manna from heaven

manna from heaven

An unexpected benefit or assistance, especially when it comes at the time when it is needed most. The phrase is a reference to the Biblical story of the food that God miraculously provided to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. I had no idea we would be getting a bonus this year, but it was like manna from heaven—just in time to pay some of my holiday bills. Having my family near me during this tragedy has been manna from heaven for me.
See also: heaven, manna
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

manna from heaven

Fig. unexpected help or comfort. (A biblical reference.) The arrival of the rescue team was like manna from heaven to the injured climber. The offer of a new job just as she had been fired was manna from heaven to Joan.
See also: heaven, manna
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

manna from heaven

An unexpected aid, advantage, or assistance, as in After all the criticism in the media, that favorable evaluation was like manna from heaven . This expression alludes to the food ( manna) that miraculously appears to feed the Israelites on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 16:15).
See also: heaven, manna
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

manna from ˈheaven

something unexpected, for example a gift of money, which comes to help you when you are in difficulties: That cheque for £1 000 from my aunt came like manna from heaven as I had three or four big bills to pay.This phrase comes from the Bible. Manna was the food the Israelites found in the desert.
See also: heaven, manna
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

manna from heaven, like

Any sudden or unexpected advantage or help. The word manna is used in the Bible, in Exodus (16:15), where it means a miraculous food that suddenly appears to succor the children of Israel on their journey from Egypt to the Holy Land. Exactly what it meant is no longer known, but it may have been a corruption of the Egyptian word mennu, the sweet, waxy exudation of the tamarisk tree. In English the term came to mean an unexpected welcome gift from heaven or some other benevolent source. It was already being used humorously in the early eighteenth century by Matthew Green (1696–1737), who wrote (in The Spleen), “Or to some coffeehouse I stray, for news, the manna of a day.”
See also: like, manna
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • manna
  • manna from heaven, like
  • handwriting on the wall
  • land of milk and honey
  • land of milk and honey, the
  • a/the land of milk and honey
  • milk and honey
  • get thee behind me
  • for everything there is a season
  • promised land, the
References in periodicals archive
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Operation FAUST and Manna from Heaven stories were a part of a larger series by Chuck Konkel on Operation MARKET GARDEN.
Helpful suggestion
It is a divisive subject - manna from heaven for city business leaders, but less so when they return to their Warwickshire country homes.
Playing politics with our future; VIEWPOINT
ALMOST as if it were the Met department managing to forecast the fall of manna from heaven, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajeev Shukla on Thursday offered the suggestion that we may soon get a few words out of our Prime Minister on the now- familiar subject of corruption having taken place on his watch.
Golden silence loses its sheen
That's manna from heaven for Barcelona: The number of movies shooting in the city is 50% of what it was in 2012, down to half a dozen this year.
'Gunman' Offers New Fiscal Plan
Manna from heaven for Syria's uni students abroad The Saudi Arabian Cultural Missions (SACM) to fund Syrian students to study abroad.
Dinner and a Movie: First ever dating seminar in Middle East
Labour council boss Jim McCabe has claimed the hated bedroom tax is "manna from heaven" for the SNP.
Labour chief slams SNP vow
Terra Rossa's Manna from Heaven which won Gold in the 2012 Great Taste Awards is made from the resin of trees that grow only in the north of Iraq, combined with almonds pistachio nuts and cardamom.
Terra Rossa's fabulous gift sets
SDN might just be the manna from heaven for those who requite network adaptability and scale with reduced cost and vendor independence.
Tryst with a new destiny
His latest outburst, advocating civil disorder during the Olympics, must be manna from heaven to them.
Incredible outburst; You Say Email:letters@liverpoolecho.co.uk
His latest outburst, advocating strikes during the Olympics, must be manna from heaven to them.
He's playing into the Coalition's hands; LETTERS
T must have seemed like manna from heaven for Rob ISloane.
Shame of the runner on the bus
So, Mr Dickenson, because a very prominent Churchman failed to explain, to your satisfaction, our belief in the Holy Spirit, you seize the opportunity to claim that God does not exist and that miracles such as the Jews being fed manna from heaven and the feeding of the 5,000 are fairytales.
Lack of faith in divine being should be subjected to testing
I wish I could remember the exact circumstances regarding my first exposure to MOTHER EARTH NEWS, but suffice it to say it was like manna from heaven. Armed with my new subscription, I tilled the soil, grew an organic garden, collected rainwater, pruned trees, and constructed a cold frame, greenhouse, chicken coop and storage sheds.
Finding my place
Cov won their first game of the season last weekend, an exciting 45-32, seven-try victory over Stourbridge with a performance that was manna from heaven for their thrill-starved supporters.
Maynard asks Cov to tighten up; Cov boosted by return of duo
In the flagship shop, located appropriately off a narrow cobblestone lane, my selection of brown slides were dropped by a clerk from the second floor overhang like manna from heaven. Inside, Martha Muniz a.k.a.
The sole of San Miguel