Smith
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Smith’s Bible Dictionary · 1884

Birthday

The custom of observing birthdays is very ancient, (Genesis 40:20; Jeremiah 20:15) and in (Job 1:4) etc., we read that Job’s sons “feasted every one his day.” In Persia birthdays were celebrated with peculiar honors and banquets, and in Egypt those of the king were kept with great pomp. It is very probable that in (Matthew 14:6) the feast to commemorate Herod’s accession is intended, for we know that such feasts were common, and were called “the day of the king.” (Hosea 7:5)

Smith’s Bible Dictionary, William Smith, revised and edited by F. N. and M. A. Peloubet (1884). Public domain. Text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: words our source left outside its paragraphs put back in them.