ἐσθίω G2068
To eat food; by extension, to consume or devour in a destructive or figurative sense.
The standard Greek verb for eating, used across the Gospels and Epistles for ordinary meals, Passover eating, miraculous feedings, and debates about food laws. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners (Matt 9:11), the disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath and eat (Matt 12:1), and Paul addresses whether believers may eat food offered to idols (1 Cor 8:7-13). In one striking figurative use, the 'fury of fire' is said to consume God's adversaries (Heb 10:27), shifting from nourishment to annihilation.
Senses
1. eat food — To eat or partake of food in the ordinary, literal sense. This overwhelmingly dominant sense covers every grammatical form -- indicative, participle, subjunctive, infinitive, imperative -- across 64 occurrences. Spanish come/comen, French manger, German essen/isst all converge on basic physical eating. The word appears in pivotal scenes: the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14:20-21), the Last Supper (Matt 26:26), controversies over eating with unwashed hands (Matt 15:2), and the early church's disputes over dietary law (1 Cor 10:25-28). 64×
AR["تَأْكُلُ", "يَأكُلونَ", "يَأكُلُ", "يَأْكُلُ", "يَأْكُلُونَ"]·ben["খাচ্ছিল", "খাচ্ছে", "খাচ্ছেন", "খাচ্ছেন?", "খায়", "খায়,", "খায়?", "খায়।", "খেয়ে"]·DE["essen", "isst"]·EN["eat", "eating", "eats", "he-eats", "they-eat"]·FR["manger"]·heb["אוֹכְלִים", "אוֹכֵל"]·HI["और", "खअते-हुए", "खअते-हैन", "खते-हैन", "खाता", "खाता-है", "खाते-हैं", "खाने-वाला", "परम्परा", "रोटियाँ"]·ID["Ia-makan", "Ia-makan?", "makan", "makan,", "makan.", "makan?", "mereka-makan"]·IT["mangiare"]·jav["dhahar", "dhahar,", "dhahar;", "dhahar?", "mangan", "nedha", "nedha,", "nedha.", "nedha?", "sami-dhahar"]·KO["먹고", "먹느냐", "먹는-자", "먹는가", "먹는다", "먹니", "먹다", "먹습니다", "먹으며", "먹을-때마다", "먹지"]·PT["come", "come,", "come.", "come?", "comem", "comendo"]·RU["-благодарит", "едят", "едящий", "ест", "ест?"]·ES["come", "come?", "comen", "comiendo"]·SW["akila", "anakula", "anakula,", "anakula.", "anakula?", "hakuli?", "hawali", "hula", "kuli,", "wanakula"]·TR["kendisine", "yer", "yiyen", "yiyor", "yiyor?", "yiyorlar"]·urd["کھاتا", "کھاتا-تھا", "کھاتا-ہے", "کھاتے", "کھاتے-ہوئے", "کھاتے-ہیں"]
Matt 9:11, Matt 11:18, Matt 11:19, Matt 12:1, Matt 15:2, Matt 15:27, Matt 24:49, Mark 1:6, Mark 2:16, Mark 2:16, Mark 7:2, Mark 7:3 (+38 more)
2. consume or devour — To consume or devour destructively, used figuratively for fire or divine judgment. In Hebrews 10:27, the author warns of 'a fury of fire about to consume the adversaries,' where esthiein takes on the connotation of total annihilation rather than nourishment. Spanish devorar ('to devour') captures this aggressive nuance, while French manger and German essen retain the base verb, relying on context to convey the metaphorical shift. 1×
AR["تَأْكُلُ"]·ben["গ্রাস-করতে"]·DE["essen"]·EN["to-consume"]·FR["manger"]·heb["לֶאֱכֹל"]·HI["खाने"]·ID["untuk-memakan"]·IT["esthiein"]·jav["badhé-nguntal"]·KO["먹으려-하는"]·PT["prestes-a-devorar"]·RU["пожирать"]·ES["devorar"]·SW["kula"]·TR["yiyecek"]·urd["کھانے-والی"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐσθίω (compare ἔσθω, ἔδω, the latter of which is the radical form, and supplies future and perfect of ἐσθίω), imperfect ἤσθιον Refs 8th c.BC+future ἔδομαι (old present subjunctive of non-thematic stem) Refs 8th c.BC+, etc.; ἐδοῦμαι late, (προκατ-) Refs 2nd c.AD+: perfect ἐδήδοκα Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect participle ἐδηδώς, -υῖα, Refs 8th c.BC+: pluperfect ἐδηδόκειν Refs 2nd c.AD+ —middle,…