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Eat

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

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A. Verb.

'Âkal (אָכַל, Strong's #398), “to eat, feed, consume, devour.” This verb occurs in all Semitic languages (except Ethiopic) and in all periods, from the early Akkadian to the latest Hebrew. The word occurs about 810 times in Old Testament Hebrew and 9 times in Aramaic.

Essentially, this root refers to the “consumption of food by man or animals.” In Gen. 3:6, we read that Eve took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and “ate” it. The function of eating is presented along with seeing, hearing, and smelling as one of the basic functions of living (Deut. 4:28). “Eating,” as every other act of life, is under God’s control; He stipulates what may or may not be eaten (Gen. 1:29). After the Flood, man was allowed to “eat” meat (Gen. 9:3). But under the Mosaic covenant, God stipulated that certain foods were not to be “eaten” (Lev. 11; Deut. 14)while others were permissible. This distinction is certainly not new, inasmuch as it is mentioned prior to the Flood (Gen. 7:2; cf. Gen. 6:19). A comparison of these two passages demonstrates how the Bible can speak in general terms, with the understanding that certain limitations are included. Hence, Noah was commanded to bring into the ark two of every kind (Gen. 6:19), while the Bible tells us that this meant two of every unclean and fourteen of every clean animal (Gen. 7:2). Thus, Gen. 9:3 implies that man could “eat” only the clean animals.

This verb is often used figuratively with overtones of destroying something or someone. So the sword, fire, and forest are said to “consume” men. The things “consumed” may include such various things as land (Gen. 3:17), fields (Isa. 1:7), offerings (Deut. 18:1), and a bride’s purchase price (Gen. 31:15). 'Âkal might also connote bearing the results of an action (Isa. 3:10).

The word can refer not only to “eating” but to the entire concept “room and board” (2 Sam. 9:11, 13), the special act of “feasting” (Eccl. 10:16), or the entire activity of “earning a living” (Amos 7:12; cf. Gen. 3:19). In Dan. 3:8 and 6:24, “to eat one’s pieces” is to charge someone maliciously. “To eat another’s flesh,” used figuratively, refers to tearing him to pieces or “killing him” (Ps. 27:2), although 'âkal may also be used literally, as when one “eats” human beings in times of serious famine (Lev. 26:29). Eccl. 4:5 uses the expression, “eat one’s own flesh,” for allowing oneself to waste away.

Abstinence from eating may indicate deep emotional upset, like that which overcame Hannah before the birth of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:7). It may also indicate the religious selfdenial seen in fasting. Unlike the pagan deities (Deut. 32:37-38)God “eats” no food (Ps. 50:13); although as a “consuming” fire (Deut. 4:24), He is ready to defend His own honor and glory. He “consumes” evil and the sinner. He will also “consume” the wicked like a lion (Hos. 13:8). There is one case in which God literally “consumed” food—when He appeared to Abraham in the form of three “strangers” (Gen. 18:8).

God provides many good things to eat, such as manna to the Israelites (Exod. 16:32) and all manner of food to those who delight in the Lord (Isa. 58:14), even the finest food (Ps. 81:16). He puts the Word of God into one’s mouth; by “consuming” it, it is taken into one’s very being (Ezek. 3:2).

B. Nouns.

'Ôkel (אֹכֶל, Strong's #400), “food.” This word occurs 44 times in the Old Testament. 'Ôkel appears twice in Gen. 41:35 with the sense of “food supply”: “And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.” The word refers to the “food” of wild animals in Ps. 104:21: “The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.” 'Ôkel is used for “food” given by God in Ps. 145:15. The word may also be used for “food” as an offering, as in Mal. 1:12. A related noun, ’aklah, also means “food.” This noun has 18 occurrences in the Old Testament.

Bibliography Information
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Eat'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​vot/​e/eat.html. 1940.
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