The King James Version of the Bible states that the utensils are to be "set in order upon it". Gold utensils ("'dishes, cups, bowls, and pitchers for pouring") were provided for the table, suggesting that other food and drink was served on the table as well as the showbread. In each sanctuary there was only one table, except for the Temple in Jerusalem, which Chronicles describes as having ten tables within its Holy Place. The biblical text indicates that, when being carried, the table would be covered with a purplish-blue cloth, the loaves and vessels would be placed on the cloth, and another cloth, in scarlet, would be placed over it, with a fine skin being added on top of that. The feet of the table are described as having a ring-like enclosure to which four gold rings were fastened, so that rods (made from acacia wood, and covered with gold) could be passed through the rings, and used to make the table portable, in the same manner as the other features of the tabernacle. The Septuagint describes the table as being of solid gold, but the Masoretic Text states that it was made from acacia wood, and only covered with pure gold, with a gold border around the top the table's dimensions are given as 2 ells long, 1 ell wide, and 1.5 ells high. The table or shulchan for the showbread was, according to biblical regulations, to be placed in the northern part of the sanctuary, opposite the Menorah with the altar of incense between them. The narrative of David's sojourn at Nob mentions that Ahimelek (the priest) gave David the holy bread, at his request. The cakes were to be left on the table for a week, and then be replaced with new ones on the Sabbath, so that there were always fresh loaves on the table, and those that had started going stale were removed the biblical text states that the Jewish priests were entitled to eat the cakes that had been removed, as long as they did so in a holy place, as it considered the bread to be holy. Since leavened products were prohibited from the altar, and the cakes are not described as being offered upon it, it is possible that the showbread was leavened however, as they were carried into the inner part of the sanctuary, it is highly probable that they were unleavened. The biblical regulations specify that cups of frankincense were to be placed upon the rows of cakes, and the Septuagint, but not the Masoretic Text, states that salt was mixed with the frankincense the frankincense, which the Septuagint refers to as an anamnesis, (a hapax legomenon), constituted a memorial ( azkarah), having been offered upon the altar to God ( Leviticus 24:7–9).Īccording to Chronicles, the Kohathite clan had charge of the baking and setting in order of the bread, suggesting that there were secret extra requirements in preparing the bread, known only to the Kohathites. In the Holiness Code, the showbread is described as twelve cakes baked from fine flour, arranged in two rows on a table each cake was to contain "two tenth parts of an ephah" of flour ( Leviticus 24:5–6) (approx 4.9 pounds). ![]() Within the Torah, the showbread is mentioned exclusively by the Priestly Code and Holiness Code, but certain sections of the Bible, including the Books of Chronicles, Books of Samuel, and Books of Kings, also describe aspects of them. Illustration of the temple priests replacing the showbread each week.
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