MANNA FROM HEAVEN -18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homily for 18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Based on  Jn 6:24-35 (Gospel),  Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 (First Reading) and (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

MANNA FROM HEAVEN

Today’s gospel reading is taken from Jn. 6:24-35.    Verse by verse, this particular scripture goes this way:

Verses 24, 25 and 26  say: When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered: I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.

Parallel text is Jn 2:11 that says: This was the first of the signs^f given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. Footnote ^f  says “For credentials, every true prophet must have ‘signs’, or wonders worked in God’s name, Is 7:11, etc.; cf. Jn 3:2; 6:29-30; 7:3,31; 9:16,33; of the Messiah it was expected that he would repeat the Mosaic miracles, 1:21+. Jesus, therefore, works ‘signs’ in order to stimulate faith in his divine mission, 2:11,23; 4:48-54; 11:15,42; 12:37; cf.3:11+. And indeed his ‘works’ show that God has sent him, 5:36; 10:25,37, that the Father is within him, 10:30+, manifesting the divine glory in power, 1:14+; it is the Father himself who does the works, 14:10; 10:38. But many refuse to believe, 3:12; 5:38-47; 6:36,64; 7:5; 8:45; 10:25; 12:37;  and their sin ‘remains’, 9:41; 15:24. Cf. Mt. 8:3+.”

Verse 27 and 28 say: Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering^f you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’^g Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Footnotes ^f says “Var ‘will offer’”; and Footnote  ^g says “The ‘seal’ that Jesus received at his baptism, namely the spirit, Mt 3:16+, who is the power of God operative in Christ’s ‘signs’. Cf. Ac 10:38; Mt 12:28; Ep. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Co 1:22”.

Parallel texts of verse 27 are:

a.       Is 55:2 - Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.

b.      Lk 10:42 - …and yet few are needed, indeed only one.^j It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’ Footnote ^j says “Var. ‘but only one thing is needed’, ‘but only a few things are needed’, readings which make free with the text and deform the sense. In his remark Jesus rises from the material plane (“few things are needed”, i.. for the meal) to the one thing necessary’, which is to listen to the word of God.”

c.       Mt 8:20 - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man^h has nowhere to lay his head.’ Footnote ^h states: “With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv 1:13; 14:14; this title appears only in the  gospels. There is no doubt that Jesus used it of himself, and indeed preferred it to others. At times he uses it to express his lowly state, 8:20; 11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others times it is used to proclaim the definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9, of his return in glory, 24:30; of his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring together these seemingly  opposed qualities is clear from the following considerations. The phrase originally meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of its unusual and indirect form it underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But the title suggested glory, too. It was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly in origin, who was to receive from God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In this way therefore the title both veiled and hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt. 13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover, the explicit avowal in the presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have removed all ambiguity.”

Verse 29 says: Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God;^h you must believe in the one he has sent.’ Footnote ^h says “For ‘works’ in the Jewish sense Jesus substitute faith in God’s envoy.”

Parallel texts are:

a.       Mt 8:10 - When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith^b like this. Footnote ^b  states: “The faith that Jesus asks for from the outset of public life (Mk. 1:15) and throughout his subsequent career, is that act of trust and self-abandonment by which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe (Lk. 1:20,45; Mt. 21:25p,32). Christ asks for this faith especially when he works his miracles(8:13; 9:2p; 22p, 28-29; 15:28; Mk 5:36p;10:52p; Lk 17:19) which are not so much acts of mercy as signs attesting his mission and witnessing to the kingdom (8:3+; cf. Jn 2:11+), hence he cannot work miracles unless he finds the faith without which the miracle lose their true significance (13:58p; 12;38-39; 16:1-4). Since the faith demands the sacrifice of the whole man, mind and heart, it is not an easy act of humility to perform; many decline it, particularly in Israel (8:10p; 15:28; 27:42p; Lk 18;8), or are half-hearted (Mk 9;24; Lk 8;13). Even the disciples are slow to believe (8:26p; 14;31; 18;8; 17:20p) and are still reluctant after the resurrection (28;17; Mk 16:11-14; Lk 24;11,25,41). The most generous faith of all, of the ‘Rock’ (16:16-18), the disciples leader, was destined to the shaken by the outrage of the Passion (26:69-75p) though it was to triumph in the end (Lk 22:32). When faith is strong it works wonders (17:20p; 21:21p; Mk 16:17) and its appeal is never refused (21:22p; Mk 9:23) especially when it asks for forgiveness of sin (9:2p; Lk 7:50) and for that salvation of which it is the necessary condition (Lk 8;12; Mk 16:16, cf. Ac 3:16+).”

b.      Mt 8:10 - The Pharisees and Saducees came and test test him they asked if he would show them a sign from heaven (v. 1) He replied, ‘In the evening you say, “It will be fine; there is a red sky” (v. 2), and in the morning, “Stormy weather today; the sky is red and overcast”. You know how to read the face of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times^a (v. 3). It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah.’ And leaving them standing there, he went away (v. 4). Footnote ^a says: “Om. ‘In the evening…of the times’. The ‘times’ are the messianic age: the ‘signs’ are the miracles worked by Jesus: cf. 11:3-5; 12:38.”

c.       Lk 11:29-32 - The sign of Jonah:  The crowd got even bigger and he addressed them, ‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign.^g The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah (v. 29). For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.^h (v. 30).On Judgment day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here (v. 31).  On Judgment day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here (v. 32).  Footnote ^g states: “I.e. a miracle in evidence and vindication of Christ’s authority, cf. Jn 2:11+; Lk 1:18+. See Mt 8:3+”; and Footnote ^h says: “Jonah showed the Ninevites the way to God; now Jesus points the way, but his hearers, less generous than the Ninevites, have refused to take it. Mt 12:40 offers a different interpretation.”

Verse 30 says:  So they said, “What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do?

Parallel texts are:

a.       Jn 1:21 - Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’^t ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you the prophet?’^u Footnotes ^t states: “On the expected return of Elijah, see Ml. 3:23-24 and Mt. 17:10-13”; and Footnote  ^u says: “From Dt. 18;15,18(see note) the Jews argued that the expected Messiah would be another Moses (the prophet par excellence, cf. Nb. 12:7+) who would repeat on a grand scale the prodigies of the Exodus. Cf. Jn. 3:14; 6:14, 30-31, 68; 7:40,52; 13:1+; Ac. 3:22-23; 7:20-44; Heb. 3:1-11. See also Mt.  16:14+.”

b.      Jn 2:11 - This was the first of the signs^f given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee.(Footnote ^f is stated already as a footnote to the parallel text of verse 28).

c.       Ex 16:4 - Then Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people re to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not (v.4) On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, this will be twice as much as the daily gathering’ (v. 5).

Verse 31 says: Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

Parallel text is Ps 78:24 which says: …he rained down manna to feed them, he gave them the wheat of heaven;

Verse 32 and 33 say: Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’.

Parallel text is Mt 6:11 which says: Give us today our daily^c bread. Footnote ^c - The Greek word is obscure: this traditional rendering is a probable one. Other possibilities: ‘necessary for subsistence’ or ‘for tomorrow’. Whatever the exact translation the sense is that we must ask God for the sustenance we need in this life but for no more-not for wealth or luxury. The Fathers applied this text to the bread of the Holy Eucharist.

Verse 34 says: ‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’

Parallel texts are:

a.       Jn 2:19 - Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up’.^h Footnote ^h– In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus frequently uses terms which, in addition to their obvious meaning appreciated by the audience, possess a metaphorical and higher sense; cf. 2:20 (Temple); 3:4 (new birth); 4L15 (living water); 6:34 (bread of life); 7:35 (to depart); 11:11 (to awaken); 12:34 (to lift up); 13:9 (to wash); 13:36f (to depart); 14:22 (to show oneself). Consequent misapprehensions  provide an opportunity for explanatory developments, cf. 3:11+.

b.      Jn 4:15 - ‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of the water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.’ Verse 35 says: Jesus answered: ‘I amⁱ the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.^j Footnote ⁱ –says: “The Greek phrase ego eimi recalls the name that God revealed to Moses, Ex 3:14+, cf. Jn 8:24+, but here (and frequently elsewhere) it also forms the prelude to the explanation of a parable. In this case the parable is not in words but in action: the gift of the manna and the multiplication of the loaves are explained as parables of Christ’s gift of himself, the true bread”; Footnote ^j states: “As Wisdom invites man to her table, Pr. 9:1f, so does Jesus. Jn sees him as the Wisdom of God which, in the OT revelation, was already moving towards personification, cf. 1:1+. This perception springs from Christ’s own teaching already recorded in the Synoptics, Mt 11:19; Lk 11:31p, but given here much more clearly by Jn. Tus, Christ’s origin is mysterious, Jn 7:27-29; 8:14,19; cf. Jb 28:20-28; he alone knows the secrets of God and reveals them to man, 3:11-12,31-32; cf. Mt 11:25-27p; Ws 9:13-18; Ba 3:29-38; he is the living bread that supremely satisfies, 6:35; cf. Pr 9:1-6; Si 24:19-22, if men will only come to him, 3:20,21; 5:40; 6:35,37,44,65; 7:37; cf. Pr 9:4-5; Si 24:19; Mt 11:28; but they must seek him before it is too late, 7:34; 8:21; cf. Pr 1:28. Cf. also Is. 55:1-3. For Paul’s teaching, cf. 1 Co 1:24+.”

Verse 35 says: Jesus answered: ‘I amⁱ the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.^j Footnote ⁱ says: “The Greek phrase ego eimi recalls the name that God revealed to Moses, Ex 3:14+, cf. Jn 8:24+, but here (and frequently elsewhere) it also forms the prelude to the explanation of a parable. In this case the parable is not in words but in action: the gift of the manna and the multiplication of the loaves are explained as parables of Christ’s gift of himself, the true bread”; and Footnote ^j says “As Wisdom invites man to her table, Pr. 9:1f, so does Jesus. Jn sees him as the Wisdom of God which, in the OT revelation, was already moving towards personification, cf. 1:1+. This perception springs from Christ’s own teaching already recorded in the Synoptics, Mt 11:19; Lk 11:31p, but given here much more clearly by Jn. Thus, Christ’s origin is mysterious, Jn 7:27-29; 8:14,19; cf. Jb 28:20-28; he alone knows the secrets of God and reveals them to man, 3:11-12,31-32; cf. Mt 11:25-27p; Ws 9:13-18; Ba 3:29-38; he is the living bread that supremely satisfies, 6:35; cf. Pr 9:1-6; Si 24:19-22, if men will only come to him, 3:20,21; 5:40; 6:35,37,44,65; 7:37; cf. Pr 9:4-5; Si 24:19; Mt 11:28; but they must seek him before it is too late, 7:34; 8:21; cf. Pr 1:28. Cf. also Is. 55:1-3. For Paul’s teaching, cf. 1 Co 1:24+.”

Parallel texts are:

a.       Jn 4:10,14 - Jesus replied: ‘If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water’ (v. 10). ..but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I will give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life’ (v. 14).

b.      Pr 9:1-6 - Wisdom as hostess: Wisdom has built herself a house, she has erected^a her seven pillars, (v. 1)she has slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine, she has laid her table (v. 2). She has dispatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the city’s heights (v. 3): ‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’ To the fool she says (v. 4), ‘Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared! (v. 5). Leave your folly and you will live, walk in the ways of perception’ (v. 6). Footnote ^a –states: “‘erected’ Greek.”

c.       Si 24:19-22 - Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits (v. 19), for memories of me are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb (v. 20). They who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more (v. 21). Whoever listens to me will never have to blush, whoever acts as I dictate will never sin (v. 22).

d.      Is 55:1-3 - Oh, come to the water all who are thirsty; though you have not money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat,^a and, at no cost, wine and milk (v. 1). Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy (v. 2). Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live. With you I will make an everlasting covenant^b out of the favors promised to David (v. 3).  Footnote ^a says “Hebr. adds ‘come and buy’ absent from Greek and DSIa”; and Footnote ^b states: “On this everlasting covenant, 59:21; 61:8, which is also the new covenant, see Jr 31:31+.”

e.      Mt 11:19 - The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. Yet the wisdom has proved right by her actions.’^h  Footnote  ^h  states: “Var. ‘by her children’, cf. Lk. 7:35. Like petulant children who will play none of the games suggested (in this case they refuse to play either at weddings or at funerals) the Jews reject all God’s advances whether through the stern penance of John or through the gentle courtesy of Jesus. In spite of this, God’s wise design carries through, independently of anything extrinsic to itself, and so its success is its own vindication.”

f.        Lk 7:35 - Yet Wisdom has been proved right by all her children.’^f  Footnote ^f states “Var. ‘by her actions’, cf. Mt 11:19. The children of Wisdom, i.e. of the all-wise God, cf. Pr. 8:22+, appreciate and welcome God’s works.”

g.       Lk 11:31 - On Judgment day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.

h.      1 Co 1:24 - …but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.

The First Reading for this Sunday is Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 entitled “The manna and the quails^a”.  Footnote ^a –states: “‘Priestly’ tradition with ‘Yahwistic’ elements. Flights of quail are common over Sinai; the manna is  possibly the juice of some local shrub. The narrative asserts some special intervention, under whatever natural forms, by which God fed his people. The Psalms and the Book of Wisdom grateful recall the gift of manna which, in Christian tradition (as early as Jn 6:26-58), is a figure of the Eucharist, the spiritual food of the Church, the new Israel, on her earthly journey to the Promised Land.”

Verse 2 says: And the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Parallel text is Ex 14:11 that says: To Moses they said, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?

Verse 3 says: And said to them, ‘Why did we not die at Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread top our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’

Parallel texts are:

a.       Ps 78:20  - ‘Admittedly, when he struck the rock, waters gushed, torrents streamed out, but bread now, can he give us that, can he provide meat for his people?

b.      Ezk 23:27 - I mean to put an end to your debauchery and to the whorings you began in Egypt; you will not look to the Egyptians anymore; you will never think of them again.

Verse 4 says: Then Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain day the people re to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not.

Parallel text is Dt. 8:2 that says:  Remember how Yahweh your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you and know tour inmost heart - whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Verse 12 says: ‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, Yahweh, am your God.”’

Parallel text is 1 K 17:12 that says:  ‘As Yahweh your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’

Verse 13 says: And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp.

Parallel texts are:

a.       Ps 68:9 - God you rained a downpour of blessings; when your heritage was faint you gave it strength.

b.      Ws 19:11-12 - Later they saw a new method of birth for birds when, goaded by hunger, they asked for food they could relish, and quails came out of the sea to satisfy them.^c     Footnote ^c says : “The author takes Nb 11:31 literally; the quails came out of the sea (as the mosquitoes came out of the earth).

Verse 14 says: When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery,^d as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. Footnote ^d says: “The meaning of the word uncertain”.

Parallel text is Nb 11:7-9 that says: The manna was like coriander seed, and had the appearance of bdellium (v. 7). The people went round gathering it, and ground it in a meal or crushed it with a pestle; it was then cooked in a pot and made into pancakes. It tasted like cake made with oil (v. 8). When the dew fell on the camp at night-time, the manna fell with it (v. 9).

Verse 15 says: When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?^e not knowing what is was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread Yahweh gives you to eat. Footnote ^e - Hebr. man hu; popular etymology thus explains the word ‘manna’.

Parallel text is 1 Co 10:3 that says: All ate the same spiritual food.

The Second Reading for this Sunday is Ep 4:17, 20-24.

Verses 17 and 20 say:  In particular, I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live.  Now that is hardly the way you have learnt from Christ.

Verse 21 says: unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus.

Parallel text is Col 3:5 that says: That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life:^c fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god… Footnote ^c - At the mystical level of union with Christ in heaven, participation in his death and resurrection through baptism is instantaneous and total, 2:12f,20; 3:1-4; Rm 6:4+, but at the practical level of life on earth, this union has to be grown gradually. Already ‘dead’ in theory, the Christian must experience death and rebirth daily constantly, by ‘killing’ the old and sinful self.

Verse 22, 23 ad 24 say: You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution, so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.ⁿ Footnote ⁿ - Each human being should ‘put on the New Man’, Ep 2:15+, (here, as in v. 22, translates ‘self’), so as to be re-created in him, cf. Ga 3:27; Rm 13:14. In some places Paul talks in the same way about the ‘new creature’, 2 Co 5:17+.

Parallel text for verse 23 are:

a.       Ep 2:15 - Caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. ^m This was to create one single New Manⁿ in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body ^o and reconciled them with God. In his own person he killed the hostility. Footnote ^m- The Mosaic Law gave the Jews a privileged status and separated them from pagans. Jesus abolished this Law by fulfilling it once for all on the cross, Col. 2:14+; and Footnote  ⁿ–  This new man is the prototype of the new humanity that God recreated (2Co. 5:17+) in the person of Christ, the second Adam (1 Co. 15:45) after killing the sinfully corrupt race of the first Adam in the crucifixion (Rm. 5:12f, 8:3, 1 Co. 15:21). This New Adam has been created in the goodness and holiness of the truth, 4:24, and he is unique because in him the boundaries between any one group and the rest of the human race all disappear, Col. 3:10f, Ga. 3:27f).

b.      Col 3:10 - …and you have put a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator^e. Footnote ^e – The human race that was to have been the ‘image of god’, Gn. 1:2b+, lost its way trying to locate the ‘knowledge of good and evil’ outside and apart from the will of God, Gn. 2:17+, and became the slave of sin and sinful urges, Rm. 5:12.

The Article “Manna”, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, states that:

“Manna (Hebrew: מָ‏ן‎) or al-Mann wa al-Salwa (Kurdish: gezo‎), sometimes or archaically spelled mana, is an edible substance that, according to the bible, God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert. Manna is described as white and comparable to hoarfrost in size. Hoarfrost on grass lawn.

“According to the book of Exodus, manna is white, like Coriander seed, (although modern-day coriander seed is yellow/brown).

“In the Hebrew bible, manna is described twice: once in Exodus 16:1-36 with the full narrative surrounding it, and once again in Numbers 11:1-9 as a part of a separate narrative. In the description in the Book of Exodus, manna is described as being "a fine, flake-like thing" like the frost on the ground. It is described in the Book of Numbers as arriving with the dew during the night; Exodus adds that manna was comparable to hoarfrost in size, similarly had to be collected before it was melted by the heat of the sun, and was white like coriander seed in color. Numbers describes it as having the appearance of bdellium, adding that the Israelites ground it and pounded it into cakes, which were then baked, resulting in something that tasted like cakes baked with oil. Exodus states that raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with honey. The Israelites were instructed to eat only the manna they had gathered for each day. Leftovers of manna stored up for the following day "bred worms and stank": the exception being the day before the Sabbath (Preparation Day), when twice the amount of manna was gathered, which did not spoil overnight; because, Exodus 16:23-24 [states] "This is what the Lord commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' So they saved it until morning, as Moses said was commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it."

"Some scholars have proposed that manna is cognate with the Egyptian term mennu, meaning "food". At the turn of the twentieth century, Arabs of the Sinai Peninsula were selling resin from the tamarisk tree as man es-simma, roughly meaning "heavenly manna". Tamarisk trees (particularly Tamarix gallica) were once comparatively extensive throughout the southern Sinai, and their resin is similar to wax, melts in the sun, is sweet and aromatic (like honey), and has a dirty-yellow color, fitting somewhat with the Biblical descriptions of manna. However, this resin is mostly composed from sugar, so it would be unlikely to provide sufficient nutrition for a population to survive over long periods of time, and it would be very difficult for it to have been compacted to become cakes.

"In the Biblical account, the name manna is said to derive from the question man hu, seemingly meaning "What is it?"; this is perhaps an Aramaic etymology, not a Hebrew one. Man is possibly cognate with the Arabic term man, meaning plant lice, with “man hu” thus meaning "this is plant lice", which fits one widespread modern identification of manna, the crystallized honeydew of certain scale insects. In the environment of a desert, such honeydew rapidly dries due to evaporation of its water content, becoming a sticky solid, and later turning whitish, yellowish, or brownish; honeydew of this form is considered a delicacy in the Middle East, and is a good source of carbohydrates. In particular, there is a scale insect that feeds on tamarisk, the Tamarisk manna scale (Trabutina mannipara), which is often considered to be the prime candidate for biblical manna.

"Manna is from Heaven, according to the Bible, but the various identifications of manna are naturalistic. In the Mishnah, manna is treated as a supernatural substance, created during the twilight of the sixth day of Creation, and ensured to be clean, before it arrives, by the sweeping of the ground by a northern wind and subsequent rains. According to classical rabbinical literature, manna was ground in a heavenly mill for the use of the righteous, but some of it was allocated to the wicked and left for them to grind themselves.

"Until they reached Canaan, the Israelites are implied by some passages in the Bible to have eaten only manna during their desert sojourn, despite the availability of milk and meat from the livestock with which they traveled, and the references to provisions of fine flour, oil, and meat, in parts of the journey's narrative.

"As a natural food substance, manna would produce waste products; but in classical rabbinical literature, as a supernatural substance, it was held that manna produced no waste, resulting in no defecation among the Israelites until several decades later, when the manna had ceased to fall. Modern medical science suggests the lack of defecation over such a long period of time would cause severe bowel problems, especially when other food later began to be consumed again. Classical rabbinical writers say that the Israelites complained about the lack of defecation, and were concerned about potential bowel problems.

"Many Christian vegetarians say that God had originally intended man would not eat meat because plants cannot move and killing them would not be sinful: manna, a nonmeat substance, is used to support this theory. Further, when the people complained and wished for quail, God gave it to them, but they apparently still complained and some greedily gathered the quail. "While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people."

"Exodus says each day one omer of manna was gathered per family member (about 3.64 litres), and may imply this was regardless of how much effort was put into gathering it; a midrash attributed to Rabbi Tanhuma remarks that although some were diligent enough to go into the fields to gather manna, others just lay down lazily and caught it with their outstretched hands. The Talmud states that this factor was used to solve disputes about the ownership of slaves, since the number of omers of manna each household could gather would indicate how many people were legitimately part of the household; the omers of manna for stolen slaves could only be gathered by legitimate owners, and therefore legitimate owners would have spare omers of manna.

"According to the Talmud, manna was found near the homes of those with strong belief in God, and far from the homes of those with doubts; indeed, one classical midrash says that manna was intangible to Gentiles, as it would inevitably slip from their hands. The Midrash Tanhumaholds that manna melted, formed liquid streams, was drunk by animals, flavored the animal flesh, and was thus indirectly eaten by Gentiles, this being the only manner that Gentiles could taste manna. Despite these hints of uneven distribution, classical rabbinical literature expresses the view that manna fell in very large quantities each day. It holds that manna was layered out over 2,000 cubits square, between 50 and 60 cubits in height, enough to nourish the Israelites for 2,000 years and to be seen from the palaces of every king in the East and West, probably a metaphorical statement.

"Exodus states that the Israelites consumed the manna for 40 years, starting from the fifteenth day of the second month (Iyar 15), but that it then ceased to appear once they had reached a settled land, and once they had reached the borders of Canaan (inhabited by the Canaanites). Form critics attribute this variation to the view that each expression of the manna ceasing derives from different lore; the "settled land" is attributed to the Priestly tradition, and "Canaan's borders" to the Yahwist tradition, or to a hypothetical later redaction to synchronize the account with that of the Book of Joshua, which states that the manna ceased to appear on the day after the annual Passover festival (Nisan 14), when the Israelites had reached Gilgal. The duration from Iyar 15 to Nisan 14, taken literally, is 40 years less one month.

"There is also a disagreement among classical rabbinical writers as to when the manna ceased, particularly in regard to whether it remained after the death of Moses for a further 40 days, 70 days, or 14 years; indeed, according to Joshua ben Levi, the manna ceased to appear at the moment that Moses died.

“Despite the eventual termination of the supply of manna, Exodus states that a small amount of it survived within an omer-sized pot or jar, which was kept facing the Testimony (possibly, adjacent to the Ark of the Covenant); it indicates that Yahweh instructed this of Moses, who delegated it to Aaron.[54] The Epistle to the Hebrews states that the pot was stored inside the Ark. Classical rabbinical sources believe the pot was of gold; some say it was only there for the generation following Moses, and others that it survived at least until the time of Jeremiah.[10]However, the First Book of Kings states that it was absent earlier than Jeremiah, during Solomon's reign in the tenth century B.C. Form critics attribute the mention of the pot to the Priestly tradition, concluding that the pot existed in the early sixth century B.C.

“By extension "manna" has been used to refer to any divine or spiritual nourishment.

 “In a modern botanical context, manna is often used to refer to the secretions of various plants, especially of certain shrubs and trees, and in particular the sugars obtained by evaporating the sap of the Manna Ash, extracted by making small cuts in the bark.[61] “The Manna Ash, native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, produces a blue-green sap, which has medicinal value as a mild laxative, demulcent, and weak expectorant.

The names of both the sugar mannose and its hydrogenated sugar alcohol, mannitol are derived from manna.”