Manna and Quail in the Wilderness

After leaving Elim, the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin. There they complained to Moses and Aaron, saying they had food in Egypt but now feared they would die of hunger. Then Yahweh told Moses he would rain bread from the sky for them. The people were to gather it each day, and on the sixth day gather twice as much.

Moses and Aaron said Yahweh had heard their complaining. In the evening the people would know that Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt, and in the morning they would see his glory. As Aaron spoke, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud. Yahweh said he would give them meat in the evening and bread in the morning.

That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning, after the dew had gone, a small round thing lay on the ground. The people did not know what it was, but Moses said it was the bread Yahweh had given them. Each person was to gather an omer according to those in the tent. Whether people gathered more or less, everyone had enough.

Moses told them not to keep any until morning, but some did not listen. What they kept became foul and had worms in it, and Moses was angry. So they gathered it fresh each morning before the sun grew hot and it melted. On the sixth day they gathered double. Moses said the next day was a holy Sabbath, so they could keep the extra for then, and this time it did not spoil.

On the seventh day, some still went out to gather, but they found none. Yahweh said he had given them the Sabbath, and the people rested. Israel called the bread manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like wafers with honey. Moses told Aaron to keep an omer of manna in a pot before Yahweh so later generations could see the bread Yahweh had given them in the wilderness. Israel ate manna for forty years, until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.