The Pharisees were complaining because work was forbidden on the Sabbath,
and they interpreted the disciples gleaning of grain as Á-°workÁ-?.
Luke 6:3-4
3
And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as
this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were
with him;
4
How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the
shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not
lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
The Á-°shewbreadÁ-? was bread made of the finest flour, and placed on the holy table in the
temple:
Á-°And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth
deals shall be in one cake.
(6)
And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a
row, upon the pure table before the LORD.Á-?
(Lev 24:5-6)
This bread was renewed every Sabbath, and the old bread was eaten by the priests only.
(Lev 24:5-9).
The incident our Lord refers to is this:
Á-°Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in
mine hand, or what there is present.
(4)
And the priest answered David, and
said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed
bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
(5)
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have
been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels
of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea,
though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
(6)
So the priest gave him
hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was
taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken
away.Á-?
(1Sa 21:3-6)
Of course, as bread on an altar, the showbread was a type of Christ, and pointed to the
Eucharist.
Bibliography
The Explanation of the Holy Gospel according to St Luke, by Blessed Theophylact, published by
Chrysostom Press -
. ALL FOUR BOOKS ARE HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED!