Did He Recline or Sit at the Passover Meal?

There is a variation among the many versions as to the position of Yahshua took at the table for the Passover supper as it appears in

1. Matthew 26: 20
2. Mark 14: 18
3. Luke 22: 14

In some versions, part of the information appears in the next verse. Although this comparison is concentrating on the position, there is reference to points in succeeding verses because of implications raised in considering the position.

Sixty-seven versions have been examined, with examples of the variations being quoted. Complete verses are not quoted, but only the parts under consideration. I hope to show, beginning with the position taken by Yahshua and His apostles, that this was a Jewish event in its entirety and that Christian elements have replaced it. Examine the texts carefully and note their implications.

1. AAT – An American Translation (Beck)
2. AIV – An Inclusive Version
3. ANCJ – Aramaic New Covenant
4. CENT – Common English New Testament
5. CLNT – Concordant Literal New Testament
6. CNT – Cassirer New Testament
7. CTNT – Centenary Translation of the New Testament
8. DHB – Darby Holy Bible
9. EDW – Emphatic Diaglott
10. EVD – English Version for the Deaf
11. GTNT – Godbey Translation of the New Testament
12. IB – Interlinear Bible
13. IV – Inspired Version
14. LBP – Lamsa Bible
15. MCT – McCord’s New Testament Translation
16. MNT – Moffat New Translation
17. NAB – New American Bible
18. NAS – New American Standard
19. NBV – New Berkeley Version
20. NNT – Noli New Testament
21. ONT – Original New Testament
22. RcV – Recovery Version
23. RNT – Riverside New Testament
24. SISR – The Scriptures (ISR)
25. SNB – Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible
26. SSBE – Sacred Scriptures, Bethel Edition
27. TCNT – Twentieth Century New Testament
28. WTNT – William Tindale Newe Testament

1. AB – Amplified Bible
2. ANT – The Authentic New Testament
3. ASV – American Standard Version
4. BNT – Barclay New Testament
5. CEV – Contemporary English Version
6. EBR – The Emphasized Bible
7. GW – God’s Word
8. HBME – The Holy Bible in Modern English
9. HBRV – Holy Bible, Revised Version
10. JWNT – John Wesley New Testament
11. KJV – King James Version
12. KTC – Knox Translation
13. LB – Living Bible
14. MRB – Modern Readers Bible
15. MSNT – The Modern Speech New Testament
16. NCV – New Century Version
17. NEB – New English Bible
18. NET – New Evangelical Translation
19. NIV – New International Version
20. NJB – New Jerusalem Bible
21. NKJ – New King James Version
22. NLV – New Life Version
23. NLT – New Living Translation
24. NRS – New Revised Standard Version
25. NSNT – Norlie’s Simplified New Testament
26. NWT – New World Translation
27. PRS – Phillips Revised Students Edition
28. REB – Revised English Bible
29. RSV – Revised Standard Version
30. SGAT – An American Translation (Smith-Goodspeed)
31. SV – The Scholars Version
32. TBR – The Bible Reader
33. TEV – Today’s English Version
34. TJB – The Jerusalem Bible
35. TM – The Message
36. WAS – Worrell New Testament
37. WET – Wuest Expanded Translation
38. WMF – The Word Made Fresh
39. WNT – Williams New Testament

1. A Form of Recline Used in the Three Gospels
   1. Common English New Testament – CENT
      1. …, he reclined at table with the twelve.
      2. And they were reclining at table, and eating, … .
      3. …, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
   2. The Emphatic Diaglott – EDW
      1. …, he reclined at table with the TWELVE; … .
      2. And as they were reclining at table, and eating, … .
      3. …, he reclined and the APOSTLES with him.
   3. Interlinear Bible – IB
      1. …, He reclined with the Twelve.
      2. And as they were reclining and eating, … .
      3. …, He reclined and the twelve apostles with Him.
   4. New American Standard – NAS
      1. …, He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.
      2. And as they were reclining at the table and eating, … .
      3. … He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
   5. Recovery Version – RcV
      1. …, He reclined at table with the twelve.
      2. And as they were reclining at table and eating, … .
      3. …, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.
   6. Riverside New Testament – RNT
      1. …, he was reclining at table with the twelve disciples.
      2. As they were reclining and eating, … .
      3. …, he reclined at table and the apostles with him.
   7. EBR, HBME, NET, NIV, NWT, WAS, WET.
2. A Form of Recline Used in Two Gospels
   1. Lamsa Bible – LBP
      1. …, he was reclining with his twelve disciples.
      2. And when they were reclining and eating, … .
      3. … Jesus came and sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
   2. New American Bible – NAB
      1. …, he reclined at table with the Twelve.
      2. And as they reclined at table and were eating, … .
      3. …, he took his place at table with the apostles.
   3. Original New Testament – ONT
      1. … he reclined at table with the twelve.
      2. … he arrived with the twelve. As they reclined and ate … .
      3. … he took his place in company with the envoys.
   4. AB, ANT, SV.
3. A Form of Recline Used in One Gospel
   1. Cassirer New Testament – CNT
      1. …, he reclined at table in the company of his twelve disciples and, while partaking of their food, … .
      2. While they were at table, having their food, … .
      3. …, Jesus took his place at table, and his apostles were with him.
   2. Centenary Translation of the New Testament – CTNT
      1. … he reclined at table with the Twelve; and as they were eating, … .
      2. While they were at the table, eating, … .
      3. … he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him, … .
   3. Sacred Scriptures, Bethel Edition – SSBE
      1. …, he was reclining at table with the twelve disciples; … .
      2. And as they sat and were eating, … .
      3. …, he sat down, and the apostles with him.
4. Synonyms of Recline Used
   1. An American Translation (Beck) – AAT
      1. … He lay down with the twelve for supper.
      2. While they were still lying down and eating, … .
      3. …, He and the apostles lay down for the meal.
   2. Aramaic New Covenant – ANCJ
      1. …, he is reposing with the twelve disciples… .
      2. …, and when reposing and eating, … .
      3. … Yah Shua reposes and the twelve apostles with him: … .
   3. Concordant Literal New Testament – CLNT
      1. …, He was lying back at table with the twelve disciples.
      2. And at their lying back at table and eating, … .
      3. …, He leans back at table, and the twelve apostles with Him.
   4. Darby Holy Bible – DHB
      1. … he lay down at table with the twelve. And as they were eating … .
      2. And as they lay at table and were eating, … .
      3. … he placed himself at table, and the [twelve] apostles with him.
   5. Moffat New Translation – MNT
      1. …, he lay at table with the disciples, and as they were eating … .
      2. As they were at table eating, … .
      3. He took his place, with the apostles beside him.
5. Footnotes Used
   1. New Berkeley Version – NBV
      1. …, He sat at the table with the twelve disciples and, while they were eating, … .
      2. As they were sitting and eating, … .
         Footnote: See note at chapter 2:15.
      3. …, He and His disciples sat together at the table, … .
         Footnote: See note at Mark 2:15.
         Footnote to Mark 2:15: In N. T. times dining custom was different from what it now is. One did not sit down at a table to eat but reclined on a couch beside a table. While leaning on one elbow he used the other hand for eating. To accord with present-day usage the Greek word for “recline,” “reclining,” and “reclined” are rendered “sit,” “sitting,” “sat,” and “seated” in this translation.
   2. Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible – SNB
      1. …, He was reclining with the twelve disciples; … .
         Footnote: sitting down with.
      2. And as they were reclining and eating, … .
         Footnote: sitting
      3. …, He reclined, and the apostles with Him.
         Footnote: sat
6. Other Words Used
   1. An Inclusive Version – AIV
      1. …, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve; … .
      2. And when they had taken their places and were eating, … .
      3. … Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles with him
   2. English Version for the Deaf – EVD
      1. … Jesus was sitting at the table with the twelve followers.
      2. While they were eating, … .
      3. … . Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table.
   3. Godbey Translation of the New Testament – GTNT
      1. He sat down at the table with the twelve.
      2. And they sitting and eating, … .
      3. …, He sat down and the apostles along with Him.
   4. Inspired Version – IV
      1. …, he sat down with the twelve. [verse 16 in this version]
      2. And as they sat and did eat, … . [verse 16 in this version]
      3. …, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
   5. McCord’s New Testament Translation – MCT
      1. … he was sitting with the twelve.
      2. … he came with the twelve.
      3. …, and Jesus sat at the table with his apostles.
   6. Moffat New Translation – NNT
      1. … he sat down at the table with the twelve Apostles.
      2. As they were at the table eating, … .
      3. …, he sat at the table with his Twelve Apostles.
   7. The Scriptures (ISR) – SISR
      1. …, He sat down with the twelve.
      2. And as they sat and ate, … .
      3. …, He sat down, and the twelve emissaries with Him.
   8. Twentieth Century New Testament – TCNT
      1. Jesus took his place with the twelve disciples, and, while they were eating, … .
      2. …, and, when they had taken their places and were eating, … .
      3. …, Jesus took his place at table, and the Apostles with him.
   9. William Tindale Newe Testament – WTNT
      1. …, he sat down with the twelve, and as they did eat, … .
      2. And as they sat at board and ate, … .
      3. …, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him.
   10. ASV, BNT, CEV, GW, HBRV, JWNT, KJV, KTC, LB, MRB, MSNT, NCV, NEB, NJB, NKJ, NLT, NLV, NRS, NSNT, PRS, REB, RSV, SGAT, TBR, TEV, TJB, TM, WMF, WNT.
7. The Greek Text
   1. Emphatic Diaglott – EDW
      1. … anekeito meta ton dodeka.
      2. Kai anakeimenon auton kai esthionton, … .
      3. … anepese kai oi dodeka apostoloi sun auto.
   2. Interlinear Bible – IB
      1. … anekeito meta ton dodeka.
      2. Kai anakeimenon auton kai esthionton, … .
      3. … anepese kai oi dodeka apostoloi sun auto.

   NOTE: In each of the three Gospels, the bold italicized word is translated by some form of the verb “recline.” Each version has exactly the same Greek. Neither the verb “sit” nor any other verb comes from the Greek.

Alfred J. Kolatch, in The Jewish Book of Why states, “The custom of eating the Seder [Passover] meal in a reclining position is of Persian origin and symbolizes freedom and independence. Greek and Roman patricians also followed this practice, and Jews who lived in their midst adopted it as a meaningful expression of their desire to lead a free, unharried existence. The Mishna (Pesachim 10:1) requires that even the poorest person in Israel must not eat on the first night of Passover unless he reclines.” (pp. 196-197). The footnote in the New Berkeley Version really tells what copyists and translators have done in regard to the verb “recline.”

There are a number of drawings illustrating the text of Robert de Lisle’s Psalter, which was prepared in England in the late thirteenth century. One shows the “Last Supper.” Yahshua is pictured sitting erect behind a table with one disciple on each side of him. The concept of reclining has been eliminated. Also, surrounding Yahshua’s head is a halo, or nimbus, which is a symbol of sun-god worship.

The most famous painting of this event is “The Last Supper,” by Leonardo da Vinci, begun in 1496. The scene depicts Yahshua and his disciples just after He announced who would betray Him. Yahshua is sitting upright in the centre of the picture, behind a long table. Six disciples are on each side of Him. It would be very difficult to place couches in this particular setting. Again, the concept of reclining has been eliminated. This famous painting may have had some effect on later translations of the Gospels.

The various versions state that this was a Passover meal. The versions listed below indicate specifically or imply in headings or in footnotes that the event was divided into two parts: the Passover meal at the start and the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist at the end. This was the ending of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant. It will be noted that in Matthew, Mark, and 1 Corinthians Yahshua took the cup once, while in Luke, He took it once during the meal and once after the meal had been completed. At the end, the men sang a song.

Anyone who is familiar with the Passover meal knows that the cup is taken four times, with the last two being after the meal. Bread is broken and taken after the meal, also. Then a hymn, consisting of several of the Psalms, is sung.

The versions, as mentioned above are as follows: AAT, ANCJ (Matthew only), ASV (Mark and Luke only), CTNT, CEV, EBR, GW, HBME, KJV (some editions), MRB (Matthew and Luke only), MSNT, NAB, NAS, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NKJ, NLT,NLV, NNT, NSNT, PRS, RcV (in footnotes to Mark and Luke), REB (Luke only), SV, TBR (Matthew and Luke only), TEV, TJB, WAS.