“On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it.
Parallel translations
- KJV And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:
- BSB Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it.
- NKJV “On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it.
- NASB Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of violet and put on it the dishes, the pans, the sacrificial bowls, and the jugs for the drink offering; and the continual bread shall be on it.
- NLT “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers, and the special bread.
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
The table of showbread was covered with a blue cloth and its vessels and bread arranged for transport. Even the table of God's continual provision was treated as holy.
Overview
The showbread, set continually before the Lord, represented Israel's communion with God and His ongoing provision for His people. Wrapping it for the journey preserved its sacred order. The continual bread before God points to Christ, the true bread of life (John 6:35), who sustains His people perpetually.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Lev 24:5–8“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
- Exod 37:10–16He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and its width was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half.
- Exod 25:23–30“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its width, and one and a half cubits its height.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 4:7 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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