Exodus 25:23-30

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

25:23 ¹ “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches. 25:24 You are to overlay it with ²  pure gold, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for it. 25:25 You are to make a surrounding frame ³  for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 25:26 You are to make four rings of gold for it and attach ⁴  the rings at the four corners where its four legs are. ⁵  25:27 The rings are to be close to the frame to provide places ⁶  for the poles to carry the table. 25:28 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. ⁷  25:29 You are to make its plates, ⁸  its ladles, ⁹  its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings; ¹⁰  you are to make them of pure gold. 25:30 You are to set the Bread of the Presence ¹¹  on the table before me continually.

Exodus 37:10-16

The Making of the Table

37:10 He made the table of acacia wood; its length was three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 37:12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 37:13 He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. 37:14 The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 37:15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 37:16 He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its ¹²  plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.

Exodus 39:36

39:36 the table, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence;

Exodus 40:22-23

40:22 And he put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain. 40:23 And he set the bread in order on it ¹³  before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Leviticus 24:5-9

24:5 “You must take choice wheat flour ¹⁴  and bake twelve loaves; ¹⁵  there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in ¹⁶  each loaf, 24:6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, ¹⁷  on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 24:7 You must put pure frankincense ¹⁸  on each row, ¹⁹  and it will become a memorial portion ²⁰  for the bread, a gift ²¹  to the Lord. 24:8 Each Sabbath day ²²  Aaron ²³  must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion ²⁴  is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant. 24:9 It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion ²⁵  from the gifts of the Lord.”

Leviticus 24:2

24:2 “Command the Israelites to bring ²⁶  to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. ²⁷ 

Leviticus 4:8

4:8 “‘Then he must take up all the fat from the sin offering bull: ²⁸  the fat covering the entrails ²⁹  and all the fat surrounding the entrails, ³⁰ 

Ezekiel 40:39

40:39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.

Ezekiel 40:42

40:42 The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches ³¹  long, 32 inches ³²  wide, and 21 inches ³³  high. They would put the instruments which they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them.

Ezekiel 41:22

41:22 The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet ³⁴  high, with its length 3½ feet; ³⁵  its corners, its length, ³⁶  and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”

Ezekiel 44:16

44:16 They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.

Malachi 1:12

1:12 “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings ³⁷  despicable.

Malachi 1:1

Introduction and God’s Election of Israel

1:1 What follows is divine revelation. ³⁸  The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi: ³⁹ 

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁴⁰  minds ⁴¹  as expressed through ⁴²  your evil deeds,

[25:23]  ¹ sn The Table of the Bread of the Presence (Tyndale’s translation, “Shewbread,” was used in KJV and influenced ASV, NAB) was to be a standing acknowledgment that Yahweh was the giver of daily bread. It was called the “presence-bread” because it was set out in his presence. The theology of this is that God provides, and the practice of this is that the people must provide for constant thanks. So if the ark speaks of communion through atonement, the table speaks of dedicatory gratitude.

[25:24]  ² tn “Gold” is an adverbial accusative of material.

[25:25]  ³ sn There is some debate as to the meaning of מִסְגֶּרֶת (misgeret). This does not seem to be a natural part of the table and its legs. The drawing on the Arch of Titus shows two cross-stays in the space between the legs, about halfway up. It might have been nearer the top, but the drawing of the table of presence-bread from the arch shows it half-way up. This frame was then decorated with the molding as well.

[25:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “give.”

[25:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “which [are] to four of its feet.”

[25:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “houses”; NAB, NASB “holders.”

[25:28]  ⁷ tn The verb is a Niphal perfect with vav consecutive, showing here the intended result: “so that [the table] might be lifted up [by them].” The noun “the table” is introduced by what looks like the sign of the accusative, but here it serves to introduce or emphasize the nominative (see GKC 365 §117.i).

[25:29]  ⁸ tn Or “a deep gold dish.” The four nouns in this list are items associated with the table and its use.

[25:29]  ⁹ tn Or “cups” (NAB, TEV).

[25:29]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “for pouring out offerings” represents Hebrew אֲשֶׁר יֻסַּךְ בָּהֵן (’asher yussakh bahen). This literally says, “which it may be poured out with them,” or “with which [libations] may be poured out.”

[25:30]  ¹¹ sn The name basically means that the bread is to be set out in the presence of Yahweh. The custom of presenting bread on a table as a thank offering is common in other cultures as well. The bread here would be placed on the table as a symbol of the divine provision for the twelve tribes – continually, because they were to express their thanksgiving continually. Priests could eat the bread after certain times. Fresh bread would be put there regularly.

[37:16]  ¹² tn The suffixes on these could also indicate the indirect object (see Exod 25:29).

[40:23]  ¹³ tn Heb uses a cognate accusative construction, “he arranged the arrangement.”

[24:5]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on Lev 2:1.

[24:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”

[24:5]  ¹⁶ tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “six of the row.”

[24:7]  ¹⁸ tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).

[24:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.

[24:7]  ²⁰ sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]).

[24:7]  ²¹ sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”

[24:8]  ²² tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac delete the second occurrence of the expression.

[24:8]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:8]  ²⁴ tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to.

[24:9]  ²⁵ tn Or “a perpetual regulation”; NRSV “a perpetual due.”

[24:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav (ו) on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause (“to bring…”).

[24:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.”

[4:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”

[4:8]  ²⁹ tc The MT has here the preposition עַל (’al, “on, upon” [i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English]), but Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums read אֶת (’et), which is what would be expected (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (עַל) the entrails” at the end of the verse.

[4:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).

[40:42]  ³¹ tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).

[40:42]  ³² tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).

[40:42]  ³³ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[41:22]  ³⁴ tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).

[41:22]  ³⁵ tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).

[41:22]  ³⁶ tc So the Masoretic text. The LXX reads “base.”

[1:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ’okhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “The burden.” The Hebrew term III מַשָּׂא (massa’), usually translated “oracle” or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא), is a technical term in prophetic literature introducing a message from the Lord (see Zech 9:1; 12:1). Since it derives from a verb meaning “to carry,” its original nuance was that of a burdensome message, that is, one with ominous content. The grammatical structure here suggests that the term stands alone (so NAB, NRSV) and is not to be joined with what follows, “the burden [or “revelation”] of” (so KJV, NASB, ESV).

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi.” There is some question as to whether מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi) should be understood as a personal name (so almost all English versions) or as simply “my messenger” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew). Despite the fact that the word should be understood in the latter sense in 3:1 (where, however, it refers to a different person), to understand it that way here would result in the book being of anonymous authorship, a situation anomalous among all the prophetic literature of the OT.

[1:21]  ⁴⁰ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁴¹ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁴² tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.