In the D-R translation, the bread of the presence is translated as “loaves of proposition.”
Does anyone know why? What’s the significance or the implication of this rendering? Or is this a weakness of the D-R translation?
The D.R. takes as its source material the Latin Vulgate; In the Latin vulgate it reads:
Exodu 25:30 Et pones super mensam panes
propositionis in conspectu meo semper.
Latin, panes, is obviously bread, and no translation of the Latin word for “proposition” needs to be made – so that word is simply a literal translation; followed by in conspectu; I am not a latin expert, but “con” means with, and spectu sounds like the root of “spectacle” so I assume it means something along the lines of “with” “show” or “seeing”.
The D.R. preserves most of the Latin’s word order:
Exodu 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of *
proposition in my *sight **always.
It looks like a decent translation to me;
This is an interesting question. In his book, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist”, Brant Pitre points out that the some have translated the hebrew lehem ha panim as “Breead of Offering”, “Bread of the Presence”, “Bread of Display” or “Showbread”. He points out that panim is actually the Hebrew word for face and posits the idea that it could be translated “Bread of the Face of God.”***And you shall set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me always. ***(Exodus 25:30) I’m no scholar. In fact, I’m way out of my league here. But the idea that the bread is set before the face of God makes sense to me.
me too.
In the Greek LXX, it says:
Exodu 25:30 και επιθησεις επι την τραπεζαν
αρτους εν-ωπιο-υς εν-αντι-ον μου δια παντος
“and set upon the ?~table~?
breads in-sight in-front of-me through all/everything.”
The word for “face” is not found here, but it is explicitly “in-front” of; so it isn’t on his backside – but in the direction he would presumably “look”.
Dr. Pitre’s book has a whole section dedicated to the “Showbread” and it is more than just an interesting read. I’d not heard of it translated as proposition and would like to hear anyone who has knowledge of the subject.
Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s just a literal translation artifact of the Latin; “pro” means towards “position” means what it says, “to place”. So proposition just means to-place-towards/before. (as opposed to away or behind). A proposal is something someone brings “before” another to consider – eg: a marriage “proposal”.
(down on one knee in front is traditional…hollywood)
The term “Showbread”, though, is kind of odd – I see it in the KJV but not in the Douay or Latin or Greek; The Douay is hiding the meaning right there under your nose.
Exodu 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of *
proposition in my *sight **always.
Just means:
Exodu 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table breads
of-frontal-position **in-*my *sight **always.
