μάννα

τό, indeclinable; (also) ἡ μάννα in Josephus (Antiquities 3, 13, 1 (etc.; ἡ μαννη, Sibylline Oracles 8, 411)); the Sept. τό μαν (also τό μάννα, a, Num 11:7) for Hebrew מָן (from the unused מָנַן, Arabic , to be kind, beneficent, to bestow liberally; whence the substantive properly, a gift (others prefer the derivation given, Ex 16:15, Ex 16:31; Josephus, Antiquities 3, 1, 6. The word mannu is said to be found also in the old Egyptian; Ebers, Durch Gosen as above with, p. 226; cf. Speaker's Commentary Exodus 16 note)); manna (Vulg. in N. T. manna indeclinable; in O. T. man; yet manna, genitive -ae, is used by Pliny (12, 14, 32, etc.) and Vegetius (Vet. 2, 39) of the grains of certain plants); according to the accounts of travellers a very sweet dew-like juice, which in Arabia and other oriental countries exudes from the leaves (according to others only from the twigs and branches; cf. Robinson, Pal. 1:115) of certain trees and shrubs, particularly in the summer of rainy years. It hardens into little white pellucid grains, and is collected before sunrise by the inhabitants of those countries and used as an article of food very sweet like honey. The Israelites in their journey through the wilderness met with a great quantity of food of this kind; and tradition, which the biblical writers follow, regarded it as bread sent down in profusion from heaven, and in various ways gave the occurrence the dignity of an illustrious miracle (Ex 16:12ff; Psalm 77:24; Psalm 104:40; Wis. 16:20); cf. Winers RWB, under the word Manna; Knobel on Exodus, p. 171ff; Furrer in Schenkel iv. 109f; (Robinson as above, and, p. 590; Tischendorf, Aus dem heil. Lande, pp. 54ff (where on, p. vi. an analysis of different species of natural manna is given after Berthelot (Comptes rendus hebdom.
d. seances de l'acad. des sciences. Paris 1861, 2de semestre (30 the Sept.), p. 583ff); especially Ritter, Erdkunde Part xiv. pp. 665-695 (Gage's translation, vol. i., pp. 271-292, where a full list of references is given); especially E. Renaud and E. Lacour, De la manne du desert etc. (1881). Against the indentification of the natural manna with the miraculous, see BB. DD., under the word; especially Riehm in his HWB; Carruthers in the Bible Educator ii. 174ff). In the N. T. mention is made of a. that manna with which the Israelites of old were nourished: Jn 6:31, Jn 6:49, and R L in 58;
b. that which was kept in the ark of the covenant: Heb 9:4(Ex 16:33);
c. that which in the symbolic language of Rev 2:17 is spoken of as kept in the heavenly temple for the food of angels and the blessed; (see δίδωμι, B. I., p. 146a).