Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 16:5

"And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." — Exodus 16:5 (ASV)

On the sixth day —i.e., the sixth day after the first giving of the manna (Kalisch). Although in Babylonia, from a time certainly earlier than the Exodus, a Sabbath was observed on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth day of each month (Sayce: Records of the Past, vol. vii., pp. 157-167), yet we have no evidence that the year was divided into weeks, much less that the several days of the week were known as the first, second, third, fourth, etc. In Egypt, the week of seven days was at this time unknown.

They shall prepare. — On the method of preparation, see Numbers 11:8.

It shall be twice as much. — Some suppose this to be a command—“You are to gather twice as much;” but it is more natural to take it as an announcement of a fact—“You will find that what you have gathered turns out to be twice as much.” (So Kurtz, Kalisch, and Knobel.) A miraculous doubling of the quantity seems to be intended. .