… on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said unto them: ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ (Exodus 16:1–3)
... בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. וַיִּלּוֹנוּ כׇּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן בַּמִּדְבָּר. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: מִי יִתֵּן מוּתֵנוּ בְיַד ה' בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, בְּשִׁבְתֵּנוּ עַל סִיר הַבָּשָׂר, בְּאׇכְלֵנוּ לֶחֶם לָשֹׂבַע, כִּי הוֹצֵאתֶם אֹתָנוּ אֶל הַמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית אֶת כׇּל הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה בָּרָעָב.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; and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that He hath heard your murmurings against the LORD; and what are we, that ye murmur against us?’ … and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. (Exodus 16:6–8)
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶל כׇּל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: עֶרֶב וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי ה' הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. וּבֹקֶר וּרְאִיתֶם אֶת כְּבוֹד ה' בְּשׇׁמְעוֹ אֶת תְּלֻנֹּתֵיכֶם עַל ה' ... וְנַחְנוּ מָה? לֹא עָלֵינוּ תְלֻנֹּתֵיכֶם כִּי עַל ה'! (שמות ט"ז, א-ח)
One of Israel’s unusual wilderness complaints is their second. A month after departing, the entire congregation complained against Moses and Aaron in terms implying that they had brought them out of Egypt on their own initiative, against the LORD’s will.
It is implausible to understand the complaint as directed at the LORD but respectfully addressed through His emissaries. Moses and Aaron’s response – “and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD” – shows that they understood Israel to be complaining only against them, and therefore pointed out that the complaint was in fact against the LORD.
Notice that Moses and Aaron did more than reject the claim that the departure into the wilderness had been their initiative rather than the LORD’s. They answered that Israel must know that the LORD had brought them out of Egypt. They thereby clarified that the implication of the complaint, though unstated, concerned the very departure from Egypt, as well as the departure into the wilderness as Israel had framed it.
Indeed, when we examine Israel’s words, they mention the LORD in relation to an unrealized possibility: “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt.” This creates the impression that remaining in Egypt at that moment was itself the LORD’s will, and that leaving, certainly in this fashion, contradicted it.
Abarbanel, for example, explains their complaint as follows:
They said, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt,” as if to say: We do not rebel against the kingdom of heaven or turn away from the LORD, heaven forbid. Rather, would that we had died by the LORD’s hand, in His faith and service, in Egypt, “when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full.” For it would have been better to die there in our bondage than to be free in this desolate wilderness … They said, “for ye have brought us forth,” because they always believed that, without God’s command, Moses and Aaron had brought them out of Egypt on their own, and that their journey through the wilderness followed their foolish counsel rather than the LORD’s command. Leading a great people through that vast and terrible wilderness was not sound advice, for they would inevitably die there of hunger, a death worse than the sword. (Abarbanel on Exodus 16:3)
ואמרו: "מִי יִתֵּן מוּתֵנוּ בְיַד ה' בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם", כאומר: אין אנו בועטים במלכות שמים ולא סרים מאחרי ה׳ חלילה. אבל מי ייתן מותנו ביד ה׳ באמונתו ובעבודתו בארץ מצרים, "בְּשִׁבְתֵּנוּ עַל סִיר הַבָּשָׂר, בְּאׇכְלֵנוּ לֶחֶם לָשֹׂבַע". כי טוב היה לנו למות שם בעבדותינו, יותר מהיותינו במדבר השמה הזה בני חורין ... ואמרו: "כִּי הוֹצֵאתֶם אֹתָנוּ", לפי שהיה דעתם תמיד, שמבלי מצות השם, משה ואהרן מעצמם הוציאום ממצרים, ושהיה דרכם במדבר – מעצתם הנבערה, ולא במצות ה׳. כי לא הייתה עצה נכונה להוליך עם רב במדבר הגדול הנורא ההוא, כי בהכרח ימותו שם ברעב, שהיא מיתה קשה מהחרב. (שמות ט"ז, ג)
Moses and Aaron answered Israel’s accusations by saying that the forthcoming miracles – quails in the evening and manna in the morning – would prove that, contrary to their claim, the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt, rather than this being Moses and Aaron’s initiative (see, for example, Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra on verse 6).
This requires explanation. After all the great miracles in Egypt, how could all Israel think that Moses and Aaron had initiated their departure against the LORD’s will? Why would the miracles of quails and manna, more than the ten plagues and the parting of the sea, prove that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt?
As we recall, Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh to let them travel three days into the wilderness to serve the LORD and then return. In practice, however, Israel left Egypt and did not return. Pharaoh and the Egyptians regarded this as flight and pursued them. Yet, as I showed in the chapter “The Deception,” the Israelites themselves were also surprised by this development. They too had heard of a temporary departure to serve the LORD, and now discovered that Moses and Aaron were leading them into the wilderness without intending to return.
Israel did believe that the LORD desired to redeem them from Egyptian bondage and bring them to Canaan. But apparently they imagined a miraculous redemption without the hardships of travel, scarcity, or war. Thus, when they found themselves in the wilderness for a month without regular sources of food and water, they were inclined to see it as Moses and Aaron’s independent initiative rather than part of the divine plan.
Consequently, the miraculous provision of meat and bread in the wilderness supplied decisive proof: Moses and Aaron had not independently brought Israel to a place of danger and hunger; the LORD had brought them out, and He was also sustaining them there. This proved that Moses and Aaron acted as His emissaries rather than on their own initiative.
