And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.

PSALMS 78:24KJV
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Psalms 78:24 (KJV)

What does Psalms 78:24 mean?

Psalms 78:24 describes how God provided food for the Israelites by sending manna from heaven for them to eat, calling it "the corn of heaven." The verse highlights God's care and miraculous provision during the Israelites' journey in the wilderness.

The psalm is recounting Israel’s history, with the writer (traditionally Asaph) reminding the people of how God sustained their ancestors after the Exodus from Egypt. The focus here is on the extraordinary way God met their needs, giving them something entirely unexpected and heavenly when they had no food.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 78:24

  • מָן (man, transliterated "manna"): This word refers to the mysterious food God provided. In Hebrew, it carries the sense of something unknown or "What is it?" which matches the Israelites’ reaction when they first saw it.
  • דָּגָן (dagan, transliterated "corn"): This word means "grain" or "corn," but in this context, it is called "the corn of heaven," emphasizing that the food was not ordinary grain but a special, divine provision.
  • שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, transliterated "heaven"): This word means "heaven" or "sky." Its use here underlines that the manna came directly from God, not from any earthly source.

Why Psalms 78:24 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that manna was just a natural phenomenon; the language stresses it was a direct act of God, not something the Israelites could have found or produced themselves.
  • By calling manna "the corn of heaven," the psalm connects the Israelites’ daily food to a heavenly source, showing how God’s care is both practical and miraculous.
  • The verse fits into the larger theme of Psalm 78, which is about remembering God’s faithfulness and the importance of not forgetting how God has provided in the past.

Where else these words appear

“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 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

“down” Hebrew H4305 · used in 14 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • Exodus 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
  • Psalms 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

“corn” Hebrew H1715 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • 2 Chronicles 32:28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.
  • Lamentations 2:12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom.