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Glite Dictionary
shewbread

shewbread

9.9
Bread placed on a table in the ancient Jewish temple as a regular offering to God
  • noun
  • /ˈʃuːˌbrɛd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : pan de la proposición
  • The ritual of replacing the shewbread was an important part of temple worship.

Examples

  • The priest placed the shewbread on the table in the sanctuary every Sabbath.

  • The priests replaced the shewbread every week.

  • In ancient times, shewbread symbolized the covenant between God and the Israelites.

  • In the temple, the shewbread symbolized God's presence.

  • In the ancient temple, the priests would change the shewbread every week as a part of their rituals.

  • The shewbread was displayed on the table to symbolize God's presence among His people.

  • During religious ceremonies, the faithful would gather to see the shewbread on the altar.

Synonyms

showbread
vsshewbread
  • Archaic
9.9

Bread placed on a table in the ancient Jewish Temple as an offering to God

emphasizes that it is a continual offering kept on the table

Surface Forms

shewbread singular
shewbreads plural

Morphology

shewbread = shew (semi-transparent) = shew + bread

The parts 'shew' (archaic 'show') and 'bread' are form- and meaning-transparent, but the term denotes a specific ritual object in the temple and its precise religious function is not predictable from the components by an average learner.

Etymology

Shewbread comes from old English parts show and bread, meaning bread 'to be shown'. In the ancient Jewish temple this was the special bread set on the table 'before the face' of God, so the word now refers to those regular loaves offered to God.