Manna and Water from the Rock

In the second month after leaving Egypt, in the wilderness of Sin, the whole congregation murmurs: “Would to God we had died… in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots!” The LORD answers, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.” In the evening, quail cover the camp; in the morning, a small round thing as fine as frost lies on the wilderness. “What is it?” they ask one another. It is manna, like coriander seed, tasting like wafers made with honey. Each person gathers an omer a head, every day; whatever is kept until morning fills with worms. On the sixth day, they gather twice as much, because the seventh is the Sabbath. Israel will eat manna for forty years. At Rephidim, with no water, the people quarrel again. God tells Moses to strike the rock at Horeb with his rod: water pours out. The place is named Massah and Meribah.