Not long after leaving Egypt, the Israelites enter the wilderness and begin to complain about food. Their memory of slavery becomes selective: they remember pots of meat and bread in Egypt and accuse Moses and Aaron of bringing the community into the wilderness to die of hunger.

God tells Moses that bread will rain from heaven and that the people are to gather a daily portion. The arrangement will test whether they follow the instructions given to them. In the evening quail cover the camp. In the morning a fine, flaky substance appears on the ground after the dew disappears.

The Israelites look at it and ask what it is. Moses tells them that this is the bread the LORD has given them to eat. Each household is to gather according to its need. The text emphasizes that those who gather much do not have too much and those who gather little do not lack.

They are told not to keep the ordinary daily portion until morning. Some ignore the instruction, and what they save breeds worms and smells. Day by day the manna appears, and day by day the people gather it.

The sixth day is different. They gather twice as much, because the seventh day is a Sabbath. The extra portion does not spoil overnight. Some people nevertheless go out to gather on the seventh day and find nothing. The rhythm teaches Israel that provision and rest belong together: six days of gathering, then a day without gathering.

The Israelites call the food manna. Exodus describes its appearance and taste and says that Israel eats it during the wilderness years. A portion is also preserved as a memorial for future generations. The story presents food as more than relief from hunger. It becomes a repeated lesson that the people who were delivered from Egypt must learn to trust God one day at a time.