On every Sabbath day, the priests were meant to take twelve loaves of bread and pile them on the table on the north side of the holy place in the tabernacle/tent of meeting. (Jewish tradition holds that the ark of the covenant was in the temple/tabernacle at Nob at this time. The bread of the Presence might serve to confirm this, although the Bible itself suggests that the ark was still at Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Samuel 7:1–2; 2 Samuel 6:1–23.) This bread served as a quiet witness to the fact that the Lord sustains his people and supplies their need (see Exodus 16:1–36).1 Twelve loaves were used to symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel and each bread was made using about twelve cups of flour (thus larger than average).2
6 Alors le sacrificateur lui donna du pain consacré, car il n'y avait pas là d'autre pain que du pain de proposition, qu'on avait ôté de devant l'Eternel pour le remplacer par du pain chaud au moment où on l'avait pris.