The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.
- KJV Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
- BSB (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
- NKJV Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
- NASB (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
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
A note explains that an omer is a tenth of an ephah. This clarifies the measure for later readers.
Overview
This editorial comment helps subsequent generations understand the quantity of manna gathered. Such explanatory notes show care that God's word remain clear across time and changing customs. The precise measure reinforces that God's provision was definite and sufficient for each person's daily need.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Exod 16:16This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: “Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.”
- Exod 16:32–33Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, ‘Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
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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 16:36 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
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