Luke Chapter 14, Verse 17
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17: και απεστειλεν τον δουλον αυτου τη ωρα του δειπνου ειπειν τοις κεκλημενοις ερχεσθε οτι ηδη ετοιμα εστιν παντα
17: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were
bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
17: And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that
were invited, that they should come: for now all things are ready.
Sent his servant. An invitation had been sent before, but this servant
was sent at the time that the supper was ready. From this it would seem
that it was the custom to announce to those invited just the time when
the feast was prepared. The custom here referred to still prevails in
Palestine. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. i. p. 178) says
"If a sheikh, beg, or emeer invites, he always sends a servant to call you at the proper time. This servant often repeats the very formula mentioned in Lk 14:17: Tefuddulu, el asha hader -- Come, for the supper is ready. The fact that this custom is mainly confined to the wealthy and to the nobility is in strict agreement with the parable, where the certain man who made the great supper and bade many is supposed to be of this class. It is true now, as then, that to refuse is a high insult to the maker of the feast, nor would such excuses as those in the parable be more acceptable to a Druse emeer than they were to the lord of this great supper."
