Ruler of the Feast

The word occurs in the [[New Testament]] in the account of the wedding feast in [[Cana of Galilee]] (Joh 2:8,9). According to Ecclesiasticus (32:1) it was customary to appoint a "master of the ceremonies" from among the invited guests. It was his duty to determine the places of the guests, to see that the ordinary rules of etiquette were observed, etc., and generally to supervise the arrangements. The [[Revised Version]] margin "steward" is possible if the "governor of the feast" meant the "head waiter" (Merx renders "head servant of the feast"), and not one of the guests appointed for the purpose. But the context is in favor of the view that the person in question was one of the prominent guests--an intimate friend or relative of the host.

See [[Ruler]], 2, (2).