In Exodus 16, we see a memorable event during the exodus of the children of Israel through the wilderness. In response to the complaints and murmurings of the congregation against Moses and Aaron, the LORD rained down manna from heaven.

Exodus 16:15(KJV)

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

Examining this verse above, we see a problem with this translation as it appears that they identified what it was but this is immediately followed by “for they wist (knew) not what it was.” Then Moses went ahead to tell them what it really was.

There are some interesting things to know about manna.

First, manna is a Hebrew word which is originally a what question. Manna means “What is this/it?” Hence, the King James translation should have included a question mark.

Let's see a few other translations:

Exodus 16:15(NKJV)

So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."

Exodus 16:15(NIV)

When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat."

Exodus 16:15(AMP)

When the Israelites saw it, they said one to another, Manna [What is it?]. For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.

Exodus 16:15(NLT)

The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. "What is it?" they asked. And Moses told them, "It is the food the LORD has given you."

Exodus 16:15(MSG)

The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was. So Moses told them, "It's the bread GOD has given you to eat."

So, Moses’ response was an answer to their curious question, Manna (What is it?)—“This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

It was on the premise of this experience that it was officially named manna, not as a question but now as a proper noun.

Exodus 16:31(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.

Another thing to note is that manna is actually not bread in the popular contemporary use of the word, as in baked bread. “Bread,” as used by Moses in verse 15, means food. This is a broader use of the word bread to describe what one eats—a figure of speech known as synecdoche, in which the name of a part of something is used to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part. Here, bread is used to represent food generally.

In appearance, manna was actually small, round, thin flakes that were fine and white in color, similar in size to coriander seeds. It had a sweet taste like wafers made with honey or fresh oil (verse 31).

Exodus 16:14,31(NKJV)

14 - And when the dew had gone, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a fine, round and flakelike thing, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground.

31 - The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.

The children of Israel would grind it in mills, beat it in a mortar, and bake it into cakes or boil it (verse 23, Numbers 11:8).

So when you think about manna, don't think loaves of bread fell from the sky. They ground it into flour and then baked or boiled it.

Finally, not just was the provision of this food a big miracle, it happened six days a week for 40 whole years.

Exod 16:21–22,25–26,35(NKJV)

21 - So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

22 - And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

25 - Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

26 - Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none."

35 - And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

Victor Ibosiola © 2025