TR: ʼâkal → esthíō (Eating — Covenant Meal, Devouring, Ingestion)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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אָכַל (ʼâkal) → ἐσθίω (esthíō) → ἐσθίω (esthíō)
H398, 703 verses LXX co-occ: 486x G2068, 55 verses
"eat, devour, consume" PMI 30.67 (primary) "eat"
(+ κατεσθίω G2719 for "devour")
The bridge is the strongest in the entire Hebrew-Greek lexical alignment for verbs of ingestion: 486 co-occurrences between H398 and G2068 in the LXX, with a PMI score of 30.67 — higher than most Hebrew-Greek verb pairs. The translators used a two-verb split: ἐσθίω for neutral/cultic eating, κατεσθίω for hostile "devouring" (fire, sword, judgment). Both Greek verbs pass into the NT with the same polarity.
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H398 | אָכַל (ʼâkal) | 703 verses | eat, consume, devour (verb) |
| H399 | אֲכַל (ʼăkal, Aramaic) | ~7 | Aramaic counterpart (Daniel) |
| H400 | אֹכֶל (ʼôkel) | 44 | food, meal (noun) |
| H402 | אׇכְלָה (ʼoklâh) | 18 | food, fuel, devouring (noun) |
| H3978 | מַאֲכָל (maʼăkâl) | 30 | eatable, food (noun) |
Key OT passages: - Gen 2:16 — "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat" (first occurrence; Qal InfAbs + Impf) - Exo 12:8 — "And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire" (Passover command) - Lev 11:2 — "These are the beasts which ye shall eat" (food-law marker) - Deut 14:26 — "And thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God" (weqatal covenant-feast imperative) - Amos 1:4 — "I will send a fire... which shall devour the palaces" (prophetic judgment)
Canonical study: H398-akal.md
LXX Bridge¶
H398 → Greek (which Greek verbs render ʼâkal in LXX)¶
| Greek | Word | Co-occ | PMI | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G2068 | ἐσθίω (esthíō) | 486 | 30.67 | Primary — neutral eating |
| G2719 | κατεσθίω (katesthíō) | 117 | 23.59 | "Devour down" — judgment/hostile |
| G4095 | πίνω (pínō) | 97 | 17.94 | Co-collocate "drink" (eat-and-drink idiom) |
| G2907 | κρέας (kréas) | 46 | 16.95 | "Flesh" (object of sacrificial eating) |
| G740 | ἄρτος (ártos) | 96 | 16.90 | "Bread" (object) |
| G4442 | πῦρ (pŷr) | 89 | 13.13 | "Fire" (subject in judgment) |
| G106 | ἄζυμος (ázymos) | 21 | 12.45 | "Unleavened" (Passover) |
| G5595 | ψωμίζω (psōmízō) | 13 | 12.25 | "Feed with morsels" (renders Hiphil) |
G2068 ← Hebrew (which Hebrew verbs map to esthíō)¶
| Hebrew | Word | Co-occ | PMI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H398 | אָכַל (ʼâkal) | 486 | 30.67 | Dominant source |
| H8354 | שָׁתָה (shâthâh) | 87 | 19.42 | "Drink" — captured when LXX swaps to ἐσθίω in shared verses |
| H3899 | לֶחֶם (lechem) | 93 | 17.87 | "Bread" (nominal collocate) |
| H4682 | מַצָּה (matstsâh) | 19 | 12.96 | "Unleavened bread" |
| H1320 | בָּשָׂר (bâsâr) | 45 | 11.80 | "Flesh" |
| H7646 | שָׂבַע (sâbaʻ) | 23 | 10.98 | "Be satisfied" — eat-and-be-filled idiom |
| H6529 | פְּרִי (pᵉrîy) | 24 | 10.89 | "Fruit" (what is eaten) |
Semantic shift in translation:
- Neutral continuity: ἐσθίω carries ʼâkal's ordinary eating sense without loss.
- Split at "devour": The Hebrew single verb ʼâkal is split in Greek between ἐσθίω and κατεσθίω
(G2719) based on context. The Greek language lacks a single verb that covers both ordinary
eating and hostile consumption, so the κατα- prefix marks judgment/hostile contexts.
- "Before YHWH" formula: The LXX preserves the covenant-feast formula ἔφαγες ἐκεῖ ἐνώπιον
κυρίου (Deut 14:26 LXX) mirroring וְאָכַלְתָּ שָׁם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה. The weqatal imperatival
force is rendered by Greek future indicative ("you shall eat"), which in LXX Deuteronomy carries
the same commanded-future force it has in Hebrew.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2068 | ἐσθίω (esthíō) | 55 verses | eat |
| G5315 | φάγω (phágō) | ~95 | "eat" (suppletive aorist of ἐσθίω) |
| G2719 | κατεσθίω (katesthíō) | 15 | devour, consume (hostile) |
| G4906 | συνεσθίω (synesthíō) | 5 | eat together |
| G1033 | βρῶμα (brōma) | 17 | food (noun) |
| G1035 | βρῶσις (brōsis) | 11 | eating, food (noun) |
| G740 | ἄρτος (ártos) | ~97 | bread |
Note on G5315 φάγω: In Greek, ἐσθίω and φάγω function as a single suppletive verb — ἐσθίω supplies present/imperfect forms, φάγω supplies aorist/future forms. Together they constitute the full paradigm of "to eat." Many NT "eating" passages show φάγω (aorist/future) rather than ἐσθίω (present/imperfect), but they belong to the same lexical reality.
Key NT passages: - Mat 26:26 — "Take, eat (φάγετε, G5315); this is my body" (Last Supper — covenant-feast command) - Luk 22:15 — "With desire I have desired to eat (φαγεῖν) this passover with you before I suffer" - Luk 5:30 — "Why do ye eat and drink (ἐσθίετε καὶ πίνετε) with publicans and sinners?" (eat-and-drink pair preserved from Hebrew merism) - Rom 14:2 — "one believeth that he may eat (φαγεῖν) all things" (clean/unclean debate) - 1Co 10:3–4 — Israel "did all eat (ἔφαγον) the same spiritual meat" (covenant-meal typology) - 1Co 11:24–26 — "eat (ἐσθίητε) this bread and drink this cup" (Lord's Supper ordinance) - Rev 20:9 — "fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured (κατέφαγεν, G2719) them" (direct continuation of OT "fire devours" motif) - Heb 10:27 — "fiery indignation, which shall devour (ἐσθίειν) the adversaries"
Canonical study: TODO(need G2068 study)
Direct OT→NT Quotations / Echoes¶
| NT Verse | Quotes/Echoes OT | Chain | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mat 4:4 | Deut 8:3 | ʼâkal-echo via "bread" context | "Man shall not live by bread alone" — contrast to covenant-eating |
| Luk 22:15–20 | Exo 12:8; Deut 14:26 | ʼâkal → φάγω | Passover/covenant-meal fulfillment |
| 1Co 10:3–4 | Exo 16 | ʼâkal → ἔφαγον | Wilderness eating as type of Christian eucharist |
| 1Co 11:25 | Exo 24:11 | ʼâkal → ἐσθίω | "Eat and drink before YHWH" → "eat this bread" |
| Heb 10:27 | Isa 26:11; Zep 1:18 | ʼâkal (fire) → ἐσθίω (fire) | Judgment-fire devouring adversaries |
| Rev 20:9 | 2Ki 1:10; Ezk 38:22 | ʼâkal (fire) → κατεσθίω | Eschatological fire-devouring |
| Rev 19:17–18 | Ezk 39:17–20 | ʼâkal (feast) → φάγητε | "Supper of the great God" — inverted covenant-feast |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - The eat-and-drink pair (H398 + H8354 → ἐσθίω/φάγω + πίνω) is preserved as the idiom for full meal/feast participation (Deut 14:26 → Luk 22:15; 1Co 11:26). - The "eat before YHWH" covenant-feast formula carries into the NT as eucharistic language ("do this in remembrance of me," "the Lord's supper"). - Fire-devouring judgment imagery passes intact: ʼâkal + ʼêsh (H398+H784) → ἐσθίω/κατεσθίω + πῦρ (G2068/G2719+G4442). Hebrews 10:27 and Rev 20:9 are direct prophetic continuations. - Food-law commands (H398 + H3808 "shall not eat") continue in Acts 10/15 (κοινός, unclean food) and Rom 14/1Co 8–10 (ἐσθίω debates).
What shifts: - Verb splits into two Greek verbs: ἐσθίω (neutral/covenantal) and κατεσθίω (hostile/judgment). Greek lacks a single verb spanning both polarities that Hebrew carried in one lexeme. - Suppletive paradigm: Greek ἐσθίω borrows aorist/future from φάγω (G5315); NT "eating" appears under two Strong's numbers but one verbal concept. - Covenant-meal fulfillment shifts agent: OT commands "thou shalt eat before YHWH" (weqatal 2ms); NT translates this into eucharistic participation where the risen Christ is the meal-host and the covenant-meal becomes Christologically-centered (Luk 22; 1Co 11). - Clean/unclean abolished (Acts 10:15; Mar 7:19): the food-law use of ʼâkal is declared fulfilled, while the covenant-feast use is intensified.
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py H398, search_strongs.py --lxx-map / --hebrew-source Last updated: 2026-04-19