John 6:32

Joh 6:32-33. Jesus said, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven — It was not Moses who in ancient times gave the manna to your fathers, neither was the manna bread from heaven, though it be so called by the psalmist, on account of the thing which it typified: for it dropped from the air only; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven — It was my Father that gave to your ancestors the manna, and he now giveth you the true spiritual, heavenly bread, of which the manna was only a symbolical representation, and which is sufficient to sustain, not a single nation only, but the whole world. For the bread of God — The bread only worthy of that name; is he — Or rather, is that which cometh down, as ο καταβαινων should here be rendered, being a participle, referring to ο αρτος, the bread, which is of the masculine gender: for it appears, from what follows, that our Lord did not intend at once to lay aside the veil, wherein he had wrapped his meaning: for the request made to him in the very next verse, Give us always this bread, shows that he was not yet understood as speaking of a person, which he must have been if his expression had been as explicit as that of our translation. From heaven — Not from the aerial, but from the highest heavens; and giveth life unto the world — Not that which preserveth a mere temporal life to one people only, but imparteth spiritual and eternal life to as many of the whole world as will be persuaded to partake of it; and that from generation to generation.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:32-33 Jesus corrected the people’s argument: God, not Moses, fed Israel in the wilderness. The most important quest is to find and consume the true bread of God, who gives eternal life.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 6:32. Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, verily, verily, I say unto you) This assertion has, especially in this passage, great force, when the Jews had objected to Him, that it was written, Joh 6:31.—οὐ Μωσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, Moses gave you not the bread from heaven) Understand here also τὸν ἀληθινόν, the true. It was not Moses who gave you or your fathers the manna; and the manna was not that true bread from heaven, which is incapable of corruption. Exo 16:20, “Some left of the manna until the morning, and it bred worms and stank.”—δίδωσιν, giveth) In antithesis to δέδωκεν, gave. Now the bread was present: comp. Joh 6:33, “The bread of God is He, which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”—τὸν ἀληθινόν, true) which, whosoever tastes, he will no longer seek any-other sign: for the taste in the bread is of itself a sufficient criterion; and the truth of it shall hereafter be made manifest: Joh 6:39, “This is the Father’s will, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” The truth and the life are often here mentioned.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_6:32-33. Jesus does not mean to deny the miraculous and heavenly origin of the manna in itself (Paulus), nor to argue polemically concerning the O. T. manna (Schenkel), but He denies its origin as heavenly in the higher ideal sense (comp. τὸν ἀληθινόν). The antithesis is not between the ἀήρ and the κυρίως οὐρανός (Chrysostom, Euthymius Zigabenus, Grotius, and most others), but between the type and the antitype in its full realization.

ὑμῖν] your nation.

ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ] here and in the second half of the verse to be joined to δέδωκεν (and δίδωσιν): It is not Moses who dispensed to you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who dispenseth to you from heaven that bread which is the true bread. In Joh_6:31, too, ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ is to be joined with ἔδωκεν; and observe also, that in Exo_16:4 מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם belongs not to לֶחֶם, but to מַמְטִיר. The expression ἐκ τοῦ οὐρ. is taken from Exo_16:4; for, if we follow Psa_78:24; Psa_105:40 (where שׁמים is an attribute of bread), we should have ἄρτον οὐρανοῦ. Comp. Targ. Jonath. Deu_34:6 : Deus fecit descendere filiis Israel panem de coelo.

δίδωσιν] continuously; for Jesus means Himself and His work.

τὸν ἀληθινόν] corresponding in reality to the idea. See on Joh_1:9. Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ὁ ἄρτος τυπικὸς ἦν, προτυπῶν, φησὶν, ἐμὲ τὸν αὐτοαλήθειαν ὄντα, Euthymius Zigabenus. This defining word, placed emphatically at the end, explains at the same time the negative statement at the beginning of the verse.

Joh_6:33. Proof that it is the Father who gives, etc. (Joh_6:32); for it is none other than the bread which is being bestowed by God, that comes down from heaven and giveth life to the world. The argument proceeds ab effectu (ὁ καταβ.… κόσμῳ) ad causam (ὁ ἄρτος τοῦ θεοῦ).

ὁ καταβαίνων, κ.τ.λ.] refers to ὁ ἄρτος, and states its specific property, both as to its origin and working, both being essentially connected; it does not refer to Jesus (He who cometh down, etc.), though, in the personal application of the general affirmation, Jesus, by the bread, represents, and must represent, Himself; and hence the expression cometh down (against Grotius, Dav. Schulz, Olshausen, Fritzsche in his Novis opusc. p. 221, Godet, and others). The direct reference to Jesus would anticipate the subsequent advance of the discourse (Joh_6:35), and would require ὁ καταβάς (Joh_6:41; comp. Joh_6:48). See on Joh_6:50.

ζωήν] life. Without this bread, humanity (ὁ κόσμος) is dead in the view of Jesusdead spiritually (Joh_6:35) and eternally (Joh_6:39-40).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ, who is the true and only author and giver of eternal life, was signified unto the fathers, in Manna.

He denieth that Manna was that true heavenly bread, and saith that he himself is that true bread, because he feedeth unto the true and everlasting life. And as for that, that Paul 1 Cor. 10 calleth Manna spiritual food, it maketh nothing against this place, for he joineth the thing signified with the sign: but in this whole disputation, Christ dealeth with the Jews after their own opinion and conceit of the matter, and they had no further consideration of the Manna, but in that it fed the belly.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Moses gave you not, &c.--"It was not Moses that gave you the manna, and even it was but from the lower heavens; 'but My Father giveth you the true bread,' and that 'from heaven.'"

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 32. Moses gave you not that bread from heaven] Our Lord refutes the argument of the Jews, by proving:

1. That it was not Moses, but God, who gave the manna.

2. That this bread was not the true bread, but was merely a type of it.

3. That God had given them now a bread infinitely more excellent.

4. That himself is that heavenly nourishment of which he spake, and who was typified by the manna in the desert.

To show that himself was the true bread from heaven, he proves two things:

1. That his doctrine was the true nourishment of the soul, and that those who were to be put in possession of the blessings promised in it must come to God by faith.

2. That he would give his body for the life of the world: that as bread is the staff that supports the natural life of man, so the salvation procured by his death should be that by which the bodies and souls of believers should be preserved unto life eternal.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven. Christ appears to contradict what was quoted from the psalm, but he speaks only by comparison. The manna מן is called the bread of heaven, but it is for the nourishment of the body; but the bread which ought truly and properly to be reckoned heavenly, is that which gives spiritual nourishment to the soul. Christ therefore makes a contrast here between the world and heaven, because we ought not to seek the incorruptible life but in the kingdom of heaven. In this passage, truth is not contrasted with shadows, as is often done elsewhere; but Christ considers what is the true life of man, or, in other words, what it is that makes him different from brute beasts, and excellent among the creatures.

My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. When he adds these words, the meaning is,” The manna which Moses gave to your fathers did not bring heavenly life, but now heavenly life is truly exhibited to you.” True, it is the Father whom he calls the giver of this bread, but he means that it is given by his own hand. Thus the contrast relates, not to Moses and God, but to Moses and Christ. Now, Christ represents his Father rather than himself as the Author of this gift, in order to procure for himself deeper reverence; as if he had said, “Acknowledge me to be the minister of God, by whose hands he wishes to feed you to eternal life.” But, again, this appears to be inconsistent with the doctrine of Paul, who calls the manna — spiritual food, (1 Corinthians 10:3.) I reply, Christ speaks according to the capacity of those with whom he has to deal, and this is not uncommon in Scripture. We see how variously Paul speaks about circumcision. When he writes about the ordinance, he calls it the seal of faith, (Romans 4:11;) but when he has to contend with false apostles, he calls it rather a seal of cursing, and that by taking it with the qualities which they ascribed to it, and according to their opinion. Let us consider what was the objection made against Christ, namely, that he did not prove himself to be the Messiah, if he did not supply his followers with bodily food. Accordingly, he does not inquire what it was that was prefigured by the manna, but maintains that the bread with which Moses fed their bellies was not true bread.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(32) Moses gave you not that bread.—Again His solemn words bring to their thoughts the deeper reality which they are passing over. They had implied a contrast between their fathers and themselves, between Moses and Jesus. They expressed the glory of the Mosaic sign in the language of the Psalm; but there the gift is ascribed to God, and it is named to mark the darkness of their unbelief. The gift of God was ever the same. He it was who gave then; He it is who ever giveth. “You think of Moses; but Moses was the messenger of My Father. You speak of bread from heaven; but heaven is My home, from which I am come to give the true bread to the world, which in very truth is its sustenance.” (Comp., for the full sense of “true,” the Note on Joh_1:9.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. Moses gave you not] Christ shews them that He quite understands their insinuation: they are comparing Him unfavourably with Moses. He denies both their points; (1) that Moses gave the manna; (2) that the manna was in the truest sense bread from heaven.

giveth you the true bread, &c.] Literally, giveth you the bread out of heaven (which is) the true bread; ‘true’ in the sense of ‘real’ and ‘perfect’ (see on Joh_1:9); the manna was but the type, and therefore imperfect. Note the change of tense from ‘gave’ to ‘giveth:’ God is continually giving the true bread; it is not a thing granted at one time and then no more, like the manna.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,.... In the way and manner just now mentioned: and which clearly points out Christ himself, who may be called "the bread of God"; to distinguish him from common bread, and to show the excellency of him, and that he is of God's providing and giving, and which he would have his children feed upon:

and giveth life unto the world; a spiritual life, which he is the author, supporter, and maintainer of; and eternal life, which he gives a right unto and meetness for, and nourishes up unto; and this not to a few only, or to the Israelites only, but to the Gentiles also, and even to the whole world of God's elect: not indeed to every individual in the world, for all are not quickened now, not shall inherit eternal life hereafter; but to all the people of God, in all parts of the world, and in all ages of time; of such extensive virtue and efficacy is Christ, the bread of God, in which he appears greatly superior to that manna the Jews instance in.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Ver. 32. I am the true bread] Whereof manna was but a type. Manna is said to have all sorts of good tastes in it: Christ hath so to his. Manna descended in the dew; so doth Christ in his word preached. See Exo 16:14-21 Num 11:7-9. {See Trapp on "Num 11:7"} {See Trapp on "Num 11:8"} {See Trapp on "Num 11:9"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moses gave you not that bread from heaven - This might be translated, “Moses gave you not the bread of heaven.” The word “that,” which makes some difference in the sense, is not necessary to express the meaning of the original. It does not appear that Jesus intended to call in question the fact that their fathers were fed by the instrumentality of Moses, but to state that he did not give them the true bread that was adapted to the wants of the soul. He fed the Body, although his food did not keep the body alive Joh 6:49 but he did not give that which would preserve the soul from death. God gave, in his Son Jesus, the true bread from heaven which was fitted to man, and of far more value than any supply of their temporal wants. He tells them, therefore, that they are not to seek from him any such supply of their temporal wants as they had supposed. A better gift had been furnished in his being given for the life of the world.

My father giveth you - In the gospel; in the gift of his Son.

The true bread - The trite or real support which is needed to keep the soul from death. It is not false, deceitful, or perishing. Christ is called bread, because, as bread supports life, so his doctrine supports, preserves, and saves the soul from death. He is the true support, not only in opposition to the mere supply of temporal wants such as Moses furnished, but also in opposition to all false religion which deceives and destroys the soul.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Moses gave you not bread from heaven; i.e. the manna was not given to your forefathers by Moses, but by God’s goodness. 2ndly, neither came it from heaven, but from the clouds, or from the region of the air only. 3rdly, It did not make them that eat it live for ever; but they that spiritually eat me, the living bread; that is, believe in me, and keep my commandments, shall live for ever. --- Ver. 37, 44, and 66. No one can come to me, unless the Father draw him.[1] These verses are commonly expounded of God’s elect; who are not only called, but saved, by a particular mercy and providence of God. God is said to draw them to himself by special and effectual graces, yet without any force or necessity, without prejudice to the liberty of their free-will. A man, says St. Augustine, is said to be drawn by his pleasures, and by what he loves. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

You are mistaken in your opinion of that manna, which indeed was bread from heaven, spiritual meat, ( as the apostle calleth it, 1Co 10:3), but it was not given you by any power or virtue in or from Moses. Moses said otherwise; when it was first rained down, he told them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat, Exo 16:15. It was the Lord, not Moses, that gave you that bread. Nor was that true spiritual bread; it was only spiritual (as the apostle calleth it) because it was typical, and prefigurative of me.

My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven; it was he that gave your fathers manna, not Moses; and it is he who giveth you me, who am the true bread of which that bread was but typical, a shadow, and a figure.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Verily—These men have fallen below the level possible for Jesus, or for the full sweep of divine mercy to reach. He now simply states, in terms they can comprehend, that his is a gift greater than Moses conferred; a bread of which that manna was but a type, imparting a life infinitely higher than the bread of the wilderness could nourish.

The true bread—The real bread of which the heaven-descended manna was an emblem.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jesus therefore said to them, with the tones of special emphasis, Verily, verily, I say unto you, It was not Moses, of whom you are reasonably thinking with due reverence, who gaveyou the bread out of heaven. There are two assertions here. There is also an implication, which the hearers of Jesus were called on to make.

(1) It was not Moses who gave to your fathers the bread out of heaven, such as the historians, psalmists, and expositors speak of; for such as it was, a needed food for the body rained on you out of heaven, it was the gift of God, not of Moses.

(2) Moreover, the manna was not the veritable "bread of heaven." There is a richer and more nourishing food than that, which alone deserves to be called Bread from heaven. The "corn of heaven," though God"s gift, was not that of which I speak, nay, it was only the shadow and type of that. But my Father is giving you, even now, the veritable bread out of heaven (alhyinon); that which fully answers the description of the term food for your spiritual sustenance, bread which will save your souls alive, which, if assimilated by you, will convey the consciousness and reality of eternal blessedness. The kind of strength which will arise within you when once appropriated, is an eternal possession, an abiding advantage; the satisfaction is not exhausted by a short interval, it remains forever. The Son of man is entrusted with power to bestow it. He is sealed and sanctified and sent into the world for this purpose. This bread is veritably from heaven. Moses did not even give, nor was he the almoner even of, the manna. All the giving then was God"s work, but he whom God has sent, on whom you have to believe, is a veritable Giver of this true bread from heaven.

The true Bread.

From any other than Jesus Christ this language would have been egotistical in the extreme. Coming from his lips, referring as it did to himself, this declaration is natural enough. For since he was the Son of God, no claim inferior to this would have been just. It is a marvellous metaphor, this, in which our Lord proclaims himself the true Bread, the Bread from heaven, the Bread of God, the Bread of life.

I CONSIDER THE HUNGER OF THE SOUL WHICH IS PRESUMED. The body is dependent upon food for life, health, and strength; and the appetite of hunger prompts to the seeking and partaking of food. There is a correspondence between the hunger that craves and the bread that satisfies; an adaptation of the supply to the necessity. There is a parallel arrangement in the spiritual realm. Man is a weak, dependent, craving being, with an ineradicable desire for the highest good a desire not to be appeased by earthly provisions. It is a spiritual appetite, which in many is deadened by carnal indulgence, by sinful habit, yet which ever and anon recurs. What a revelation of soul yearning would there be, could the inner nature and experience of any congregation be exposed to an observer"s view!

II CONSIDER THE BREAD OF THE SOUL WHICH IS PROVIDED.

1. Christ, as the true Bread, is the gift of the Father. All the family are dependent upon the liberality and thoughtfulness of the great Father and Benefactor. If "he openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing," it.is not to be believed that, providing for the lower wants, he will neglect the higher. And, as a matter of fact, he has not done so.

2. Christ is the Bread "from heaven." As such he was prefigured by the manna of the wilderness. This gift is bestowed from the sphere of the spiritual and supernatural, which is thus brought near to our souls.

3. He is the true, the real Bread. There is no hollow pretence in this gift. God is not a Father who, if his son ask bread of him, will give him a stone.

He who made the soul of man knows how that soul"s wants can be fully and forever met.

III CONSIDER THE SATISFACTION OF THE SOUL WHICH IS SECURED.

1. Christ is partaken, not by physical eating, but by communion of the spirit with the Saviour. Faith is the means of appropriating the Divine provision. Jesus in this conversation especially warned his disciples of the error into which some of them afterwards fell the error of confounding carnal with spiritual participation of his body and blood.

2. The result of feeding by faith upon the Bread of life is satisfaction and gladness, health and vigour of soul, and a life which is immortal. "If a man eat this Bread, he shall live forever." As the hunger of the Israelites was appeased by the manna, as the hunger of the multitude was appeased by the miraculous multiplication of loaves in the wilderness, so have myriads in every age partaken of the true and spiritual Bread, and have borne witness to its efficacy to satisfy their deepest cravings, and to nourish their spiritual life. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moses gave you not bread from heaven - It was not Moses who gave the manna to your fathers; but my Father who now giveth the true bread from heaven. Psalm lxxviii, 24.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Upon the Jews mentioning manna to our blessed Saviour, he takes occasion to make a comparison betwixt himself, the bread of life, and manna, the bread of Moses, and that in three particulars.

1. It was not Moses that gave the Israelites that manna, it was God at the prayer of Moses; but it was God that now offered them the bread of life, were they willing to accept it.

2. The manna was not given from heaven, that is, from the celestial heaven, but only from the air and clouds, which frequently in the scripture is called heaven; but Christ the bread of life was given, and sent by, the Father from the highest heaven, even the heaven of glory.

3. Manna was not true spiritual food effectively and of itself, but bodily food only: but Christ is real and spiritual bread, which gives life to lost and dead men; which manna did not, could not do. And whereas manna was peculiar to Israel only, Christ gives life to all sorts of persons, Gentiles as well as Jews, The bread of God giveth life unto the world.

Learn hence, That as Christ is the truth and substance of all types in the Old Testament, so particularly, the manna was an illustrious type of Christ. In many things they agree; and in some they differ.

They agree in their original: manna came down from above, so did Christ: manna was freely given, so is Jesus Christ the free gift of God: manna was not fit to be eaten as it lay in the field, but must be ground in a mill, or beaten in a mortar, and baked in an oven before it was fit for food: Christ was ground by his sufferings, bruised on the cross, scorched in the fiery oven of his Father’s wrath, that he might become a fit Saviour for us.

Again, as the manna was gathered by the Israelites daily and equally: it was ruined down about their tents, and every man had his omer: thus is Christ in the ministry of the word daily offered to a lost world, and all that believe in him, shall share alike in the benefit of the justification, sanctification, and glorification from him; but now the manna and Christ differ in this: and the truth excels the type thus: there is a quickening, enlivening virtue, a life giving, and a life upholding power in Christ the bread of life, which was never found in manna, the bread of Israel; and whereas manna only fed the body of an Israelite, and this only for a little time in the wilderness: Christ nourisheth the soul, the souls of all believers, be they Jew or Gentile, bond or free, and this not for a time, but for eternity; The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. Moses gave you not that bread from heaven. It was not Moses, with whom they were disposed to compare him, who furnished the manna in the wilderness, but the Lord (Exod. 16:15). He still feeds the Israel of God on its way to the heavenly Canaan. My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. The true bread is for the soul instead of the body. It satisfies the soul's hunger and keeps it alive. The Father gives it by sending the Son, the true bread of Life. Of the true bread the manna was a type.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Truly, truly

See how you translated this in John 1:51.

it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven

The "true bread" is a metaphor for Jesus. AT: "The Father gives to you the Son as the true bread from heaven" (See: Metaphor and Translating Son and Father)

my Father

This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)

gives life to the world

"gives spiritual life to the world"

the world

Here the "world" is a metonym for all of the people in the world who trust in Jesus. (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Moses

God the Father

heaven

life

world

lord

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

32. Μωυσῆς. See on Joh 1:17. Christ answers their thought rather than their questions, τί ποιεῖς; τί ἐργάζῃ; He shews them that He understands their insinuation, that He is inferior to Moses, and He denies both their points; (1) that Moses gave the manna; (2) that the manna was in the truest sense bread out of heaven.

τὸν ἄρτον … τὸν ἀληθινόν. Emphatic repetition of the article; the bread out of heaven, the true bread; ‘true’ in the sense of ‘real’ and ‘perfect,’ a complete realisation of what it professes to be; see on Joh 1:9. The manna was only a type, and therefore imperfect. Note the change from ἔδωκεν to δίδωσιν: God is continually giving the true bread; it is not given at one time and then no more, like the manna.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32.] Our Lord lays open the course of their argument. They have not mentioned Moses,—nor was the giving of the manna a miracle performed by Moses;—but He knew that the comparison between Moses and Himself was in their minds, and answers by exposing the error which represented Moses as the giver of the manna. Neither again was that the true bread from heaven. It was, in one sense, bread from heaven;—but not in this sense. It was a type and shadow of the true bread from heaven, which My Father is giving (δίδωσιν,—or perhaps the abstract present,—giveth) to you. Our Lord does not here deny, but asserts the miraculous character of the manna.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. Jesus corrects a twofold misapprehension on the part of His questioners. First, it was not Moses who was the giver of the manna, but God, whose instrument he was; and, secondly, the manna, while it was in a sense “bread from heaven,” was not the true Bread of God. This momentous saying is introduced by the solemn ὀμὴν ἀμήν (see on 1:51).

The objectors had not named Moses, but Jesus knew what was in their minds, and that they were disparaging Him in comparison with Moses.

ἔδωκεν (BDLW) is the true reading, rather than δέδωκεν of the rec. text (אATΓΔΘ). The aor. points to a definite historical date in the past.

οὐ Μωϋσῆς ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τ. οὐ., “Moses did not give you that (τὸν) bread from heaven”; what had been given to their fathers might be spoken of as given to them who were the heirs and descendants of the ancient race that came out of Egypt. The manna of old was in a true sense the gift of God; that is not questioned in the reply of Jesus: what He questions is that it was given by Moses.

ἀλλʼ ὁ πατήρ μου. For this significant phrase, see on 2:16.

δίδωσιν ὑμῖν. “Gives,” not “gave.” The Divine gift now to be revealed is continuously offered.

τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν, “the genuine Bread from heaven”; see on 1:9 for ἀληθινός, and note its use in the dialogue with the Samaritan woman at 4:23. It seems to be implied, although not directly expressed yet, that the genuine heavenly Bread must be such as will nourish the heavenly life, the life of “the kingdom of heaven.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moses gave you not [ου μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν] . The antithesis is between Moses and my Father. So Rev., rightly, "it was not Moses that gave you," etc. - "but my Father giveth," etc. Some editors change the perfect tense, dedwken, hath given, to the aorist, edwken, gave.

The true bread from heaven [τον αρτον εκ τουουρανου τον αληθινον] . The translation would gain by following the Greek order, "the bread out of heaven, the real bread."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 32, 33. “Jesus therefore said to them: Verily, verily, I say unto you: Moses did not give you the bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; 33 for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.”

Until this point, the thought of the auditors seemed to move in accord with that of Jesus, but this was due to an ambiguity: Jesus made announcement of a bread of a higher nature, and the Jews accepted the offer willingly, but on the condition that this food should be not only miraculous in its origin, but also of a material nature, like the manna, an ambrosia falling from heaven. Jesus now gives an explanation which brings to light the opposition between His thought and theirs.

The formula amen, amen foreshadows this contrast in the two points of view. The perfect δέδωκεν must be preferred to the aorist, which seems to have been introduced from Joh 6:31. The sense of the perfect is this: “The gift of the heavenly bread is not a thing which Moses accomplished for your fathers and yourselves.” The predominant contrast is not that of the two objects (Keil), but that of the two subjects. If they are in possession of the true bread from heaven, it is not by the act of Moses, it is by the gift of the Father who sends it to them at this very moment. This is what is indicated by the present δίδωσι, gives, which already affords a suggestion of what Jesus is about to say, namely, that it is God who makes this gift in His person. The word τὸν ἀληθινόν, the true, is added at the end of the sentence in order to place the spiritual, divine essence of this bread in contrast with such a gift as that of the manna, which, although miraculous in its origin, was material in its nature. The limiting words from heaven belong here and in the following verse, not to the verb has given (in opposition to Meyer)—but as in Psa 78:24, to the substantive bread. The position of this limiting word in the Greek indicates this, and it is on the idea of bread from heaven that the discussion turns.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.