Holman Bible Dictionary
Flat surface supported by legs.
1. Dinner tables The earliest “tables” were simply skins spread on the ground (Compare the expressions “spread a table” and “a fine spread.”) Representations of tables are rare in Egyptian art before the New Kingdom (1300-1100 B.C.). The earliest scriptural mention (Judges 1:7 ) falls within this same time frame. Most references concern a sovereign's table (Judges 1:7 ; 2 Samuel 9:7 ; 1 Kings 2:7 ; 1 Kings 4:27 ; 1 Kings 10:5 ; 1 Kings 18:19 ; but see 1 Kings 13:20 ). Tables generally sat on short legs, allowing one to eat sitting or reclined on a rug (Isaiah 21:5 ). Judges 1:7 , however, reflects a table high enough for kings to rummage underneath (compare Mark 7:28 ). In New Testament times guests ate while reclining on couches, supporting their heads with their left hands and eating from a common bowl with their right. This practice explains a woman's standing at Jesus' feet (Luke 7:38 ) and the beloved disciple's position at Jesus' breast (John 13:23 ) during meals. See Furniture .
2. Ritual tables A table for the bread of the presence formed part of the furnishings for both the tabernacle (Exodus 25:23-30 ; Exodus 26:35 ; Leviticus 24:5-7 ) and Temple (1 Kings 7:48 ). Other tables were used in the sacrificial cult (1 Chronicles 28:14-16 ; 2 Chronicles 4:7-8 ; Ezekiel 40:38-43 ). Malachi 1:7 ,Malachi 1:7,1:12 describes the altar itself as a table. To share in a god's table was an act of worship. Isaiah 65:11 and 1 Corinthians 10:21 refer to idolatrous worship. The “Lord's table” ( 1 Corinthians 10:21 ) refers to the observance of the Lord's Supper.
3. Money tables The money changers' tables were likely small trays on stands (Matthew 21:12 ; Mark 11:15 ; John 2:15 ).
4. Tables of law Some translations use table in the sense of a tablet (Exodus 24:12 ; Exodus 31:18 ; Deuteronomy 9:9 ). See Tablet .
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