BANQUET (ban'kwet), (Heb. mish-leh', drinking, a shouting for joy).
The entertainments spoken of in Scripture, on however large a scale, and of however sumptuous a character, were all provided at the expense of one individual; the epavos of the Greeks, a meal at which every guest present contributed his proportion, being apparently unknown to th'e Jews, or at least practised only by the humbler classes, as some suppose that an instance of it occurs in the feast given to our Lord, shortly before his Passion, by his friends in Bethany (Matt. XXV1 :2 ; Mark xiv :t ; Coinp. with John xii :2).
(1) Time. Festive meetings of this kind were held only towards the close of the day, as it was not till business was over that the Jews freely in dulged in the pleasures of the table, and although in the days of Christ these meals were, after the Roman fashion, called suppers, they corresponded exactly to the dinners of modern times, the hour fixed for them varying from five to six o'clock 1'. 11., or sometimes later.
(2) Occasions. On occasions of ceremony the company were invited a considerable time pre vious to the celebration of the feast, and on the day and at the hour appointed, an express by one or more servants, according to the number and distance of the expected guests, was dispatched to announce that the preparations were completed and that their presence was looked for imme diately (Matt. xxii :8; Luke xiv :17). (Grotius, in loc.; also Morier's Journey, p. 73). This cus tom obtains in the East at the present day, and the second invitation, which is always verbal, is de livered by the messenger in his master's name, i and frequently in the very language of Scripture: 'Behold I have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things arc ready' (Matt. xxii :4).
(3) Etiquette. At the small entrance door a servant was stationed to receive the tablets or cards of those who were expected, and as curiosity usually collected a crowd of troublesome spec tators, anxious to press forward into the scene of gaiety, the gate was opened only so far as was necessary for the admission of a single person at a time, who, on presenting his invitation ticket, was conducted through a long and narrow passage into the receiving-room, and then, after the whole company were assembled, the master of the house shut the door with his own hands—a signal to the servant to allow himself to be prevailed on neither by noise nor by importunities, however loud and long continued, to admit the bystanders.
To this custom there is a manifest reference in Luke xiii :24 and Matt. xxv :to.
One of the first marks of courtesy shown to the guests after saluting the host was the re freshment of water and fragrant oil or perfumes, and hence we find our Lord complaining of Simon's omission of these customary civilities (Luke vii 44; see also Mark vii :4). (See ANOINTING.) But a far higher, though necessar ily less frequent attention paid to their friends by the great, was the custom of furnishing each of the company with a magnificent habit of a light and showy color, and richly embroidered, to be worn during the festivity (Eccles. ix:8; Rev. 5).
To persist in appearing in one's own habili ments implied a contempt both for the master of the house and his entertainment, which could not fail to provoke resentment—and our Lord therefore spoke in accordance with a well-known custom of his country when, in the parable of the marriage of the king's son, he describes the stern displeasure of the king on discovering one of the guests without a wedding garment, and his in stant command to thrust him out (Matt. xxii:i 1, 13).
(4) Master of the Feast. At private ban quets the master of the house, of course, presided and did the honors of the occasion; but in large and mixed companies it was anciently customary to elect a governor of the feast (John ii:o; see also Ecelus. xxxii ), who should not merely per form the office of chairman, cipxurplatvos, master of the feast, in preserving order and decorum, but take upon himself the general management of the festivities.