Bread

(to eat)

When a family sat down to eat, they ate bread prepared by the loving hands of the women of the family, who baked bread for them on a daily basis (Lev. 26:26; Jer. 7:18). The recipe and process were well practiced. After the grain was ground into flour, that flour was mixed with water, salt, and a small amount of fermented bread dough (leaven). This dough was kneaded and then shaped into flat, round loaves resembling pita that were left to rise before baking.[25]

People ate bread in both mundane and religious contexts. Bread was eaten on a daily basis with virtually every meal because it provided the bulk of the carbohydrates and protein people required in order to complete a full day of physical labor or overland travel.[26] But the Bible also speaks of bread eaten in connection with religious observance. Prior to leaving Egypt, God directed the Israelites to prepare unleavened bread and consume some of it in advance of the long-distance traveling they were about to do (Exod. 12:8). This special eating of bread became part of Passover—an annual feast that commemorates the exodus of God’s people from Egypt (Exod. 12:18–20; Lev. 23:6; Deut. 16:3). The week before his death, Jesus hosted the Passover meal, fittingly incorporating the eating of bread into the new meal designed for those living in the new era (Mark 14:22; 1 Cor. 11:23–28). “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’ ” (Matt. 26:26).

Bread lovingly baked at home was a staple food eaten on a daily basis.

The eating of bread that was a standard feature of daily living was formally mentioned by the biblical authors when something special was associated with eating or not eating bread. Sometimes the preparation and eating of bread was mentioned because it was one way a host signaled the acceptance of a traveler who was passing through (Gen. 14:18; 18:6; 1 Sam. 28:24–25). Note that the connotations of welcome and acceptance accompanied the bread that Jesus offered to Peter and the other disciples as he sought to restore them to service in his kingdom following his resurrection (John 21:9, 13).

The biblical authors also mentioned the eating of bread when it occurred following the miraculous appearance of that bread. The Israelites ate bread made from manna—a mysterious food provided by the Lord during their travel in the wilderness (Exod. 16:8, 15, 32). Elijah was refreshed by bread brought to him by ravens during a famine (1 Kings 17:6). Elisha took a small amount of bread and fed hundreds (2 Kings 4:42). And Jesus himself took an even smaller amount of bread and fed thousands on at least two occasions: (1) the feeding of the five thousand is the version of this miracle done for Jews (Matt. 14:13–21), and (2) the feeding of the four thousand is the parallel miracle done for Gentiles (Matt. 15:32–38). The biblical authors formally mentioned the eating of bread in each of these instances because they provided evidence of a divine, caring power among us.

After Jesus spent forty days in this forbidding Judean wilderness without eating, Satan tempted him to make bread from stones (Matt. 4:1–4).

The biblical authors also took pains to mention those periods when people were not eating bread. This may have been a way of showing just how horrible a time of siege or famine had become or would be (Lev. 26:26; 1 Kings 17:12; Jer. 38:9). The failure to eat bread may also be a sign that one’s life had become disturbed in some way or other. For example, David’s refusal to eat bread accentuated the pain he felt over Abner’s death at the hands of Joab (2 Sam. 3:35). And Job had no appetite for bread when faced with the multiple personal challenges that God allowed into his life (Job 3:24; NIV “food”). Finally, the refusal to eat bread might signal that a divine mission was in process. Moses ate no bread during his forty days on Mount Sinai (Exod. 34:28). When God sent the prophet of Judah to condemn the altar of Jeroboam at Bethel, he ordered him not to eat any bread while executing his mission (1 Kings 13:8–9). This seemingly incidental detail was repeatedly mentioned and closely woven into the fabric of the story (1 Kings 13:16–18, 22) because this prophet of Judah paid with his life for failing to obey this directive. Finally, Jesus did not eat bread during his forty-day fast in the wilderness. Despite his hunger pangs, Jesus maintained his fast in the face of Satan’s temptation to make bread for himself from the stones that surrounded him (Matt. 4:1–4).

Eating bread also appears as a metaphor in the Bible. Because eating bread was such an ordinary part of everyday living, it can be synonymous with a regularly occurring activity. “Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the LORD” (Ps. 14:4; see also 53:4). “They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence” (Prov. 4:17). But perhaps the most striking metaphor linked to the eating of bread is the one found in John 6. Here eating bread is symbolic of believing in Jesus. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ ” (v. 35). This amazing discourse culminated in these memorable words: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (v. 51).