Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 57

71 Manna= Hebrew, Man hu: Arabic Mahuwa? = What is it? In Exod. 16:14 it is described as "a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground". (Cf. 7:160). It usually rotted if left over till next day; it melted in the hot sun; the amount necessary for each man was about an Omer, a Hebrew measure of capacity equal to about 2 1:2 quarts. This is the Hebrew account, probably distorted by traditional exaggeration. The actual Manna found to this day in the Sinai region is a gummy saccharine secretion found on a species of Tamarisk. It is produced by the puncture of a species of insect like the cochineal, just as lac is produced by the puncture of the lac insect on certain trees in India . As to quails, large flights of them are driven by winds in the Eastern Mediterranean in certain seasons of the year, as was witnessed during the Great War of 1914-1918. (Cf. n. 2602). (R).