showbread

Twelve loaves of unleavened bread that were placed on a specially constructed table in the holy place of the tabernacle and Temple as an offering to God. They were to be baked of fine flour and arranged in two rows of six with frankincense in each row. The bread was to be replaced with freshly baked bread every Sabbath day, and the old loaves were to be eaten by the priests (Lev 24:5-9; Exod 25:23-30; 1Sam 21:5-6; Matt 12:3-4). The showbread is variously referred to as the Bread of the Presence (Num 4:7), holy bread (1Sam 21:6), or simply the bread (Exod 40:23).