Exodus 16:31 - Exposition

The house of Israel . This expression is unusual, and is not admitted by the Septuagint, the Syriac, or the Arabic versions, which all have "the children of Israel." Several Hebrew MSS . have bent, "sons," instead of beyth "house." Manna . Literally, as in the Septuagint, man—the word used when they first beheld the substance ( Exodus 16:15 ), and probably meaning "a gift.:' The elongated form manna, first appears in the Sept. rendering of Numbers 11:6 , Numbers 11:7 . It was like coriander seed . This is "a small round grain of a whitish or yellowish grey." The comparison is made again in Numbers 11:7 , where it is added that the colour was that of bdellium—either the gum so called, or possibly the pearl. The taste of it was like wafers made with honey . Such wafers or cakes were constantly used as offerings by the Egyptians, Greeks, and other nations. They were ordinarily compounded of meal, oil, and honey. Hence we can reconcile with the present passage the statement in Numbers 11:8 , that "the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil."