“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
Parallel Translations
-
“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
-
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
-
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Leviticus 24:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 25:30 You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.
- Exodus 40:23 He set the bread in order on it before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- 1 Samuel 21:4-5 The priest answered David, and said, “I have no common bread, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us as usual these three days. When I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was only a common journey. How much more then today shall their vessels be holy?”
- 1 Kings 18:31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Yahweh’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
- Matthew 12:4 how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
- Acts 26:7 which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa!
- James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, two Omers, read Exod. 16:16.
That is, two Omers, read Exod. 16:16.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 24:5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and…
Lev 24:5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
Ver. 5. Twelve cakes.] {See Trapp on "Mat 12:4"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Thou shalt take; by the priests or Levites, whose…
Thou shalt take; by the priests or Levites, whose work it was to prepare them, 1Ch 9:32.
Twelve cakes, representing the twelve tribes.
Read full note →
Two tenth deals, i.e. two omers. See Lev 23:13.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And thou shalt take fine flour,.... Of wheat, and…
And thou shalt take fine flour,.... Of wheat, and the finest of it:
and bake twelve cakes thereof; answerable to the twelve tribes, as the Targum of Jonathan, which were typical of the spiritual Israel of God:
Read full note →
two tenth deals shall be in one cake; that is, two tenth parts of an ephah, which were two omers, one of which was as much as a man could eat in one day of the manna: so that one of these cakes was as much as two men could eat of bread in one day; each cake was ten hands' breadth long, five broad, and seven fingers its horns, or was so high (g).
(g) Menachot, c. 11. sect. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Thou - By the priests or Levites, whose work…
Thou - By the priests or Levites, whose work it was to prepare them, 1Chr ix, 32. Twelve cakes - Representing the twelve tribes.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. Bake twelve cakes] See the whole account…
Verse 5. Bake twelve cakes] See the whole account of the shew-bread in Clarke's notes on "Ex 25:30"; and relative to the table on which they stood, the golden candlestick and silver trumpets carried in triumph to Rome, See Clarke on Ex 25:31.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Lev 24:5. Thou shalt take — By the priests…
Lev 24:5. Thou shalt take — By the priests or Levites, whose work it was to prepare them, 1Ch 9:32. Twelve cakes — Representing the twelve tribes. Two tenth-deals shall be in one cake — That is, two omers, or two tenth parts of an ephah, consisting of about six quarts of English measure, Exo 16:36. So that they must have been of a very large size.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Bake. The family of Caath had to perform this…
Bake. The family of Caath had to perform this office, 1 Paralipomenon ix. 32, and xxiii. 29. (Menochius) --- [Ver. 7.] Incense. Septuagint add, "salt." Villalpand also places wine on the table. (B. iv. 57.) --- Memorial for the Lord to bless his people, and for them to make their oblations to him as to the living God, from whom all blessings are derived. (Haydock) --- The incense was burnt instead of the bread, when fresh loaves were placed there. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes--for the showbread,…
take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes--for the showbread, as previously appointed (Exo 25:30). Those cakes were baked by the Levites, the flour being furnished by the people (Ch1 9:32; Ch1 23:29), oil, wine, and salt being the other ingredients (Lev 2:13).
two tenth deals--that is, of an ephah--thirteen and a half pounds weight each; and on each row or pile of cakes some frankincense was strewed, which, being burnt, led to the showbread being called "an offering made by fire." Every Sabbath a fresh supply was furnished; hot loaves were placed on the altar instead of the stale ones, which, having lain a week, were removed, and eaten only by the priests, except in cases of necessity (Sa1 21:3-6; also Luk 6:3-4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain ORDINANCE OF THE SHOWBREAD, Lev_24:5-9
ORDINANCE OF THE SHOWBREAD, Lev_24:5-9
This had already been offered at the dedication of the tabernacle, and placed by Moses upon the table. Exo_39:36; Exo_40:23. The quantity of the material and the number of the loaves are here specified, also their arrangement on the table and the period of their renewal.
Read full note →
5. Twelve cakes — The number of the tribes of Israel.
Two tenth deals — See Lev_23:13. According to the lowest estimate, that of the rabbins, there would be ten and a half gallons required for the twelve loaves.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. twelve cakes] Though probably alluding in the Jewish…
5. twelve cakes] Though probably alluding in the Jewish ritual to the number of the tribes, the original reference in the corresponding Babylonian rite was doubtless to the signs of the zodiac. See Zimmern, Beiträge zur Kenntniss d. Babylon. Religion, p. 94, for a Babylonian parallel.
cakes] most probably unleavened (Jos. Ant. iii. 6. 6). They were of flour, the fineness of which was secured by sifting eleven times (Menaḥoth, 76 b). In the time of the Chronicler (1Ch_9:32) this was done by the Levitical guild called ‘the sons of the Kohathites.’ The cakes in the early times of the Jewish monarchy were placed hot upon the table (see 1 Sam. above). The rite in its form is probably a survival from a pre-Mosaic stage of Hebrew religion.
Read full note →
5–9. The ordering of the shewbread
Cp. Exo_25:30; Exo_37:10 ff.; Num_4:7. The ‘twelve cakes’ are not here given this name. For its origin and for parallels to the custom in other religions, see Driver, Exo_25:30, and HDB. s.v. The undoubtedly correct rendering is presence-bread (lit. bread of the countenance [of God]), as in R.V. mg. there, i.e. bread which was placed as an offering in the presence of the Lord. Cp. the expression used of this bread in the story of 1Sa_21:6 [Matthew 7], ‘taken from before [from the presence of] the Lord.’ The LXX. mostly render by ἄρτοι τῆς πρθέσεως, loaves of the setting forth (or, before [God]).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) And bake twelve cakes.—The next order is about…
(5) And bake twelve cakes.—The next order is about the preparation of the shewbread, and the use to be made of it. It was made in the following manner. Twenty-four seahs of wheat, which were brought as a meat offering, were beaten and ground, and after passing through twelve different sieves each finer than the other, twenty-four tenth-deals of the finest flour were obtained. The dough was kneaded outside the court, and after it was put into a golden mould of a definite size and form to impart the prescribed size and shape to each cake, was brought into the court. Here it was taken out of the first golden mould, and put into a second of the same material and form, and baked in it. As soon as it was taken out of the oven the cake was put into a third mould of the like description, and when it was turned out of it the cake was ten handbreadths long, five broad, one finger thick, and square at each end. Each cake, therefore, was made of two omers of wheat, or, as it is here said, of two tenth-parts of anephah, which is the same thing. (See Lev_14:10.) As an omer is the quantity which, according to the Divine ordinance (Exo_16:16-19), supplies the daily wants of a human being, each of these cakes represents the food of a man and his neighbour, whilst the twelve cakes answered to the twelve tribes of Israel. Hence the ancient Ohaldee version has, after the words “twelve cakes,” “according to the twelve tribes.” The baking of these cakes took place every Friday afternoon, or Thursday if a feast which required Sabbatical rest fell on Friday. According to the testimony of those who were eyewitnesses to the baking, these cakes were unleavened.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 5-9. The shewbread, or bread of the face,…
Vers. 5-9. The shewbread, or bread of the face, that is, of the presence, was to be made of fine flour, that is, of wheat, and to consist of twelve cakes or loaves, to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, each loaf containing upward of six pounds of flour. The loaves were placed upon the pure table before the Lord; that is, on the golden table of shewbread within the sanctuary which stood not far from the vail which partitioned off the holy of holies toward the north, as the candlestick was toward the south. The loaves were set, not, probably, in two rows, six on a row, as they could have hardly stood in that position on so small a table as the table of shewbread (which was only three feet by one foot and a half), but in piles, six in a pile. Upon them, or more probably between the two piles, were placed two vials or cups filled with frankincense (Josephus, "Ant.," 3:7, 6). The shewbread was renewed every sabbath day, with much ceremony. "Four priests," says the Mishna, "enter, two of them carrying the piles of bread, and two of them the cups of incense. Four priests had gone in before them, two to take off the two old piles of shrewbread, and two to take off the cups of incense. Those who brought in the new stood at the north side facing southwards; those who took away the old, at the south side, facing northwards. One party lifted off and the other put on, the hands of one being over against the hands of the other, as it is written, Thou shalt set upon the table bread of the Passover always before me" ("Men.," 11:7). The loaves that were removed were delivered to the priests for their consumption within the tabernacle, the whole quantity amounting to seventy-five pounds of bread per week. It was this bread which, in the pressure of necessity, Abimelech gave to David and his men. (1Sa_21:4-6) At the same time that the old loaves were changed, the frankincense was burned on the golden altar of incense for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. There is nothing in Scripture to prove whether the loaves were leavened or unleavened. As being the meat offering of the tabernacle, we should expect them to be unleavened, like the meat offering of the court, but there was a reason why the meat offering of the court should be unleavened, which did not operate in the case of the shewbread. A part of the ordinary meat offering had to be burnt on the altar of burnt sacrifice; therefore it could not be leavened, because no leaven might be burned on the altar; but the shewbread was not burnt on any altar, and consequently it need not for that reason be unleavened. The two Pentecostal loaves, which were offered to the Lord by waving instead of burning, were leavened. The probabilities derived from Scripture appear to be equally strong on either side. Josephus states that they were unleavened ("Ant.," 3:6, 6; 10, 7).
Vers. 5-9The weekly offering.
Read full note →
Cf. 1Co_16:2 1Ti_5:17, 1Ti_5:18. Along with the everlasting light from the golden candlestick, there was to be in the holy place a presentation of bread, which was made on the sabbath and lay before the Lord on the prescribed table all the week, becoming the property and support of the priests when they brought the fresh loaves on the succeeding sabbath. The loaves were to be twelve in number, to correspond to the tribes of Israel; they were arranged in two piles, upon the top of which there was placed a little incense, which was duly fired and thus ascended to heaven. The incense sanctified the offering. Now this "bread of the face," as it was called, bread intended for the Divine presence, was the dedication on the part of the people of the staple of life, first to God, and secondly to the support of his priests. As previously observed, it was the perpetual meat offering. Here it is interesting to notice it as a "weekly offering" prescribed in the Old Testament economy. What Paul urges on the Corinthians, (1Co_16:2) "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come," is the exact counterpart of the shewbread. The Lord"s day is to be the time for a weekly offering for the support of his cause.
I WE ARE SURELY TAUGHT HERE HOW SYSTEMATIC OUR OFFERINGS SHOULD BE. There should be a regularity about them like the return of the holy day. It is only when this periodicity characterizes them that the Lord"s cause is likely to be properly supported. A weekly offering is much more likely to be successful than a monthly, or quarterly, or annual offering. Liberality is to be a weekly exercise, like the ordinances of our holy religion.
II OUR OFFERINGS SHOULD BE SANCTIFIED BY THE INCENSE OF PRAYER. This is only to say that liberality should be a religious act, part of our religious service. Then are we likely to be conscientious in discharging our obligations, when we carry our gifts into the presence of God. As Jesus stood over against the treasury in the temple, and saw the extraordinary liberality connected with the widow"s two mites, so is he watching our offerings at his shrine, noticing whether they are generous and cheerful or given with a Nudge, observing whether they are perfumed with incense or rendered obnoxious by worldliness and ostentation. It will tend to purify our liberality to envelop it in prayer.
III GOD"S OFFICERS SHOULD BE REGARDED AS RECEIVING THEIR SUPPORT FROM HIS TABLE. That is to say, they are to be regarded as receiving their support from God, not directly from the people. It is this element of sanctity in the service of liberality which saves the dignity of the Lord"s officers, and prevents them from being beggarly dependents upon the people. Conscientious people lay their offerings before God, and then God"s officers receive their portion as from their Master in heaven. "And it shall be Aaron"s and his sons";" and they shall eat it in the holy place.
IV THE WEEKLY OFFERING SHOULD BE THE OUTCOME OF AN EVERLASTING ENGAGEMENT WITH GOD. "Every sabbath (the priest) shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant." That is, liberality is to be no spasmodic outburst, but a steady outcome of an engagement that is perpetual. God has laid his people under such obligation by his rich provision in the gospel, that we feel we can never adequately discharge it. Hence week by week our offerings are laid upon his altar, and we recognize the arrangement as a lasting one.
Amid all the changes of times and of Churches, here have we sound principles of Church finance. It is to the religious spirit of the people we must ultimately commit the interests of God"s cause. When they bring regularly, prayerfully, perpetually, and at the same time realize that the Church officers are God"s servants and depend upon God"s altar, then is there no fear of any failure. God will stand between his servants and his people, and secure the interests of both. R.M.E.
Vers. 5-9. The bread of the presence.
As there was light on the candlestick in God"s house, so was there bread on his table. It was called the "shewbread," literally, "bread of faces," or of the presence, viz. of Jehovah. Let us consider
I ITS DESCRIPTION.
1. It was composed of fine flour.
(1) Christ is compared to a corn of wheat, viz. before it is ground, and while the life is whole in it. (see Psa_72:16, where the "handful of corn" may be more literally construed a corn of wheat; and comp. Joh_12:24, where Jesus evidently cites this passage and applies it to himself)
(2) So is he compared to bread. This is corn whose life is sacrificed in the treatment to which it is subjected. Jesus calls himself the Bread who gives his life unto the world. (Joh_6:33)
(3) The very manner in which corn loses its life to become nourishment, it being bruised and burnt, describes the sufferings of Christ in body and spirit from the hands of man and of God.
(4) Bread is the staple in food. As without it there is no feast, so without Christ there is no true joy. As with it there is no hunger, so have we in him a satisfying portion.
2. It was measured in tenths.
(1) Ten is the number for riches; and Christ, as the Rich One, is called a Tenth. (see Isa_6:13) All the holy bread was measured in tenth-deals, to point to the "measure of the fullness of Christ". (Eph_4:7, Eph_4:13) The riches of eternity are ours in him (see Homily on the Feast of Expiation).
(2) But why two tenth-deals to each cake? Perhaps light may be let in upon this by noting that, on the sixth day, two omers, or tenths, of manna were gathered to prepare for the sabbath. (Exo_16:22) It was on the sabbath that the bread of the presence was replaced.
(3) This correspondence further identifies the typical import of the presence-bread with that of the manna. Note in addition that, as the manna came from God out of heaven, this bread is distinguished as that which comes from the Divine presence; and the true Bread of Life came from heaven. (Joh_6:33, Joh_6:38, Joh_6:40, Joh_6:50, Joh_6:51, Joh_6:58)
3. The number of the loaves was twelve.
(1) Here was a loaf for every son of Israel. "There is bread enough in our Father"s house.
(2) This number was continued after the revolt of the ten tribes. (2Ch_13:11) This fact suggests that the number is also typical in relation to the spiritual Israel; a view confirmed by the application of the number twelve to the New Testament Church. Thus upon the head of the sun-clothed woman is a coronet of twelve stars, obviously in allusion to the twelve apostles of the Lamb, who are described as twelve angels at the twelve gates of the mystical city, and whose names are inscribed upon its twelve foundations. (Rev_12:1 Rev_21:12, Rev_21:14, Rev_21:21)
(3) Twelve also is the number of the Lamb himself. He is the true Tree of Life, having twelve manner of fruits, corresponding to the twelve months in the year. (Rev_22:2) So the one Bread of the Presence is distributed into twelve loaves. And "we being many are one bread" in him. (see 1Co_10:17)
(4) This association of the months with the loaves opens a very interesting field of investigation. Is there not a great year of the world to be measured by soil-lunar time? (see Gen_1:14) King, in his "Morsels of Criticism," has a dissertation concerning the sabbath and a sabbatical era, in which he unfolds from the sabbatical intercalation of the Levitical system a more perfect adjustment of lunar to solar time than the Gregorian. Intercalations on the principle of the Jewish sabbatic period will in 400 years adjust the solar and lunar time within one hour and forty minutes. In fifteen such periods, or 6000 years, the adjustment will leave only one hour to be accounted for. But every 144, 000 years, which is the square of 12 in thousands, and a number very remarkable in the measures of the New Jerusalem, things are brought right to a second. (see Re 7 14:3, 4 21:17)
II WHAT WAS DONE WITH IT.
1. It was placed upon the table before the Lord.
(1) It was "before the Lord," for the Shechinah was separated from it only by the vail. The glory sometimes streamed out through the vail, as it did through the flesh of Christ on the mount of transfiguration.
(2) it was then set in two rows of six over against each other. The purpose seems to have been to show how the tribes of the spiritual Israel will feast together in the fellowship of heaven.
(3) It was in a sense there "continually," for it was replaced with new every sabbath. The Jews say, "The hands of those priests that put on were mixed with those that took off, that the table might be never empty.
2. A memorial of it was burnt.
(1) It was "an offering made by fire unto the Lord." But how? Was it not eaten by the priests? When the cakes were removed the frankincense was burnt. This was the memorial of the whole; in this the whole was accepted as a burnt offering. (comp. Lev_2:2) This will explain the expression in the words of the angel to Cornelius, "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God". (Act_10:4)
(2) But was this memorial burnt upon the table? We have no reason to think so. It was probably burnt upon the golden altar, which was the altar of incense. Note: the communion table ought never to be spoken of as an altar. It was from the table, not from the altar, that the priests ate the bread of the presence.
(3) The spiritual priesthood alone have a right to partake of the true Bread of the Presence, and feast in fellowship with God. J.A.M.
Vers. 5-9. The lesson of the loaves.
In this act of worship the Jews made weekly acknowledgment of the goodness of God to them and of their dependence on him; they presented to him a suitable offering of those things he had given them; and they silently pleaded for God"s continued remembrance of them and their necessities. The lesson of these loaves, of this "bread of presence," is therefore
I THAT GOD"S GIFTS TO US ARE SUCH AS TO DEMAND OUR CONTINUAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. The Hebrew priest was to place before the Lord bread, the source of strength; (Psa_104:15) wine, the source of gladness; (Psa_104:15) and frankincense (verse 7), the source of sweetness. He was to renew these presentations every sabbath day "continually" (verse 8), and the table was never to be without them. This was a constant acknowledgment by the nation, through the act of the priesthood, of its dependence on God for all the good gifts received at his hand. We also, in our way, are to make continual acknowledgment every sabbath day in the sanctuary, every day at the family altar, and in the chamber of devotion, of our absolute dependence on God, for
(1) our strength, all things that minister to our health and vigour of body, mind, spirit, being due to his providing love; for
(2) our gladness, all those comforts and enjoyments, all those happy memories and inspiring hopes which make the music of our life, which infuse joyousness and elasticity into our nature, coming from his bountiful hand; and for
(3) the sweetness of our life, all the tender affections, the delicate delights which belong to pure and holy love, being the gift of his kindness also.
II THAT WITH OUR SENSE OF WHAT WE OWE TO GOD IT IS SUITABLE THAT WE PRESENT SOME OFFERING TO HIM. Of that which made Israel strong, the priest presented bread; of that which made it glad, wine; of that which was sweet, frankincense.
1. Our strength is in mental power, knowledge, gift of speech, bodily vigour, wealth; of these we should give a goodly share to the cause and kingdom of Jesus Christ.
2. Of our joy and gladness we should give to God our offering in gratitude, in thankful thoughts and in the voice of praise.
3. Of the affection which constitutes the sweetness of our life we are to give a large measure of love to him whom we have not seen, but whom we know as our Divine Redeemer and unchanging Friend.
III THAT, SO DOING, WE MAY EXPECT RESPONSIVE BLESSINGS FROM HIM. This was to be done "for a memorial" (verse 7), i.e., a "bringing to remembrance of the worshipper for his good." Jehovah was "continually" reminded of the devoutness of his people by the "bread of presence." He was thus continually appealed to, by that silent prayer, to "remember them for good." And as long as that act of worship in the holy place truly represented the spirit of the people, as long as it was their act, through the priests, of acknowledgment and consecration; so long was the Divine Sovereign well pleased with his subjects, so long was he ready to enrich and bless them. As long as we, instead of ascribing to ourselves the strength, joy, and sweetness of our lives, are honouring our God and Saviour for his goodness and grace therein, as long as we are cheerfully and generously giving to him and to his cause of that which he has given us; so long may we reckon on his gracious smile and look for his abundant blessing. C.
Vers. 5-9. The shewbread, or bread of the Presence.
Corresponding with the number of the tribes, and representing them; a national offering; a meat offering, with frankincense, drink offering, and salt. Taken from the people, eaten by the priests, every sabbath, for a memorial, by an everlasting covenant; "furnishing a striking figure of Israel"s condition in the view of Jehovah, whatever might be their outward aspect. The twelve tribes are ever before him. Their memorial can never perish. They are ranged in Divine order in the sanctuary, covered with the fragrant incense of Christ, and reflected from the pure table whereon they rest beneath the bright beams of that golden tamp which shines, with undimmed luster, through the darkest hour of the nation"s moral night.
I The perfect UNITY and completeness of the Church as before God.
1. As compared with the broken, external, visible unity.
2. As maintained by the Spirit and merit of Christ.
3. As hereafter to be manifested when there shall be no more temple, but the glory of God and of the Lamb are the temple of the heavenly Jerusalem.
II The SAFETY and blessedness of God"s people. Their memorial is before him.
1. Proceeding from the sanctuary, i.e., all blessedness the outcome of spiritual blessedness.
2. Committed to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the true Israel, the Lord of the temple, in whom "all the promises are Yea and Amen.
3. Appealing to faith. The loaves were there to represent the continued life of the people; faith alone saw the reality. R.
Vers. 5-9. The shewbread.
The furniture and ministry of the tabernacle are most clearly understood in import, if it be remembered that they have a double reference. Like the clouds of the sky, one aspect is towards heaven, the other towards earth. In the ordinance of the shewbread, we may see imaged truths relating to God, and truths with more immediate reference to the position and duties of his people.
I GOD AS THE PRESERVER OF LIFE. Food was essential to the conception of the tabernacle as the house of God. Unless he minister to the needs of his servants, they perish for lack of sustenance. "My Father giveth you the true Bread from heaven." The shewbread is literally the "bread of my face," or presence. Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, appears continually before the presence of God. God is never unprovided with entertainment for his guests. He is able also to supply the wants of all his people. Twelve loaves indicate that every tribe is remembered. As we think of the shewbread, let it point us to him who pointed to the Bread upon the table of the last Supper and said, "This is my body." He was truly of the finest of the wheat, no corruption marred his perfection. He was prepared to be the Bread of the world by many sufferings, just as the flour of the shewbread underwent numerous poundings and bruisings.
II THE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTING THE BREAD OF GOD. A parent bestows an allowance upon his children, and is none the less pleased when they devote a portion of it to purchasing some offering of regard to present to him. So from God do we derive all we possess; it is really his, and yet he graciously accepts as our gift to him what we consecrate to his service. This shewbread represented the result of toil in tilling, sowing, and reaping. The Israelites were expected to offer of the best of their property. Only fine wheaten flour is accepted to be placed upon the table. Love should secure this attention if naught else suffices. All the people are bound to be represented before God. The twelve cakes testified that God was reverenced and served by all the tribes. The duty one of perpetual and unceasing obligation. It recurred every week, and devolved on each succeeding generation. The continual observance of God"s statutes is the token of the covenant. The shewbread perfumed with incense. The loaves were accepted indirectly by God, being consumed by his consecrated servants, but the incense was burned as God"s special memorial. Prayer hallows every offering, without it our deeds and gifts lack the religious spirit that is the real honouring of God. And prayer should ever be in the Name of Christ, whose merits impart fragrance to our unworthy presentations. We must not rest satisfied with our former religious deeds. The offering of last week needs to be repeated, else it will grow stale and be offensive to God. With every day, in fact, should come a rededication. As our physical frame is in constant flux, so is it with our thoughts and emotions; they are really new, and must in their turn be laid before God. S.R.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain "And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve…
THE "BREAD OF THE PRESENCE"
Lev_24:5-9
Read full note →
"And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord continually; it is on the behalf of the children of Israel, an everlasting covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute."
Next follows the ordinance for the preparation and presentation of the "shew bread," lit., " bread of the Face," or "Presence," of God. This was to consist of twelve cakes, each to be made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour, which was to be placed in two rows or piles, "upon the pure table" of gold that stood before the Lord, in the Holy Place, opposite to the golden candlestick. On each pile was to be placed (Lev_24:7) "pure frankincense,"-doubtless, as tradition says, placed in the golden spoons, or little cups. {Exo_37:16} Every sabbath (Lev_24:8-9) fresh bread was to be so placed, when the old became the food of Aaron and his sons only, as belonging to the order of things "most holy"; the frankincense which had been its "memorial" having been first burned, "an offering made by fire unto the Lord" (Lev_24:7). Tradition adds that the bread was always unleavened; a few have called this in question, but this has been only on theoretic grounds, and without evidence; and when we remember how stringent was the prohibition of leaven even in any offerings made by fire upon the altar of the outer court, much less is it likely that it could have been tolerated here in the Holy Place immediately before the veil.
This bread of the Presence must be regarded as in its essential nature a perpetual meal offering, -the meal offering of the Holy Place, as the others were of the outer court. The material was the same, cakes of fine flour; to this frankincense must be added as a "memorial," as in the meal offerings of the outer court. Such part of the offering as was not burned, as in the case of the others, was to be eaten by the priests only, as a thing "most holy." It differed from those in that there were always the twelve cakes, one for each tribe; and in that while they were repeatedly offered, this lay before the Lord continually. The altar of burnt offering might sometimes be empty of the meal offering, but the table of shew bread, "the table of the Presence," never.
In general, therefore, the meaning of the offering of the shew bread must be the same as. that of the meal offerings; like them it symbolised the consecration unto the Lord of the product of the labour of the hands, and especially of the daily food as prepared for use. But in this, by the twelve cakes for the twelve tribes it was emphasised that God requires, not only such consecration of service and acknowledgment of Him from individuals, as in the law of chapter 2, but from the nation in its collective and organised capacity; and that not merely on such occasions as pious impulse might direct, but continuously.
In these days, when the tendency among us is to an extreme individualism, and therewith to an ignoring or denial of any claim of God upon nations and communities as such, it is of great need to insist upon this thought thus symbolised. It was not enough in Gods sight that individual Israelites should now and then offer their meal offerings; the Lord required a meal offering "on behalf of the children of Israel" as a whole, and of each particular tribe of the twelve, each in its corporate capacity. There is no reason to think that in the Divine government the principle which took this symbolic expression is obsolete. It is not enough that individuals among us consecrate the fruit of their labours to the Lord. The Lord requires such consecration of every nation collectively; and of each of the subdivisions in that nation, such as cities, towns, states, provinces, and so on. Yet where in the wide world can we see one such consecrated nation? Can we find one such consecrated province or state, or even such a city or town? Where then, from this biblical and spiritual point of view, is the ground for the religious boasting of the Christian progress of our day which one sometimes hears? Must we not say, "It is excluded"?
Typically, the shew bread, like the other meal offerings with their frankincense, must foreshadow the work of the Messiah in holy consecration; and, in particular, as the One in whom the ideal of Israel was perfectly realised, and who thus represented in His person the whole Israel of God. But the bread of the Presence represents His holy obedience in self-consecration, not merely, as in the other meal offerings, presented in the outer court, in the sight of men, as in His earthly life; but here, rather, as continually presented before the "Face of God," in the Holy Place, where Christ appears in the presence of God for us. And in this symbolism, which has been already justified, we may recognise the element of truth that there is in the view held by Bahr, apparently, as by others, that the shew bread typified Christ Himself regarded as the bread of life to His people. Not indeed, precisely, that Christ Himself is brought before us here, but rather His holy obedience, continually offered unto God in the heavenly places, in behalf of the true Israel, and as sealing and confirming the everlasting covenant; -this is what this symbol brings before us. And it is as we by faith appropriate Him, as thus ever presenting His holy life to God for us, that He becomes for us the Bread of Life.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
God continues giving Moses instructions about the things in the tent of meeting.
Read full note →
two-tenths of an ephah
This is about 4.5 liters. AT: "four and a half liters" (See: Biblical Volume)
the table of pure gold before Yahweh
This table is in the holy place, which is before the most holy place.
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:5 Traditionally called the “shewbread” (kjv), twelve flat loaves…
24:5 Traditionally called the “shewbread” (kjv), twelve flat loaves (see Exod 25:30) of this bread, the “Bread of the Presence,” were to be placed on the table in the Holy Place each Sabbath (Exod 25:23-30). This bread was considered part of the priest’s portion of the offerings. David and his men ate this bread while fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 21:1-6; see Matt 12:1-8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.