Room is employed in the A.V. as the equivalent of no less than four Heb. and eight Greek terms. The only one of these, however, which need be noticed here is πρωτοκλισία (Mt 23:6; Mr 12:39; Lu 14:7-8; Lu 20:46), which signifies, not a "room" in the sense we commonly attach to it of a chamber, but the highest place on the highest couch round the dinner or supper table — the "uppermost seat, "as it is more accurately rendered in Lu 11:43. SEE MEAL. The word "seat" is, however, generally appropriated by our translators to καθέδρα, which seems to mean some kind of official chair. In Lu 14:9-10, they have rendered τόπος by both "place" and "room." SEE UPPER ROOM.
The convenience of dividing habitations into separate apartments early suggested itself. We read of various kinds of rooms in Scripture — bedchamber, inner chamber, upper chamber, bride chamber, guest chamber, guard chamber, of the king's house. In early times the females and children of the family slept in one room, on a separate beds, and the males in another. SEE CHAMBER.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More