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2013 December 16



Gathering of the Manna (c. 1543)
Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572)
Mannerism Style
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy
Image Source: Web Gallery of Art


     Explanation: In Exodus 16 manna begins to feed the Israelites. A month after they left Egypt, Israel set out from their camp in Elim and went to the wilderness of Sin (or Zin). the book of Numbers contains a fuller list of Israel's stops, and Numbers 33:10 mentions an intermediate stop at the Red Sea, which John Gill places at 6 miles from Elim. The stop was probably close enough to Elim to be considered roughly the same region; and it was probably uneventful enough not to be mentioned in the more compressed history here in Exodus. When they arrived at the Wilderness of Sin, they accused Moses and Aaron of leading them into a death trap where they would perish with hunger. This was a continuation of the doubts and complaints which they had from the inception of their journey. Apparently they had left Egypt with enough food for a month, because it was exactly a month after they left Egypt when they arrived in the Wilderness of Sin that they complained of hunger, which had not been an issue in their previous complaints (1-3).
     The LORD answered this complaint by announcing that he was going to start supplying Manna to the people as a test of whether they would walk in his ways or not; he told them to gather what they needed daily and to gather twice as much before the Sabbath; and Moses told them that they would have meat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; but he told them frankly that they had not grumbled against him and Aaron, but against the LORD (4-8). The LORD then told Moses and Aaron to bring the people near to the LORD; and he appeared in a cloud and told them through Moses that they would have food in the evening and be filled by morning (9-12). In the evening quail covered the camp; and in the morning, when the dew had melted, the people saw a small, round or flaky or scale-like thing lying on the ground and called it a "What" -- a "whatness," or, in modern slang, a "whatzit," because they did not know what to call it; and Moses told them it was the bread that the LORD had provided and told them to gather as much as they could eat and told them to leave nothing till the morning. But some did not listen, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them; so they continued gathering it morning by morning, but when the sun grew hot it melted (13-21). On the sixth day they gathered twice as much because the seventh day was a solemn rest to the LORD, and the Manna which was set aside for the Sabbath did not breed worms or stink as it did on the other days; and they were told that there would be none on the Sabbath (22-26). Contrary to what they were told, some people went to look for Manna on the Sabbath, but there was none; and the LORD again reminded them to gather extra on the sixth day and rest on the seventh day (27-30).
     Manna was described as being white like coriander seed and having a taste like wafers made with honey. In Numbers 11:7-8 it was also described as being like coriander seed, and the color was described as the color of bdellium and the taste like fresh oil. In Numbers 11 the taste of Manna (like oil) is set in contrast to the "dried soul" which the Israelites complained about from a lack of variety in their diet. So, the taste may have particular reference to the pleasantness of its texture and the effect on the palate. It also may have reference to the taste after being prepared, while the Exodus passage may refer to the uncooked taste. Taken together, the Exodus and Numbers passages may imply that Manna, when prepared for eating, was like a moist, smooth-textured, honey-flavored cake or pastry. As for the appearance of Manna, it clearly is white (Exodus 16:31). It is compared, in Exodus, to coriander seed (Hebrew, "gad"), and, in Numbers to bdellium (Hebrew, "bedolach"). There is some debate about the proper translation for these two words, but coriander and bdellium are widely accepted translations. Both coriander (which is a seed) and bdellium (which is an aromatic myrrh-like resin) have a color range which varies from white (often amber, for the bdellium) to very dark brown or nearly black (31).
     The LORD commanded that a jar of manna be placed before the LORD throughout their generations; and the people ate manna for forty years till they came to the border of Canaan (32-36).


Exodus 16

     1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
     4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?" 8 And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him-what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD."
     9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'" 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
     13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
     22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'" 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none."
     27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
     31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'" 33 And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations." 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)




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