“What is it?”
The full verse · Exodus 16:15 · KJV
And when the of it, they to , It is : for they not what it was. And unto them, This is the which the hath you to .
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The Israelites directed this question among themselves as they puzzled over the unfamiliar substance, creating a communal moment of wonder before Moses provided clarification.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe question expresses genuine bewilderment at an unprecedented phenomenon, creating space for divine revelation through Moses and establishing that God’s provision transcends human experience and expectation.
The Response
What Scripture recordsMoses answered by identifying the substance as ‘the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat,’ directly attributing this provision to divine intervention and establishing its purpose for sustaining the people (Exodus 16:15).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThe question ‘What is it?’ captures the precise moment when divine provision intersects human experience in unprecedented ways. The Hebrew ‘man hu’ became the very name for this substance, manna, preserving Israel’s initial bewilderment in permanent vocabulary. By asking rather than immediately theorizing, the Israelites demonstrated appropriate humility before mystery, creating space for authoritative explanation. Their question to one another rather than immediate complaint to Moses shows genuine inquiry rather than accusation. This interrogative response carries theological weight because it acknowledges the limits of human categories when encountering God’s direct intervention, preparing the community to receive Moses’s interpretation that frames this phenomenon as covenant faithfulness rather than natural occurrence.
When God’s provision arrives in unfamiliar packaging, your first instinct might be confusion rather than gratitude. The Israelites’ honest bewilderment teaches us that acknowledging our confusion is not spiritual failure but often the doorway to revelation. When circumstances don’t match your expectations of how God should provide, resist the urge to dismiss what you don’t immediately understand. Instead, bring your ‘what is it?’ questions into community and before Scripture, allowing God’s Word to interpret His works. Like the Israelites who had to gather manna daily, you learn to recognize God’s provision through repeated, dependent experience rather than one-time understanding (Matthew 6:11, Lamentations 3:22-23).
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