KLAW ARTON - Having a meal?

Wes Williams WesWilliams at usa.net
Sun Jun 21 19:03:49 EDT 1998


I've always view the expression KLAW ARTON as idiomatic of "having a meal"
outside the specific references to the Memorial of Jesus' death. I find that
some hold that every occurrence of KLAW ARTON refers to the eucharist, even
with Paul and the soldiers in Acts 27:35.

As for Acts 20:7, my difficulty seeing this as a formal Eucharist observance
is that the breaking of bread was to commemorate the day of his death, not
the day of his resurrection. As a result, I concur with those who hold to
the translation "having a meal" in this verse.

Is there support in the Koine of the period that KLAW ARTON was idiomatic?

I also include Louw-Nida to solicit comments. Louw-Nida supports the
idiomatic expression.

Sincerely,
Wes Williams

23.20  ARISTAW; DEIPNEW ARTON KLAW (an idiom, literally ‘to break bread’):
to eat a meal, without reference to any particular time of the day or to the
type of food involved - ‘to eat a meal, to have a meal.’ ...

ARTON KLAW KLWNTES TE KAT OIKON ARTON ‘eating (together) in their homes’ or
‘having meals (together) in their homes’ Ac 2.46. The implication of ‘eating
together’ comes from the total context.
EN DE MIA TWN SABBATWN SUNHGMENWN hHMWN KLASAI ARTON ‘on the first day of
the week we gathered together for a meal’ Ac 20.7. No doubt the reference in
Ac 20.7 is to the ‘fellowship meal,’ called ‘agape,’ which constituted the
early Christian form of the ‘Lord’s Supper.’ See 23.28.

In some languages it is impossible to speak of ‘having a meal’ without
indicating the time of day or the nature of the food consumed.






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