Encyclopedie , Jewish Encyclopedia, MANNA, M. Seligsohn, MANNA
—Biblical Data: The miraculously supplied food on which the Israelites subsisted in the wilderness. Its name is said to have originated in the question מן הוא ("What is it?" Ex. xvi. 15, R. V.; comp. Rashi ad loc.), asked by the Israelites when they first saw it. According to George Ebers ("Durch Gosen zum Sinai," p. 236), the name comes from the Egyptian "mennu" (= "food"). The manna is also designated "bread" (Ex. xvi. 4); it is called "the corn of heaven" and "the bread of the mighty" in Ps. lxxviii. 24-25, R. V., and, in a depreciative sense, "the light bread" in Num. xxi. 5. The manna descended in the night in the form of coriander-seed of the color of bdellium (Num. xi. 7), so that in the morning the ground looked as if it were covered with hoar frost. The grains were ground or pounded into flour, and then the flour was prepared and baked in the form of cakes, the taste of which was like that of "wafers made with honey" or "as the taste of fresh oil" (Ex. xvi. 31; Num. xi. 8).
The gathering of the manna was connected with several miracles: it was collected before sunrise, for, in spite of its hard substance, it melted in the sun. The quantity collected made exactly one omer for every person, whether one collected much or little. On Friday morning the portions were double, for the manna could not be found on Sabbath. The manna was eaten the day it was gathered; if it were left until the following morning it corrupted and bred worms, though the manna gathered on Friday and kept for the Sabbath remained fresh. It continuedto descend during the forty years the Israelites were in the wilderness, but when they arrived at Gilgal, on the 14th of Nisan, and began to eat the grain grown there, the manna ceased to fall. In order to perpetuate the memory of this providence, Aaron was told to put an omer of manna in a vessel and lay it "before the testimony" (Ex. xvi. 17-35; Josh. v. 10-12). Num. xxi. 5 makes it appear that manna was the only food of the Israelites while they were in the wilderness, although references to provisions of fine flour, oil, and meat are met with elsewhere. It may be either that the manna constituted their main but not only food-supply during the whole forty years, or that it became their exclusive food after the provisions they took with them from Egypt were exhausted.
Certain modern scholars attempt to identify the manna of Exodus with the exudation of the tamarisk-trees (named by Ehrenberg the "Tammarix mannifera") of the Sinaitic peninsula. The Arabs call it "mann al-sa-ma" (= "heavenly manna"), and collect it and sell it to pilgrims. It has been identified also with the exudations of other trees found in those regions. A more recent view identifies the Biblical manna with lichen and allied species of plants found in Arabia and other parts of western Asia. The reports of modern travelers, however, are contradictory in regard to "manna."
—In Rabbinical Literature: Manna was one of the ten things created on the first Friday of Creation, in the twilight (Abot v. 9; comp. Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Ex. xvi. 4, 15). According to Zabdi b. Levi, the manna which fell near the camp of the Israelites in the wilderness covered an area two thousand cubits square; it remained on the ground until four hours after sunrise, when it melted. It fell to a depth of sixty cubits, or, according to Isi b. Akiba (Midr. Teh. to Ps. xxiii.), of fifty cubits, and the quantity which fell every day would have sufficed to nourish the people for two thousand years. The question why was it necessary that the manna should fall every day is answered by the Rabbis in different ways: the Israelites could not be encumbered with its burden; they needed warm food every day, and the manna was warm when it fell; they needed that their hearts should be turned to God for their daily bread. It was so conspicuous that all the kings of the East and West could see it from their palaces (Yoma 76a; Tan., Beshallaḥ, 21).
In order that the manna might remain clean, a north wind first swept the ground, and then rains washed it. Then, after the ground had been covered with a layer of dew, the manna fell upon it, and was itself then covered with dew (Mek., Beshallaḥ, Wayassa', 3; comp. Sifre, Num. 89). It so fell that the righteous had no trouble in gathering it, finding it at the doors of their tents; those of less firm belief had to go farther for it; the wicked had to go far from the camp to gather it (Yoma 75a). A very different statement, but of the same nature, is given in Tan., Beshallaḥ, 22: The diligent went out into the field to gather the manna; the less diligent went just outside their tents; but the indolent lay in their sleeping-places while the manna fell into their outstretched hands. Created only for the children of Israel, the heathen could not secure the smallest quantity of it, for when one stretched out his hand to pick it up, it slipped from his grasp (Sifre, Deut. 313; Midr. Abkir, in Yalḳ., Ex. 258); according to another opinion, it tasted bitter to the heathen (Tan., l.c.).
The melting of the manna formed streams which furnished drink to many deer and other animals, and when those animals were afterward killed by heathen, the latter recognized in the meat the taste of the manna (Tan., l.c.; comp. Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Ex. xvi. 21). It was only in this way that the heathen could know the true taste of the manna, for the water itself was bitter to them (Tan., l.c.). With the manna precious stones fell every morning (Yoma l.c.). The manna was adapted to the taste of each individual; to the adult it tasted like the food of the adult, while to the sucking child it tasted like the milk of its mother's breasts. By wishing, one could taste in the manna anything desired, whether fowl or fruit; thus the statement that the people ground it, or pounded it, and then baked it (Num. xi. 8), is only figurative, for if one so wished it tasted like food made of flour ground or pounded, baked or cooked. According to a different interpretation, the wicked were compelled to grind it and prepare it until it was fit for food, while for the righteous it was ground by angels before it fell from heaven.
Characteristics.The manna exhaled a fragrant odor, and during the forty years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness it served the women as perfume. Being a heavenly food, the manna contained nutritious matter only, without any waste products, so that during the whole time the Israelites lived upon it the grossest office of the body remained unexercised. The Israelites, nevertheless, complained of it (comp. Num. xi. 6): "Shall a human being not discharge of what he eats? our bowels will surely be swollen" (Yoma l.c.; Sifre, Num. 87-89; Tan., l.c.). A miracle attended the collecting of the manna, in that the number of omers gathered by each family was found to correspond to the number of its members. This rendered the manna useful in solving most difficult problems. For instance, when two people came before Moses, one accusing the other of having stolen his slave and the other claiming to have bought the slave, Moses deferred his decision to the following morning, when the number of omers of manna in their respective houses showed to whom the slave belonged. In this way many otherwise inextricable complications could be unraveled (Yoma 75a).
The Rabbis disagreed as to the period of time for which the pot of manna was placed by Aaron "before the testimony." It was placed there only for the following generation; it was placed there for all future generations; it was to be kept there until the coming of the Messiah. It is one of the three things which will be restored by Elijah. Jeremiah, when remonstrating with the children of Israel for their neglect of the Torah, showed them the pot of manna: "See how God nourishes those that occupy themselves with the study of the Law." There is also a disagreement between the Rabbis with regard to the length of time after Moses' death in which the Israelites ate the manna—whether for forty days, seventy days, or for the fourteen years during which the land of Canaan was conquered and divided among the tribes. According to R. Joshua, the manna ceased to descend immediately after Moses' death, and the Israelites were compelled to eat what they had gathered previously (Mek., l.c.). The manna is reserved as the future food of the righteous, for which purpose it is ground in a mill situated in Sheḥaḳim, the third heaven (Ḥag. 12b; Tan., l.c.).
Tijdschrift , Christian Courier, digital, [0], March 8, 2005, Wayne Jackson, What Was the "Manna" in the Wilderness of Sinai?
What was the "manna" that the Israelites ate during their sojourn in the wilderness of Sinai? Some claim that it was merely a substance extracted off of a tree in that region. But what does the evidence reveal?
"The Interpreter's Bible (a popular commentary set), in commenting on the 'manna' that fell when the children of Israel were in the wilderness of Sinai, suggests that this 'manna' substance was merely a sweet, natural material from certain trees of that region (e.g., the tamarisk tree), and that there was nothing miraculous about this food. Would you comment on this?"
The foregoing theory is common to religious modernists who ever seek to extract all elements of the supernatural from the biblical documents. Let us look at the facts.
When Israel came into the wilderness of Sinai, the Lord provided them with "bread from heaven" (Exodus 16:4ff; cf. John 6:31ff). It appeared as a "small round thing, as small as the frost on the ground" (Exodus 16:14). It could be gathered up, ground in mills, or beat in mortars. It was made into cakes or boiled in pots. It was white like coriander seed, and tasted similar to cakes baked with oil and honey (Exodus 16:31; Numbers 11:8 ASVfn).
There are two common skeptical theories regarding the nature of this "manna." Some identify the "manna" as either a "secretion" from the tamarisk tree. Others believe it was the result of the "excretions" from two species of insects in the Sinai region, that are deposited on the tree (G.L. Carr, "Manna," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia--Revised, G.E. Bromiley, Ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986, Vol. 3, pp. 239-240).
Rationalistic theories that attempt to view this Old Testament provision in merely a naturalistic light are dismal failures indeed. Consider the following points.
- Based upon census figures provided in the book of Numbers (cf. 1:45-46), it is estimated that the whole congregation of Israel consisted of some two million people. [Note: For a response to objections relative to a number of this magnitude, see: John J. Davis, Biblical Numerology, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968, pp. 58ff.] There is no way that secretions of the tamarisk trees in the desert region of Sinai (or insect excrement) could have sustained two million people.
Especially is this true since the tamarisk material appears in the region of Sinai only from about the middle of May to the end of July (in the rainy season), and in small amounts. Alfred Edersheim estimated that the whole Sinai Peninsula could scarcely produce more than about 700 pounds of tamarisk substance in the entire season--which would not have sustained Israel for a single day (The Bible History--Old Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprint from an 1890 edition, Vol. II, p. 97). On the other hand, the "manna" from heaven fell all year long, and was sufficient for everyone's need--even two million souls.
- The God-sent manna fell only six days in the week (not on the Sabbath--Exodus 16:22). Moreover, twice as much fell on Friday (to accommodate the Sabbath). No tamarisk tree is known to have a six-day-per-week, double-amount-on-Friday production cycle!
- Tamarisk substance can be kept in a cool place for several days, but the true manna spoiled after a single day (Exodus 16:20). Yet, supernaturally, a pot of manna was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant to remind the children of Israel of Jehovah's care for them during those wandering-in-the-wilderness years (Exodus 16:32-34; Hebrews 9:4).
- The manna from heaven could be used for baking; the tamarisk material cannot be.
- The heavenly manna was granular in nature, hence could be ground up, etc. (Numbers 11:8). Tamarisk secretion/excretion cannot be.
- The true manna ceased after the forty-year wandering period; the tamarisk "manna" continues even today.
- The genuine manna came down from heaven, and so typified Christ as the "bread out of heaven" (John 6:32ff). The excretions of insects hardly fit this typical picture.
- The fact that the "manna" gathered by the Israelites conformed precisely to each individual's need, whether the amount gathered was too much, or too little (Exodus 16:18), demonstrates that the manna from heaven was miraculous--not natural.
There is no way the children of Israel ever would have confused this "manna" from heaven with a minute amount of natural material normally found in the wilderness of Sinai.
When naturalistic theories are concocted to relieve the Bible of an alleged "embarrassment," because of scripture's endorsement of the miraculous, the "critical" tales are more difficult to swallow than belief in the all-powerful God!