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◄ Bread: Kept in Baskets►

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical times, bread was a staple food and held significant symbolic and practical importance. The practice of keeping bread in baskets is mentioned in several passages, highlighting both its everyday use and its role in miraculous events.

Old Testament Context

The use of baskets for carrying and storing bread is implied in various Old Testament narratives. Baskets were common household items, crafted from materials like reeds or palm leaves, and were used for carrying food, including bread, during travel or harvest. While specific references to bread being kept in baskets are not explicitly detailed in the Old Testament, the practice can be inferred from the general use of baskets for food storage and transport.

New Testament Accounts

The New Testament provides more explicit references to bread being kept in baskets, particularly in the context of Jesus' miracles. The feeding of the multitudes is a prominent example where baskets play a crucial role.

1.Feeding of the Five Thousand: In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus performs the miracle of feeding five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish. After everyone had eaten and was satisfied, the disciples collected the leftovers. "And they all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over" (Matthew 14:20). The twelve baskets of leftover bread symbolize God's abundant provision and the importance of stewardship.

2.Feeding of the Four Thousand: A similar miracle occurs when Jesus feeds four thousand men, along with women and children, with seven loaves and a few small fish. After the meal, the disciples gather the remnants. "Afterward, the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over" (Matthew 15:37). The seven baskets of leftovers again emphasize the theme of divine abundance and care.

Symbolic Significance

The use of baskets to collect leftover bread in these miracles carries deep symbolic meaning. The act of gathering the remnants in baskets signifies the importance of not wasting God's provision. It also reflects the idea of God's kingdom being one of abundance, where even the leftovers are more than sufficient to meet needs.

Furthermore, the number of baskets—twelve and seven—holds symbolic significance. Twelve often represents the twelve tribes of Israel, suggesting completeness and God's covenant with His people. Seven is a number of perfection and completion, indicating the fullness of God's provision.

Practical Implications

In a practical sense, the use of baskets for bread underscores the everyday life of the people during biblical times. Baskets were essential for carrying food, whether for personal consumption or communal sharing. The imagery of bread in baskets serves as a reminder of the sustenance God provides and the responsibility of His followers to manage resources wisely.

In summary, the concept of bread kept in baskets in the Bible highlights both the miraculous provision of God and the practical aspects of daily life in biblical times. Through these narratives, believers are reminded of God's abundant care and the call to be faithful stewards of His blessings.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 40:16
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Exodus 29:32
And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

TwelveBaskets Full of Fragments Gathered from the Miracle of...
... If the disciples hadkept the one basket, there... doctrine any more than looking at
bread will satisfy... the fragments that remained twelvebaskets full." (Matthew...

Joseph, a Servant, a Prisoner, and a Saint.
... "The threebaskets are three... and the thin and poorly fed cows ate up the well-kept
and fat... nothing to reap in time of harvest and the people would wantbread....

Abigail's Sensible Advice
... Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves ofbread, two skins of wine, five roasted
sheep, fivebaskets of parched... as you live, since Jehovah haskept you from...

Of the Question as to How the Four Evangelists Harmonize with Each...
... they gathered them together, and filled twelvebaskets with the... be a settled matter,
and onekept regularly in... the view of proving him, whencebread might be...

The Feeding of the Four Thousand - to Dalmanutha - the Sign from...
... because they had been so busy for theBread of Life... And, it must bekept in view,
that Christ dismissed... lies even in the designation of thebaskets' in which...

Joseph's Eagerness to Help Others
... put him into the prison, in the place where the king's prisoners werekept.... I also
saw something in my dream: there were threebaskets of whitebread on my...

Two by Two.
... go free, but for the Queen's sake hekept him in... As He broke thebread and gave to
the disciples they... And they filled twelvebaskets with the pieces of the...

Book vii. On the Useful or the Ordinary
... are adulterers, their hearts are like an oven for bakingbread.... and they put the
plentiful leftovers in twelvebaskets.... by it, and you will bekept from those...

Acts of Andrew and Matthias
... altered, nor his mind deranged; but hekept praying to... Brother, may the Lord give
thee heavenlybread out of... what was over to them twelvebaskets of fragments....

The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity.
... What connection was there between 'How manybaskets took ye up... maundering over their
one loaf"with theBread of Life... the dead, not beyond my reach:kept for me...