akin to kataluo (see Note above), signifies (a) "an inn, lodging-place," Luke 2:7; (b) "a guest-room," Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11 . The word lit. signifies "a loosening down" (kata, "down," luo, "to loose"), used of the place where travelers and their beasts untied their packages, girdles and sandals. "In the East, no figure is more invested with chivalry than the guest. In his own right he cannot cross the threshold, but when once he is invited in, all do him honor and unite in rendering service; cp. Genesis 18:19; Judges 19:9,15 ." These two passages in the NT "concern a room in a private house, which the owner readily placed at the disposal of Jesus and His disciples for the celebration of the Passover ... At the festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles the people were commanded to repair to Jerusalem; and it was a boast of the Rabbis that, notwithstanding the enormous crowds, no man could truthfully say to his fellow, 'I have not found a fire where to roast my paschal lamb in Jerusalem,' or 'I have not found a bed in Jerusalem to lie in,' or 'My lodging is too strait in Jerusalem'" (Hasting, Bib. Dic. GUESTCHAMBER and INN). See INN.