Hebrew word · H4490

מָנָה

manah

portion

A counted-out or measured-out share, from מָנָה 'to count, number, assign.' It covers rations and allotted portions, especially portions measured out to someone by another person: priests' and Levites' portions (Neh 12:44, 47 with the related plural), and figuratively the fate meted out to someone.

Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

part, portion

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 16:5

Range of meaning

A counted-out or measured-out share, from מָנָה 'to count, number, assign.' It covers rations and allotted portions, especially portions measured out to someone by another person: priests' and Levites' portions (Neh 12:44, 47 with the related plural), and figuratively the fate meted out to someone.

Against the English

English versions often merge it with ḥēleq into a single word, 'my portion' (NIV), or add an interpretive 'chosen' (BSB, ESV). KJV/YLT keep both nouns ('the portion of mine inheritance' / 'the portion of my share').

How it drifted

'Chosen portion' moves the emphasis from what is assigned to what the speaker chooses. The Hebrew word points to allotment by someone else.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 11:6: on the wicked he rains fire and sulfur, 'a scorching wind is the mənāt of their cup.' That is the same pairing of 'portion' and 'cup' as here, with the opposite content. Jer 13:25: 'This is your lot (gôrāl), the portion (mənāt) measured to you from me.' That passage combines three of this verse's key words.

From the study of Esther 9:22

Range of meaning

A portion or share, especially an allotted serving of food at a meal or sacrifice. By extension it can mean one's lot.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'portions,' and WEB has 'presents of food,' both accurate. BSB's 'sending gifts to one another' drops the food, so a modern reader may picture an exchange of presents.

How it drifted

Translating it as 'gifts' blurs the difference the verse draws between food portions sent to friends (manot) and gifts in general to the needy (mattanot).

Used elsewhere in the period

Neh 8:10, 12: on a holy day the people are told to 'eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions (manot) to anyone who has nothing prepared'. This is a very close parallel. 1 Sam 1:4–5 and 9:23 use it for portions at a sacrificial meal. Esth 2:9 uses it for the food portions Hegai gave Esther. Later rabbinic law (b. Megillah 7a) set the minimum as two kinds of food sent to one person.

From the study of Nehemiah 8:10

Range of meaning

Portions or shares, especially of food: the share from a sacrificial meal (1 Samuel 1:4–5; 9:23), a royal food allowance (Esther 2:9), festive gifts of food (Esther 9:19, 22). Figuratively, one's lot (Psalm 16:5, a related form).

Against the English

"Portions" is accurate, but readers may hear vague charity. The word means a real share from your own festive table.

Used elsewhere in the period

Esther 9:19, 22 uses the same expression ("sending portions") for Purim. Later Jewish practice calls this mishloaḥ manot. Deuteronomy 16:14 requires the poor and the outsider to be included at the festival.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 29:26 לְמָנָֽה׃ to a portion

    Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your portion.

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 7:33 לְמָנָֽה׃ to a portion

    The son of Aaron who presents the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right thigh as a portion.

  2. Leviticus 8:29 לְמָנָ֔ה to a portion

    He also took the breast—Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD had commanded him.

1 Samuel · 3

  1. 1 Samuel 1:4 מָנֽוֹת׃ portions

    And whenever the day came for Elkanah to present his sacrifice, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.

  2. 1 Samuel 1:5 מָנָ֥ה a portion

    But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the LORD had closed her womb.

  3. 1 Samuel 9:23 הַמָּנָ֔ה the portion

    And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside.”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 31:19 מָנ֗וֹת portions

    As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around each of their cities or in any other city, men were designated by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed by the genealogies.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 8:10 מָנוֹת֙ portions

    Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

    Here: Allotted shares of food, like the portions served at a sacrificial meal (1 Samuel 1:4–5). "Sending portions" became a fixed custom of celebration, and Esther 9:19, 22 uses the same phrase for Purim.

  2. Nehemiah 8:12 מָנ֔וֹת portions

    Then all the people began to eat and drink, to send out portions, and to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

    Here: 'Portions': shares of the festive meal set apart and sent to others, so that people with no food ready could feast too. This is the same practice as the gift-sending of Purim (Esther 9:19, 22).

Esther · 3

  1. Esther 2:9 מָנוֹתֶ֙הָ֙ portions her

    And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.

  2. Esther 9:19 מָנ֖וֹת portions

    This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

    Here: Shares of food from the feast, sent out to others. The same idea appears in Nehemiah 8:10, 12.

  3. Esther 9:22 מָנוֹת֙ portions

    as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

    Here: Shares of food, servings from the festive meal. These are not presents in general.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 16:5 מְנָת־ [is] [the] portion of

    The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

    Here: A measured-out share, from a root meaning 'to count, to assign.' It is linked grammatically to the next word: 'the allotted share of my portion.' Stacking two near-synonyms says that this is the share that falls to me, nobody else's.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.