According to Exodus 16, for how many years did the Israelites eat manna?

According to Exodus 16, the Israelites ate manna for forty years.

The chapter describes manna as the food God provided for Israel in the wilderness. It appeared each morning, with special instructions for gathering it before the Sabbath. Exodus concludes its account by stating that the Israelites ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

The forty-year figure is related to, but not identical with, the separate statement that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Manna is specifically described as continuing throughout that wilderness period. The number should also not be confused with Moses's forty days on Mount Sinai, a different interval mentioned elsewhere in the Exodus narrative.