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SHEW-BREAD

Volume 17 · 203 words · 1797 Edition

the loaves of bread which the priest of the week put every Sabbath-day upon the golden-table in the sanctuary, before the Lord, in the temple of the Jews. They were twelve in number, and were offered to God in the name of the twelve tribes of Israel. They were shaped like a brick, were ten palms long and five broad, weighing about eight pounds each. They were unleavened, and made of fine flour by the Levites. The priests set them on the table in two rows, six in a row, and put frankincense upon them to preserve them from moulding. They were changed every Sabbath, and the old ones belonged to the priest upon duty. Of this bread none but the priests might eat, except in cases of necessity. It was called the bread of faces, because the table of the show-bread, being almost over against the ark of the covenant, the loaves might be said to be set before the face of God. The original table was carried away to Babylon, but a new one was made for the second temple. It was of wood overlaid with gold. This, with the candlestick and some other spoils, was carried by Titus to Rome.