I read the documentation upside-down and sideways. For the life of me, I can't discern what the effect of 'rows' is. Here is my test code, which also doesn't seem to be revealing.
>> a=table((1:5)',{'a';'bc';'def';'gh';'i'})
a = Var1 Var2
____ _____
1 'a'
2 'bc'
3 'def'
4 'gh'
5 'i'
>> b=a([1 2 3],:)
b = Var1 Var2
____ _____
1 'a'
2 'bc'
3 'def'
>> c=a([2 3 4],:)
c = Var1 Var2
____ _____
2 'bc'
3 'def'
4 'gh'
>> intersect(b,c)
ans = Var1 Var2
____ _____
2 'bc'
3 'def'
>> intersect(b,c,'rows')
ans = Var1 Var2
____ _____
2 'bc'
3 'def'
Thanks to anyone who can provide clarity on this.