manna (redirected from miraculous food)

manna (măn`ə), in the Bible, edible substance provided by God for the people of Israel in the wilderness. In the Book of Exodus it is compared to coriander seed and described as fine, white, and flaky, with the taste of honey and wafer. In Christianity manna has been seen as prefiguring the Eucharist. Manna has been linked with the gum resin produced by several kinds of tree and with a species of lichen still found in many sections of W Asia and N Africa. According to another theory, manna is the sweet secretion of various plant insects.

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manna

1. Old Testament the miraculous food which sustained the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:14--36)

2. a sweet substance obtained from various plants, esp from an ash tree, Fraxinus ornus (manna or flowering ash) of S Europe, used as a mild laxative

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manna [′man·ə]

(materials)

The concrete, yellowish, saccharine exudation of the flowering ash (Fraxinus ornus); contains mannitol, sugar, mucilage, and resin and has been used as a mild laxative.

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manna

given by the Lord to the Israelites. [O.T.: Exodus 16: 14–15]

See : Sustenance