Manna and quail
Exodus 16; Deuteronomy 8:3; John 6:31–35
In the Wilderness of Sin, God sent quail in the evening and manna every morning, bread from heaven that fed Israel for forty years.
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Exodus 16:4 (World English Bible)
A month out of Egypt, the people wished they had died there “by the meat pots.” God rained down bread each morning: small white flakes that tasted like wafers with honey. Each family gathered enough for the day, and a double portion before the Sabbath. Whatever was hoarded rotted.
Moses later explained the lesson: “man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus called himself the true bread from heaven (John 6:35).
Places
Dating notes
The 15th day of the second month (Exodus 16:1), which Ussher computes as 4 June 1491 BC (Julian).