Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Parallel translations
- WEB Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
- KJV Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
- NKJV Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
- NASB Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ”
- NLT After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
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
The crowd cites the manna their fathers ate in the wilderness as the standard for a heavenly sign. They appeal to Moses to test whether Jesus can match him.
Overview
Quoting Scripture (cf. Ex. 16; Ps. 78:24), the people imply that a true prophet should provide bread from heaven as Moses did. They unknowingly set up Jesus's claim to be the greater and true bread. Their appeal to the past prepares for Jesus to reveal Himself as the fulfillment of what the manna foreshadowed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 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.
- Ps 105:40They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
- Ps 78:24–25He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
- Exod 16:4–15Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.
- 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.
- Num 11:6–9But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”
- Neh 9:20You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.
- 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.
- John 6:49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
- Josh 5:12And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
- 1 Cor 10:3They all ate the same spiritual food
- John 6:58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:31 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.