Reference: Shewbread
Easton
Ex 25:30 (R.V. marg., "presence bread"); 1Ch 9:32 (marg., "bread of ordering"); Nu 4:7: called "hallowed bread" (R.V., "holy bread") in 1Sa 21:1-6.
This bread consisted of twelve loaves made of the finest flour. They were flat and thin, and were placed in two rows of six each on a table in the holy place before the Lord. They were renewed every Sabbath (Le 24:5-9), and those that were removed to give place to the new ones were to be eaten by the priests only in the holy place (see 1Sa 21:3-6; comp. Mt 12:3-4).
The number of the loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel, and also the entire spiritual Israel, "the true Israel;" and the placing of them on the table symbolized the entire consecration of Israel to the Lord, and their acceptance of God as their God. The table for the bread was made of acacia wood, 3 feet long, 18 inches broad, and 2 feet 3 inches high. It was plated with pure gold. Two staves, plated with gold, passed through golden rings, were used for carrying it.
Illustration: Table of Shewbread
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And thou shalt set the showbread upon the table before me always.
And thou shalt take fine flour and bake twelve cakes thereof; each cake shall be of two-tenth deals. And thou shalt set them in two orders, six in each order, upon the clean table before the LORD. read more. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each order, that it may be on the bread for an aroma and incense unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel. And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD on fire, by a perpetual statute.
And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and covers to cover withal; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech, the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no one with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech, the priest, The king has commanded me a business and has said unto me, Let no one know anything of this business about which I send thee and what I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to a certain place. read more. Now, therefore, what is under thy hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present.
Now, therefore, what is under thy hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present. And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels.
And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels. So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to order it every sabbath.
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, and those that were with him, when he was hungry, how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
Fausets
Bread of the faces or "presence" of God (Ex 25:30). "Bread of ordering" (1Ch 9:32). "The continual bread" (Nu 4:7). "Hallowed bread" (1Sa 21:4-6; Mt 12:4; Heb 9:2 "the shewbread," Greek "bread of setting forth".) The table was of acacia or "shittim wood," two cubits long, one broad, one and a half high, overlaid with pure gold, with a golden crown to the border round about, to hinder any bread falling off (but see below); Ex 25:23-30. The border was to be "of a handbreadth"; so in the sculpture on Titus' Arch the slave's hand that holds the table is just the breadth of the border. "The pure table" (Le 24:6), both because of its unalloyed gold and because of the "pure offering" on it (Mal 1:11). The table stood in the holy place on the N. side (Ex 26:35). The 12 cakes of unleavened bread, arranged in two piles, with a golden cup of frankincense on each (Josephus Ant. 3:10, section 7), were renewed every sabbath, and the stale loaves given to the priests.
They represented the 12 tribes before Jehovah perpetually, (see Re 21:12) in token that He was always graciously accepting His people and their good works, for whom atonement had been made by the victims on the altar outside. They were the national meat offering (Le 24:5-9). Each cake contained two tenths of an ephah, about six pounds and a quarter, of fine flour. The frankincense as a memorial was probably cast upon the altar fire as "an offering made by fire unto the Lord," when the bread was removed from the table on the Sabbath. Ahimelech stretched the law in giving the stale loaves to David's men, as free from ceremonial defilement (1Sa 21:4-6; Mt 12:4), for they should have been eaten by the priests, in the holy place (Le 24:5-9). Bahr thinks the loaves symbolized the Holy One in His sanctuary as the Bread of life to His people (Joh 6:35,47-51; Mt 4:4; De 8:3).
But the loaves were taken from Israel, not presented by God to them; and one loaf would suit his view rather than twelve (1Co 10:17). Still, on their presenting themselves before Him in the bread symbol, He feeds them represented by their priests. As they are a bread offering to Him, so He gives Himself as the bread to feed them. In 2Ch 4:8,19, ten tables are mentioned "whereon the shewbread was set," i.e., Solomon made a number of tables, and one great golden one on which they set the loaves. In the parallel passage, 1Ki 7:48, "the table of gold" alone is mentioned, as in 2Ch 29:18. "Ten" is the number also of the candlesticks. The tables were probably made of cedarwood overlaid with gold (see Josephus Ant. 8:3, section 7). As it is omitted in the list of articles restored from Babylon (Ezr 1:9-11), it was doubtless remade by Zerubbabel. Antiochus Epiphanes carried away the table of the second temple (2Ma 1:22). Anew one was made at the restoration of the temple by Judas Maccabeus (1Ma 4:49).
Afterward Ptolemy Philadelphus presented a splendid table (Josephus Ant. 12:2, section 8-9). In the Arch of Titus, the sculptor in defiance of perspective exhibits the two ends. Speaker's Commentary (Ex 25:23-30) for "crown of gold" translated "moulding of gold"; for "border," "a framing" which reached from leg to leg, to make the table firm, as well as to adorn it with a second moulding of gold; two fragments of such a framing appear half way clown the legs in the Titus' Arch sculpture. "Over against the framing" the rings were "upon the four extremities (KJV "corners") that were at the four (clawlike) feet," answering to each corner of it. The staves were never taken out of the golden rings by which the ark was to be borne; so translated Nu 4:5-6, "put the staves thereof in order," not "put in," they would need merely adjustment after motion (Ex 25:14-15).
The "dishes" or bowls were probably the measures for the meal used in the loaves. For "spoons" translated "cups" filled with frankincense, represented on Titus' Arch. For "covers" and "bowls" and "to cover withal" translated "flagons and chalices, to pour out withal." These were for the drink offering which accompanied every meat offering, for the shewbread was a true meat offering. In Nu 4:7 the Hebrew means "the shew table" or "table of the faces" or presence, namely, of God manifested. Similar is the phrase "the Angel of His presence" (Isa 63:9; Ex 33:14-15; 23:20; De 4:37, "in His sight".) The "face" stands for the Person. "The bread of the face" on the table in the sanctuary symbolizes that man is admitted to God's holy table and presence, seeing and being nourished by God in the person of Christ, the Bread of life.
The priests, Israel's representatives, alone ate this sacramental pledge in the Old Testament. The whole church as "priests unto God" offer themselves before God and are fed at the Lord's table with the sacramental symbol of Christ's body, our true food (Ps 23:5; Lu 22:30; 1Co 11:26). The continued renewal every Sabbath testified to the design of that holy day to renew men afresh to self dedication as in God's immediate presence; as Israel by the candlestick appeared as a people of enlightenment, and by the incense altar as a people of prayer. The frankincense always on the shewbread, and consumed when the bread was to be eaten, symbolized that prayer must ever accompany self dedication, and that the fame of love must kindle prayer when we are about to hold communion with and to be nourished by Him.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Behold, I send the Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
Thou shalt likewise make a table of cedar wood; two cubits shall be its length and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
Thou shalt likewise make a table of cedar wood; two cubits shall be its length and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And thou shalt cover it with pure gold and make a moulding of gold round about it.
And thou shalt cover it with pure gold and make a moulding of gold round about it. And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden moulding to its border round about.
And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden moulding to its border round about. And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. And thou shalt make the staves of cedar wood and cover them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
And thou shalt make the staves of cedar wood and cover them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. And thou shalt make the dishes thereof and spoons thereof and covers thereof and bowls thereof to cover the bread; of pure gold shalt thou make them.
And thou shalt make the dishes thereof and spoons thereof and covers thereof and bowls thereof to cover the bread; of pure gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt set the showbread upon the table before me always.
And thou shalt set the showbread upon the table before me always.
And thou shalt set the showbread upon the table before me always.
And thou shalt set the table outside the veil, the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the Negev (south desert), and thou shalt put the table on the side of the Aquilon (north wind).
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence is not to go before us, do not bring us out of here.
And thou shalt take fine flour and bake twelve cakes thereof; each cake shall be of two-tenth deals.
And thou shalt take fine flour and bake twelve cakes thereof; each cake shall be of two-tenth deals. And thou shalt set them in two orders, six in each order, upon the clean table before the LORD.
And thou shalt set them in two orders, six in each order, upon the clean table before the LORD.
And thou shalt set them in two orders, six in each order, upon the clean table before the LORD. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each order, that it may be on the bread for an aroma and incense unto the LORD.
And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each order, that it may be on the bread for an aroma and incense unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel.
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel. And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD on fire, by a perpetual statute.
And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD on fire, by a perpetual statute.
When the camp is to be moved, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of testimony with it and shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins and shall spread over it a cloth entirely of blue and shall put in the staves thereof. read more. And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and covers to cover withal; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and covers to cover withal; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
And because he loved thy fathers, therefore, he chose their seed after them and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt,
And he afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger and sustained thee with manna, food of which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD shall man live.
And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels.
And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels. So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: an altar of gold, and a table upon which the showbread was, also of gold,
And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to order it every sabbath.
He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left. And he made one hundred basins of gold.
And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables upon which the showbread was set;
Then they went in to Hezekiah, the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the showbread table with all its vessels.
And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, twenty-nine knives, thirty basins of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and another thousand vessels. read more. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar cause to be brought up with those that came up from the captivity of Babylon unto Jerusalem.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup is running over.
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his face saved them: with his love and with his clemency he redeemed them; and he bore them and carried them all the days of the age.
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered unto my name, and a clean offering; for my name is great among the Gentiles, said the LORD of the hosts.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And Jesus said unto them, I AM the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes in me has eternal life. I AM the bread of life. read more. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. I AM the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, they shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
For one loaf of bread means that many are one body, for we are all partakers of that one loaf.
For there was a tabernacle made: the first, in which was the lampstand and the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary.
And it had a wall great and high, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel:
Hastings
In one of the oldest historical documents preserved in the OT we find, in a passage telling of David's flight from Saul, the first mention of an offering in the shape of 'holy bread,' which was presented to Jahweh in the sanctuary at Nob (1Sa 21:1-6). Here this holy bread is also termed 'the bread of the presence' (1Sa 21:6), i.e. of Jahweh, which appears in English Version as 'shewbread'
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And thou shalt make the dishes thereof and spoons thereof and covers thereof and bowls thereof to cover the bread; of pure gold shalt thou make them.
And thou shalt take fine flour and bake twelve cakes thereof; each cake shall be of two-tenth deals. And thou shalt set them in two orders, six in each order, upon the clean table before the LORD. read more. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each order, that it may be on the bread for an aroma and incense unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel.
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel.
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually: an everlasting covenant of the sons of Israel. And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD on fire, by a perpetual statute.
And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD on fire, by a perpetual statute.
And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and covers to cover withal; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and covers to cover withal; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech, the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no one with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech, the priest, The king has commanded me a business and has said unto me, Let no one know anything of this business about which I send thee and what I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my servants to a certain place. read more. Now, therefore, what is under thy hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present. And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand; there is only sacred bread, which I will give thee if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us since yesterday and the day before yesterday since I came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy although the way is profane; how much more that today it shall be sanctified with the vessels. So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
So the priest gave him the sacred bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that had been taken from before the LORD to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold and likewise covered the altar which was of cedar.
And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: an altar of gold, and a table upon which the showbread was, also of gold,
And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to order it every sabbath.
And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to order it every sabbath.
both for the showbread and for the fine flour for the sacrifice and for the unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan and for that which is fried and for all manner of measure and size,
Behold, I must build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him and to burn aromatic incense before him and for the continual showbread and for the burnt offerings morning and evening on the sabbaths and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God, which is to be perpetual in Israel.
The altar of wood was three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and the surface thereof, and its walls, were of wood; and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.
They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
Smith
Shew-bread,
etc. literally "bread of the face" or "faces." Shew-bread was unleavened bread placed upon a table which stood in the sanctuary together with the seven-branched candlestick and the altar of incense. See
for description of this table. Every Sabbath twelve newly baked loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, were put on it in two rows, six in each, and sprinkled with incense, where they remained till the following Sabbath. Then they were replaced by twelve new ones, the incense was burned, and they were eaten by the priests in the holy place, out of which they might not be removed, The title "bread of the face" seems to indicate that bread through which God is seen, that is, with the participation of which the seeing of God is bound up, or through the participation of which man attains the sight of God whence it follows that we have not to think of bread merely as such as the means of nourishing the bodily life, but as spiritual food as a means of appropriating and retaining that life which consists In seeing the face of God.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And thou shalt set the showbread upon the table before me always.