On Bread Alone: The Symbolic Function of Manna in the Hebrew Bible

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My doctoral project is an exploration of the literary symbol of manna* in the text of the Hebrew Bible and the development of the understanding of its theological significance in subsequent interpretation, showing its development as a malleable connection to conceptualizing divine faithfulness, wisdom, and creation. The core research question is twofold: how does highlighting the role of manna in certain texts aid the audience's understanding of their cultural narrative, and how do changes in the cultural narrative influence how the symbol becomes used in turn? Fundamentally, it is an exploration of the hermeneutical process as dialogical-how the understanding of texts and stories adapts to changing contexts throughout time-and the role of metaphors in that process. In order to evaluate the development, the project will undergo an exegetical survey of the passages which incorporate manna in the Hebrew Bible; it will then apply these findings to explain in turn texts from early Judaism and Christianity.