The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil. The people walked around and gathered itThis phrase describes the Israelites' daily activity of collecting manna, the miraculous food provided by God during their wilderness journey. The Hebrew root for "walked around" (שׁוּט, shut) implies a diligent and purposeful search, reflecting the Israelites' dependence on God's provision. Historically, this gathering was a communal activity, emphasizing the unity and shared reliance on divine sustenance among the people. ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar
The preparation of manna involved grinding or crushing, indicating a transformation from raw provision to consumable food. The Hebrew word for "handmill" (רֵחַיִם, reḥayim) and "mortar" (מַדּוֹכָה, madokah) suggest traditional methods of food preparation, common in ancient Near Eastern cultures. This process symbolizes the human effort required to utilize God's gifts, reminding believers of the partnership between divine provision and human responsibility. then boiled it in a pot and made it into cakes
The cooking of manna into cakes illustrates the creativity and adaptability of the Israelites in making the most of what God provided. The Hebrew word for "boiled" (בָּשַׁל, bashal) and "cakes" (עוּגוֹת, ugot) indicates a transformation into a nourishing meal. This reflects the idea that God's provisions, though simple, can be made satisfying and delightful through human ingenuity and gratitude. And it tasted like something made with olive oil
The taste of manna is described as being like olive oil, a staple in the ancient diet known for its richness and nutritional value. The Hebrew word for "olive oil" (שֶׁמֶן, shemen) conveys a sense of abundance and blessing. This comparison highlights the quality and sufficiency of God's provision, encouraging believers to trust in His ability to meet their needs with excellence and care. Persons / Places / Events 1. The IsraelitesThe people of God who were wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. They were the recipients of God's provision of manna. 2. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, who interceded for the people and communicated God's instructions to them. 3. MannaThe miraculous food provided by God to sustain the Israelites in the desert. It was described as tasting like something made with olive oil. 4. The WildernessThe setting of the Israelites' journey, a place of testing and reliance on God's provision. 5. The Gathering and Preparation of MannaThe daily routine of collecting and preparing manna, which required effort and creativity from the Israelites. Teaching Points God's ProvisionGod provides for our needs, often in unexpected ways. Just as He provided manna for the Israelites, He meets our daily needs. Gratitude and ContentmentThe Israelites' experience with manna teaches us to be grateful for God's provision and to find contentment in what He provides. Spiritual SustenanceManna serves as a symbol of spiritual nourishment. We are reminded to seek sustenance from God's Word and His presence in our lives. Daily DependenceThe daily gathering of manna illustrates the importance of daily dependence on God. We are encouraged to seek Him daily for our needs. Creativity in God's ProvisionThe preparation of manna into cakes shows that God’s provision can be utilized in various ways. We are called to be creative and resourceful with what God provides. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the daily gathering of manna reflect our need for daily spiritual nourishment from God's Word? 2. In what ways can we cultivate gratitude and contentment with God's provision in our lives today? 3. How does the concept of manna as a divine provision connect to Jesus' teaching in John 6 about being the "bread of life"? 4. What are some practical ways we can demonstrate our dependence on God in our daily routines? 5. How can we creatively use the resources God has provided us to serve Him and others effectively? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 16Provides the initial account of God providing manna to the Israelites, establishing the context for its significance as a divine provision. John 6Jesus refers to Himself as the "bread of life," drawing a parallel between the manna in the wilderness and His own role as spiritual sustenance. Deuteronomy 8:3Emphasizes that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, highlighting the spiritual lesson behind the physical provision of manna. People Eldad, Israelites, Joshua, Medad, Moses, NunPlaces Egypt, Hazeroth, Kibroth-hattaavah, Paran, TaberahTopics Aside, Baked, Beat, Boil, Boiled, Boiling, Cake, Cakes, Cooked, Crushed, Crushing, Fresh, Gather, Gathered, Grind, Ground, Hammering, Handmill, Hand-mills, Mills, Millstones, Moisture, Mortar, Mortars, Oil, Oil-cakes, Olive, Pan, Pans, Pot, Pots, Powder, Seethed, Stones, Taking, Taste, TastedDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 11:8 4462 grinding
4488 oil
5268 cooking
5282 crushing Numbers 11:4-9 1330 God, the provider Numbers 11:4-10 6218 provoking God Numbers 11:4-34 4438 eating Numbers 11:6-9 4474 manna Numbers 11:7-8 5187 taste Library April 12. "They were as it Were, Complainers" (Num. xi. 1).
"They were as it were, complainers" (Num. xi. 1). There is a very remarkable phrase in the book of Numbers, in the account of the murmuring of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It reads like this: "When the people, as it were, murmured." Like most marginal readings it is better than the text, and a great world of suggestive truth lies back of that little sentence. In the distance we may see many a vivid picture rise before our imagination of people who do not dare to sin openly and unequivocally, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Deaf Stammerer Healed and Four Thousand Fed.
^A Matt. XV. 30-39; ^B Mark VII. 32-VIII. 9. ^b 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech [The man had evidently learned to speak before he lost his hearing. Some think that defective hearing had caused the impediment in his speech, but verse 35 suggests that he was tongue-tied]; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue [He separated …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Baptist's Testimony.
"There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.... John beareth witness of Him, and crieth, saying, This was He of whom I said, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. For of His fulness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I Third Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 12, 16-21. 16 Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. 19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II False Ambition Versus Childlikeness.
(Capernaum, Autumn, a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XVIII. 1-14; ^B Mark IX. 33-50; ^C Luke IX. 46-50. ^c 46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. ^b 33 And he came to Capernaum: ^c 47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, ^b and when he was in the house [probably Simon Peter's house] he asked them, What were ye reasoning on the way? 34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest. [The Lord with his disciples was …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
"The Holy Spirit was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified."--John vii. 39. We have come to the most difficult part in the discussion of the work of the Holy Spirit, viz., the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the tenth day after the ascension. In the treatment of this subject it is not our aim to create a new interest in the celebration of Pentecost. We consider this almost impossible. Man's nature is too unspiritual for this. But we shall reverently endeavor to give a clearer insight …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II Eastern Wise-Men, or Magi, visit Jesus, the New-Born King.
(Jerusalem and Bethlehem, b.c. 4.) ^A Matt. II. 1-12. ^a 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem [It lies five miles south by west of Jerusalem, a little to the east of the road to Hebron. It occupies part of the summit and sides of a narrow limestone ridge which shoots out eastward from the central chains of the Judæan mountains, and breaks down abruptly into deep valleys on the north, south, and east. Its old name, Ephrath, meant "the fruitful." Bethlehem means "house of bread." Its modern …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Of Immediate Revelation.
Of Immediate Revelation. [29] Seeing no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son revealeth him; and seeing the revelation of the Son is in and by the Spirit; therefore the testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed; who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he disposed the chaos of this world into that wonderful order in which it was in the beginning, and created man a living soul, to rule and govern it, so by …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity Blasphemous Accusations of the Jews.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 22-37; ^B Mark III. 19-30; ^C Luke XI. 14-23. ^b 19 And he cometh into a house. [Whose house is not stated.] 20 And the multitude cometh together again [as on a previous occasion--Mark ii. 1], so that they could not so much as eat bread. [They could not sit down to a regular meal. A wonderful picture of the intense importunity of people and the corresponding eagerness of Jesus, who was as willing to do as they were to have done.] 21 And when his friends heard it, they went …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Numbers 11:8 NIVNumbers 11:8 NLTNumbers 11:8 ESVNumbers 11:8 NASBNumbers 11:8 KJV
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