Born from a question — "What is it?" — the Hebrew mān may literally preserve the Israelites' bewilderment at finding mysterious food in the desert.
The food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness, or any unexpected benefit or windfall.
From Hebrew mān, possibly from the question mān hū meaning what is it?, or from an Egyptian or Aramaic root Key roots: mān (Hebrew: "what is it? (or: the substance)").
Several real substances have been proposed as the natural basis for biblical manna: the sweet secretion of scale insects feeding on tamarisk trees (still harvested in Iran as "gaz"), dried honeydew droplets, or a lichen (Lecanora esculenta) that can be blown by wind into desert areas. All are edible, white, and appear mysteriously.