The Meaning of Psalms 78:24 Explained

Psalms 78:24

KJV: And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.

YLT: And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them.

Darby: And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.

ASV: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And had rained down  manna  upon them to eat,  and had given  them of the corn  of heaven. 

What does Psalms 78:24 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 78:13-24 - "a Table In The Wilderness"
Throughout this wonderful recital there is a perpetual contrast between God's unswerving goodness and the incessant backsliding of His people; and as we read it, we learn that sin is not simply the violation of the divine law, but a source of pain and trouble to our Heavenly Father's heart. For us He cleaves the seas, leads us in the daytime, builds His watch-fires around us at night, and brings streams of blessing from the rocks. But we tempt Him by our incessant unbelief. We say, He certainly did thus and thus, but can He, will He, do this or that? "Can God furnish?" "Can God give bread?"
When shall we dare to believe in our Lord's assurances; first, that "with God all things are possible;" and second, that "all things are possible to him that believeth"? But we must live habitually in fellowship with God before we are able to exercise this faith. As we nourish our souls by feeding on the promises, and studying what He has done in the lives of others, out faith removes all the boundaries with which it had limited the Holy One, and cries, "Thou canst and thou wilt!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 78

1  An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9  The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67  The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David

What do the individual words in Psalms 78:24 mean?

And Had rained down on them manna to eat and of the bread of heaven given them
וַיַּמְטֵ֬ר עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם מָ֣ן לֶאֱכֹ֑ל וּדְגַן־ שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם נָ֣תַן לָֽמוֹ

וַיַּמְטֵ֬ר  And  Had  rained  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָטַר  
Sense: to rain.
עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם  on  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מָ֣ן  manna 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָן 
Sense: manna.
לֶאֱכֹ֑ל  to  eat 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וּדְגַן־  and  of  the  bread 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּגָן  
Sense: wheat, cereal, grain, corn.
שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם  of  heaven 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
נָ֣תַן  given 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.