Was Manna a mushroom?

Was Manna a mushroom?

The Bible is quite an interesting book because while things might be described in the most scrupulous of details, such as Manna, a miraculous food provided to Moses and the Israelites during their travels in the desert, we still don't know what it was. Some scholars and religious historians view Manna as a natural substance, possibly a resin or honey-like substance. In contrast, others interpret it as a spiritual or symbolic manifestation of God's provision. You might ask, why care either way what was "rained" from Heaven? Well, some historians believe it could've been mycelium, some kind of mushroom, maybe even a psychedelic 🍄 one. That's a curious thought, don't you think?

Let's look at what's written in Exodus of the English Standard Version when Manna first appears in the Bible.

Exodus 16:4: "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not."

If you are a Biblical literalist (such as Evangelicals, Protestants, and Catholics), you may read this as physical bread falling from the sky; if you are a contextualist, you may interpret this as rain bringing a sort of fertility to the land, allowing the Manna to grow. Mushroom 🍄 activity can begin just a few days after a rainfall. 

Exodus 16:5: "On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." 

Israelites were instructed to pick up Manna every day, except on the day before the Sabbath, when they were to gather double the amount and prepare it as needed so that they could rest on the Sabbath according to God's commandment. Most plants don't grow in such flushes, where you could see them double, but mushrooms 🍄 do. 

Exodus 16:14: "And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground."

Mushrooms all develop a root system, which sometimes does appear frost-like. Nature guides mushrooms to spawn when the early morning dew evaporates from the top of the mycelium.

Exodus 16:18: "But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat." 

For those who don't know, an omer is roughly a gallon. Mushrooms 🍄 , being 92% water, grow by cell expansion and not division, which means they pump their existing cells by putting on water weight and stretching themselves out. So, by collecting smaller mushrooms, one would indeed have no lack as they are more potent and have less water weight. 

Exodus 16:20: "But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them." 

This is rare for most plants to happen overnight. However, since mushrooms 🍄 provide a moist and nutritious environment for the development of insect eggs and larvae, species of flies, beetles, and other insects use mushrooms as a suitable habitat for laying eggs and raising their young. That is why (especially when you get the psychedelic 🍄🌈 ones) mushrooms are almost exclusively sold dry. So thank God for the tip. 

Exodus 16:21: "Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted." 

Once again, mushrooms are very sensitive to heat because they are 92% water. Mushrooms 🍄 will literally "melt" if left under the sun. 

Exodus 16:31: "Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 

While "honey" tasting mushrooms aren't familiar, one that resembles honey taste today is Armillaria mellea, also found in the Middle East, but who knows what other mushrooms might've existed over 3000 years ago. 

When it comes to the coriander-like seed, some mushrooms do indeed look like it, especially the psychedelic ones (picture below).

manna coriander seed

manna coriander seed

manna coriander seed

Exodus 16:33: "And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations."

Now, how does one fill a jar with mushrooms and preserve their freshness for several generations? It's easy if you dry them.

This jar would later be kept in the Ark of the Covenant.

Now, why not just stop there and say it was a mushroom? Why speculate it has psychoactive 🍄🌈 properties? Several. In Exodus, the Israelites save a pot of Manna and put it in the Ark of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:4). In Daniel, King Belshazzar drinks from the vessels stolen from the temple... and within the hour has a divine vision. Coincidence? I think not. Mushroom users know shroommy tea takes roughly 20-40 minutes to kick in.

You might ask, did they trip every time they made this mushroom bread? No. God was pretty specific in directing the Israelites to collect the mushrooms every day, leaving none till the morning and not letting the new one's sprout. Since only the very first fruiting was picked up (except for the day before the Sabbath when two fruiting's were picked), this brings psilocin levels to generally zero (according to a study). If anything, they "maybe" had a mini trip on Sundays by picking up the second flush on a Saturday. 

And lastly, throughout the Bible, Manna is referred to as:

1. "Bread from heaven" (Exodus 16:4)

2. "Food of angels" (Psalm 78:25)

3. "Bread of the mighty" (Psalm 78:25)

4. "What is it?" (a direct translation of "manna" in Hebrew, as the people of Israel asked when they first saw it - Exodus 16:15)

5. "Bread of the wilderness" (Nehemiah 9:20)

6. "The grain of heaven" (Psalm 78:24)

7. "Sustenance from God" (Exodus 16:16)

Other cultures also have their own words for Godly foods.

Ancient Greece - Kykeon; psychoactive compounded brew to "see the gods."

Ancient Greece - Ambrosia. Honey-like. Not psychoactive.

Norse mythology - Idun's Apples. Mythical apples said to grant immortality to those who consumed them. Not psychoactive.

Ancient Aztec - Teonanacatl, also known as "flesh of the gods," is an ancient Aztec name for the psilocybin mushroom.

Ancient India - Amrita, a celestial drink that grants immortality. Not psychoactive.

Ancient India - Soma, a Vedic ritual drink, "drink of the gods". Various theories suggest it was a type of ephedra or a psychedelic mushroom.

Zoroastrianism - Haoma, "drink of the gods." It is believed to have been derived from the ephedra plant or a psychedelic mushroom. 

Native American - Peyote, "food of the gods." The peyote cactus contains psychoactive alkaloids.

So, what do you think, did everyone at Mount Senai hallucinate 🫠 or did God talk to them? Or maybe both? Quite a trip that would have been...