Table

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. t.) In parliamentary usage, to lay on the table; to postpone, by a formal vote, the consideration of (a bill, motion, or the like) till called for, or indefinitely.

(2): ( v. t.) To lay or place on a table, as money.

(3): ( v. t.) To insert, as one piece of timber into another, by alternate scores or projections from the middle, to prevent slipping; to scarf.

(4): ( v. t.) To enter upon the docket; as, to table charges against some one.

(5): ( v. t.) To make board hems in the skirts and bottoms of (sails) in order to strengthen them in the part attached to the boltrope.

(6): ( v. i.) To live at the table of another; to board; to eat.

(7): ( n.) A smooth, flat surface, like the side of a board; a thin, flat, smooth piece of anything; a slab.

(8): ( v. t.) To form into a table or catalogue; to tabulate; as, to table fines.

(9): ( n.) The arrangement or disposition of the lines which appear on the inside of the hand.

(10): ( n.) A list of substances and their properties; especially, a list of the elementary substances with their atomic weights, densities, symbols, etc.

(11): ( v. t.) To delineate, as on a table; to represent, as in a picture.

(12): ( n.) A view of the contents of a work; a statement of the principal topics discussed; an index; a syllabus; a synopsis; as, a table of contents.

(13): ( n.) Hence, in a great variety of applications: A condensed statement which may be comprehended by the eye in a single view; a methodical or systematic synopsis; the presentation of many items or particulars in one group; a scheme; a schedule.

(14): ( n.) Any smooth, flat surface upon which an inscription, a drawing, or the like, may be produced.

(15): ( n.) a memorandum book.

(16): ( n.) A thin, flat piece of wood, stone, metal, or other material, on which anything is cut, traced, written, or painted; a tablet

(17): ( n.) The part of a machine tool on which the work rests and is fastened.

(18): ( n.) Any collection and arrangement in a condensed form of many particulars or values, for ready reference, as of weights, measures, currency, specific gravities, etc.; also, a series of numbers following some law, and expressing particular values corresponding to certain other numbers on which they depend, and by means of which they are taken out for use in computations; as, tables of logarithms, sines, tangents, squares, cubes, etc.; annuity tables; interest tables; astronomical tables, etc.

(19): ( n.) An article of furniture, consisting of a flat slab, board, or the like, having a smooth surface, fixed horizontally on legs, and used for a great variety of purposes, as in eating, writing, or working.

(20): ( n.) Hence, food placed on a table to be partaken of; fare; entertainment; as, to set a good table.

(21): ( n.) A stringcourse which includes an offset; esp., a band of stone, or the like, set where an offset is required, so as to make it decorative. See Water table.

(22): ( v. t.) To supply with food; to feed.

(23): ( n.) A plane surface, supposed to be transparent and perpendicular to the horizon; - called also perspective plane.

(24): ( n.) One of the two, external and internal, layers of compact bone, separated by diploe, in the walls of the cranium.

(25): ( n.) The company assembled round a table.

(26): ( n.) The upper flat surface of a diamond or other precious stone, the sides of which are cut in angles.

(27): ( n.) One of the divisions of a backgammon board; as, to play into the right-hand table.

(28): ( n.) A circular plate of crown glass.

(29): ( n.) The games of backgammon and of draughts.

(30): ( n.) The board on the opposite sides of which backgammon and draughts are played.

King James Dictionary

TA'BLE, n. L. tabula.

1. A flat surface of some extent, or a thing that has a flat surface as a table of marble. 2. An article of furniture, consisting usually of a frame with a surface of boards or of marble, supported by legs, and used for a great variety of purposes, as for holding dishes of meat, for writing on, &c.

The nymph the table spread.

3. Fare or entertainment of provisions as, he keeps a good table. 4. The persons sitting at table or partaking of entertainment.

I drink to th' general joy of the whole table.

5. A tablet a surface on which any thing is written or engraved. The ten commandments were written on two tables of stone.  Exodus 32

Written--not on tables of stone, but on fleshly tables of the heart.  2 Corinthians 3 .

6. A picture, or something that exhibits a view of any thing on a flat surface.

Saint Anthony has a table that hangs up to him from a poor peasant.

7. Among Christians, the table, or Lord's table, is the sacrament, or holy communion of the Lord's supper. 8. The altar of burnt-offering.  Malachi 1 . 9. In architecture, a smooth, simple member or ornament of various forms, most usually in that of a long square. 10. In perspective, a plain surface, supposed to be transparent and perpendicular to the horizon. It is called also perspective plane. 11. In anatomy, a division of the cranium or skull. The cranium is composed of two tables or lamins, with a cellular structure between them, called the meditallium or diploe. 12. In the glass manufacture, a circular sheet of finished glass, usually about four feet in diameter, each weighing from ten to eleven pounds. Twelve of these are called a side or crate of glass. 13. In literature, an index a collection of heads or principal matters contained in a book, with references to the pages where each may be found as a table of contents. 14. A synopsis many particulars brought into one view. 15. The palm of the hand.

Mistress of a fairer table

Hath not history nor fable.

16. Draughts small pieces of wood shifted on squares.

We are in the world like men playing at tables.

17. In mathematics, tables are systems of numbers calculated to be ready for expediting operations as a table of logarithms a multiplication table. 18. Astronomical tables, are computations of the motions, places and other phenomena of the planets, both primary and secondary. 19. In chimistry, a list or catalogue of substances or their properties as a table of known acids a table of acidifiable bases a table of binary combinations a table of specific gravities. 20. In general, any series of numbers formed on mathematical or other correct principles. 21. A division of the ten commandments as the first and second tables. The first table comprehends our more immediate duties to God the second table our more immediate duties to each other. 22. Among jewelers, a table diamond or other precious stone, is one whose upper surface is quite flat, and the sides only cut in angles. 23. A list or catalogue as a table of stars.

Raised table, in sculpture, an embossment in a frontispiece for an inscription or other ornament, supposed to be the abacus of Vitruvius.

Round Table. Knights of the round table, are a military order instituted by Arthur, the first king of the Britons, A.D. 516.

Twelve Tables, the laws of the Romans, so called probably, because engraved on so many tables.

To turn the tables, to change the condition or fortune of contending parties a metaphorical expression taken from the vicissitudes of fortune in gaming.

To serve tables, to provide for the poor or to distribute provisions for their wants.  Acts 6

TA'BLE, To board to diet or live at the table of another. Nebuchadnezzar tabled with the beasts.

TA'BLE, To form into a table or catalogue as, to table fines. In England, the chirographer tables the fines of every county, and fixes a copy in some open place of the court.

1. To board to supply with food. 2. To let one piece of timber into another by alternate scores or projections from the middle.

Holman Bible Dictionary

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 .

Chris Church

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(τράπεζα)

This word is used in the NT in various senses. On a technical meaning which it has in the Gospels see article‘Bank’ in Dict. of Christ and the Gospels .

1. In the primitive Church the apostles deemed it unfitting that they should turn aside from their proper task of preaching the Word of God and give themselves to that of serving tables (διακονεῖν τραπἐζαις,  Acts 6:2). They accordingly secured the appointment of the Seven, which left them free to give their undivided time and strength to the ministry of the Word (τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου,  Acts 6:4). Two kinds of ‘service,’ or ‘deaconship,’ are thus specified, both of them evangelical and honourable, but each so arduous and absorbing that a division of labour became imperative. The ‘serving of tables’ probably included not merely the literal provision of repasts for the poor, but the task of determining the fitness of applicants for relief and the allocation of a central fund.

2. It is in one of St. Paul’s letters that we first find the Eucharist called ‘the table of the Lord’ (τραπέζης Κυρίου,  1 Corinthians 10:21). It would be interesting to know whether he coined the phrase or found it already in use in the primitive Church (cf.  Luke 22:30), but the point has to be left undetermined. Contrasting ‘the Lord’s table’ with ‘the tables of demons,’ as he scornfully calls the riotous feasts of pagan idolatry, he urges the moral impossibility of passing from the pure atmosphere of Christian fellowship into the tainted air of heathen licence and debauchery.

3. Among the furniture of the Holy Place the writer of Hebrews names ‘the table’ (ἡ τράπεζα,  Hebrews 9:2), meaning the table of shewbread, for the construction and ornamentation of which directions are given in  Exodus 25:23-30. See Shewbread.

Another word translation‘table’ is πλάξ, which is used in the Septuagintfor לוּחַ. St. Paul contrasts the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written by the ‘finger of God’ with the tables that are not of stone but are ‘hearts of flesh,’ whereon the Holy Spirit writes the laws of the New Covenant ( 2 Corinthians 3:3).

James Strahan.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Τράπεζα (Strong'S #5132 — Noun Feminine — trapeza — trap'-ed-zah )

is used of (a) "a dining table,"  Matthew 15:27;  Mark 7:28;  Luke 16:21;  22:21,30; (b) "the table of shewbread,"  Hebrews 9:2; (c) by metonymy, of "what is provided on the table" (the word being used of that with which it is associated),  Acts 16:34;  Romans 11:9 (figurative of the special privileges granted to Israel and centering in Christ);   1—Corinthians 10:21 (twice), "the Lord's table," denoting all that is provided for believers in Christ on the ground of His death (and thus expressing something more comprehensive than the Lord's Supper); "the table of demons," denoting all that is partaken of by idolaters as the result of the influence of demons in connection with their sacrifices; (d) "a moneychanger's table,"   Matthew 21:12;  Mark 11:15;  John 2:15; (e) "a bank,"  Luke 19:23 (cp. trapezites: see BANKERS); (f) by metonymy for "the distribution of money,"   Acts 6:2 . See Bank.

2: Πλάξ (Strong'S #4109 — Noun Feminine — plax — plax )

primarily denotes "anything flat and broad," hence, "a flat stone, a tablet,"  2—Corinthians 3:3 (twice);   Hebrews 9:4 .

 Mark 7:4

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

We meet with this word in the Holy Scriptures for various and very different purposes. The Table of the Lord, the Table of Shew-bread, the Tables of the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, are all of them very different to each other, both in their office and design. I must refer the reader to the sacred word itself, for the several explanations of each. (See  Exodus 32:1-35 throughout,  Numbers 4:1-49 etc.) But I detain the reader to make a short remark on the method constantly used in the old church, in providing such rich and costly provisions for the Lord's table in the Temple. (See  Exodus 40:4, etc.) Surely, these things were emblematical of the Lord's table under the New Testament dispensation. The bread and the wine, and the salt of the Covenant, (See  Leviticus 2:13) and this constantly burning, and the perfumes always shedding forth their fragrancy: what could be more expressive of the Lord Jesus, and his rich and costly salvation? He is himself the living bread, and not only the salt of the covenant, but the whole of the covenant. (See  Isaiah 42:6) The sum and substance of it, the Messenger, the Surety, the Fulfiller, the Administrator, the All in all. And at his table every view of his endearing character is set forth in his body represented as broken, and his blood shed, with the enlightenings of his holy Spirit, and all the graces he sheds abroad in the hearts of his redeemed guests, as the costly perfumes of his incense and sacrifice. Lord grant that when thy people sit at thy table, they may have to say, "the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" ( 1 Corinthians 10:16)

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 23:5 (b) David indicates the rich provision which the Lord makes for His children. He feeds them on heavenly dainties as they travel through this world. They have sources of joy that the world does not have. They feed on the Living Bread, and drink the Living Water, and their hearts are satisfied.

 Psalm 69:22 (b) This table represents the sinner's preparations for a good time. The Psalmist asks that their good times be turned into times of sorrow because of their hatred toward him, GOD's servant.

 Psalm 78:19 (b) By this picture we understand that GOD made provision for food and sustenance in the wilderness where there were no natural supplies.

 Isaiah 28:8 (b) This is a type of the provision made by false religions for feeding their followers. The food which they offer is called "vomit." It represents good things taken into the person's soul and mind: there it is mixed with their own ideas and notions and this mixture is given out for others to feed on, and to accept as the doctrine of GOD. All false religions offer this vomit. The leaders take in some of the Word of GOD, change the meaning of it, mix it with their own ideas, and then give it out in books and speeches for others to accept and believe.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

In a few places this term refers to a tablet which could be written on, as in  Habakkuk 2:2;  Luke 1:63;  2 Corinthians 3:3 . In  Mark 7:4 the word translated 'table' is κλίνη, 'a couch,' often translated 'bed' in

the A.V.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Table . See House, § 8  ; Meals, §§ 3 , 4. For ‘Table of Shewbread’ see Shewbread, Tabernacle, § 6 ( a ), Temple, §§ 5 , 9 , 12 .

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See Bread , and Eating .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

"Table" is derived from the Latin tabula , meaning primarily "a board," but with a great variety of other significances, of which "writing-tablet" is the most important for the Biblical use of "table." So in English "table" meant at first "any surface" and, in particular, "a surface for writing," and further specialization was needed before "table" became the name of the familiar article of furniture ("object with a horizontal surface"), a meaning not possessed by tabula in Latin. After this specialization "table" in the sense of "a surface for writing" was replaced in later English by the diminutive form "tablet." But "surface for writing" was still a common meaning of "table," and in this sense it represents לוּח , lūaḥ (  Exodus 24:12 , etc.), a word of uncertain origin, πλάξ , pláx , "something flat" ( 2 Corinthians 3:3;  Hebrews 9:4 ), δέλτος , déltos , "a writing tablet" (1 Macc 8:22; 14:18, 27, 48), or πινακίδιον , pinakı́dion "writing tablet" ( Luke 1:63 - a rather unusual word). the American Standard Revised Version has kept the word in the familiar combination "tables of stone" (  Exodus 24:12 , etc.), but elsewhere ( Proverbs 3:3;  Proverbs 7:3;  Isaiah 30:8;  Jeremiah 17:1;  Habakkuk 2:2;  Luke 1:63 ) has replaced "table" by "tablet," a change made by the English Revised Version only in  Isaiah 30:8;  Luke 1:63 . See Tablet .

The table as an article of furniture is שׁלחן , shulḥān , in the Hebrew and τράπεζα , trápezal , in the Greek. The only exceptions are   Song of Solomon 1:12 , מסב , mēṣabh , "something round," perhaps a "round table," perhaps a "cushion," perhaps a "festal procession," and  Mark 7:4 , the King James Version κλίνη , klı́nē , "couch" (so the Revised Version (British and American)), while  John 13:28 and   John 12:2 , the King James Version "at the table," and Tobit 7:8, the King James Version "on the table," represent only the general sense of the original. Of the two regular words, shulḥān is properly "a piece of hide," and so "a leather mat," placed on the ground at meal time, but the word came to mean any "table," however elaborate (e.g.  Exodus 25:23-30 ). Trapeza means "having four feet."

 2 Kings 4:10 seems to indicate that a table was a necessary article in even the simpler rooms. Curiously enough, however, apart from the table of shewbread there is no reference in the Bible to the form or construction of tables, but the simpler tables in Palestine of the present day are very much lower than ours. The modern "tables of the money changers" (  Mark 11:15 and parallel's) are small square trays on stands, and they doubtless had the same form in New Testament times. See Shewbread , Table Of; Money-Changers .

To eat at a king's table ( 2 Samuel 9:7 , etc.) is naturally to enjoy a position of great honor, and the privilege is made by Christ typical of the highest reward ( Luke 22:30 ). Usually "to eat at one's table" is meant quite literally, but in  1 Kings 18:19;  Nehemiah 5:17 (compare   1 Kings 10:5 ) it probably means "be fed at one's expense." On the other hand, the misery of eating the leavings of a table ( Judges 1:7;  Mark 7:28;  Luke 16:21 ) needs no comment. The phrase "table of the Lord (Yahweh)" in  Malachi 1:7 ,  Malachi 1:12 the King James Version (compare   Ezekiel 41:22;  Ezekiel 44:16 -   Ezekiel 39:20 is quite different) means "the table (altar) set before the Lord," but the same phrase in   1 Corinthians 10:21 is used in a different sense and the origin of its use by Paul is obscure. Doubtless the language, if not the meaning, of Malachi had its influence and may very well have been suggested to Paul as he wrote   1 Corinthians 10:18 . On the other hand, light may be thrown on the passage by such a papyrus fragment as "Chareimon invites you to dine at the table ( klinē ) of the lord Serapis," a formal invitation to an idol-banquet ( 1 Corinthians 8:10; Pap. Oxyr. i. 110; compare iii. 523). This would explain Paul's "table of demons" - a phrase familiar to the Corinthians - and he wrote "table of the Lord" to correspond (compare, however, Pirḳē 'Ābhōth , iii. 4). "Table at which the Lord is Host," at any rate, is the meaning of the phrase. On the whole passage see the comms., especially that of Lietzmann (fullest references). Probably  Luke 22:30 has no bearing on   1 Corinthians 10:21 . The meaning of  Psalm 69:22 (quoted in   Romans 11:9 ), "Let their table before them become a snare," is very obscure ("let them be attacked while deadened in revelings?"), and perhaps was left intentionally vague.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Table'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/t/table.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.