When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.
- KJV 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.
- BSB When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground.
- NKJV And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
- NLT When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.
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
When the dew lifted, a small, round, frost-like substance lay on the ground. This mysterious gift was the manna God would provide daily.
Overview
The manna appears unexpectedly, fine and unfamiliar, signaling that this is no ordinary food but a miraculous provision from heaven. Its strange form prompts Israel's wonder and questions, drawing attention to its divine origin. As bread that descends from the sky, manna becomes a lasting symbol of God's sustaining grace and a type of Christ, the living bread.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 8:3He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.
- Neh 9:15and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.
- Ps 105:40They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
- Num 11:7–9The manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like the appearance of bdellium.
- Ps 78:24He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky.
- Ps 147:16He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.
- Exod 16:31The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 16:14 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.