Exodus 25:30

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 25:30 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.
Exodus 25:30 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 25

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
30And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And thou shall set upon the table shewbread before me always.] Which consisted of twelve cakes loaves, set in two rows upon the table, and stood there a whole week, and every sabbath were renewed; and when the old ones were took away, which were eaten by the priests, new ones were set, so that they were always before the Lord; and being continually before him, were called shewbread, or “bread of faces”, being always before the face of God. This was a memorial of the goodness of God in daily providing bread for the people of Israel, and was presented to him as a thankful acknowledgment of it, and being the same they ate at their own tables; and this being eaten by the priests, was expressive…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“showbread--literally, presence bread, so called because it was constantly exhibited before the Lord, or because the bread of His presence, like the angel of His presence, pointed symbolically to Christ. It consisted of twelve unleavened loaves, said traditionally to have been laid in piles of six each. This bread was designed to be a symbol of the full and never-failing provision which is made in the Church for the spiritual sustenance and refreshment of God's people.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“(Compare Exodus 37:10-16.) The table and the candlestick figured on the Arch of Titus at Rome are those of the Maccabaean times, but made as nearly as possible after the ancient models reproduced under the direction of Solomon and Zerubbabel. The details and size of the figure, and the description of Josephus, appear to agree very nearly with the directions here given to Moses, and to illustrate them in several particulars. Josephus says that the table was like the so-called Delphic tables, richly ornamented pieces of furniture in use amongst the Romans, which were sometimes, if not always, covered with gold or silver. Exodus 25:24 See Exodus 25:11 note. The moulding of the table is still…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Exo 35:13, Exo 39:36; Lev 24:5, Lev 24:6; Num 4:7; Sa1 21:6; Ch1 9:32, Ch1 23:29; Ch2 13:11; Mal 1:7, Mal 1:12; Mat 12:4 Exodus 25:31”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Bread of the face (פּנים לחם), the mode of preparing and placing which is described in Lev 24:5., was to lie continually before (לפני) Jehovah. These loaves were called "bread of the face" (shew-bread), because they were to lie before the face of Jehovah as a meat-offering presented by the children of Israel ( Lev 24:8), not as food for Jehovah, but as a symbol of the spiritual food which Israel was to prepare ( Joh 6:27, cf. Joh 4:32, Joh 4:34), a figurative representation of the calling it had received from God; so that bread and wine, which stood upon the table by the side of the loaves, as the fruit of the labour bestowed by Israel upon the soil of its inheritance, were a symbol of its…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification