REMARKS | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 7, 1867

REMARKS.

On the reception of the foregoing note, we decided to look at some of the points mentioned, with the aid of such helps as we had at hand. The result of our investigations may be stated in brief as follows:

We find in the original but two words to denote the meals in use among the Jews, at the time the New Testament was written. These are ariston and deipnon. The first is uniformly rendered in the New Testament, dinner; and the second is rendered in every instance by the terms supper, or feasts. Both these words are rather indefinite in meaning. The first, ariston, is defined by different lexicographers as follows:

Robinson. “Breakfast, a morning meal, at sunrise (Homer). Later, breakfast, lunch, Lat. prandium, taken about the middle of the day; the principal meal being the deipnon, dinner, taken late in the afternoon or early in the evening, after the heat and business of the day were over, as at the present day in London and Paris.”

Liddell and Scott. “A morning meal, breakfast, twice in Homer, where it is taken at sunrise. Later, breakfast was called akrōtisma, and after it ariston was the midday meal, our luncheon.”

Parkhurst. “Ariston, indefinite, because taken at no certain time; or, rather from eri, early, because this meal was taken early in the morning.” Then he gives as the main definition, “Dinner, a meal eaten in the morning.”

Greenfield. “A meal, or slight refreshment, which among the Jews corresponded sometimes to our breakfast, and sometimes to dinner; being taken sometimes in the morning, or a little before noon, or a little after noon, as circumstances might vary.”

The other word, deipnon, usually translated supper, is defined by the same authorities as follows:—

Robinson. “In Homer, breakfast. In Attic writers and in New Testament, dinner or supper; i. e., the chief meal of the Jews, and also of the Greeks and Romans, taken toward, or at, evening, after the labors of the day were over, and often prolonged into the night. Hence a banquet, a feast in general.”

Liddell and Scott. “A meal, or meal time, used by Homer quite generally, sometimes as the equivalent of ariston, sometimes the same as dorpon. In Attic, certainly the chief meal, answering to our dinner, Latin, coena, begun toward evening, and often prolonged till night.”

Parkhurst. “Deipnon, so called from deisthai epi ponon, men’s wanting it for labor, or to enable them to labor. See Suicer’s Thesaurus on this word. 1. In Homer it generally denotes the breakfast, or morning meal, but sometimes food in general, even that which is taken toward evening. 2. In the latter Greek writers, as in the N. T., a supper, an evening meal, a feast.”

Greenfield. “A morning repast; dinner, Lat. prandium; in N. T. supper, the principal meal of the Hebrews, and taken by them in the evening.”

There is another word the definition of which we will here introduce as throwing some light on this subject, although it does not occur in the New Testament. That word is dorpon, and is defined by Liddell and Scott thus: “In Homer, the afternoon or evening meal, whether called dinner or supper. Lat. coena, the chief meal of the day. It is distinguished as the last of the three meals, ariston, deipnon, dorpon. But the name disappeared from Attic Greek, probably because at Athens it was customary to take only two regular meals, ariston, and deipnon, which latter took the place of dorpon.”

From these definitions the conclusion seems to be very apparent that but two meals a day were generally eaten by the ancients. The first, ariston, by universal consent, denotes a meal taken in the early part of the day. The second, deipnon, denotes the last meal of the day; but the hour at which it was eaten, is not so clear. Liddell and Scott say, “In Attic, certainly the chief meal, answering to our dinner.” This would bring it not far from the middle of the day, as the popular signification of the term dinner as given by Webster is, “The meal taken about the middle of the day; or the principal meal of the day eaten between noon and evening.” Robinson says it was taken “toward or at, evening.” This, considering that evening commenced with the Hebrews, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, would not necessarily bring it very late in the day. And Parkhurst says that the word deipnon finds its root in an expression signifying “men’s wanting it for labor, or to enable them to labor.” This is important as showing that the word primarily signified a meal eaten at such an hour as to supply strength for the completion of the labors of the day. This doubtless denotes the first and general character of the meal; for those instances where it was extended into the night were doubtless exceptions to, or corruptions of, the custom. We cannot suppose this latter to have been the general practice; for then it could not be explained why a word should have been taken to denote it, which has a meaning so very different.

In confirmation of this we find the following testimony in the Am. Tract Society’s Bible Dictionary. “The meals of the Jews were generally two, loosely distinguished as dinner and supper, Luke xiv, 12; John xxi, 12. The first meal was usually light, consisting of milk, cheese, bread or fruits, and eaten at various hours from early morning to the middle of the forenoon. In the early history of the Hebrews, the principal meal, corresponding with our dinner, was eaten about noon, Gen. xliii, 25; 1 Kings xx, 16. At a later period, at least on festive occasions, it was taken after the heat of the day was over. This was the ‘supper.’”