Wilderness Journey (15:22-18:27)

F. Wilderness Journey (15:22-18:27)

After the escape from Egypt, Moses led the Israelites toward the burning bush locale so that they too could meet Yahweh. Moving on from the shore of the Reed Sea, they traveled toward Mount Sinai where Yahweh would make a covenant with them. Along the way they had numerous difficulties that tried Moses' leadership ability and patience, and tested the faith of the people. These troubles also served to test the resourcefulness of God and to reveal the character of the Israelites.
    When they arrived at an oasis the water was undrinkable, so the people complained to Moses, who changed the bitter water to sweet. When they lacked food, God rained down manna and quail.

    When they came to Rephidim expecting to find water, they found none. The people again turned on Moses and blamed him for their predicament. God instructed Moses to strike a rock and water flowed.
    Then the Amalekites fought the Israelites. Joshua led the counterattack, and the Israelites prevailed as long as Moses' arms were raised to God. This episode is notable because it introduces the Amalekites, who are a persistent Israelite enemy. The Amalekites receive the honor of being the archetypal Israelite enemy because they were the first to attack this new nation. Always attentive to the worship dimension of Israel's experience, the Elohist notes that Moses built an altar there to commemorate the event and called it "Yahweh is my banner."
    Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, met the Israelites in the wilderness. Observing that Moses was exhausting himself by single-handedly administering the entire community, he convinced Moses to delegate all but the most difficult cases to subordinates. Jethro, called the priest of Midian, also made a most remarkable confession. He professed that Yahweh was greater than any other god because he delivered the people from Egyptian oppression. Then Jethro offered sacrifices to God. The Elohist is showing how outsiders, too, can perceive the greatness of Israel's God and worship him.
    The wilderness experiences of Israel related in these pre-Sinai stories, getting water from the rock at Meribah, manna and quails, and meeting Moses' father-in-law, are similar to the Israel's post-Sinai wilderness experiences. The repetitions form brackets, or what literary analysts call inclusions, around Israel's Mount Sinai experiences.

For Israel's wilderness itinerary see Table 3.L. For a comparison of Israel's pre-Sinai and post-Sinai wilderness experiences see Table 3.M on Israel's wilderness experiences.

Manna. Manna is called the "bread of heaven." It is described as thin flakes, white like coriander seed that taste like wafers made of honey. The term manna is given a folk etymology in 16:15, 31 based on the people's exclamation when they first saw it: man hu', "what is it?" Some seek a naturalist explanation for manna. Bodenheimer (1947) relates it to the honey-like secretion of a scale insect on tamarisk trees that are common to the Sinai.