The Loaves of the Tree of Life: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Origins and Purpose of the Bread of the Presence within the Torah

The bread of the Presence refers to the twelve loaves of bread which were laid in the presence of God every Sabbath and consumed by the Israelite priesthood as part of the cultic rituals. The wheat for the bread was presented as part of Israel's first fruits offering during the Feast of Weeks, where Israel also presented an elevation offering of bread, a ritual bread with many similarities to the bread of the Presence. Once a week (according to Leviticus) the priests would collect some of this wheat to bake into twelve loaves of bread which were then placed in the Tabernacle. Here, the life-giving presence of God would transform the loaves from mere secular loaves into cultic bread. This cultic bread had a close relationship with the stylistic Tree of Life, the lampstand. This relationship was closer than any two other articles within the Tabernacle. Given this relationship, as well as the overall creation imagery that is embedded in the Tabernacle cult, it is possible that the bread was transformed into the symbolic fruit of the Tree of Life. This connection is furthered through Egyptian spells connecting bread and fruit, as well as syntaxial connections between fruit and grain/bread in the Hebrew texts. All of this paints a picture in which the Israelites ate of this fruit in the new Eden as a way to re-enter into the life and relationship that Yahweh meant to have with humanity at the beginning of the world. This divine meal actualizes the hope of union between God and man. For through this meal, the hopes of the eschaton are no longer reserved for some unknown future, but crashes through the walls of time to be enjoyed in the here and now. God and humanity's reconciliation is not merely a distant thought but is a reality that can be enjoyed in the here and now.