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Author Topic:   Manna from Heaven. What the Grossness? (Ex. 16)
Jon
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 4 (432115)
11-03-2007 8:29 PM



Exodus 16:13-31*
13”; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp.
14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a ne, ake-like thing, ne as hoarfrost on the groud.
15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "It is manna." For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them "It is bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
16 This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Gather of it, every man of you, as much as he can eat; you shall take an omer apiece, according to the number of the persons whom each of you has in his tent.'"
17 And the people of Israel did so; they gathered, some more, some less.
18 But when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; each gathered according to what he could eat.
19 And Moses said to them, "Let no man leave any of it till the morning."
20 But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it till morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.
21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
...
31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. (Revised Standard Version)

Is there any actual substance that could have been the inspiration for this story? A couple reasons that I think this could be so include: If this were made up, then after God said He would bring bread, one would doubt the next 'made up' part of the story to be God giving them some wormy foam stuff instead. The description of this stuff is somewhat disgusting. Who makes up a story in which God's salvation ends up being wormy dew-akes? This stuff isn't bread; if the jist of your story is that God brought down bread from heaven, then why make up a description of something that clearly isn't bread?
So, let us, for the sake of this post, make the assumption that there truly was an Exodus, but let us not assume supernatural explanation for everything. Is there any real worldly substance on which this 'manna from heaven' could have been based? A couple important properties to keep in mind:
1) It easily attracts worms;
2) It melts in the heat;
3) It appears shortly after leaving Egypt (Ex 16:13); and
4) It disappears when they nally get where they're going (Josh 5:12).
What in heavens on earth could this stuff be?
Jon
__________
* Some footnote commentary has been inserted to replace the original text where indicated by the RSV.
bible study?
Edited by Jon, : No reason given.
Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist... might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species. - Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species
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En el mundo hay multitud de idiomas, y cada uno tiene su propio significado. - I Corintios 14:10
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A devout people with its back to the wall can be pushed deeper and deeper into hardening religious nativism, in the end even preferring national suicide to religious compromise. - Colin Wells Sailing from Byzantium

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