Greek word · G2719

κατεσθίω

katesthiō

to devour

To eat up or devour completely. Used of animals, birds and fire. Figuratively it means to destroy, use up, or exploit: "devour widows' houses" (Mark 12:40), "bite and devour one another" (Gal 5:15), squander property (Luke 15:30).

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κατ-εσθίω

("perfective" comp. of ἐσθίω, which see, and cf. M, Pr., 111) [in LXX chiefly for אָכַל ;]

to eat up, devour: with accusative, of seed, Matthew 13:4, Mark 4:4, Luke 8:5; τέκνον, Revelation 12:4; βιβλαρίδιον, Revelation 10:9-10; metaphorically, οἰκίας, Matthew 23:13, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47; τ. βίον, Luke 15:30; with accusative of person(s), John 2:17 (LXX), 2 Corinthians 11:20, Galatians 5:15, Revelation 11:5 20:9.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 2:17

Range of meaning

To eat up or devour completely. Used of animals, birds and fire. Figuratively it means to destroy, use up, or exploit: "devour widows' houses" (Mark 12:40), "bite and devour one another" (Gal 5:15), squander property (Luke 15:30).

Against the English

"Consume" is accurate, but in modern English "consumed with/by" is mostly an idiom for being preoccupied or overwhelmed ("consumed with worry"). The Greek image is being eaten up and destroyed. KJV/WEB "eat me up" keep the physical picture.

How it drifted

The English idiom "consumed by passion" drew "consume" toward inner emotion, away from its older sense of being burned up or devoured.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Psalm 68:10 (= 69:9) reads κατέφαγέν με, "has devoured me", rendering Hebrew ʾăkālātnî, "has eaten me" (ʾākal, eat, often used of fire consuming). In the Psalm the speaker's devotion to God's house has brought scorn and persecution on him ("the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me", 69:9b, cited in Rom 15:3).

From the study of Mark 12:40

Range of meaning

Literally 'to eat up', 'consume entirely' (κατά intensifies 'eat'). Used of animals or birds devouring (Mark 4:4) and of fire consuming. Figuratively it means to consume someone's property or substance, to exploit, or to destroy (Galatians 5:15, 'bite and devour one another'; 2 Corinthians 11:20, 'if someone devours you').

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB keep 'devour', which preserves the predatory picture. BSB 'defraud' and NLT 'cheat' turn it into a precise legal accusation. That is clearer but narrower. Jesus does not say how they did it, only that widows' livelihoods ended up in their mouths.

Used elsewhere in the period

Eating up a household is an old Greek idiom: in Homer's Odyssey the suitors 'eat up' Odysseus's house and estate while he is away. Luke 15:30 has the prodigal son who 'devoured your living'. In the Septuagint, Israel's prophets use eating imagery for the powerful consuming the poor (e.g., Micah 3:1–3; compare Psalm 14:4, 'who eat up my people as they eat bread'). The Testament of Moses (7:6–7, first century AD) condemns religious leaders as 'devourers of the goods of the poor' who claim to act out of justice or mercy. That is a close Jewish parallel to this charge of piety used as cover.

From the study of Luke 20:47

Range of meaning

To eat up completely, consume, devour, as an animal does its prey or fire does fuel (BDAG). Used figuratively for using up property, exploiting people, or destroying them. The prefix kata- makes it total: eaten until nothing is left.

Against the English

'Devour' (KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV, NIV) keeps the predatory picture. The BSB's 'defraud widows of their houses' and the NLT's 'cheat' give the legal sense but lose the image of an animal eating its prey, and narrow it to fraud when the verb could also cover exploitation that was technically legal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke uses the same verb in 15:30: the son 'who has devoured your property with prostitutes.' In the Greek Old Testament, 'eat' and 'devour' are prophetic words for leaders who exploit the people (compare Ps 14:4, 'who eat up my people as they eat bread'; Mic 3:1–3, rulers who 'eat the flesh of my people'). Jewish writings from the period use similar language. The Testament of Moses (ch. 7) describes ungodly men who consume the goods of the poor while claiming to act out of justice or mercy, and Psalms of Solomon 4 attacks pious-sounding hypocrites who ruin other people's households.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 13:4 κατέφαγεν devoured

    And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

    Here: "Eat" made stronger by the prefix κατα-: they ate it up completely, and nothing was left to sprout. Again a singular verb with a neuter plural subject.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 4:4 κατέφαγεν devoured

    And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

  2. Mark 12:40 κατεσθίοντες devouring

    They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

    Here: 'Eating up completely.' The present tense describes a habit, not a single act. It was an old Greek idiom for running through someone's estate. The picture is of people feeding on the most defenceless members of the community.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 8:5 κατέφαγεν devoured

    “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

    Here: “Ate it down” or “ate it up.” The prefix makes it total consumption: nothing is left. The verb is singular because the subject is a neuter plural, which Greek treats as a collective.

  2. Luke 15:30 καταφαγών having devoured

    But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

    Here: 'Having eaten up / gobbled down'. It is a vivid, hostile picture of consuming the family's resources completely, and it is ironic in a story full of eating: the pig-pods, the feast, 'let us eat'.

  3. Luke 20:47 κατεσθίουσιν devour

    They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

    Here: Literally 'eat down', eat until nothing is left. The present tense shows a habit: this is what they do. It is a picture of draining someone's property and livelihood, and Luke uses the same verb for the younger son who 'devoured' his father's property (15:30).

John · 1

  1. John 2:17 καταφάγεταί will consume

    His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”

    Here: Literally "eat down, devour completely", the way fire or a wild animal consumes. John uses the future tense, where the Psalm has the past: this zeal will destroy Jesus, which points ahead to his death.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:20 κατεσθίει, devours [you],

    In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.

    Here: To eat someone up, that is, to consume their resources. In context this most likely means living off the church's money and hospitality (contrast 11:7–9). 'You' is understood, not written.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 5:15 κατεσθίετε, devour,

    But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

    Here: 'You are devouring': eating something up completely, the way a wild animal tears up its prey. This is one step past biting. Here it is not a wound but the destruction of the other person.

Revelation · 5

  1. Revelation 10:9 κατάφαγε do eat

    And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

    Here: A stronger word than plain 'eat'. The prefix kata- gives the sense 'eat it all up, eat it down', so John is to swallow the whole scroll and keep none of it back. The KJV's 'eat it up' catches this.

  2. Revelation 10:10 κατέφαγον I ate

    So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.

    Here: 'I ate it up', 'I devoured it.' The prefix κατα- makes the eating complete: nothing is left. Again it repeats the angel's command (κατάφαγε, 10:9) exactly.

  3. Revelation 11:5 κατεσθίει devours

    If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.

    Here: 'Eats up completely'. This is the biblical idiom of fire 'eating' what it burns, the same verb the Greek Old Testament uses when fire consumes Elijah's attackers.

  4. Revelation 12:4 καταφάγῃ. he may devour.

    His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, hurling them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.

    Here: 'He might devour', eat up entirely. The prefix kata- makes 'eat' complete and destructive. It is the language of a predator, and of tyrant-monsters who 'swallow' God's people (Jer 51:34).

  5. Revelation 20:9 κατέφαγεν devoured

    And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

    Here: 'Ate them up.' It is a vivid image of total destruction. It repeats almost word for word the Greek of 2 Kings 1:10, 12: 'fire came down out of heaven and devoured him and his fifty.'

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.