דברי הימים א, פרק ט׳, פסוק ל״ב

Maintaining order in the Temple required immense skill and strict organization, with different Levite families assigned to highly specific duties. At the heart of this sacred service was the weekly preparation of the Showbread, a task demanding careful advance planning and precise timing. The responsibility for this vital work was given to members of the Kohathite family. The primary approach among commentators is that this assignment flows directly from the previously recorded Temple duties, linking the various families together in service. These Kohathites are identified either as the brothers of the sons of Korah [מצודת דוד], or as the brothers of the Levites who were in charge of baking the pan-baked offerings [רלב״ג].

The specific duty of these Kohathites was to manage the arranged bread. The terminology used for this bread implies a careful process of setting and arranging it in order [מצודת ציון]. There is a general consensus that this refers to the Showbread, which was constantly laid out on the golden table within the sanctuary. Their job was to ensure this bread was prepared for every Sabbath. The actual preparation and baking of the loaves took place before the Sabbath began, ensuring a fresh set was fully ready in advance. Then, on the Sabbath day itself, the priest would take the new loaves, arrange them on the table, and remove the old bread that had been sitting there since the previous week [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ].