Topical Bible: Bread: Corn Ground for Making

◄ Bread: Corn Ground for Making ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical times, bread was a staple food and held significant cultural and religious importance. The process of making bread began with the grinding of corn, which in the context of the Bible, often refers to grain such as wheat or barley. This entry explores the biblical references and significance of bread made from ground corn.

Biblical References and Significance

Bread is frequently mentioned throughout the Bible as a symbol of sustenance and divine provision. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were instructed to make bread from the grain they harvested. The grinding of corn into flour was a daily task, essential for preparing the bread that would sustain families and communities.

In Genesis 18:6, we see an early example of bread-making when Abraham instructs Sarah to prepare bread for their divine visitors: "So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Quick, prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.'" This passage highlights the importance of hospitality and the role of bread as a means of welcoming and honoring guests.

The process of grinding corn and making bread is also evident in the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle. In Exodus 25:30, God commands the Israelites to place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Him continually: "And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times." This bread, made from fine flour, was a perpetual offering, symbolizing God's eternal provision and presence among His people.

In the New Testament, bread continues to hold spiritual significance. Jesus refers to Himself as the "bread of life" in John 6:35, saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst." Here, bread symbolizes the spiritual nourishment and eternal life that Jesus offers to believers.

Cultural and Religious Practices

The grinding of corn and the making of bread were integral to daily life in biblical times. Women typically performed the task of grinding grain using a hand mill or mortar and pestle. This labor-intensive process was essential for producing the flour needed for daily bread.

Bread was not only a dietary staple but also played a role in religious rituals and offerings. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, for example, commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their reliance on God's provision. During this feast, unleavened bread, made without yeast, is eaten to remember the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt (Exodus 12:17-20).

In the sacrificial system, bread was often included as part of the offerings presented to God. Leviticus 2:4 describes the grain offering: "Now if you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it must consist of fine flour—unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers anointed with oil." These offerings were a means of expressing gratitude and devotion to God.

Symbolism and Spiritual Lessons

Bread, as a product of ground corn, carries deep symbolic meaning in the Bible. It represents God's provision, both physically and spiritually. The act of grinding corn and making bread can be seen as a metaphor for the transformation and refinement that occurs in the life of a believer. Just as grain is crushed and refined to produce nourishing bread, so too are believers shaped and molded through trials and spiritual growth.

Moreover, bread serves as a reminder of the communal aspect of faith. Sharing bread is an act of fellowship and unity, reflecting the body of Christ, which is the church. In the Lord's Supper, bread symbolizes the body of Christ, broken for the salvation of humanity (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).

In summary, bread made from ground corn is a profound symbol in the Bible, representing sustenance, divine provision, and spiritual nourishment. Its preparation and use in religious practices underscore the centrality of bread in the life and faith of God's people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 28:28
Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

2 Cor. Ix. 10
... to every good work:" and here, "He that ministereth bread for food ... continually calls
it "seed." For like as the corn cast into the ground showeth luxuriant ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xx 2 cor ix.htm

Wyclif -- Christ's Real Body not in the Eucharist
... Gospel, "Verily, verily I say unto you except the wheat corn fall into the ground
and die ... Furthermore, if they say that Christ made His body of bread, I ask ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons volume i/wyclif christs real body.htm

John xii. 8
... and, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and give ... Except a grain of corn
fall into the ground and die ... them that this is the case with corn; it beareth ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of st john and hebrews/homily lxvi john xii 8.htm

How a Great Many of the People Earnestly Endeavored to Desert to ...
... inmost rooms of their houses, and ate the corn they had ... infants, but they lifted
up children from the ground as they ... that he had but one loaf of bread, or that ...
/.../chapter 10 how a great.htm

Daily Bread
... autumn woods are looking, and the stocked corn, and the ... snow came is getting lowered
to very near the ground. ... is turning great mills and grinding bread for men ...
//christianbookshelf.org/merriam/the chief end of man/v daily bread.htm

The God of Nature (Preached During a Wet Harvest. )
... and the valleys stand so thick with corn, that they ... to give him a cheerful countenance,
and bread to strengthen ... and brings the ungodly down to the ground; of a ...
/.../kingsley/the water of life and other sermons/sermon xx the god of.htm

The Creation
... sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.' Verse I9 ... Thorns and thistles shall the ground
bring forth.' Verse ... should be hurtful, and choke the corn, which hurtful ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/13 the creation.htm

Discerning Prayer.
... the fitness and necessity of prayer to take the ground of the ... harvest fail and death
is on the land, when corn fails in Egypt and there is no bread, when we ...
//christianbookshelf.org/various/the wonders of prayer/discerning prayer.htm

The Pharisees' Sabbath and Christ's
... and his followers eating the shew-bread, which was ... In this place'"here among the
growing corn, beneath the ... baffled in their attempt to find ground for laying ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the pharisees sabbath and christs.htm

What, Then, was it Likely that the Master of the Slave Would ...
... by the surface of the water presenting solid ground for His ... need supplied by the
earth producing corn for them ... houses of His Divine power), the bread ready in ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/chapter xxiii what then was.htm