Exodus 16:1-3

The wilderness of Sin evidently lay in the southwestern part of the Sinai peninsula (Exodus 16:1). Its name relates to Sinai, the name of the mountain range located on its eastern edge. Aharoni believed that Paran was the original name of the entire Sinai Peninsula. [Note: Y. Aharoni, "Kadesh-Barnea and Mount Sinai," in God’s Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai, pp. 165-70.]

This was Israel’s third occasion of grumbling (Exodus 16:2; cf. Exodus 14:11-12; Exodus 15:24). The reason this time was not fear of the Egyptian army or lack of water but lack of food (Exodus 16:3).

"A pattern is thus established here that continues throughout the narratives of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. As the people’s trust in the Lord and in Moses waned in the wilderness, the need grew for stricter lessons." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 273.]