Table

An item of furniture used principally for putting food on. Sharing at the same table was a mark of fellowship and to eat at the table of rulers was deemed a great privilege. In the tabernacle and temple a special table held the bread of the Presence. Tables were also used for business transactions.

Tables used for eating

A table as household furniture

2 Kings 4:10

Reclining at table

Luke 7:36 See also Matthew 26:7 parallel Mark 14:3; Luke 11:37; John 12:2

Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

Tables set for meals

Psalm 23:5; Isaiah 21:5 See also Job 36:16; Psalm 69:22, Psalm 78:19 The people of Israel doubted God's ability to provide; Proverbs 9:2; Ezekiel 23:41

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!

Giving thanks for food at the table

Luke 24:30 See also Matthew 26:26–27 parallels Mark 14:22–23, Luke 22:17–19; 1 Corinthians 11:23–24

While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.

Dogs eat scraps from the table

Matthew 15:27 parallel Mark 7:28 See also Judges 1:7; Luke 16:21

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Eating at the table of rulers

Rulers were required to entertain

Nehemiah 5:17–18 See also 1 Kings 4:27, 1 Kings 10:4–5 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:3–4

There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations. Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

A bestowal of authority

Luke 22:29–30 See also Matthew 22:2–3; Luke 14:15

And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

A mark of honour and favour

Genesis 43:34; 2 Samuel 9:11; 1 Kings 2:7, 1 Kings 18:19; 2 Kings 25:28–29 parallel Jeremiah 52:32–33; Luke 14:7 Jesus Christ criticises those who seek the most prestigious places at the table.

Sharing at the same table was a mark of fellowship

A sign of participation

1 Corinthians 10:16–20

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar? Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Unacceptable table fellowship

Daniel 1:5–8; 1 Corinthians 10:21 See also 1 Samuel 20:34 Jonathan refuses to eat with Saul; 1 Kings 18:19; Isaiah 65:11; Jeremiah 7:18

The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service. Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.

Betrayal of table fellowship

Psalm 41:9 See also 1 Samuel 20:29–31 Saul wishes to kill David while inviting him to share his table; Daniel 11:27; Matthew 26:20–21 parallels Mark 14:18, Luke 22:21

Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

Serving at table

Luke 22:27 See also Luke 12:37; Acts 6:2 The first Christians recognised the importance of practical service by appointing deacons to “wait on tables”.

For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

Tables used in business

John 2:14–15 See also Matthew 21:12 parallel Mark 11:15

In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables. So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

Tables used in worship

The table in the tabernacle

Exodus 25:23–30 The table was for the bread of the Presence: an offering of twelve loaves, one from each of the twelve tribes. See also Exodus 37:10–16, Exodus 26:35, Exodus 30:27 The table was anointed for use; Exodus 35:13 parallel Exodus 39:36; Exodus 40:4NUM Exodus 3:31, Numbers 4:7 Hebrews 9:2

You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. And make a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners at its four legs. The rings are to be close to the rim, to serve as holders for the poles used to carry the table. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. You are also to make the plates and dishes, as well as the pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

The tables in Solomon's temple

2 Chronicles 4:8 See also 1 Kings 7:48 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:19; 1 Chronicles 28:16; 2 Chronicles 13:11, 2 Chronicles 29:18

Additionally, he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold bowls.