Accubation

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the posture used at table by the ancients. The old Romans sat at meat as we do, till the Grecian luxury and softness had corrupted them. The same custom, of lying upon couches at their entertainments, prevailed among the Jews also in our Saviour's time; for having been lately conquered by Pompey, they conformed in this, and in many other respects, to the example of their masters. The manner of lying at meat among the Romans, Greeks, and more modern Jews, was the same in all respects. The table was placed in the middle of the room, around which stood three couches covered with cloth or tapestry, according to the quality of the master of the house; upon these they lay, inclining the superior part of their bodies upon their left arms, the lower part being stretched out at full length, or a little bent. Their heads were supported and raised with pillows. The first man lay at the head of the couch; the next man lay with his head toward the feet of the other, from which he was defended by the bolster that supported his own back, commonly reaching over to the middle of the first man; and the rest after the same manner. The most honourable place was the middle couch—and the middle of that. Favourites commonly lay in the bosom of their friends; that is, they were placed next below them: see   John 13:23 , where St. John is said to have lain in our Saviour's bosom. The ancient Greeks sat at the table; for Homer observes that when Ulysses arrived at the palace of Alcinous, the king dispatched his son Laodamas to seat Ulysses in a magnificent chair. The Egyptians sat at table anciently, as well as the Romans, till toward the end of the Punic war, when they began to recline at table.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) The act or posture of reclining on a couch, as practiced by the ancients at meals.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

the posture of reclining ( Ἀνάκειμαι , Ἀνακλίνω , "sit at meat," "sit down") on couches at table, which prevailed among the Jews in and before the time of Christ; a custom apparently derived from Persian luxury, but usual among the Romans likewise. The dinner-bed, or Triclinium, stood in the middle of the dining-room (itself hence called "triclinium" also), clear of the walls, and formed three sides of a square which enclosed the table. The open end of the square, with the central hollow, allowed the servants to attend and serve the table. In all the existing representations of the dinner-bed it is shown to have been higher than the enclosed table. Among the Romans the usual number of guests on each couch was three, making nine for the three couches — equal to the number of the Muses; but sometimes there were four to each couch. The Greeks went beyond this number (Cic. In Pis. 27); the Jews appear to have had no particular fancy in the matter, and we know that at our Lord's last supper thirteen persons were present. As each guest leaned, during the greater part of the entertainment, on his left elbow, so as to leave the right arm at liberty, and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one man was near the breast of the man who lay behind him, and he was, therefore, said "to lie in the bosom" of the other. This phrase was in use among the Jews ( Luke 16:22-23;  John 1:18;  John 13:23), and occurs in such a manner as to show that to lie next below, or "in the bosom" of the master of the feast, was considered the most favored place; and is shown by the citations of Kypke and Wetstein (on  John 13:23) to have been usually assigned to near and dear connections. So it was "the disciple whom Jesus loved" who "reclined upon his breast" at the last supper. (See Lord'S Supper). Lightfoot and others suppose that as, on that occasion, John lay next below Christ, so Peter, who was also highly favored, lay next above him. This conclusion is founded chiefly on the fact of Peter beckoning to John that he should ask Jesus who was the traitor. But this seems rather to prove the contrary — that Peter was not near enough to speak to Jesus himself. If he had been there, Christ must have lain near His bosom, and he would have been in the best position for whispering to his master, and in the worst for beckoning to John. The circumstance that Christ was able to reach the sop to Judas when he had dipped it, seems to us rather to intimate that he was the one who filled that place. The morsel of favor was likely to be given to one in a favored place; and Judas, the treasurer and almoner of the whole party, might be expected to fill that place. This also aggravates by contrast the turpitude and treachery of his conduct. (See Banquet). The frame of the dinner-bed was laid with mattresses variously stuffed, and, latterly, was furnished with rich coverings and hangings. Each person was usually provided with a cushion or bolster on which to support the upper part of his person in a somewhat raised position, as the left arm alone could not long without weariness sustain the weight. The lower part of the body being extended diagonally on the bed, with the feet outward, it is at once perceived how easy it was for "the woman that was a sinner" to come behind between the dinner-bed and the wall and anoint the feet of Jesus ( Matthew 26:7;  Mark 14:3). The dinner-beds were so various at different times, in different places, and under different circumstances, that no one description can apply to them all (see Critica Biblica, 2, 481). Even among the Romans they were at first (after the Punic war) of rude form and materials, and covered with mattresses stuffed with rushes or straw; mattresses of hair and wool were introduced at a later period. At first the wooden frames were small, low, and round; and it was not until the time of Augustus that square and ornamental couches came into fashion. In the time of Tiberius the most splendid sort were veneered with costly woods or tortoise-shell, and were covered with valuable embroideries, the richest of which came from Babylon, and cost large sums (Soc. Useful Knowl. Pompeii, 2, 88). The Jews perhaps had all these varieties, though it is not likely that the usage was ever carried to such a pitch of luxury as among the Romans; and it is probable that the mass of the people fed in the ancient manner seated on stools or on the ground. It appears that couches were often so low that the feet rested on the ground; and that cushions or bolsters were in general use. It would also seem, from the mention of two and of three couches, that the arrangement was more usually square than semicircular or round (Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in  John 13:23). (See Divan).