Showbread \Show"bread`\, n. (Jewish Antiq.)
Bread of exhibition; loaves to set before God; -- the term
used in translating the various phrases used in the Hebrew
and Greek to designate the loaves of bread which the priest
of the week placed before the Lord on the golden table in the
sanctuary. They were made of fine flour unleavened, and were
changed every Sabbath. The loaves, twelve in number,
represented the twelve tribes of Israel. They were to be
eaten by the priests only, and in the Holy Place. [Written
also shewbread.] --Mark ii. 26.
[1913 Webster]
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Shewbread
Ex. 25:30 (R.V. marg., "presence bread"); 1 Chr. 9:32 (marg.,
"bread of ordering"); Num. 4:7: called "hallowed bread" (R.V.,
"holy bread") in 1 Sam. 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 (Lev. 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 1 Sam. 21:3-6; comp. Matt. 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.
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