Exodus 16 · Verse 15

Exodus 16:15

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
Exodus 16:15, King James Version

Exodus 16:15 in other translations

BSBWhen the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
WEBWhen the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
ASVAnd when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is it? for they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, It is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat.
YLTAnd the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, ‘What is it?' for they have not known what it is; and Moses saith unto them, ‘It is the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food.
DARBYAnd the children of Israel saw it, and said one to another, What is it? for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat.
BBEAnd when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is it? for they had no idea what it was. And Moses said to them, It is the bread which the Lord has given you for your food.
WebsterAnd when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

What does Exodus 16:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 16:13-31

13-31. at even the quails came up, and covered the camp--This bird is of the gallinaceous kind [that is, relating to the order of heavy-bodied, largely terrestrial birds], resembling the red partridge, but not larger than the turtledove. They are found in certain seasons in the places through which the Israelites passed, being migratory birds, and they were probably brought to the camp by "a wind from the Lord" as…

Read the full comment on Exodus 16:13-31 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 They said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was - This is a most unfortunate translation, because it not only gives no sense, but it contradicts itself. The Hebrew מן הוא man hu, literally signifies, What is this? for, says the text, they wist not what it was, and therefore they could not give it a name. Moses immediately answers the question, and says, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. From Exo 16:31 we learn that this substance was afterwards called מן man, probably in commemoration of the question they had asked on its first appearance. Almost all our own ancient versions translate the words, What is this? What this substance was we know not. It was nothing that was common to the wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw it before, for Moses says, Deu 8:3, Deu 8:16 : He fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; and it is very likely that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before; and by a pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely that nothing of the kind ever appeared more, after the miraculous supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems to have been created for the present occasion, and, like Him whom it typified, to have been the only thing of the kind, the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man, as Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven, and was given for the life of the world. See John 6:31-58.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 16:13-21

At evening the quails came up, and the people caught with ease as many as they needed. The manna came down in dew. They called it "Manna, Manhu," which means, "What is this?" "It is a portion; it is that which our God has allotted us, and we will take it, and be thankful." It was pleasant food; it was wholesome food. The manna was rained from heaven; it appeared, when the dew was gone, as a small round thing, as…

Read the full comment on Exodus 16:13-21 →

Exodus 16:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּרְא֣וּvai.yir.'Uand they sawH7200
בְנֵֽי\־ve.nei-[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּvai.Yo.me.Ruand they saidH559
אִ֤ישׁ'isheachH376
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אָחִיו֙'a.Chivbrother hisH251
מָ֣ןmanwhat?H4478
ה֔וּאHu'[is] itH1931
כִּ֛יkiforH3588
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יָדְע֖וּya.de.'Uthey knewH3045
מַה\־mah-what?H4100
ה֑וּאHu'[was] itH1931
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
מֹשֶׁה֙mo.ShehMosesH4872
אֲלֵהֶ֔ם'a.le.Hemto themH413
ה֣וּאhu'itH1931
הַלֶּ֔חֶםha.Le.chem[is] the breadH3899
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhichH834
נָתַ֧ןna.Tanhe has givenH5414
יְהוָ֛הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לָכֶ֖םla.Khemto <the> you
לְאָכְלָֽה\׃le.'okh.Lahto foodH402

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 16:15

  • Exodus 16:4

    Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

  • John 6:58

    This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

  • John 6:31-32

    Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

  • Exodus 16:31

    And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:3

    And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

  • Deuteronomy 8:3

    And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

  • John 6:49

    Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

  • Joshua 5:12

    And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

  • Nehemiah 9:15

    And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

  • Nehemiah 9:20

    Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

  • Numbers 21:5

    And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

  • Deuteronomy 8:16

    Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
It is manna. or, What is this? or, It is a portion.
31,33; De 8:3,16; Jos 5:12; Ne 9:15,20; Joh 6:31,32,49,58
1Co 10:3; Heb 9:4; Re 2:17
This is.
4; Nu 21:5; Pr 9:5; Lu 12:30

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 16:14

    And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

  • Exodus 16:15

    And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

  • Exodus 16:16

    This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

Read all of Exodus 16

Exodus 16:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y viéndolo los hijos de Israel, se dijeron unos á otros: ¿Qué es esto? porque no sabían qué era. Entonces Moisés les dijo: Es el pan que Jehová os da para comer.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et les fils d’Israël le virent, et se dirent l’un à l’autre: Qu’est-ce que cela? Car ils ne savaient ce que c’était. Et Moïse leur dit: C’est le pain que l’ Éternel vous a donné à manger.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und die Kinder Israel sahen es und sprachen einer zum anderen: Was ist das? denn sie wußten nicht, was es war. Und Mose sprach zu ihnen: Dies ist das Brot, das Jehova euch zur Nahrung gegeben hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quod cum vidissent filii Israël, dixerunt ad invicem: Manhu? quod significat: Quid est hoc? ignorabant enim quid esset. Quibus ait Moyses: Iste est panis quem Dominus dedit vobis ad vescendum.