You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.
- KJV Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.
- NKJV You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.
- NASB You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God.
- NLT You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he provided for you so you would know that he is the Lord your God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They survived without ordinary bread or wine so they would know the Lord is their God. God's supernatural provision was meant to reveal his identity.
Overview
Living on manna rather than bread and wine, Israel learned dependence on God alone for life. The purpose was relational: 'that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.' God's provision aimed not merely at survival but at fostering covenant knowledge of him, anticipating Christ, the true bread from heaven, who gives life to all who feed on him by faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Deut 8:3He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
- Eph 5:18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Ps 78:24–25He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
- Neh 9:15In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
- Num 16:14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”
- 1 Cor 10:4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Num 20:8“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”
- Exod 16:35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
- Exod 16:12“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
- 1 Cor 9:25Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 29:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.