The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.
Parallel translations
- WEB The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.
- KJV And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
- BSB Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
- NKJV And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
- NASB And the house of Israel named the bread manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.
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
Israel named the food manna; it was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. The miraculous bread was both wondrous and pleasant.
Overview
The description preserves the memory of God's tangible, gracious provision in the wilderness. Manna's sweetness, like honey, testifies that God's gifts are good and satisfying. This heavenly bread, sustaining Israel for forty years, becomes a lasting emblem of God's faithfulness and a type of Christ, the bread of life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Num 11:6–9but now we have lost our appetite. There is nothing at all except this manna to look at.”
- Song 2:3As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste.
- Exod 16:15When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”
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 16:31 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.