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Original fileVerzamelen van het manna
About This Work
Figures in the foreground stoop to collect small granules of food from the earth into large bowls, baskets, and jars. Moses, distinguished by rays of light emanating from his forehead, stands with Aaron—who wears a priestly breastplate—near the center of the encampment. In the background, the manna is shown descending from a break in the clouds over a distant mountain range and a field of tents.
In the Renaissance and early modern periods, manna was often interpreted through the lens of natural philosophy as 'ros coeli' (celestial dew). Paracelsians and alchemists viewed this as an astral balsam or a physical manifestation of the world-soul that descended from the stars to provide life-sustaining quintessence.
Inscriptions
Gerardus de Iode excudebat Tritica missa venit de summo vertice celi, Sidereisq; pluit dulcia manna plagis. Exod. 16.
Translation
Gerardus de Iode published this Wheat sent comes from the highest peak of heaven, And sweet manna rains down from the starry regions. Exod. 16.
Connected Texts
Paracelsus
Paracelsian medical theory often equated biblical manna with the 'astral balsam' or 'mumia' required for the preservation of the human body.
Exodus 16
The primary biblical source text for the scene depicted.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 193 mm x width 262 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.