Olive Oil and Bread Set Before the Lord(A)

24 The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance(B) for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand(C) before the Lord must be tended continually.

“Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread,(D) using two-tenths of an ephah[a](E) for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold(F) before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense(G) as a memorial[b] portion(H) to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly,(I) Sabbath after Sabbath,(J) on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons,(K) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,(L) because it is a most holy(M) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:5 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  2. Leviticus 24:7 Or representative

The Sanctuary’s Lamp and Bread

24 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the Israelites[b] that[c] they should bring pure olive oil from beaten olives for the light to present[d] a lamp continually. Aaron shall arrange for it outside[e] the curtain of the testimony in the tent of assembly from evening until morning before[f] Yahweh continually; it shall be a lasting statute[g] throughout your generations. On the pure golden[h] lampstand he shall arrange for the lamps before[i] Yahweh continually.

“And you shall take finely milled flour, and you shall bake with it twelve ring-shaped bread cakes: each one shall be two-tenths of an ephah. And you shall place them in two rows, six to the row, on the pure gold[j] table before[k] Yahweh. And you shall put pure frankincense on each[l] row so that[m] it shall be for the bread as a memorial offering, an offering made by fire for Yahweh. On every Sabbath[n] he shall arrange it in rows before[o] Yahweh continually; they are from the Israelites[p] as an everlasting[q] covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and for his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy thing[r] for him from Yahweh’s offerings made by fire—a lasting rule.”[s]

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 24:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Leviticus 24:2 Or “and”
  4. Leviticus 24:2 Literally “to cause raising up”; or “set up” (HALOT 830 s.v. 4.d)
  5. Leviticus 24:3 Literally “from the outside of to”
  6. Leviticus 24:3 Literally “to the faces of”
  7. Leviticus 24:3 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  8. Leviticus 24:4 Supplied by context and the description of the lampstand in Exod 25:31
  9. Leviticus 24:4 Literally “to the faces of”
  10. Leviticus 24:6 Supplied by context and the description of the table in Exod 25:24
  11. Leviticus 24:6 Literally “to the faces of”
  12. Leviticus 24:7 Hebrew “the”
  13. Leviticus 24:7 Or “and”
  14. Leviticus 24:8 Literally “On the day of the Sabbath on the day of the Sabbath”
  15. Leviticus 24:8 Literally “to the faces of”
  16. Leviticus 24:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  17. Leviticus 24:8 Or “eternal” or “enduring” or “perpetual”
  18. Leviticus 24:9 Literally “a holy thing of holy things”
  19. Leviticus 24:9 Literally “rule of eternity” or “rule of long duration”