UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: bowl, dish

Semantic entry: 6.136

Semantic domains: Artifacts

Subdomains: Containers

Definition: a relatively deep concave dish used for holding or cooking food or liquids; usually made of clay, but also metals

Notes: In the two NT occurrences (OET MAT 26:23; OET MRK 14:20) τρύβλιον can be understood as a part of an idiom (literally ‘to dip one’s hands into the bowl with someone’) meaning ‘to share a meal with someone.’ If, however, the idiom is to be translated literally (and this is normally the case), there are certain difficulties involved, since a literal rendering of ‘to dip one’s hand into a bowl’ might mean literally putting one’s fingers or hand into a bowl rather than dipping in food which one holds in the hand. An idiomatic interpretation of ‘sharing a meal with someone’ or ‘eating together with’ may be preferable. But if one does translate the idiom somewhat literally, it is important in some languages to render this phrase as ‘to dip food into a bowl together with someone’ or ‘to jointly dip food into sauce.’

Further resources: realia:5.20.1