StrongerBible

shulḥan

שֻׁלְחָן

HebrewH7979“table”

Appears 71 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 25:23Exo 25:27Exo 25:28Exo 25:30Exo 26:35 (3×)Exo 30:27Exo 31:8Exo 35:13Exo 37:10Exo 37:14Exo 37:15Num 4:7Jdg 1:71Sa 20:292Sa 9:72Sa 9:102Sa 9:112Sa 9:132Sa 19:28(29)1Ki 2:71Ki 4:27(5:7)1Ki 10:51Ki 18:192Ki 4:101Ch 28:16 (4×)2Ch 4:82Ch 4:192Ch 9:42Ch 29:18Neh 5:17Job 36:16Psa 23:5Psa 69:22(23)Psa 78:19Psa 128:3Pro 9:2Isa 28:8Isa 65:11Ezk 23:41Ezk 39:20Ezk 40:39 (2×)Ezk 40:40 (2×)Ezk 40:41 (3×)Ezk 40:42Ezk 40:43Ezk 44:16Dan 11:27Mal 1:7Mal 1:12
Word studyshool-KHAHNnoun

What shulḥan means

table: a raised surface where food and drink are set out for a meal

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

At its core this word names a piece of furniture, the table on which food is placed and around which people eat. Everything else it does in the Bible grows out of that one plain idea, because in the ancient world a meal at a shared table carried far more weight than just eating.

Who owns the table colors what it means. An ordinary household has one; a king has one, and to be given a seat at it is to be taken into his care, fellowship, and protection. The sanctuary has one too, the table that holds the bread set out before God, so that the word becomes a fixture of worship and even, in the prophets, a name for the altar itself as the LORD's table.

The same image then turns figurative. To spread a table for someone is to provide for them and welcome them; to have your table turned against you is to have your own security become a trap. These are not different words but the one table seen in the home, the palace, the sanctuary, and the poet's picture of God's care.

Nuances

1aan ordinary table in a household, where a meal is laid out
1Ki 13:202Ki 4:10Job 36:16Psa 128:3Pro 9:2Isa 21:5Isa 28:8
1bthe table of a king or great household, where a seat means belonging to it and being kept by it
1Sa 20:342Sa 9:72Sa 9:102Sa 9:112Sa 9:132Sa 19:28(29)1Ki 2:71Ki 4:27(5:7)1Ki 10:51Ki 18:192Ch 9:4Neh 5:17
1cthe sanctuary table that holds the bread set out before God, and by extension the altar called the table of the LORD
Exo 25:23Exo 25:27Exo 25:28Exo 25:30Exo 26:35 (3×)Exo 30:27Exo 31:8Exo 35:13Exo 37:10Exo 37:14Exo 37:15Exo 37:16
1da table as a picture of provision or its reversal, especially a table God spreads or one that becomes a trap
Psa 23:5Psa 69:22(23)Psa 78:19Ezk 39:20

What scholars say about shulḥan

The standard lexica treat this as a single noun, "table," derived by most from a root meaning to spread out (a skin or surface on which food is laid), and trace its sense range by context: the household table, the royal table (with its social weight of patronage and fellowship), and the cultic table of the bread of the Presence, which the prophets extend to the altar as "the table of the LORD." The figurative uses in the Psalms (God spreading a table, a table turned into a snare) build on the same image of provision and hospitality.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. שֻׁלְחָןlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. שֻׁלְחָןlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. שֻׁלְחָןlexicon

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of שֻׁלְחָן

m s absolute

שֻּׁלְחָן, שֻׁלְחָן

Exo 25:27, Exo 25:28, Exo 25:30, Exo 26:35, Exo 26:35, Exo 26:35, Exo 30:27, Exo 31:8

f p absolute

שֻׁלְחָנוֹת, שֻּׁלְחָנוֹת

2Ch 4:8, Isa 28:8, Ezk 40:39, Ezk 40:39, Ezk 40:40, Ezk 40:40, Ezk 40:41, Ezk 40:41

m s construct

שֻׁלְחַן

Num 4:7, 1Sa 20:29, 2Sa 9:13, 1Ki 4:27, 1Ki 18:19, 1Ch 28:16, 2Ch 29:18, Mal 1:7

m s construct

שֻׁלְחָנִי

Jdg 1:7, 2Sa 9:7, 2Sa 9:10, 2Sa 9:11, Neh 5:17, Ezk 39:20, Ezk 44:16

m s construct

שֻׁלְחָנֶךָ, שֻׁלְחָנְךָ

2Sa 19:28, 1Ki 2:7, Psa 128:3, Job 36:16

f p construct

שֻׁלְחֲנוֹת

1Ch 28:16, 1Ch 28:16

m s construct

שֻׁלְחָנוֹ

1Ki 10:5, 2Ch 9:4

m s construct

שֻׁלְחָנָהּ

Pro 9:2

m s construct

שֻׁלְחָנָם

Psa 69:22