feast Summary and Overview

as a mark of hospitality (Gen. 19:3; 2 Sam. 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23); on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23; Gen. 21:8); on birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6); and on the occasion of a marriage (Judg. 14:10; Gen. 29:22). Feasting was a part of the observances connected with the offering up of sacrifices (Deut. 12:6, 7; 1 Sam. 9:19; 16:3, 5), and with the annual festivals (Deut. 16:11). "It was one of the designs of the greater solemnities, which required the attendance of the people at the sacred tent, that the oneness of the nation might be maintained and cemented together, by statedly congregating in one place, and with one soul taking part in the same religious services. But that oneness was primarily and chiefly a religious and not merely a political one; the people were not merely to meet as among themselves, but with Jehovah, and to present themselves before him as one body; the meeting was in its own nature a binding of themselves in fellowship with Jehovah; so that it was not politics and commerce that had here to do, but the soul of the Mosaic dispensation, the foundation of the religious and political existence of Israel, the covenant with Jehovah. To keep the people's consciousness alive to this, to revive, strengthen, and perpetuate it, nothing could be so well adapated as these annual feasts." (See FESTIVALS T0001325.)

FEAST or FEASTS Luke 14:13, Lev 23:2. We often read in the Bible of feasts or sumptuous entertainments, and of the customs pertaining to them. They were generally given to celebrate or commemorate some important or joyful event. Gen 21:8; Gen 29:22;Gen 40:20; Eccl 10:19. On such occasions the guests amused themselves with stories or sallies of humor, and sometimes with enigmatical questions, Jud 14:12, or dancing, Mark 6:22, and music, Isa 5:12; Isa 24:7-9. As among the Romans, so among the Jews at the time of our Lord, the guests at feasts reclined upon couches, and did not sit upright, as we do. The most honorable place or seat, or "uppermost room," as it is called,Matt 23:6, or "highest" or "chief room," Luke 14:7-8, was the middle couch, and the middle of that; and lying below one at table is to lie as it were in or upon his bosom. John 13:23. See Eating. The "ruler" or "governor of the feast," John 2:8, was the superintendent of the servants, and at the same time the one who controlled all the arrangements for the festivity. It was his office to test the meats and drinks that were offered to the guests. John 2:9. Religious Feasts. The stated religious festivals among the Jews may be divided into the following classes:
(1) The Sabbath, the feast of new moons, the sabbatical year, and the year of jubilee.
(2) The Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles.
(3) The feasts of Purim and of the dedication. The first two classes of feasts were established by the Law of Moses; the last did not come into existence till after the Babylonish captivity. At each of the feasts of the first two classes the males were to "appear before the Lord" and to make their offerings with rejoicing. Deut 27:7. There was a suspension of labor on the principal feast-days. Ex 12:16; Lev 23:21,Lev 23:24, etc. But inasmuch as the festival of the Passover lasted through a whole week, only the first and the seventh days were included under this restriction. Ex 12:16. A particular description of each feast is given in its proper place. Feasts of Charity or Love. These are mentioned in Jude 12, and are supposed to refer to the social interviews established among the early Christians, in imitation, perhaps, of the Jewish, Deut 12:18; Deut 26:12, or Gentile observances of like character. They were held in the assembly or church, either after or before the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Similar observances are customary at the present day among some Christian denominations.