H6685 H6685
Fast, fasting — voluntary abstention from food as an act of mourning, repentance, petition, or consecration before God.
A masculine noun for the practice or occasion of fasting — going without food as a deliberate act of devotion. Fasting accompanies mourning (2 Sam 12:16; Esth 4:3), national repentance (Joel 1:14; 2:12, 15; Jonah 3:5), and urgent petition before God (Ezra 8:21; Dan 9:3; Neh 9:1). Kings proclaim public fasts as emergencies (1 Kgs 21:9, 12; 2 Chr 20:3), and Jeremiah 36:6, 9 records a fast day when Baruch read the scroll publicly. Zechariah 8:19 names four annual commemorative fasts that will one day become feasts of joy. Isaiah 58:3-6 delivers God's incisive critique: true fasting is not mere affliction but justice, mercy, and liberation. Spanish 'ayuno' and French 'jeune' mirror the single, unified sense.
Senses
1. fast, fasting (noun) — The act or occasion of voluntarily abstaining from food as a religious discipline. Proclaimed publicly by kings or priests (1 Kgs 21:9, 12; 2 Chr 20:3; Joel 1:14; 2:15), or practiced privately in grief and petition (2 Sam 12:16; Dan 9:3; Neh 9:1). Zechariah 8:19 lists four calendrical fasts commemorating Jerusalem's fall, prophesying their transformation into joyful feasts. Isaiah 58:3-6 redefines authentic fasting as social justice rather than ritual affliction. Often paired with sackcloth (Neh 9:1; Esth 4:3; Joel 1:14). Arabic cognate صَوْم and Spanish 'ayuno' confirm a single semantic core unchanged across all 26 occurrences. 26×
AR["بِ-الصَّوْمِ", "بِ-صَوْمٍ", "بِـ-صَوْمٍ", "صَوماً", "صَوْمًا", "صَوْمٌ", "صَوْمٍ", "صَوْمُ", "وَصَوْمُ"]·ben["-উপবাসে", "উপবাস", "উপবাসে", "উপবাসের", "এটা", "এবং-উপবাস"]·DE["Fasten", "[בצום]", "[צום]", "ein-fast", "fast", "in-Fasten", "mit-fasting", "und-Fasten"]·EN["a-fast", "and-fast-of", "fast", "fast-of", "in-fasting", "with-fasting"]·FR["[בצום]", "[צום]", "dans-jeûne", "et-jeûne", "jeûne", "un-jeûne"]·heb["ב-צום", "ו-צום", "צוֹם", "צום"]·HI["उपवास", "उपवास-के-साथ", "एक-उपवास", "और-उपवास", "में-उपवास"]·ID["dan-puasa", "dengan-berpuasa", "dengan-puasa", "puasa", "puasa,"]·IT["[בצום]", "[צום]", "digiuna", "digiuno", "e-digiuno", "un-digiuna"]·jav["kalayan-pasa", "kaliyan-pasa", "kanthi-pasa", "lan-pasa", "pasa", "sarana-pasa", "siyam"]·KO["그리고-금식", "금식", "금식-으로", "금식-을", "금식을", "금식의", "금식이", "금식이니", "금식이라고"]·PT["Jejum-do", "com-jejum", "e-jejum-do", "jejum"]·RU["в-посте", "и-пост", "пост", "поста", "постом"]·ES["ayuno", "ayuno-de", "con-ayuno", "el-ayuno", "en-ayuno", "un-ayuno", "y-ayuno-de"]·SW["kufunga", "kwa-kufunga", "mfungo", "na-saumu-ya", "saumu", "saumu-ya"]·TR["Orucu-", "oruc", "orucun", "oruç", "oruçla", "oruçla-", "ve-orucu-"]·urd["اور-روزہ", "بِ-ہَ-روزہ-میں", "روزہ", "روزہ-ہے", "روزے", "روزے-سے", "روزے-میں", "روزے-کی"]
2 Sam 12:16, 1 Kgs 21:9, 1 Kgs 21:12, 2 Chr 20:3, Ezra 8:21, Neh 9:1, Esth 4:3, Esth 9:31, Ps 35:13, Ps 69:10, Ps 109:24, Isa 58:3 (+14 more)
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† צוֹם n.m. Is 58:5 fasting, fast;—צ׳ abs. 2 S 12:16 +, cstr. Zc 8:19 (4 times); sf. צֹמְכֶם Is 58:3; pl. צוֹמוֹת Est 9:31;—fast, as acc. cogn. 2 S 12:16; public observance 1 K 21:9, 12; 2 Ch 20:3; Ezr 8:21; Je 36:9; Jon 3:5 (all obj. of קָרָא proclaim), cf. Jo 1:14; 2:15 (both obj. of קַדְּשׁוּ); יוֹם צוֹם Je 36:6, יוֹם צֹמְכֶם Is 58:3, cf. v 5 (‖ יוֹם עַנּוֹת אָדָם נַפְשׁוֹ), v 5, 6; of…