|
Coriander "And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour bdellium" (Num.11:7).
There are three different kinds of manna mentioned in the Bible. Firstly, there is the 'apochryphal' manna, mentioned in Baruch, which was bought and sold and bartered. "Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare ye manna, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God" (Baruch 1:10) This referred to the resinous or gummy exudations of various desert trees, such as the manna tamarisk (Tamaria mannifera) and the spiny camelthorn (Alhagi camelorum). It was, to be more precise, the insects feeding on those trees or shrubs which produced this sweet resin. The resin exuded by day hardened at night and could be shaken from the leaves and stems in the early morning. This is still done by Bedouins who sell it to use instead of sugar. The second type of manna grew up during the night when the ground was moist but 'bred worms and stank' in the morning. This was probably gelatinous algae called Nostoc or 'star jelly'; 'When the sun waxed hot, it melted (Exod.16:21) The third type of manna was that which 'fell from heaven'. Pundits have identified this as a lichen (Lecanora Sometimes known as 'angels' food' and 'corn of heaven' these Lecanora lichens, in periods of heat and drought, detached themselves from their base, curled up into little balls (resembling coriander seeds), were carried along by the wind and then settled or 'rained down' upon some distant territory, such as the Sinai Desert, although they never actually grew there. The Children of Israel likened manna to the coriander 'seed' in shape and to bdellium in colour. We know that the Garden of Eden contained 'bdellium and the onyx stone' (Gen.2:12). Bdellium is a gum resin obtained from two different species of Commiphora, one in Africa and the other in India. The Flowers and Fruits of the Bible John Chancellor |
Coriander
is only twice mentioned in the Bible and on each occasion in connection with
'manna' which reminded the Israelites, during their wanderings in the Sinai
desert, of the appearance of coriander seeds. Both references are in the second
and fourth books of Moses. "And the house of Israel called the name thereof
Manna: and it was like a coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like
wafers made with honey" (Exod.16:31)