Numbers 11:7

Summary

Numbers 11:7 describes the physical appearance of the manna using two comparisons: its form is compared to coriander seed, and its visual appearance is compared to bdellium. The verse uses parallel construct phrases to build a double simile.

Key words

• ha-Man ("the manna", H4478A) — definite noun, the subject of both comparisons in the verse.
• ki ("[was] like", H9004) — preposition introducing the first simile, linking ha-Man to zra'-gad.
• zra' ("seed of", H2233G) — construct-state noun, grammatically bound to gad, forming the phrase "seed of gad/coriander."
• 'ein-o ("its appearance", H5869I + H9023) — construct noun with pronominal suffix, shifting the comparison from the manna's form to its visual appearance (color/look).
• ke-'Ein ha-bedolach ("like the appearance of the bdellium", H9004 + H5869I + H0916) — second construct chain, parallel to the first, comparing the manna's appearance to a mineral/resin called bedolach.

What the text says

The verse is built as two parallel similes, each introduced by a preposition meaning "like" (ki, H9004, and ke, H9004 again in its second occurrence). The first simile addresses the manna's form: ha-Man ("the manna") ki ("like") zra'-gad ("seed of gad"), using the construct chain zra' ("seed of") bound to gad ("coriander"). The second simile shifts the point of comparison from the substance itself to its appearance, marked by the noun 'ein ("appearance", H5869I) with the third-person suffix -o ("its"), attached to the manna. This appearance is then compared, again via ke ("like"), to 'Ein ha-bedolach — the construct phrase "appearance of the bdellium," where bedolach (H0916) carries the definite article ha-.

The construct chains (zra'-gad, 'ein ha-bedolach) are grammatically identical in structure — noun + bound noun — which produces a symmetrical rhetorical pattern: substance compared to substance, appearance compared to appearance. The pronoun Hu' ("it", H1931) after the first comparison functions as a copula-like element confirming the identification ("it [is] like seed of gad"), a common construction in Biblical Hebrew nominal clauses lacking an explicit verb "to be."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew bedolach (H0916) is rendered by the Vulgate as bdellii ("of bdellium"), matching the Hebrew term closely. The LXX, however, translates the same word with krystallou ("of crystal"), a different substance term than "bdellium." For the first simile, the LXX renders gad with korίou ("coriander"), aligning with the Hebrew gad (H1407) as glossed here, while the Vulgate uses coriandri ("of coriander"), also consistent with that gloss.