Fig. 135—Coriandrum sativum
Coriander occurs in two places in Scripture, viz. Exo 16:31, ’And it (manna) was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made of honey;’ Num 11:7, ’And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium.’ The coriander is known throughout Arabia, Persia, and India, in all of which it is cultivated, being universally employed as a grateful spice, and as one of the ingredients of curie-powder. It is also common in Egypt. It is now very common in the south of Europe, and also in this country, being cultivated, especially in Essex, on account of its seeds, which are required by confectioners, druggists, and distillers, in large quantities: in gardens it is reared on account of its leaves, which are used in soups and salads. The coriander is an umbelliferous plant, the Coriandrum sativum of botanists. The fruit, commonly called seeds, is globular, grayish-colored, about the size of peppercorn, having its surface marked with fine stria. Both its taste and smell are agreeable, depending on the presence of a volatile oil, which is separated by distillation.
A small round seed of an aromatic plant. The plant is a native of China, and is widely diffused in Asia and the south of Europe. Its seeds are planted in March. They are employed as a spice in the East, and are much used by druggists, confectionarists, etc. The manna which fell in the wilderness was like coriander-seed, Exo 16:31 Num 11:7 . See MANNA.\par
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By: Morris Jastrow, Jr., John Dyneley Prince
An umbelliferous plant with white blossoms, which is peculiar to the Mediterranean district (Coriandrum sativum). It is widely cultivated in the East, and grows wild in Egypt and Palestine. It is especially abundant in the valley of the Jordan. Its fruits or seeds, which have a distinctly aromatic flavor, are used in the preparation of confectionery and also in ordinary cooking. They are employed medicinally to produce a stimulative effect and to relieve flatulence.
The only allusions to the plant in the Bible are in Ex. xvi. 31; Num. xi. 7, where the seeds are compared to Manna.
The Hebrew name "gad" was thought by Lagarde to be of Indo-European origin ("Gesammelte Abhandlungen," p. 57). It is probably not connected with any Semitic root (compare Löw, "Aramäische Pflanzennamen," No. 155). By some scholars it is identified with "goid," which the Scholiast in Dioscorides, iii. 64 states is the Punic equivalent of
Bibliography:
H. B. Tristram, Natural History of the Bible, p. 439.
Coriander. An annual herb, growing from one-half to one meter (two to three feet) tall, which produced grayish seeds used to flavor foods, for confections, and in medicine. The dried leaves of coriander were also used to flavor foods.
An annual herb native to Palestine. The fragrant seeds of this plant are mentioned twice in the description of manna (Exodus 16:31; Numbers 11:7). The references in these verses clearly refer to the common coriander plant (Coriandrum sativum).
Coriander was commonly found growing alongside grain in cultivated fields throughout Israel and the surrounding areas. It also grows wild in Egypt. Ancient people used it both as a food flavoring and as medicine. The leaves have a strong, pleasant smell and are used in soups and for flavoring puddings, curries, and wines.
Arabs still use coriander as a spice today. In the Bible, it is mentioned only when describing manna, which was said to look like coriander seeds in size, shape, and color.
See also Food and Food Preparation.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Discussion:
According to EXO 16:31, the miraculous food called “manna” that God sent to the wandering Israelites in the desert was “like coriander seed, white.” Coriander Coriandrum sativum did in fact grow in Egypt and the Holy Land. However, its seed is not very white, but more brown or gray, and the NUM 11:7 tells us that the color was that of bdellium, of which we know almost nothing for certain. Further, the Septuagint has the Greek word korion, which is not coriander. The Arabic name gidda, the cognate of the Hebrew word gad, refers to a different plant, namely wormwood. To complicate the matter further, EXO 16:14 describes manna as “flaky,” whereas coriander seeds are spherical or egg-shaped.
In view of these difficulties, Zohary expresses doubt as to whether the word gad actually refers to the plant we now know as coriander. He speculates that early translators, not knowing what gad referred to, took the Punic word goid for coriander, and made the association between gad and coriander. The writer would have done us a favor if he had said “like coriander flowers,” which can be white, but unfortunately the text has “seed.” Maybe an early narrator or scribe made a mistake in transmitting the text. Could the Hebrew word perach (“flower”) perhaps have been replaced by zera‘ (“seed”)?
However, it is possible that coriander seed really was intended, and that the point of comparison between manna and coriander seeds was their size, which is about 4 millimeters (3/16 inch) in diameter, the size of a peppercorn (black pepper seed). (Thus REB and NAB have “like coriander seed, but white.”) Another possibility is that the writer was thinking of the way the seeds cluster, or of their firmness. We are told in NUM 11:8 that the people pounded the manna in mortars and ground it in mills, suggesting some degree of hardness.
Description:
The coriander plant is around 60 centimeters (2 feet) in height, the upper leaves being finely divided and the lower ones broad, with tiny white or reddish flowers, and a strong odor. The seeds are oily, brown or gray, and about the size of small peas. The leaves and seeds were used in ancient times in cooking, and are still used for soup and salads up to the present. The fragrant oil from the seeds is sometimes used in making perfume and medicine.
Special significance:
As discussed above, coriander is used to describe the appearance of manna. Unfortunately we don’t know whether the point of comparison is the color, shape, size, or texture. Coriander is common in Israel and Egypt, and all the way across to Iraq and India. The leaves are used as a spice for food and also in perfume. But all of that is irrelevant if the point of comparison has to do with the seed.
Translation:
A Handbook on Exodus says that it is the shape and size of the coriander seeds that are the point of comparison between coriander and manna, but since we are not sure, it may be difficult to find a cultural equivalent. So translators can give a generic rendering, as GNB has done (“like a small white seed”), omitting reference to coriander (but including it in a footnote). It is also possible to follow REB and NAB (“like coriander seed, but white”), which disassociate the seed from the color. If this is done, translators may transliterate “coriander” from a major language (for example, French koriyandro, korion; Arabic kuzbara; Portuguese coentro; Spanish cilantro) or from the Hebrew gad.
The Septuagint injects the Greek word for coriander (korion) from EXO 16:31 back into verse 14. Some versions have followed this, but it is not particularly helpful.
Plants and Trees in the Bible © United Bible Societies. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.