Matthew 12:4

He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the Pharisees during a Sabbath controversy, responding to their accusation against his disciples. He immediately invokes the historical account of David to frame his rebuttal.

The words — εἰσῆλθεν (eisēlthen) translates literally as "he entered," and οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ (oikon tou theou) means "house of God." These terms specify the location where David and his companions consumed the restricted bread.

The thread — The consecrated bread is prescribed in Leviticus 24:5 and set upon the table in Exodus 25:30 as the Bread of the Presence. Leviticus 8:31 instead records the eating of ordination offerings, not the sacred bread.

Why it lands — The text records a factual exception to priestly food laws, establishing that necessity and prior divine allowance can supersede ritual restriction. It requires the reader to weigh cited precedent against current legal accusations.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

Cross-references

Leviticus 24:5 You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,
Exodus 25:30 And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
Leviticus 8:31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’
Exodus 29:32 At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.