Exodus 16:13-21

"These [quail still] fly in such dense masses that the Arab boys often kill two or three at a time, by merely striking at them with a stick as they fly. . . . But in spring the quails also come northwards in immense masses from the interior of Africa, and return in autumn, when they sometimes arrive so exhausted, that they can be caught with the hand. . . ." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:66-67.]

Egyptian art pictures people catching the birds in hand nets. [Note: Hannah, p. 134.]

The Hebrew word man, translated into Greek manna and transliterated from Greek into the English word "manna," is an interrogative particle that means "What?" The Greek word manna means "grain" or "bread." From this has come the idea that the manna was similar to bread. An omer is about two quarts dry measure (Exodus 16:16).

Jesus Christ compared Himself to the manna (John 6:33; John 6:47-51; John 6:53-58). It is a type (a divinely intended illustration) of Christ. Our Lord gave Himself unreservedly, but each Christian has no more of Him experientially than we appropriate by faith. Manna also represents Christ in His humiliation giving His flesh so we might have life (John 6:49-51). To meditate on Him is to feed on the true manna (John 6:38-40).

Students of Exodus have explained Exodus 16:18 in various ways. Some old Jewish commentators said it describes what happened when each family had finished collecting the manna and had gathered in their tent to pool their individual amounts. Then they discovered that they had collected just the right quantity for their needs. Some Christian commentators have suggested that the Israelites gathered all the manna each day in one central place and from there each family took as needed. There was always enough for everyone. The former explanation seems to fit the context better.