Tables and Meals in the Bible

36 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.

Tables

A bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in Elisha’s little room2 Kgs 4:10
The verses
2 Kgs 4:10Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
Seventy kings gathered scraps under Adoni-bezek’s tableJudg 1:7
The verses
Judg 1:7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
The tabernacle table: acacia wood overlaid with gold, with carrying polesExod 25:23–28
The verses
Exod 25:23–28You 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.
Twelve loaves set in two rows on the gold table every SabbathLev 24:5–8
The verses
Lev 24:5–8You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf, and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD. And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.
Gold tables and silver tables for the temple1 Chr 28:16
The verses
1 Chr 28:16the weight of gold for each table of showbread, and of silver for the silver tables;
Jesus overturns the money changers’ tablesJohn 2:15
The verses
John 2:15So 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.
Dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbsMatt 15:27, Mark 7:28
The verses
Matt 15:27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Mark 7:28“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Lazarus longs for the crumbs from the rich man’s table (a parable)Luke 16:21
The verses
Luke 16:21and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Your sons like olive shoots around your tablePs 128:3
The verses
Ps 128:3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.

Sitting and reclining

Abraham stands by his guests under the tree as they eatGen 18:8
The verses
Gen 18:8Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Ruth sits beside the harvesters at mealtimeRuth 2:14
The verses
Ruth 2:14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
Haman falls on the couch where Queen Esther is recliningEsth 7:8
The verses
Esth 7:8Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Jesus reclines at the table with the TwelveMatt 26:20
The verses
Matt 26:20When evening came, Jesus was reclining with the twelve disciples.
A disciple reclining at Jesus’ side leans back to ask himJohn 13:23–25
The verses
John 13:23–25One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about. Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”
A Pharisee invites Jesus to eat, and he reclines at the tableLuke 7:36
The verses
Luke 7:36Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
Martha serves, and Lazarus reclines at the table with JesusJohn 12:2
The verses
John 12:2So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
Five thousand sit on the grass in groups of hundreds and fiftiesMark 6:39–40, Luke 9:14
The verses
Mark 6:39–40Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Luke 9:14(There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

Who ate with whom

David misses Saul’s table; Jonathan leaves it in anger1 Sam 20:29, 1 Sam 20:34
The verses
1 Sam 20:29saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why he did not come to the king’s table.”
1 Sam 20:34Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the month, for he was grieved by his father’s shameful treatment of David.
Governors supply food for all who come to Solomon’s table1 Kgs 4:27
The verses
1 Kgs 4:27Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
Solomon’s table and the seating of his servants amaze the queen of Sheba1 Kgs 10:4–5
The verses
1 Kgs 10:4–5When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
Many Jews and officials eat at Nehemiah’s table, besides guestsNeh 5:17
The verses
Neh 5:17There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations.
Jehoiachin dines at the king of Babylon’s table for life2 Kgs 25:29
The verses
2 Kgs 25:29So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life.
Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at Matthew’s houseMatt 9:10–11, Mark 2:15–16, Luke 15:2
The verses
Matt 9:10–11Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Mark 2:15–16While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 15:2So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
“The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table”Luke 22:21
The verses
Luke 22:21Look! The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table.
The risen Jesus: “Come, have breakfast”John 21:12
The verses
John 21:12“Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord.
The first believers break bread from house to houseActs 2:46
The verses
Acts 2:46With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,
The Twelve do not want to neglect preaching to wait on tablesActs 6:2
The verses
Acts 6:2So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
Peter is criticized for eating with uncircumcised menActs 11:3
The verses
Acts 11:3and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
At Antioch Peter draws back from eating with GentilesGal 2:12
The verses
Gal 2:12For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.
The jailer sets a meal before Paul and SilasActs 16:34
The verses
Acts 16:34Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.
Invited by an unbeliever? Eat whatever is set before you1 Cor 10:27
The verses
1 Cor 10:27If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.

Sources

From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.

Berean Standard Bible · Public domain