By In Theology, Worship

10 Bread Symbols In the Bible You Should Know

By Steve Macias

A post about bread? You butter believe it. No bun intended. It’s a Manna-festo. 😉

Bread

Both the Old and New Testaments include lots of references to bread: Jesus was born in the “house of bread” – Bethlehem, bread is central to the ritual Jesus himself prescribes to the church, and even takes a clause in the Lord’s prayer. We “knead” to be familiar with the Bible’s use of bread. (Last pun, I promise.) Symbolism is important because it shapes how we understand God.

“The universe and everything in it symbolizes God. That is, the universe and everything in it points to God. This means that the Christian view of the world is and can only be fundamentally symbolic. The world does not exist for its own sake, but as a revelation of God.” [2]

James B. Jordan is known as an expert on Biblical symbolism and he has plenty to say about bread.

“Well, what about bread? Suppose my wife phoned me at work and said, “Jim, would you go by the store and get some bread on your way home?” Now, let’s say I bought some saltines instead. My guess is that she would be unhappy. She would say, “Jim, that’s not bread; those are saltines. Don’t you know the difference between bread and saltines?” Or suppose I brought some pressed-out wafers home?

I think we know what bread is. I do. Don’t you? Bread is bread. If we believe in using unleavened bread, it should still be unleavened bread and not crackers or wafers.” [1]

But how much do we really know about bread? Here are ten bread symbols that help understand how the Bible uses bread to communicate basic theological ideas.

Next Page: Manna, Showbread,  Melchizedek’s Bread, and Joseph’s Baker

0 Responses to 10 Bread Symbols In the Bible You Should Know

  1. Steve Macias says:

    At Church of the King, the elders prepare a table each week with leavened bread and glasses of wine for families or individuals with us. After the assembly sings the Apostles Creed, our elders distribute the sacrament as we form a queue at the front of the church. All who are baptized and not under discipline in Christ’s Church are welcome to partake.

  2. […] Read my latest article from the Kuyperian Commentary:  […]

  3. Thanks so much. I work in a bakery.and this is really helpful and briings so much meaning to my work now.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: