Numbers 11 · Verse 7

Numbers 11:7

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
Numbers 11:7, King James Version

Numbers 11:7 in other translations

BSBNow the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.
WEBThe manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium.
ASVAnd the manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium.
YLTAnd the manna is as coriander seed, and its aspect as the aspect of bdolach;
DARBYAnd the manna was as coriander seed, and its appearance as the appearance of bdellium.
BBENow the manna was like a seed of grain, like small clear drops.
WebsterAnd the manna was as coriander-seed, and the color of it as the color of bdellium.

What does Numbers 11:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 11:6-9

6-9. But now ... there is nothing ... beside this manna--Daily familiarity had disgusted them with the sight and taste of the monotonous food; and, ungrateful for the heavenly gift, they longed for a change of fare. It may be noticed that the resemblance of the manna to coriander seed was not in the color, but in the size and figure; and from its comparison to bdellium, which is either a drop of white gum or a white…

Read the full comment on Numbers 11:6-9 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 The manna was as coriander seed - Probably this short description is added to show the iniquity of the people in murmuring, while they had so adequate a provision. But the baseness of their minds appears in every part of their conduct. About the bdellium of the ancients the learned are not agreed; and I shall not trouble the reader with conjectures. See the note on Gen 2:12. Concerning the manna, see the notes on Exodus 16 (note). Num 11:11-15. The complaint and remonstrance of Moses in these verses serve at once to show the deeply distressed state of his mind, and the degradation of the minds of the people. We have already seen that the slavery they had so long endured had served to debase their minds, and to render them incapable of every high and dignified sentiment, and of every generous act.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 11:4-9

Man, having forsaken his proper rest, feels uneasy and wretched, though prosperous. They were weary of the provision God had made for them, although wholesome food and nourishing. It cost no money or care, and the labour of gathering it was very little indeed; yet they talked of Egypt's cheapness, and the fish they ate there freely; as if that cost them nothing, when they paid dearly for it with hard service! While…

Read the full comment on Numbers 11:4-9 →

Numbers 11:7 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.

וְהַמָּ֕ןve.ha.Manand the mannaH4478
כִּזְרַע\־kiz.ra'-[was] like seed ofH2233
גַּ֖דgadcorianderH1407
ה֑וּאHu'itH1931
וְעֵינ֖וֹve.'ei.Noand appearance itsH5869
כְּעֵ֥יןke.'Ein[was] like [the] appearance ofH5869
הַבְּדֹֽלַח\׃ha.be.Do.lach<the> bdelliumH916

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

Cross references for Numbers 11:7

  • 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.

  • Exodus 16:14-15

    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. 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.

  • Genesis 2:12

    And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

    But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

  • Revelation 2:17

    He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the manna.
Ex 16:14,15,31; 1Co 1:23,24; Re 2:17
colour thereof as the colour of. Heb. eye of it as the eyeof. bdellium.
Ge 2:12

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

Context

  • Numbers 11:6

    But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

  • Numbers 11:7

    And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

  • Numbers 11:8

    And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

Read all of Numbers 11

Numbers 11:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y era el maná como semilla de culantro, y su color como color de bdelio.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		– Et la manne était comme la graine de coriandre, et son apparence comme l’apparence du bdellium.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Das Man aber war wie Koriandersamen, und sein Ansehen wie das Ansehen des Bdellion.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Erat autem man quasi semen coriandri, coloris bdellii.