4478. man
Lexical Summary
man: Manna

Original Word: מָן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: man
Pronunciation: mahn
Phonetic Spelling: (mawn)
KJV: manna
Word Origin: [from H4100 (מָה מַה מָ מַ מֶה - what)]

1. (literally) a whatness (so to speak), i.e. manna (so called from the question about it)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
manna

From mah; literally, a whatness (so to speak), i.e. Manna (so called from the question about it) -- manna.

see HEBREW mah

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. מָן noun masculineNumbers 11:9 manna (= Arabic , known to Bedouin in Sinai Peninsula; a juice exuding in heavy drops from twigs (some say also the leaves) of ˆarfa (ˆªrfa) tree (tamarix gallica mannifera) in West Sinai Peninsula, end of May and in June, sweet, sticky, honey-like; compare DiExodus 16:36 RobBRi. 75, 115, 590 EbGS 233 ff., 574 ff. SocZMG xxxiv. 1881, 254); — ׳מ absolute Exodus 16:15 12t., suffix מַנֵךָ Nehemiah 9:20: — manna: וַיּאֹמְרוּ מָן הוּא כִּי לֹא יָָֽדְעוּ מַההֿוּא Exodus 16:15; Exodus 16:31; Exodus 16:33; Exodus 16:35; Exodus 16:35; Numbers 11:6,7,9 (described Exodus 16:14,31; Numbers 11:7; accompare dew Exodus 16:14; Numbers 11:9); ceased after Israel reached Canaan Joshua 5:12 (twice in verse); as 2nd accusativeהֶאֱכִילְךָ אֶתהַֿמָּן Deuteronomy 8:3, compare Deuteronomy 8:16 מָן לֶאֱכֹל וַיַּמְטֵר עֲלֵיהֶם Psalm 78:24; וּמַנְךָ לֹאמָֿנַעְתָּ מִמִּיהֶם Nehemiah 9:20.

II. מָן in Exodus 16:15 (with reference to the manna) מַההֿוּא וַיּאֹמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶלאָֿחִיו מָן הוּא כִּי לֹא יָָֽדְעוּ, most probably 'What is it?' the question being intended as a popular etymology of מָן 'manna,' based upon the late Aramaic What ? (man is 'Who?' in Arabic, Aramaic מַן ), Mandaean (מאן), Ethiopic (manu), 'What?' in these dialects being מָה מָא (Ethiopic ment); מָן in the sense of 'What?' must correspond to the later Syriac contracted from ᵑ7 מָדֵין§ 68 WSG 125).



Topical Lexicon
Description and Physical Characteristics

Mān is the miraculous food that appeared on the wilderness floor each morning during Israel’s forty-year sojourn. “The house of Israel named the substance manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). Fine, scale-like, and easily melted by the sun, it required prompt gathering and immediate dependence on God.

Divine Provision in the Wilderness

First granted after the Red Sea deliverance, manna answered Israel’s complaints of hunger (Exodus 16:15). Six days each week the bread fell; a double portion came on the sixth, underscoring the Sabbath principle. For four decades “the Israelites ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan” (Exodus 16:35). The daily miracle bore witness to the LORD’s covenant faithfulness and His power to sustain His people apart from natural resources.

Covenant Significance

An omer of manna was set “before the LORD to be preserved for the generations to come” (Exodus 16:33), later placed inside the ark of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4). This memorial testified that the same God who redeemed Israel also sustained Israel, knitting together deliverance and ongoing provision within the covenant story.

Instructional Purpose

Manna taught wholehearted dependence. Moses reflected, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna…to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3). The daily rhythm of gathering inculcated obedience, gratitude, and trust, shaping the nation’s spiritual formation.

End of Manna

As soon as Israel tasted the produce of the Promised Land, “the manna ceased the day after they ate the food from the land; there was no more manna for the Israelites” (Joshua 5:12). The cessation marked the transition from nomadic testing to covenant settlement, confirming that God’s provisions change with His people’s seasons yet never fail.

Later Biblical Reflections

Nehemiah recalls, “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger” (Nehemiah 9:20), while the psalmist declares, “He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven” (Psalm 78:24). These retrospective praises present manna as emblematic of heavenly generosity and covenant mercy.

Typological and Christological Fulfillment

Jesus identifies Himself as the true and greater manna: “It is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven… I am the bread of life” (John 6:32-35). The wilderness bread thus foreshadows Christ, who satisfies spiritual hunger, sustains eternal life, and offers continual fellowship. Just as the Israelites gathered manna daily, believers are called to ongoing communion with Christ through His Word and Spirit.

Ministerial Applications

1. Dependence: Ministry flourishes only when leaders seek daily grace rather than stockpiling yesterday’s supply.
2. Sabbath Rest: Manna’s rhythm commends deliberate rest that honors God’s sufficiency.
3. Discipleship: Teaching believers to rely on Scripture echoes manna’s lesson that life is sustained by God’s spoken word.
4. Stewardship: Gathering “each one as much as he needs” (Exodus 16:18) guides equitable sharing and contentment.
5. Gospel Proclamation: Presenting Christ as the living bread meets the world’s ultimate hunger, fulfilling manna’s prophetic portrait.

Forms and Transliterations
הַמָּ֖ן הַמָּ֜ן הַמָּ֥ן הַמָּן֙ המן וְהַמָּ֕ן וּמַנְךָ֙ והמן ומנך מָ֑ן מָ֣ן מָן֙ מן ham·mān hamMan hammān man mān ū·man·ḵā umanCha ūmanḵā vehamMan wə·ham·mān wəhammān
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 16:15
HEB: אֶל־ אָחִיו֙ מָ֣ן ה֔וּא כִּ֛י
NAS: another, What is it? For they did not know
KJV: to another, It [is] manna: for they wist
INT: about another What he for

Exodus 16:31
HEB: אֶת־ שְׁמ֖וֹ מָ֑ן וְה֗וּא כְּזֶ֤רַע
NAS: named it manna, and it was like coriander
KJV: the name thereof Manna: and it [was] like coriander
INT: of Israel the name manna he seed

Exodus 16:33
HEB: מְלֹֽא־ הָעֹ֖מֶר מָ֑ן וְהַנַּ֤ח אֹתוֹ֙
NAS: an omerful of manna in it, and place
KJV: full of manna therein, and lay it up
INT: full an omer of manna up before

Exodus 16:35
HEB: אָֽכְל֤וּ אֶת־ הַמָּן֙ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה
NAS: of Israel ate the manna forty years,
KJV: of Israel did eat manna forty years,
INT: of Israel ate the manna forty years

Exodus 16:35
HEB: נוֹשָׁ֑בֶת אֶת־ הַמָּן֙ אָֽכְל֔וּ עַד־
NAS: they ate the manna until
KJV: they did eat manna, until they came
INT: land to an inhabited the manna ate until

Numbers 11:6
HEB: בִּלְתִּ֖י אֶל־ הַמָּ֥ן עֵינֵֽינוּ׃
NAS: to look at except this manna.
KJV: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes.
INT: except about manna to look

Numbers 11:7
HEB: וְהַמָּ֕ן כִּזְרַע־ גַּ֖ד
NAS: Now the manna was like coriander seed,
KJV: And the manna [was] as coriander seed,
INT: now the manna seed coriander

Numbers 11:9
HEB: לָ֑יְלָה יֵרֵ֥ד הַמָּ֖ן עָלָֽיו׃
NAS: at night, the manna would fall
KJV: in the night, the manna fell
INT: night fall the manna and

Deuteronomy 8:3
HEB: וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־ הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־
NAS: and fed you with manna which
KJV: and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest
INT: you be hungry and fed manna which nor

Deuteronomy 8:16
HEB: הַמַּֽאֲכִ֨לְךָ֥ מָן֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר
NAS: He fed you manna which
KJV: thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers
INT: fed manna the wilderness which

Joshua 5:12
HEB: וַיִּשְׁבֹּ֨ת הַמָּ֜ן מִֽמָּחֳרָ֗ת בְּאָכְלָם֙
NAS: The manna ceased on the day after
KJV: And the manna ceased on the morrow
INT: ceased the manna the day had eaten

Joshua 5:12
HEB: לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מָ֑ן וַיֹּאכְל֗וּ מִתְּבוּאַת֙
NAS: longer had manna, but they ate some
KJV: of Israel manna any more; but they did eat
INT: the sons of Israel manna ate of the produce

Nehemiah 9:20
HEB: נָתַ֖תָּ לְהַשְׂכִּילָ֑ם וּמַנְךָ֙ לֹא־ מָנַ֣עְתָּ
NAS: to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold
KJV: them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth,
INT: gave to instruct your manna did not withhold

Psalm 78:24
HEB: וַיַּמְטֵ֬ר עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם מָ֣ן לֶאֱכֹ֑ל וּדְגַן־
NAS: He rained down manna upon them to eat
KJV: And had rained down manna upon them to eat,
INT: rained and manna to eat food

14 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4478
14 Occurrences


ham·mān — 6 Occ.
mān — 6 Occ.
ū·man·ḵā — 1 Occ.
wə·ham·mān — 1 Occ.

4477
Top of Page
Top of Page