Texts in Conversation
Wisdom of Solomon describes manna as the “food of angels,” following the Greek Septuagint translation of Psalm 77, which calls the manna “bread of angels.” This interpretation differs from the Hebrew, which uses the ambiguous “food of the mighty.”
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Psalm 77:25
Septuagint
23 Yet he commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24 and rained upon them manna to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven. 25 Man ate angels' bread; he sent them provision to the full. 26 He removed the south wind from heaven; and by his might he brought in the southwest wind. 27 And he rained upon them flesh like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the seas.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Wisdom of Solomon 16:20
Deuterocanon
18 For at one time the flame was restrained, that it might not burn up the creatures sent against the ungodly, but that these themselves as they looked might see that they were chased by the judgment of God. 19 At another time even in the midst of water it burns more intensely than fire, that it may destroy the produce of an unrighteous land. 20 Instead of these things, you gave your people angels’ food to eat, and you provided ready-to-eat bread for them from heaven without toil, having the virtue of every pleasant flavor, and agreeable to every taste. 21 For your nature showed your sweetness toward your children, while that bread, serving the desire of the eater, changed itself according to every man’s choice. 22 But snow and ice endured fire, and didn’t melt, that people might know that fire was destroying the fruits of the enemies, burning in the hail and flashing in the rains;
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The way food of angels is dealt with in the book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon 16:20) should not be too easily linked with the traditions addressed above. The key to this, namely that the book of Wisdom calls manna the “food of angels,” is well-known for a long time now. The background surely can be found in Psalm 78:24‐25 and its Greek translation. In its relecture of Israel’s history this text reminds us of the miraculous feeding of the people in the desert. Psalm 78:24 assigns the manna as “bread from heaven” (Psalm 77:24 LXX: “bread of heaven”). Even more interesting is Psalm 78:25. The Hebrew text says “food of the noble ones” or “food of the strong ones.” The LXX renders it as (Psalm 77:25), “food of angels.” The Book of Wisdom thus follows here an interpretation of the manna narratives like the one presented in Psalm 77:24‐25 LXX. How much Wisdom of Solomon 16:20 and Psalm 77:24‐25 LXX are linked with each other can be seen with the help of Wisdom of Solomon 16:20 ..."
Tobias Nicklas, “'Food of Angels' (Wis 16:20),” in Studies in the Book of Wisdom, ed. Géza G. Xeravits and József Zsengellér, JSJSup 142 (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 83–100.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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