Stocking stuffers for Bible nerds
Somebody on your list reads the footnotes. They know who Eutychus is, they have opinions about Numbers, and they once laughed out loud at a genealogy. Buying for that person is easy if you start small.
This is a gift guide built around the smaller items first, cheapest to priciest. Each one carries a real line from the Bible, word for word, printed plain, with no slogan and no explanation. The verse does the joking. The person holding it gets to explain.
That is the idea behind the name. Manna comes from the Hebrew for “what is it?” because Israel did not know what the bread on the ground was. Exodus 16:15 says, “It is manna: for they wist not what it was.” Someone reads the item, asks what it is, and hears the story. Every design has its own story card, so your Bible nerd will never be stuck for an answer.
If you want the full lineup first, browse all the verses.
Jacob’s Pottage stickers, $12
“And Jacob sod pottage” Genesis 25:29
What it means: Jacob was boiling red lentil stew when his brother Esau came in from the field, starving. Esau traded his birthright, his whole inheritance as the firstborn, for one bowl. He ate, got up, and walked out. Hunger passes. What you trade for it might not.
Stickers are the easiest stocking stuffer on this list. You get three kiss cut vinyl stickers on one sheet, about 5.8 x 8.3 in, for $12. They fit on a laptop, a water bottle, or the cover of a well worn study Bible.
Get the Jacob’s Pottage stickers
File for the Mattocks stickers, $12
“Yet they had a file for the mattocks” 1 Samuel 13:21
What it means: The Philistines banned blacksmiths in Israel so nobody could forge a sword. Israel had to pay the enemy just to sharpen its farm tools. When war came, only Saul and his son Jonathan had swords. God won the battle anyway. He has never been waiting on better equipment.
This is a good pick for the person who loves a verse about farm tools and has never once seen it on a sticker. Same sheet, same $12, and a very specific kind of joke.
Get the File for the Mattocks stickers
White of an Egg mug, $18
“Is there any taste in the white of an egg?” Job 6:6
What it means: Job lost his children, his wealth and his health almost overnight. When his friends showed up, he told them the truth: life had gone so flat that nothing tasted like anything, not even an egg. He didn’t pretend to be fine, and God never let go of him.
The mug is an 11 oz ceramic mug in white or black, $18. The verse is on one side and the answer is on the other, so the story is right there in the person’s hand every morning. It is also a kind gift for a friend who is in a flat season and would rather be understood than cheered up.
Egypt’s Produce Aisle tote, $28
“The cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:” Numbers 11:5
What it means: God was feeding Israel bread from heaven every morning in the desert. They got tired of it and cried for the food they used to eat in Egypt. That grocery list was the menu from their own slavery. They remembered the onions and forgot the slavery.
Of course this one is a tote. It is organic cotton twill, 16 x 14.5 in, for $28, and it is built for carrying cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic home from the store. Anyone behind your person in the checkout line will read it and ask.
Get the Egypt’s Produce Aisle tote
Ten Cheeses poster, $28
“And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand” 1 Samuel 17:18
What it means: Before David faced Goliath, he was running an errand for his dad. Jesse sent him to the front lines with bread for his brothers and ten cheeses for their commander. That delivery put David on the battlefield the day Goliath came out. Small jobs done faithfully are how you end up ready for the big ones.
The poster is the meaning card at 12 x 18 in, matte, for $28. It comes unframed, so it works for the person who already has a frame waiting for something good. It is a fine gift for a kitchen, an office, or a wall that needs one more good verse.
Third Loft tee, $34
“He sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.” Acts 20:9
What it means: Paul preached so long that a young man named Eutychus fell asleep in a third story window, fell out, and died. Paul went down, wrapped his arms around him, and he came back to life. Then they went back upstairs, ate, and Paul kept preaching until sunrise. Whatever interrupted your life is not the end of what God is doing.
The tee costs a bit more than the rest of this list, at $34, and you wear it on your back, where strangers can read it. It comes in sizes S to 4XL, in an Art version or a Text version, in Black or Bone. The Art version adds a simple drawing of the window. The Text version is just the words.
Gnat and Camel framed print, $45
“Which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” Matthew 23:24
What it means: Jesus was talking to religious leaders who gave God a tenth of even their mint and spices but skipped justice, mercy and faithfulness. They strained their drinks through cloth so they would not swallow a gnat, which was unclean. Jesus said they were swallowing a camel, which is also unclean, just bigger. You can be careful about everything except what matters.
The framed print is the meaning card at 8 x 10 in, for $45, with a black, white or red oak frame. It will not fit in most stockings. Hang it somewhere a guest will stop and squint.
Get the Gnat and Camel framed print
When the budget stretches: hoodies and crewnecks
If your Bible nerd gets the main gift too, the verse goes on the back of a garment dyed fleece hoodie for $65 or a crewneck for $50. Both come in sizes S to 3XL. Tees run S to 4XL, so check the size before you pick the style.
How to pick
Think about who is opening it.
- The friend who collects unique verses: stickers.
- The coffee drinker: the White of an Egg mug.
- The one who is always carrying groceries: the tote.
- The one with empty wall space: the poster or framed print.
- The one who will wear it to church and wait to be asked: the tee.
These also work as Christian gifts for people who find most Christian gifts a little too earnest. Nobody is being preached at here. Someone is just handed a surprising Bible line and a story to go with it.
Our store ships to US addresses. If you are outside the US, the Manna’d Etsy shop is the place to look. And if you want to know why we do any of this, our story is short.
Wrap up
A good stocking stuffer is small, a little surprising, and gets a question. A $12 sticker sheet does that. So does a mug, a tote, or a poster about a boy delivering cheese. Pick the verse that made you ask “what is that?” and let someone else ask you.
Now you’ve been Manna’d.
See all eleven verses