Gathering of Manna
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows and with special assistance of Mrs. Frederick B. Adams, Sr., Mrs. Robert Charles, Mr. Laurens M. Hamilton, The Heineman Foundation, Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan
Manna rains from heaven and is gathered by Aaron (at the center) and five Israelites—men, women, and a child. Moses, holding a staff, observes from the right. In the side margins, two quotations from Exodus (16:4 and 15) describe the event. The text at right quotes the "sons of Israel" asking themselves what the manna might mean. At the top, New Testament texts (from John 6:11 and 1 Corinthians 11:24) relate the manna to Christ's distribution of loaves to the five thousand and of the bread of his body—the Eucharist—to the apostles at the Last Supper. The latter quotation, "This is my body, which is broken for you," is similar to the words of transubstantiation recited at Mass.