Manna
Manna [Heb. man]. The daily provision of bread that God gave Israel during their journey from Egypt to Canaan.
The name comes from the Israelites wondering "what is it?" (Heb. man hu). Less than two months after their exodus (Exod 16:1), the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the Wilderness of Sin as they recalled the meat and bread in Egypt (Exod 16:2-3). In response, God promised to "rain bread from heaven" (Exod 16:4) and commanded the people to gather one omer per person daily (Exod 16:16), except on the sixth day, when they should gather twice the amount as the manna would not fall on Sabbath (Exod 16:23, 25). Some disregarded the command and kept leftovers for the following morning (Exod 16:19) but "it bred worms and stank" (Exod 16:20). However, when Israel gathered twice the daily quota on the sixth day, it preserved well (Exod 16:24).
The manna looked like "a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground" (Exod 16:14) and "as coriander seed" with a resin color (Exod 16:31; Num 11:7). It fell "on the surface of the wilderness" at night, was visible at dawn when the dew lifted (Exod 16:8, 12, 13-14; Num 11:9), and melted in the heat of the sun (Exod 16:21). Its taste was "like wafers made with honey" (Exod 16:31). Eventually, Israel came to loath the manna, calling it "worthless bread" (Num 11:9; 21:5). The manna provision ceased immediately after their arrival in Canaan (Josh 5:12) but a sample was kept in a golden pot inside the ark of the covenant (Exod 16:33; Heb 9:4).
The terminology of Exodus 16 connects the passage with God's Sabbath rest in Genesis 2:1-3 and His command for humans to follow suit (Exod 20:8-11). Thus, Israel's obedience to God in regard to collecting the manna was an acknowledgment of God as Creator. God describes His command as a loyalty test (Exod 16:4), and Moses states that the purpose of the manna was to humble Israel (Deut 8:16) and to reveal the power of God (Deut 8:3; see also Matt 4:1-11).
In the OT the word "manna" also appears in Psalms 78:23-25, where it is described as "the bread of angels." In the NT, the manna is recalled in John 6 when, following the miraculous feeding of a multitude (vv. 6:1-14), the Jews asked Jesus for a sign equivalent to the providential feeding of Israel in the wilderness. In response, Jesus pointed to Himself as "the bread of life" (vv. 35, 48, 51, 58) and as "the bread of God . . . who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (v. 34; see also vv. 50-51), alluding to His sacrificial death (vv. 53-58).