Reference: Entertain
Easton
Entertainments, "feasts," were sometimes connected with a public festival (De 16:11,14), and accompanied by offerings (1Sa 9:13), in token of alliances (Ge 26:30); sometimes in connection with domestic or social events, as at the weaning of children (Ge 21:8), at weddings (Ge 29:22; Joh 2:1), on birth-days (Mt 14:6), at the time of sheep-shearing (2Sa 13:23), and of vintage (Jg 9:27), and at funerals (2Sa 3:35; Jer 16:7).
The guests were invited by servants (Pr 9:3; Mt 22:3), who assigned them their respective places (1Sa 9:22; Lu 14:8; Mr 12:39). Like portions were sent by the master to each guest (1Sa 1:4; 2Sa 6:19), except when special honour was intended, when the portion was increased (Ge 43:34).
The Israelites were forbidden to attend heathenish sacrificial entertainments (Ex 34:15), because these were in honour of false gods, and because at such feast they would be liable to partake of unclean flesh (1Co 10:28).
In the entertainments common in apostolic times among the Gentiles were frequent "revellings," against which Christians were warned (Ro 13:13; Ga 5:21; 1Pe 4:3). (See Banquet.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;
And he maketh for them a banquet, and they eat and drink,
and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.
and he lifteth up gifts from before him unto them, and the gift of Benjamin is five hands more than the gifts of all of them; and they drink, yea, they drink abundantly with him.
Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land, and they have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have sacrificed to their gods, and one hath called to thee, and thou hast eaten of his sacrifice,
And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,
and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates.
and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god, and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech.
And the day cometh, and Elkanah sacrificeth, and he hath given to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions,
At your going in to the city so ye do find him, before he doth go up in to the high place to eat; for the people do not eat till his coming, for he doth bless the sacrifice; afterwards they eat, who are called, and now, go up, for at this time ye find him.'
And Samuel taketh Saul, and his young man, and bringeth them in to the chamber, and giveth to them a place at the head of those called; and they are about thirty men.
And all the people come to cause David to eat bread while yet day, and David sweareth, saying, 'Thus doth God to me, and thus He doth add, for -- before the going in of the sun, I taste no bread or any other thing.'
And it cometh to pass, after two years of days, that Absalom hath shearers in Baal-Hazor, which is with Ephraim, and Absalom calleth for all the sons of the king.
She hath sent forth her damsels, She crieth on the tops of the high places of the city:
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.
But the birthday of Herod being kept, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and did please Herod,
and he sent forth his servants to call those having been called to the marriage-feasts, and they were not willing to come.
and first seats in the synagogues, and first couches in suppers,
'When thou mayest be called by any one to marriage-feasts, thou mayest not recline on the first couch, lest a more honourable than thou may have been called by him,
And the third day a marriage happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,
as in day-time, let us walk becomingly; not in revellings and drunkennesses, not in chamberings and lasciviousnesses, not in strife and emulation;
and if any one may say to you, 'This is a thing sacrificed to an idol,' -- do not eat, because of that one who shewed it, and of the conscience, for the Lord's is the earth and its fulness:
envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revellings, and such like, of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that those doing such things the reign of God shall not inherit.