κλάσις

From the study of Acts 2:42

Range of meaning

Literally 'the breaking of the bread'. The noun is rare (in the NT only here and Luke 24:35). The related verb κλάω, 'to break', appears in Luke–Acts for Jesus' feeding of the crowd (Luke 9:16), the Last Supper (22:19), Emmaus (24:30), the gathering at Troas (Acts 20:7, 11), and Paul's meal on the ship (27:35).

Against the English

Most English versions keep the literal 'breaking of bread'. Modern readers often hear it at once as a technical name for Communion. NLT spells out an interpretation: 'sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper)'.

How it drifted

Later church usage made 'the breaking of bread' a fixed name for the Eucharist. Some groups, for example, call their Communion service 'the Breaking of Bread'. That later fixed meaning gets read back into Acts.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Jewish custom the head of the table opened a meal by blessing God over the bread and breaking it (later rabbinic texts call this the blessing at 'breaking'). Hebrew idiom can use 'breaking bread' for providing or sharing food (Lam 4:4; Jer 16:7). In Luke 24:30–35 the phrase recalls the Last Supper (Luke 22:19, same sequence of took–blessed–broke–gave). Acts 27:35 shows the same verb used for an ordinary meal among mostly non-believing sailors.

From the study of Luke 24:35

Range of meaning

'Breaking', the act of breaking something. In the New Testament it is used only of bread: Luke 24:35 and Acts 2:42 ('the breaking of the bread'). The related verb klaō ('to break') is used of bread throughout the Gospels and Acts.

Against the English

'The breaking of the bread' is a literal and accurate rendering. The difficulty is in what modern readers hear (see drift). The phrase now often sounds like the name of a church ceremony. In the story it describes what the host did with a loaf at an ordinary evening meal.

How it drifted

Over time, Christian practice separated the Lord's Supper from a full shared meal. Latin fractio panis also became a technical term in liturgy. Both made the phrase sound like a ritual title.

Used elsewhere in the period

At Jewish meals the head of the table took the bread, spoke a blessing over it, broke it and handed it round. The Mishnah, written down around AD 200 but reflecting older practice, gives the blessing over bread as 'who brings forth bread from the earth' (m. Berakhot 6:1). Luke uses the same four actions (took, blessed, broke, gave) for the feeding of the five thousand (9:16), the Last Supper (22:19) and Emmaus (24:30). In Acts the believers devote themselves to 'the breaking of the bread' (2:42) and break bread in homes (2:46; 20:7, 11).