And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
14. And when the dew that lay was gone up. The shape of the manna is here briefly described, viz., that it was like the dew condensed into small round grains. Its taste will be also mentioned elsewhere; but here it was sufficient to show, that this fecundity was not natural, but miraculously given to the clouds, so that they should daily rain manna.
God provides not merely what we need but what delights us: quail at evening, then manna at morning, descending with the dew. This teaches us that He gives us good things for more than bare necessity, that we may serve Him cheerfully, not grudgingly, and learn temperance by this plain and spare diet.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 16:13-21
And when the dew that lay was gone up,.... Exhaled by the sun upon the rising of it: behold, upon the face of the wilderness; upon the surface of it, all around the camp of Israel: there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground; which is what is in the next verse called "manna".