Manna in Biblical History

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What is Manna?
MAN'NA
(Heb. what is this ?), a substance miraculously furnished to the children of Israel on their journey through the wilderness, and designed as a substitute for bread, the material for which they could not raise during their wanderings. It was called the bread from heaven, and its character and history are most fully described in Ex 16. The most remarkable things about the manna of the Israelites were, 1. That double the quantity was supplied on the day preceding the Sabbath or seventh day; 2. That on the Sabbath or seventh day none was furnished; 3. That what they kept from the sixth day to the seventh was sweet and good, while what they kept from any other day to the next day bred worms and became offensive. These miracles were wrought in attestation of the sanctity of the Sabbath. The manna of the Jews is described as "a small round thing," as small as "the hoarfrost on the ground," "like coriander seed" (in shape doubtless, perhaps in size and density), "of the color of bdellium," "and the taste of it like wafers made with honey." Wafers were small thin cakes of fine flour mingled with oil and used in various offerings. Lev 2:4; Num 7:12. If to this mixture was added a portion of honey, there would be the nourishment of the flour, the flavor of fresh oil, and the sweetness of honey. For forty years this miraculous supply of food was furnished daily to between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 of people. Deut 29:5-6. It ceased while they were encamped at Gilgal, immediately after they had celebrated the Passover for the first time in the Land of Promise. To commemorate this long-continued and wonderful miracle, Moses was instructed that a golden pot should be provided, Ex 16:33; Heb 9:4, and that an omer (or one man's portion) of the manna should be put up for preservation and placed in or near the ark, that succeeding generations might see with their own eyes the very substance on which their fathers were miraculously fed in their long and perilous journeyingS from Egypt to Canaan. The manna which is now used in medicine as a mild laxative is the dried juice of the ash (Ornitfi), and is obtained from Southern Europe. It evidently has no connection with the food of the Israelites. Various natural exudations from Eastern shrubs and trees are called by this name, their sweet taste and the globular form under which they are ordinarily found occasioning a fancied resemblance to the manna of the Israelites. Especially notable is that which drops from the twigs of the tamarisk, or tarfa, in the deserts of Mount Sinai, and is gathered by the Arabs for food and sold to Tamamnrisk or Manna Tree of the Sinaitic Peninsula. travellers as a curiosity. Although the natives call this substance manna, the manna which the Israelites found in the same locality was entirely different in several particulars. The Arab manna falls only where the tamarisks grow and during early summer; it may be kept years without breeding worms; it cannot be ground or beaten into meal, Num 11:8, more than could thick honey; it comes on Sabbath and week-day in equal quantities. It is plain that the Israelites never saw their manna before or after the Exodus. Deut 8:3, Ex 17:16; Ex 16:15, Ex 16:32-33. An Eastern traveller gives the following account (in part verified by the writer) of the modern manna of Arabia: "This substance is called by the Bedouins mann, and accurately resembles the description of manna given in the Scriptures. In the month of June it drops from the thorns" (the fresh stems; the tamarisk has no thorns) "of the tamarisk upon the fallen twigs, leaves, and thorns which always cover the ground beneath that tree in the natural state; the manna is collected before sunrise, when it is coagulated; but it dissolves as soon as the sun shines upon it. The Arabs clean away the leaves, dirt, etc., which adhere to it, boil it, strain it through a coarse piece of cloth, and put it in leathern skins. In this way they preserve it till the following year, and use it as they do honey - to pour over unleavened bread or to dip their bread into. I could not learn that they ever made it into cakes or loaves. The manna is found only in years when copious rains have fallen; sometimes it is not produced at all. I saw none of it among the Arabs, but I obtained a small piece of the last year's produce in the convent (of Mount Sinai), where, having been kept in the cool shade and moderate temperature of that place, it had become quite solid and formed a small cake. It became soft when kept some time in the hand; if placed in the sun for five minutes, it dissolved; but when restored to a cool place, it became solid again in a quarter of an hour. In the season at which the Arabs gather it, it never acquires that state of hardness which will allow of its being pounded, as the Israelites are said to have done in Num 11:8, Its color is a dirty yellow, and the piece which I saw was still mixed with bits of tamarisk leaves; its taste is agreeable, somewhat aromatic, and as sweet as honey. If eaten in any considerable quantity, it is said to be slightly medicinal. The quantity of manna collected at present, even in seasons when the most copious rains fall, is trifling, perhaps not amounting to more than 500 or 600 pounds. It is entirely consumed among the Bedouins, who consider it the greatest dainty which their country affords. The harvest is usually in June, and lasts for about six weeks." Some authors have also suggested a lichen (Lecanora esculenta) as the manna of the Israelites. This small plant grows on the deserts and mountains of the East, in the neighborhood of the Caucasus especially. It forms small grayish lumps, sometimes as large as a hazel-nut, yielding the same nourishment to the tribes of the Asiatic steppes as does the larger lichen called tripe de roche to our Arctic explorers in their extremity. The natives consider that this food comes from heaven, and call it manna. In considerable quantity it is sometimes taken up by the wind and let fall at a distance. Parrot says that these "rains of manna" have been known to cover the ground in some parts of Persia to the depth of five or six inches. The sugary exudation from the leaves and branches of the camel's thorn (Alhagi maurorum) of the Sinai deserts has been called Persian manna, and been believed by a few to have supplied the Israelites. "Wherever the manna is referred to in Scripture, it is invariably regarded as a miraculous food sent directly from God. The Lord Jesus, when he accepted the manna as a type of himself - the living Bread which came down from heaven - corrects the error of those who, in seeking a sign from him, insinuated that the bread from heaven given by Moses, by which he secured the confidence of their fathers, was a greater miracle than the feeding of the five thousand, and says that it was the gift of God, and not of Moses. We are led to the same conclusion by comparing its properties and amount and the manner of its occurrence with what is known of the natural mannas, and we must regret all attempts to identify the 'corn of heaven' with any of them. Yet we have no doubt that this wilderness-food so closely resembled in general appearance the Egyptian manna as to justify the name given to it by those who first saw it. In the same way, emigrants apply names of familiar home-plants to the strange trees and plants they meet with because of some observed resemblance, though they are widely removed from each other in scientific character. The adopting a manna-like appearance for the miraculous food is in accordance with the general plan of God's miracles as recorded in his word. For example, the Lord Jesus did not bring bread from heaven to feed the hungering multitudes on the green slopes of the Sea of Galilee, but employed the loaves and fishes which were the common food of the country, and by miraculously increasing the small supply found in the possession of one in the company made it sufficient for all. So, when his people hungered for flesh in the desert, God sent them quails -- migrating birds which occasionally passed in flocks over the wilderness; and when they wanted bread, in full keeping with the locality, God gave them 'manna,' as if he were only multiplying the natural product of the wilderness." -- W. Carruthers. Manna is called the "corn of heaven" and "angels' food," Ps 78:24-25, perhaps in allusion to the mode by which it was supplied. The phrase "hidden manna," Rev 2:17, figuratively describes the support which Christ furnishes to the true believer, of which the world does not and cannot partake. Comp. John 6:49, Josh 15:61.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'manna' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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