unexpected good fortune
—The surprise bonus from my boss was manna from heaven.

To feed the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan, God gave them quail and a special bread, called “manna,” to eat. Manna comes from the Hebrew for What is it? because of the people’s first reaction to the bread when it miraculously appeared:

In the evening the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. When the layer of dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the desert was a thin flaky substance, thin like frost on the earth. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. (Exodus 16:13-15)

The house of Israel called its name “manna.” It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey. (Exodus 16:31)