ἐσθίω

From the study of Luke 5:30

Range of meaning

The ordinary verbs for eating and drinking. Paired together they can mean taking a full part in a meal, and they often suggest a feast or shared life at table.

Against the English

English "eat and drink" is accurate. What it fails to carry is the social weight the act had in that world, since a modern reader may hear only a neutral description of a meal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Sirach 9:16 advises: "Let the righteous be your dinner companions." Psalm 1:1 warns against keeping company with the wicked. Jewish identity disputes over who could eat with whom appear in Daniel 1:8, Jubilees 22:16, and among the first Christians in Galatians 2:12 and Acts 11:3. Later Jewish legal texts restrict strict observers from being guests of those lax about tithing (Mishnah, Demai 2:2-3). Luke repeats the pair at 5:33, 7:34, 13:26 and 22:30.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 10:31

Range of meaning

To eat; to drink. Everyday verbs, but in Paul's letters they often refer to meals with religious meaning: the Lord's Supper (11:26), meals in pagan temples (8:10), and Israel's 'spiritual food and drink' in the wilderness (10:3–4).

Against the English

English 'eat or drink' sounds like a random example of daily life. In context it is the very case under dispute.

How it drifted

When the verse is quoted on its own, 'eat or drink' looks like a generic illustration, which hides the fact that Paul has spent three chapters on the question of what Christians may eat.

Used elsewhere in the period

Throughout 1 Cor 8–10: eating idol-food (8:4, 7, 10, 13), Israel who 'sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play' at the golden calf (10:7, quoting Exod 32:6), the cup and table of the Lord versus those of demons (10:21).

From the study of 1 Corinthians 11:28

Range of meaning

The ordinary verbs for eating and drinking. Here they are present-tense third-person commands: 'let him eat', 'let him drink'.

Against the English

KJV and WEB keep them as commands ('let him eat … drink'). BSB, NIV and NLT put them inside a 'before' clause, which turns the closing commands into background.

Used elsewhere in the period

Throughout 11:17–34 Paul uses these verbs for an actual meal. The Corinthians were eating a real supper, with some going hungry and others getting drunk (11:21). The Lord's bread and cup belonged inside that meal.