This miracle is referred to in Deut. viii, 3 ; Neh. ix, 20; Psa. Ixxviii, 24; -John vi, 31, 49, 58; Heb. ix, 4. Though the manna of Scripture was so evidently mirac- ulous, both in the mode and in the quantities in which it was produced, and though its properties were so dif- ferent from anything with which we are acquainted, yet. because its taste is in Exodus said to be like that of wafers made with honey, many writers have thought that they recognised the manna of Scripture in a sweet- ish exudation which is found on several plants in Arabia and Persia. The name man, or manna, is applied to this substance by the Arab writers, and was probably so applied even before their time. But the term is now almost entirely appropriated to the sweetish exudation of the ash-trees of Sicily and Italy {Orniis Europau and Fraxinus rotimdifolia'). These, however, have no rela- tion to the supposed manna of Scripture. Of this one kind is known to the Arabs by the name of f/iizunjbin, being the produce of a plant called ffiiz, which is as- certained to be a species of tamarisk. Tlie same spe- cies seems also to be called tiirfa, and is conmion along different parts of the coast of Arabia. It is also found in the neighborhood of Mount Sinai. Burckhardt,
MANNA
712
MANNA
while in the valley wady el-Sheik, to the north of Jlount Serbal, says : " In many parts it was thickly overgrown with the tamarisk or turfa ; it is the only valley in the Peninsula where this tree grows at present in an_v (luantit}', though some small bushes are here and there met with in other parts. It is from the iurfa that the manna is obtained; and it is very strange that tiie fact should have remained unknown in Europe till ;M. Seetzen mentioned it in a brief notice of his ' Tour to Sinai,' published in the Mines de VOrient. The sub- stance is called by the Arabs mann. In the month of June it drops from the thorns of the tamarisk upon the fallen twigs, leaves, and thorns which always cover the ground beneath the tree in the natural state. The Arabs use it as they do honey, to pour over their un- leavened bread, or to dip their bread into; its taste is agreeable, somewhat aromatic, and as sweet as honey. If eaten in any quantity it is said to be highly purga- tive." lie further adds that the tamarisk is one of the most common trees in Nubia and throughout the whole of Arabia; on the Euphrates, on the Astaboras, in all the valleys of the Hejaz and Beja it grows in great quantities, yet nowhere but in the region of Mount Sinai did he hear of its producing manna. Ehrenberg has examined and described this species of tamarisk, which he calls T. mannijWa, but which is considered to be only a variety of T. (/alllca. The manna he con-
Tamarix Oallica.
sidcrs to be produced by the puncture of an insect which he calls Coccus manniparus. Others have Ijccn of the same opinion. When Lieut. Wellsted visited this place in the month of September, he found the extremities of the twigs and branches retaining the peculiar gweetness and flavor which characterize the manna. The Be- douins collect it early in the morning, and', after strain- ing it through a cloth, place it either in skins or gourds ; a considerable quantity is consumed by themselves; a portion is sent to Cairo, and some is also disposed of to
the monks at Mount Sinai. The latter retail it to the Ivussian pilgrims. '■ The Bedouins assured me that the whole quantity collected throughout the Peninsula, in the most fruitful season, did not exceed 150 wogas (about 700 poiuids); and that it was usually disposed of at the rate of (50 dollars the woga" {Travels in Ai-a- Itia, i, 511).
Another kind of manna, which has been supposed to be that of Scripture, is yielded by a thorny plant very common from the north of India to Syria, which by the Arabs is called A l-haj, whence botanists have con- structed the name Alhagi. The two species have been called .4 Iha^i Muurorum and A . desertorum. Both spe-
Alhaiji Maurorum.
cies are also by the Arabs called ushter-hhar, or " cam- el's-thorn;" and in Mesopotamia ogul, according to some authorities, while by others this is thought to be the name of another plant. The A Ihagi itfauroruin is re- markable for the exudation of a sweetish juice, which concretes into small granular masses, and which is usu- ally distinguished by the name of Persian manna. The late professor Don was so confident that this was the same substance as the manna of Scripture that he pro- posed calling the plant itself Manna Ilebraka. The climate of Persia and Bokhara seems also well suited to the secretion of this manna, which in the latter country is employed as a substitute for sugar, and is imported into India for medicinal use through Caubul and Kho- rassan. In Arabian and Persian works on IMateria ]\fed- ica it is called Turunghin. These two, from the locali- ties in which they are produced, have alone been thought to be the manna of Scripture. But, besides these, there are several other kinds of manna. Burckhardt, during his journey through El-Ghor, in the valley of the Jor- dan, heard of the Beiruk honey. This is described as a substance obtained from the leaves and branches of a tree called Gliurb or Garrab, of the size of an oli\-e-tree, and with leaves like those of the poplar. When fresh this grayish-colored exudation is sweet in taste, but in a few days it becomes sour. The Arabs eat it like honey. One kind, called S/iir-l-f/is/i/, is said to be produced in the country of the Uzbccs. A Caubul merchant in-