Exodus 16:32

Summary

Moses reports a command from Yehovah: a full omer measure of the manna is to be kept as a mishmeret ("keeping", H4931) for future generations, so that they may see the bread that fed the people in the wilderness after their departure from Egypt.

Key words

• tzivvah ("he commands", H6680) — piel perfect: an intensive/factitive verb form describing a completed authoritative act of command by Yehovah.
• me'lo' ("fullness of", H4393) — construct noun, linking directly to ha'omer ("the omer", H6016B) to specify the exact quantity: the full capacity of that measure, not an approximate amount.
• mishmeret ("keeping", H4931) — feminine singular noun naming the purpose of the stored portion: something set aside to be preserved/watched.
• doroteikhem ("your generations", H1755+H9026) — plural construct noun with 2nd person plural suffix, marking the temporal scope ("for your generations") as ongoing beyond the immediate audience.
• he'ekhalti ("I caused to eat", H0398) — hiphil (causative) perfect, 1st person: grammatically frames Yehovah as the causative agent of the eating, not merely a provider of food.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative chain va-yomer ("and he said", H0559+H9001), a standard storytelling connector introducing Moses' speech. Moses' statement is structured as a citation formula: zeh ha-davar 'asher tzivvah Yehovah — "this [is] the word which Yehovah commands" — using the demonstrative zeh ("this", H2088) plus the definite noun ha-davar ("the word", H1697I) to introduce a quoted directive. The verb tzivvah is perfect in aspect, indicating the command as a completed act reported after the fact, though English tenses often render it as present ("has commanded").

The quantity clause me'lo' ha-omer mimmenu uses the construct chain "fullness of the omer" to specify precisely how much manna is to be kept — the full measure, not a partial one. This measured portion is designated le-mishmeret le-doroteikhem, "for a keeping, for your generations," using two parallel prepositional phrases with le- ("for/to", H9005) that state both the function (preservation) and the temporal target (future generations) of the stored manna.

The purpose clause begins with lema'an ("so that", H4616), followed by the jussive verb yir'u ("they may see", H7200G) — a subjunctive-type form expressing intended result rather than simple future fact: the generations are meant to see the bread. The relative clause 'asher he'ekhalti 'etkhem uses the hiphil form he'ekhalti, casting Yehovah grammatically as the one who caused the people to eat, rather than a plain verb "to eat." The final phrase repeats the exodus formula, be-hotzi'i 'etkhem me'eretz Mitzrayim, an infinitive construct with a 1st-person suffix ("in my bringing you out"), tying the manna's purpose to the memory of the departure from Egypt.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the command as an imperative directly addressed to the people — "Πλήσατε τὸ γόμορ" ("Fill the gomor") — rather than reporting Yehovah's command in the third-person perfect tzivvah as the Hebrew does. The LXX also reads κύριος ("the LORD") as the subject of "brought you out" in the final clause, whereas the Hebrew has the 1st-person form be-hotzi'i ("when I brought you out"), making Yehovah the speaker in the Hebrew but a grammatical third party in the Greek's final clause. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew structure more closely with Imple gomor as an imperative addressed to Moses, and preserves the first-person alui vos ("I fed you"), aligning with the Hebrew's causative he'ekhalti.