Table
Summary
In Scripture, 'table' refers both to furniture used for eating and to writing tablets, including the stone tablets of the Law given to Moses.
☩Tables as Furniture
The Hebrew word shulchan, rendered 'table,' originally meant 'a piece of hide' or leather mat placed on the ground at mealtime, but came to designate any eating surface. Ancient Hebrew tables were likely quite low compared to modern furniture, similar to those still used in Palestine today—a small polygonal stool about fourteen inches high with a tray placed upon it. The Egyptians used similar tables, often with ornate pedestals, while Assyrian monuments depict highly decorative table designs. To eat at a king's table signified enjoying great honor, a privilege Christ made typical of heavenly reward.
☩The Table of Showbread
In the Tabernacle and Temple, a special table of acacia wood overlaid with gold held the twelve loaves of showbread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This table, described in Exodus 25:23-30, stood in the Holy Place opposite the golden lampstand. The table depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome shows its appearance in Herod's temple—only about half a cubit high.
☩Tables of Stone
The Hebrew word luach and Greek plax refer to tablets for writing, particularly the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. Moses received these 'tables of testimony' written by the finger of God on Mount Sinai. When Moses broke the first set upon seeing the golden calf, God commanded him to prepare a second set, which were placed in the Ark of the Covenant. Paul contrasts these stone tablets with the 'fleshly tables of the heart' upon which the Holy Spirit writes the laws of the new covenant.
☩The Lord's Table
In the Old Testament, the 'table of the Lord' referred to the altar. In 1 Corinthians 10:21, Paul uses 'the Lord's table' to designate the Eucharist, contrasting it with 'the table of demons'—the idolatrous feasts of paganism. This phrase emphasizes that believers share fellowship at a table where Christ is the host, making participation in both Christian and pagan worship morally incompatible.
Related Verses110 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Table," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Table," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Table," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 4.George Morrish, "Table," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).