VINEGAR.

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men of

of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture, and He poureth out of the same (Ps. lxxv. 8). "Woe unto them that are strength to mingle strong drink" (Is. v. 22); "Wisdom hath builded her house. . . . She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine . . . she saith, Come eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled" (Prov. ix. 1, 2, 5).

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The notices of wine are so numerous as to render quotations unnecessary: we may observe, however, that various sorts or qualities of wine were distinguished. There was 66 new wine," or must, which was sweet and strong: "Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine” (Acts ii. 13); and again, "vinegar,” a thin sour wine, such as was used by labourers :"And Boaz said unto her . . . Dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers," (Ruth ii. 14); and by soldiers, whence some was at hand to give our Saviour as He hung upon the cross :- "They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall" (Matt. xxvii. 34,) whereby the Psalmist's prophecy was fulfilled :- They gave also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (Ps. lxix. 21).

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Me

TIMES OF MEALS.-WASHING HANDS.-BLESSING, OR GRACE.— POSTURE AT MEALS.-ARRANGEMENT OF THE TABLES.-HIGHEST ROOMS AT FEASTS.-MODE OF EATING.-FEASTS.-DOUBLE INVITATION.-GENERAL INVITATION.-MODE OF RECEIVING GUESTS. SPECTATORS.--GUESTS SEATED ACCORDING TO RANK. -PORTIONS TO FAVOURED GUESTS. THE GOVERNOR OF THE FEAST.-SERVANTS.-CUP-BEARER.-MAGNIFICENCE OF ASSYRIAN BANQUETS.-EASTERN FEASTS BEGUN EARLY IN THE DAY. -MEALS UNDER THE OPEN SKY.

THE meals of the Jews were neither so numerous nor so substantial as ours. They usually ate twice in the day, viz., about noon, and in the evening. We have instances of the midday meal in that which was prepared for the three angels by Abraham (Gen. xviii. 1); and again in Joseph's entertainment of his brethren :-"Bring these men home, and slay, and

WASHING BEFORE MEALS.

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make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there" (Gen. xliii. 16, 25). So again the reapers are described as taking their meal in the midst of their day's work (Ruth ii. 14). On the other hand, the feast which Lot prepared for the angels was in the evening (Gen. xix. 1-3) and the feast of Boaz must have been at the same time; for we read that "when Boaz had eaten and drunken, he went to lie down (Ruth iii. 7). Occasionally a light repast was taken at an early hour, as related in John xxi. 4, 12 :"When the morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore... Jesus saith unto them (the disciples), Come and dine (or rather, "Come and breakfast"). It is uncertain which was the chief meal in the day, but probably the evening one was: for it was in the evening that the Israelites were ordered to eat the paschal lamb (Ex. xii. 6).

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Before commencing the meal the hands were washed, and in our Lord's day this custom was observed with great punctiliousness. "Why do Thy disciples" asked the Pharisees of our Lord, "transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread" (Matt. xv. 2); and with regard to their own custom St. Mark tells us :- "The Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft (or as the word more probably means, with the fist, for they seem to have prescribed the exact mode of doing it), eat not, holding the tradition of the elders" (Mark vii. 3). We are not therefore surprised that the Pharisee "marvelled that Jesus had not washed before dinner" (Luke xi. 38). The custom was in itself a very proper one, on the score of cleanliness, for as all ate out of the same dish and dipped their hands into it, it would have been disgusting if the hands were dirty. But the Pharisees constituted it a ritual observance, and hence our Lord both by word and deed exposed their hypocrisy.

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BLESSING BEFORE MEALS.

The custom is still universally observed throughout the East, and the method in which it is performed is worthy of remark ::- "The oriental mode of washing is universally different to that practised in the West. No

where is water previously poured into a basin; but the servant pours water from a pitcher upon the hands of his master. The custom of washing hands before dinner prevails also to this day. The servant goes round to all the guests, with a pitcher, and a vessel to receive the water falling from the hands, and performs the office here attributed to Elisha. The same service is repeated when the repast is ended."-HARTLEY'S Researches, pp. 211, 212.

A blessing, or, as we should say, a grace was pronounced both before and after the meal. We read of Samuel :- "The people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they

POSTURE AT MEALS.

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eat that be bidden (1 Sam. ix. 13;) and on two occasions we read that our Lord "blessed" the bread, or "gave thanks" before He distributed it to the surrounding crowds (Matt. xiv. 19; xv. 36).

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The posture at meals varied at different periods. In early times the guests sat, as we do; in later times they reclined. Jacob, for instance, prays his father to "sit and eat" of his venison (Gen. xxvii. 19); in Egypt Joseph's brethren "sat before him " (Gen. xliii. 33); and the same custom prevailed in the time of the Judges: "They sat down and did eat and drink ;" (Judges xix. 6); and of the early kings :-" The king sat him down to meat" (1 Sam. xx. 24). But as luxury increased, reclining came into fashion: the earliest notice we have of this is in Amos vi. 4, where the prophet inveighs against those "that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock." This was the usual posture at meals in the time of our Lord's ministry, and it should be remembered that whenever the expression "sit at meat" occurs in the New Testament, the more correct translation would be "recline." In some cases it is important to understand this: it explains, for instance, how it was possible for the woman, who brought the alabaster box of ointment, to stand at the feet of Jesus behind Him weeping and to wash His feet with her tears, as He "sat at meat" in the Pharisee's house (Luke vii. 36-38). It explains again how our Lord performed a somewhat similar act of affection, washing His disciples' feet, as they reclined on the couches about the table (John xiii. 5). It explains how the beloved disciple could be described as "Îying on Jesus' breast" (John xiii. 25), for when several persons were reclining on the same couch with the body partly supported by the elbow for the purpose of eating, the head of the second person would be advanced to the breast of the first, and thus room might be gained and conversation more easily carried on.

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