The Definition of the word Manna

Manna

Heb. man-hu, What is that?" the name given by the Israelites to" the food miraculously supplied to them during their wanderings in the wilderness (Ex. 16:15-35). The name is commonly taken as "derived from man, an expression of surprise, "What is it?" but" "more probably it is derived from manan, meaning "to allot," and" "hence denoting an "allotment" or a "gift." This "gift" from God" "is described as "a small round thing," like the "hoar-frost on" "the ground," and "like coriander seed," "of the colour of" "bdellium," and in taste "like wafers made with honey." It was" "capable of being baked and boiled, ground in mills, or beaten in" a mortar (Ex. 16:23; Num. 11:7). If any was kept over till the "following morning, it became corrupt with worms; but as on the" "Sabbath none fell, on the preceding day a double portion was" "given, and that could be kept over to supply the wants of the" Sabbath without becoming corrupt. Directions concerning the "gathering of it are fully given (Ex. 16:16-18, 33; Deut. 8:3," 16). It fell for the first time after the eighth encampment in "the desert of Sin, and was daily furnished, except on the" "Sabbath, for all the years of the wanderings, till they encamped" "at Gilgal, after crossing the Jordan, when it suddenly ceased," "and where they "did eat of the old corn of the land; neither had" "the children of Israel manna any more" (Josh. 5:12). They now no" "longer needed the "bread of the wilderness." "This manna was evidently altogether a miraculous gift, wholly "different from any natural product with which we are acquainted," and which bears this name. The manna of European commerce comes chiefly from Calabria and Sicily. It drops from the twigs of a species of ash during the months of June and July. At night it "is fluid and resembles dew, but in the morning it begins to" harden. The manna of the Sinaitic peninsula is an exudation from "the "manna-tamarisk" tree (Tamarix mannifera), the el-tarfah of" the Arabs. This tree is found at the present day in certain well-watered valleys in the peninsula of Sinai. The manna with which the people of Israel were fed for forty years differs in many particulars from all these natural products. "Our Lord refers to the manna when he calls himself the "true "bread from heaven" (John 6:31-35; 48-51). He is also the "hidden" "manna" (Rev. 2:17; comp. John 6:49, 51)."