. 33:36).

NET Bible®                             The Provision of Manna

¹ When² they journeyed from Elim, the entire company³ of Israelites came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus⁴ from the land of Egypt.

^1sn Exod 16 plays an important part in the development of the book’s theme. It is part of the wider section that is the prologue leading up to the covenant at Sinai, a part of which was the obligation of obedience and loyalty (P. W. Ferris, Jr., “The Manna Narrative of Exodus 16:1-10,” JETS 18 [1975]: 191-99). The record of the wanderings in the wilderness is selective and not exhaustive. It may have been arranged somewhat topically for instructional reasons. U. Cassuto describes this section of the book as a didactic anthology arranged according to association of both context and language (Exodus, 187). Its themes are: lack of vital necessities, murmuring, proving, and providing. All the wilderness stories reiterate the same motifs. So, later, when Israel arrived in Canaan, they would look back and be reminded that it was Yahweh who brought them all the way, in spite of their rebellions. Because he is their Savior and their Provider, he will demand loyalty from them. In the Manna Narrative there is murmuring over the lack of bread (1-3), the disputation with Moses (4-8), the appearance of the glory and the promise of bread (9-12), the provision (13-22), the instructions for the Sabbath (23-30), and the memorial manna (31-36).

^2tn The sentence begins with a preterite and vav (ו) consecutive, which can be subordinated to the next clause with the preterite and vav consecutive. Here it has been treated as a temporal clause.

^3tn The word is often rendered “congregation” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), but the modern perception of a congregation is not exactly what is in mind in the desert. Another possible rendering is “community” (NAB, NIV, NCV, TEV) or “assembly.” The Hebrew word is used of both good and bad groups (Judg 14:8; Ps 1:5; 106:17-18).

^4tn The form in the text is לְצֵאתָם (lÿtse’tam, “after their going out”). It clearly refers to their deliverance from Egypt, and so it may be vividly translated.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....and all the company of the sons of "Yisra'el ^{He turns El aside}" journeyed from "Eyliym ^Bucks" and they came to the wilderness of "Sin ^{Sharp thorn}", which is between "Eyliym ^Bucks" and "Sinai ^{My sharp thorns}", (on) the <fifteen>th day to the second new moon of their going out from the land of "Mits'rayim ^{Two straits}",...

C. Thompson LXX                 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel removed from Aileim and came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Aileim and Sina.

Modern English Version         Bread and Quail

Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

NASB                                     The Lord Provides Manna

Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

New European Version          Israel Complain about Lack of Food

They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

New King James Version       Bread from Heaven

And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.

Niobi Study Bible                   God Sends Quails and Manna (Bread) from Heaven
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

Restored Holy Bible 6.0         [Bread from Heaven].
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the Congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin,
(which is between Elim and Sinai), on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Young's Literal Translation     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.

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: So they set out from Elim...

This is the entire congregation of Israel. They have left Egypt; the Egyptian army was drown by the water of the seas by which they were trapped. So they had already lived through a hopeless situation and it was clearly God Who delivered them.

The sons of Israel are heading south, south-east, exactly the wrong direction to go toward the land of promise. This does move them away from Egypt, but simultaneously, they are moving away from the land of Canaan. Canaan was their ultimate destination, and many of the Israelites would have been aware of this.

Moses, since he lived out in the desert for 40 years, and because He was prepared in the palace as a king, no doubt knows how to get to the land of Canaan, but he quickly got to a point where he trusts Y^ehowah and the direction in which they went. Remember, there is a system of guidance in place. The movements of the people of Israel is not a matter of confusion or a lack of understanding of geography. The direction in which they went was a matter of God’s will.

The people are going to travel to Mount Sinai, where they will worship God and receive the Law.