BANQUET
638
BANQUET
Ancient Assyrian Guests driuking a Toast.
v, 6). See Rinck, De apparatu conv'vii regis Persa- rum (Regiom. 1755); Kohler, Observutt. (Lips. 17G3), p. 1 sq.
The hands, for occasionally both were required, be- smeared with grease during the process of eating, were anciently cleaned by rubbing them with the soft part of the- bread, the crumbs of which, being allowed to fall, became the portion of dogs (Matt, xv, 27; Luke xvi, 21). But the most common way now at the con- clusion of a feast is for a servant to go round to each guest with water to wash, a service which is performed by the menial pouring a stream over their hands, wb.ich.is received into a strainer at the bottom of the basin. This humble office Elisha performed to his master (2 Kings iii, 11). See Ewer.
food. The firstlings of cattle were to be sacrificed and eaten at the sanctuary if not too far from the res- idence (1 Sam. ix, 13; 2 Sam. vi, 19 ; Exod. xxii, £9, 30; Lev. xix, 5, 6; Deut. xii, 17, 20, 21 ; xv, 19-22). From the sacri- ficial banquet probably sprang the Agafve ; as the Lord's Supper, with which it for a while coa- lesced, was derived from the Passover. Besides re- ligious celebrations, such events as the weaning a
son and heir, a marriage, the separation or reunion of friends, and sheep-shearing, were customarily attended by a banquet or revel (Gen. xxi, 8; xxix, 22; xxxi, 27, 54; 1 Sam. xxv, 2, 36 ; 2 Sam. xiii, 23). At a funeral, also, refreshment was taken in common by the mourners, and this might tend to become a scene of indulgence, but ordinarily abstemiousness seems on such occasions to have been the rule. The case of Archelaus is not conclusive, but his inclination toward alien usages was doubtless shared by the Herodian- izing Jews (Jer. xvi, 5-7 ; Ezek. xxiv, 17 ; Hos. ix, 4 ; Eccl. vii, 2; Josephus, War, ii, 1). Birthday-ban- quets are only mentioned in the cases of Pharaoh and Herod (Gen. xl, 20; Matt, xiv, C). A leading topic of prophetic rebuke is the abuse of festivals to an occa-
People of rank and opulence in the East frequently sion of drunken revelry, and the growth of fashion in
give public entertainments to the poor. The rich man in the parable, whose guests disappointed him, dispatch- ed his servants on the instant to invite those that might lie found sitting by the hedges and the high- ways— a measure which, in the circumstances, was ab- solutely necessary, as the he;.t of the climate would spoil the meats long before they could be consumed by the members of his own household. But many of the gnat, from benevolence or ostentation, are in the habit of proclaiming set days for giving feasts to the poor; and then, at the time appointed, may be seen crowds of the blind, the halt, and the maimed bending their steps to the scene of entertainment. This species of charity claims a venerable antiquity. Our Lord rec- ommended his wealthy hearers to practice it rather than spend their fortunes, as the}* did, on luxurious living (Luke xiv, 12); and as such invitations to the poor are of necessity given by public proclamation, and female messengers are employed to publish them (Hasselquist saw ten or twelve thus perambulating a town in Egypt), it is probably to the same venerable practice that Solomon alludes in Prov. ix, 3. — Kit- to. s. v. Sec Feast.
Among the 1 lei irews banquets were not only a means of social enjoyment, but were a part of the observance of religious festivity. At the three solemn festivals, when all the males appeared before the Lord, the family also had its domestic fast, as appears from the place and the share, in it to which "the widow, the fatherless, and the Stranger" were legally entitled (Deut xvi, l! i. Probably, when the distance allowed and no inconvenience, hindered, both males and fe- males went up (e. g. to Shiloh; 1 Sam. i, 9) together
to bold the festival. These domestic festivities were doubtless to a great extent retained, after laxity had -d in as regards the special observance by the male sex i N. h. viii, 17 ). Sacrifices, both ordinary and ex- traordinary, as among heathen nations i Exod. xxxiv, l.".; Judg. xvi, 23), included a banquet, and Eli's sons
made this latter the prominent part. The two. thus
united, marked strongly both domestic and civil life.
It may even be said that BOme sacrificial recognition,
if only in pouring the blood solemnly forth as before God, always attended the slaughter of an animal for
favor of drinking-parties. Such was the invitation typically given by Jeremiah to the Reehabites (Jer. xxxv, 5). The usual time of the banquet was the evening, and to begin early was a mark of excess (Isa.v, 11 ; Eccl. x, 16). The slaughtering of the cattle, which was the preliminary of a banquet, occupied the earlier part of the same day (Prov. ix, 2 ; Isa. xxii, 13 ; Matt, xxii, 4). The most essential materials of the banquet- ing-room, next to the viands and wine, which last was often drugged with spices (Prov. ix, 2; Cant, viii, 2), were garlands or loose flowers, exhibitions of music, singers, and dancers, riddles, jesting and merriment i Isa. xxviii, 1 ; Wisd. ii, 6 ; 2 Sam. xix, 35 ; Isa. xxv, 6; v, 12; Judg. xiv, 12; Neh. viii, 10; Eccl. x, 19; Matt, xxii, 11 ; Amos vi, 5, 6; Luke xv, 25). Seven clays was a not uncommon duration of a festival, espe- cially for a wedding, but sometimes fourteen (Tob. viii, 19; Gen. xxix, 27; Judg. xiv, 12); but if the bride were a widow, three days formed the limit (Bux- torf, Be Ccnvlv. II<b>\). The reminder sent to the guests (Luke xiv, 17) was prol ably only usual in princely banquets on a large scale, involving protract- ed preparation. There seems r.o doubt that the Jews of the O. T. period used a common table fcr all the guests. Li Joseph's entertainment a ceremonial sep- aration prevailed, but there is no reason for supposing a separate table for each, as is distinctly asserted in the Talmud ( Tosejahot Bciach. c. vi) to have been usual. The latter custom certainly was in use among the ancient Greeks and Germans (Horn. Od. xxiii, xxii, 74; Tae. Germ. 22), and perhaps among the Egyptians (Wilkinson, ii, 202, engravings). But the common phrase to "sit at table," or "eat at any one's table," shows the originality of the opposite usage. The separation of the woman's banquet was not a Jew- ish custom (Esth. i, 9). Portions or messes were sent from the entertainer to each guest at tabic, and a special part was sometimes reserved for a late comer ( 1 Sam. i, 5; Gen. xliii, 34; 1 Sam. ix, 23, 24). Por- tions were similarly sent to poorer friends direct from the banquet-table (Neh. viii, 10; Esth. ix, 19, 22). The kiss on receiving a guest was a point of friendly courtesy (Luke vii, 45). It was strictly enjoined by the rabbins to wash both before and after eating, which