Comentario sobre Exodo 16:7

ובקר וראיתם AND IN THE MORNING YE SHALL SEE [THE GLORY OF THE LORD] — Not in reference to that glory of which it stated, (v. 10) “And behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” is this said, but thus, in effect, did he say to them: In the evening ye shall know that His hand has the power to give you your desire and He will give you flesh; but not with a radiant countenance will He give it to you, because you have asked Him something that is not proper (since one can exist without eating meat), and out of a full stomach (i. e. you really have meat for you have an abundance of cattle); but the bread for which you have asked out of necessity — when it falls in the morning you will behold the glory of the radiance of His countenance (His glory), because He will make it fall for you in a manner that is indicative of His love (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 16:7) — in the morning, whilst there is yet time to prepare it, and there shall be dew above it and dew below it as though it were carefully packed in a chest (Yoma 75b).

AND WHAT ARE WE, THAT YE MURMUR AGAINST US. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained it as meaning: “And what power to act is there in our hands? We have only carried out what we have been commanded.” But this is not so. Rather, the sense of the verse here is similar to: What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?³⁵⁶Psalms 8:5. Eternal, what is man that Thou takest knowledge of him?³⁵⁷Ibid., 144:3. For how little is he [man] to be accounted!³⁵⁸Isaiah 2:22. And this [verse here] is an expression of humility. “For what are we that you should attribute us with bringing you out from the land of Egypt? Behold we are nothing, and our work is vanity.³⁵⁹See ibid., 41:24. And your murmurings are not against us, but against the Eternal.³⁶⁰Verse 8. It is He Who has brought you out from the land of Egypt, not we.” And in the Mechilta we find.³⁶¹Mechilta on the verse here. “[They said to them]: ‘Are we so distinguished that you arise and murmur against us?’”³⁶²This bears out Ramban’s interpretation that the expression, and what are we? is one of humility, as explained.

ובוקר, in the morning you will have bread,