The Gathering of the Manna

Among Christians, this subject is an Old Testament precedent for Holy Communion. Here food is an instrument of Divine Providence, sent to save the lives and souls of the faithful.

The Gathering of the Manna

The Israelites journeying under the leadership of Moses had left Egypt and now found themselves in the Wilderness of Sin, with­out food or any chance of obtaining it. So they rose up against Moses and Aaron, the high priest, demanding to know why the Lord had not caused them to die in Egypt, where they could still eat their fill, whereas here they would certainly die of starva­tion. The lord heard their complaints and, speaking to Moses, promised that every day he would cause enough bread to rain down from heaven to satisfy every member of the congregation of Israel. So Moses gathered his people together and reported what God had told him. He announced that from now on there-would be meat at twilight and bread in the morning for every­one. That evening, a flock of quails alighted at the camp, and in the morning, when the ground was covered with dew, the Israelites found the Lord's "bread," "a fine flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground." As God had bade them, every day each person gathered enough for his or her daily needs. God arranged that on the sixth day the people should gather twice as much, so that on the day of rest none need be gathered. The bread looked like corian­der seed but tasted like wafers made with honey and was called manna. The Israelites lived on this substance for forty years, until they reached the land of Canaan.

Source

Exodus 16:1

Iconography

Among Old Testament stories rendered in art, the gathering of the manna is not a very common iconographical subject and appears to be confined to certain geographical areas. It is found principally in 15th- to 18th-century painting

Master of the Gathering of the Manna, The Gathering of the Manna. 1470. Douai, Musee de la Chartreuse