Manna
The WildernessMeaning: ““What is it?””
God’s daily provision — and a sign pointing to the true Bread of Life.
The bread from heaven God rained down each morning to feed Israel for forty years in the wilderness.
What It Was
When Israel hungered in the desert, God rained down bread from heaven. In the morning a small round thing lay on the ground like hoar frost; the people said “Manna” — “What is it?” It tasted “like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:14–15, 31). They gathered it daily for forty years, with a double portion before the Sabbath, until they reached Canaan (Joshua 5:12).
Biblical Significance & Symbolism
Manna taught Israel to live in daily dependence — “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word… of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3), the verse Jesus quoted in the wilderness. Jesus then claimed to be its fulfilment: “I am that bread of life… your fathers did eat manna… and are dead” (John 6:48–49), the true bread that gives eternal life.
Timeline
God rains manna from heaven
The manna ceases when Israel eats the produce of Canaan
Scripture References
17 versesExodus4 verses
Exodus 16:15
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. It is: or, What is this? or, It is a portion
Exodus 16:31
And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Exodus 16:33
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
Exodus 16:35
And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
Numbers3 verses
Numbers 11:6
But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
Numbers 11:7
And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. colour thereof: Heb. eye of it as the eye of
Numbers 11:9
And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
Deuteronomy2 verses
Deuteronomy 8:3
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:16
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
Joshua1 verse
Joshua 5:12
And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Nehemiah1 verse
Nehemiah 9:20
Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
Psalms1 verse
Psalms 78:24
And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
John3 verses
John 6:31
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
John 6:49
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
John 6:58
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Hebrews1 verse
Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Revelation1 verse
Revelation 2:17
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
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Frequently asked about Manna
What was Manna in the Bible?
The bread from heaven God rained down each morning to feed Israel for forty years in the wilderness.
What does Manna symbolize?
God’s daily provision — and a sign pointing to the true Bread of Life.
What does the name Manna mean?
The name Manna means ““What is it?””.
What was Manna made of?
Manna was made of bread from heaven — like coriander seed, taste of wafers and honey.
Where was Manna kept?
Manna was kept at Gathered each morning in the camp.
Where is Manna first mentioned in the Bible?
Manna is first mentioned in Exodus 16:15.
How often is Manna mentioned in the Bible?
Manna is mentioned in 17 verses across 9 books: Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Nehemiah, Psalms, John, Hebrews, Revelation.
What was manna?
The bread from heaven God provided daily in the wilderness — small, round, white, tasting of honey wafers (Exodus 16). The name means “What is it?”
How does manna point to Jesus?
Jesus called himself the true bread from heaven (John 6:48–51) — the manna sustained life for a day; he gives eternal life.
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