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He set the bread in order on it before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Exodus 40:23 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
  • BSB He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.
  • NKJV and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
  • NASB And he set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
  • NLT And he arranged the Bread of the Presence on the table before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses arranged the bread on the table before Yahweh, as commanded. The ordered bread represented the twelve tribes continually set before God.

Overview

The bread of the Presence, twelve loaves renewed weekly, was set in order before the Lord as a perpetual memorial of the tribes of Israel. It signified that God's people were continually held before Him and that He provided for them. Christ, the true bread from heaven, fulfills this picture of God's ongoing provision and the believer's standing before God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Exod 25:30You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.
  • Exod 40:4You shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that are on it. You shall bring in the lamp stand, and light its lamps.
  • Matt 12:4how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
  • Heb 9:2For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread; which is called the Holy Place.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 40:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 40:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.