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

NUMBERS 11:7KJV
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Numbers 11:7 (KJV)

What does Numbers 11:7 mean?

Numbers 11:7 describes the manna that God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, saying it was like coriander seed and its color was like bdellium. This verse gives a physical description of manna, helping readers picture what the Israelites saw each day.

In this part of the story, Moses is recounting how God fed the people during their journey from Egypt. The verse focuses on the appearance of manna, comparing it to known substances—coriander seed (a small, round spice) and bdellium (a resin or gemstone with a pale, whitish color). This detail helps set the scene for the complaints and miracles described in the surrounding verses.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 11:7

  • מָן (mān, "manna"): This is the special food God provided, unique to the Israelites’ wilderness experience. The word itself carries the sense of something mysterious or unexpected.
  • גַּד (gad, "coriander"): Coriander seed is small and round, so this comparison gives a sense of manna’s size and shape.
  • עֵין (ʿayin, "colour"): This word literally means "eye," but here it refers to the appearance or color of the manna, emphasizing what it looked like to the people.
  • בְּדֹלַח (bedolach, "bdellium"): Bdellium is often understood as a pale, whitish resin or possibly a gemstone, so the manna’s color was light and possibly translucent, not dark or golden.

Why Numbers 11:7 matters

  • Numbers 11:7 helps clear up the physical nature of manna, showing it was not just a vague miracle but something tangible and describable.
  • The verse connects the Israelites’ experience to familiar objects, making the story more relatable and concrete for later readers.
  • By describing manna in detail, the verse sets up the contrast between God’s provision and the people’s later complaints, highlighting themes of gratitude and memory in the wider passage.

Where else these words appear

“coriander” Hebrew H1407 · used in 2 verses

  • 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.

“bdellium” Hebrew H916 · used in 2 verses

  • Genesis 2:12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

“manna” Hebrew H4478 · used in 12 verses

  • 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 16:35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
  • 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;