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.
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 esv
When the people 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, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
Exodus 16:15 nlt
The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. "What is it?" they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, "It is the food the LORD has given you to eat.
Exodus 16 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ex 16:4 | "Then the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you" | God's prior promise to provide food. |
| Ex 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 with honey." | Manna's physical description and official name confirmation. |
| Ex 16:35 | "And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited." | Duration of Manna's provision. |
| Num 11:6 | "But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." | Israel's eventual complaining about Manna. |
| Deut 8:3 | "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna... 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." | Manna as a test and lesson in dependence on God's Word. |
| Neh 9:15 | "Thou gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst" | Recounts God's faithful provision in the wilderness. |
| Ps 78:24 | "And had rained down manna upon them for to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven." | Recalls God feeding Israel with Manna. |
| Ps 105:40 | "The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven." | Another psalmist acknowledging divine provision. |
| Josh 5:12 | "And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land" | The cessation of Manna after entering Canaan. |
| John 6:31 | "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." | Jesus refers to the Manna and foreshadows Himself. |
| John 6:33-35 | "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world... I am the bread of life" | Jesus declares Himself the true spiritual bread. |
| John 6:49-51 | "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven... If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever." | Contrasts Manna (physical) with Christ (eternal). |
| 1 Cor 10:3 | "And did all eat the same spiritual meat;" | Manna described as "spiritual meat," a type. |
| Heb 9:4 | "Wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;" | Manna stored as a memorial in the Ark. |
| Rev 2:17 | "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna," | Promise of future spiritual nourishment. |
| Matt 4:4 | "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." | Echoes Deut 8:3, emphasizing spiritual food. |
| Phil 4:19 | "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." | General principle of God's abundant provision. |
| Ex 16:2-3 | "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt..." | The context of Israel's prior grumbling for food. |
| Num 11:4-5 | "And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting... We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely... but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." | Israel's rejection and contempt for Manna later. |
| Ex 15:22-26 | "So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea... And they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter... There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them." | God's earlier test and provision of water, building dependence. |
| Matt 6:11 | "Give us this day our daily bread." | Teaches daily reliance on God's provision. |
| Isa 55:1-2 | "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters... Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." | God's invitation to receive spiritual nourishment freely. |
Exodus 16 verses
Exodus 16 15 Meaning
Exodus 16:15 records the Israelites' initial bewildered reaction upon seeing the manna for the first time. They were unfamiliar with this heavenly substance that covered the ground, prompting their collective question, "What is it?" This question itself became the name given to the miraculous food, underscoring its unique, divine, and unprecedented nature, unknown to them by any earthly classification. It highlighted God's completely new and unexpected provision for their immediate physical need.
Exodus 16 15 Context
Exodus chapter 16 unfolds approximately a month after the Israelites' dramatic deliverance from Egyptian bondage and their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. They had journeyed through the wilderness of Sin, located between Elim and Sinai. Having exhausted the food they brought from Egypt, the entire congregation of Israel began to murmur and complain bitterly against Moses and Aaron, wishing they had died in Egypt where they had enough to eat. In response to their desperation and murmuring, but fundamentally as an act of grace and to demonstrate His faithfulness, the Lord promised to "rain bread from heaven" for them, along with quail in the evening. This verse captures the moment when this unprecedented "bread from heaven" first appeared on the ground, witnessed by a people who had previously expressed a profound lack of faith in God's ability or willingness to provide for them in the desolate wilderness. It sets the stage for a period of daily, miraculous sustenance designed to teach them dependence on God alone.
Exodus 16 15 Word analysis
- וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyir'u): "And they saw." This verb indicates a direct and immediate observation. It implies the sudden appearance and the visual impact it had on the people, not something gradually revealed, but suddenly present for all to behold. It sets the scene for their astonishment.
- בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (b'nei Yisra'el): "Children of Israel." Refers to the entire community, emphasizing that this experience was collective. It highlights that the miracle was for all the descendants of Jacob, not just a select few, thus validating the witness for future generations and reinforcing God's covenant with the entire nation.
- וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־אָחִיו (vayyomeru ish el-achiv): "And they said one to another / each to his brother." This phrase indicates a spontaneous, communal reaction. It's not a single leader making an announcement but the people conversing among themselves, expressing shared bewilderment and curiosity. It paints a vivid picture of confusion rippling through the camp.
- מָן הוּא (man hu): "What is it?" This is the pivotal phrase.
מָן (man)literally means "what." The interrogative particleמה (mah)plus the nounןfor the short form "what." The particleהוא (hu)means "it." Thus, "What is it?" or "What is this?" This question, expressing their complete ignorance of the substance, directly became the name of the miraculous food – "Manna." It symbolizes their total unfamiliarity and the fact that this food originated outside their realm of knowledge or experience. It signifies that God provided something utterly new and divine. - כִּי לֹא יָדְעוּ מַה־הוּא (ki lo yadu' mah-hu): "For they did not know what it was." This explanatory clause reiterates and reinforces the previous phrase.
כִּי (ki)means "for" or "because."לֹא יָדְעוּ (lo yadu')means "they did not know." This confirms that their questionמָן הוּאarose from genuine ignorance. It wasn't just a rhetorical question but a deep-seated lack of recognition for this supernatural provision. This emphasized that the manna was a divine phenomenon, utterly outside natural understanding or prior experience, highlighting God's unprecedented action.
Exodus 16 15 Bonus section
- The provision of manna directly countered the Israelites' grumbling and distrust, serving as tangible evidence of God's immediate care and power over natural limitations. It was a clear demonstration that He heard their complaints and responded with compassion and authority.
- The naming of the manna as "What is it?" underscored the principle that this provision was not merely a physical meal, but a profound theological lesson. It was not familiar food; it represented God’s sovereign ability to provide in unprecedented ways, fostering humility and an exclusive dependence upon Him.
- The uniqueness of the manna—described in Ex 16:31 as like coriander seed, white, with a taste of wafers with honey—further highlights its supernatural origin, differing from any known earthly food. Its physical properties pointed to a divine source.
Exodus 16 15 Commentary
Exodus 16:15 marks the Israelites' initial encounter with God's astounding daily provision in the wilderness: the manna. Their perplexed query, "What is it?" (מָן הוּא, man hu), reveals their total unfamiliarity with this heavenly sustenance. This immediate lack of recognition is critical; it demonstrates that God was not providing food from natural means, but something entirely new, miraculously sent. The question itself became the name of the bread, symbolically emphasizing that it was a constant mystery, a divine supply unknown to man, daily teaching dependence on a God who operates beyond human comprehension or resourcefulness. This moment served to humble them, reveal their utter reliance on their faithful Deliverer, and distinguish the Lord's power from any false gods or human capabilities, laying a foundation of daily faith in the God who literally sustained their very breath in the desert.