Put some pure frankincense near each stack to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- KJV And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
- BSB And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- NKJV And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
- NASB You shall put pure frankincense on each row so that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, an offering by fire to the Lord.
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
Frankincense was placed on the bread as a memorial offering by fire to the LORD. The bread became an act of worship and remembrance.
Overview
The fragrant frankincense set upon the loaves was eventually burned, turning the display of bread into a pleasing offering before God. It served as a memorial, keeping Israel continually in remembrance before the LORD. The rising incense pictures prayer and worship ascending to God, fulfilled in Christ's perfect, fragrant self-offering (Ephesians 5:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Lev 2:2He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests; and he shall take his handful of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense; and the priest shall burn its memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
- Rev 8:3–4Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.
- John 6:35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
- 1 Cor 11:23–25For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.
- Heb 7:25Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
- Exod 13:9It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt.
- Exod 17:14Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.”
- John 6:51I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
- Acts 10:31and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God.
- Gen 9:16The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
- Exod 12:14This day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to Yahweh: throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
- Acts 10:4He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God.
- Eph 1:6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 24:7 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
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