νῆστις

From the study of Mark 8:3

Range of meaning

An adjective meaning 'not eating, without food, hungry'. It describes a physical condition: the stomach is empty. It can describe someone who is fasting on purpose, but the word itself says nothing about religion or about choosing it. In the NT it appears only here and in the parallel, Matthew 15:32.

Against the English

The KJV, WEB and YLT have 'fasting'. In 1611 'fasting' still commonly meant simply 'having gone without food', as in 'breaking one's fast'. Today it almost always means a deliberate religious or dietary practice. The BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB and NLT all use 'hungry'.

How it drifted

In modern English 'fasting' has narrowed to a chosen practice (spiritual fasting, intermittent fasting). The older general sense survives only in 'breakfast'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Attested from Homer onward for people who have not eaten, for example warriors who go into battle without food. It is related to nēsteuō, 'to fast', and nēsteia, 'a fast', which the NT does use for religious fasting (Mark 2:18–20). Mark chose the plain adjective here, not the cultic verb.

From the study of Matthew 15:32

Range of meaning

'Not having eaten, without food, hungry.' It is an old Greek word, used in Homer onward for someone with an empty stomach. It is related to nēsteuō, 'to fast', but by itself it does not imply a religious or voluntary fast.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'fasting', which modern readers hear as a spiritual discipline. BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'hungry', which is right.

How it drifted

In older English 'fasting' could simply mean 'not having eaten', as in 'breaking one's fast'. Today the word nearly always means a deliberate religious practice.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT it appears only here and in Mark 8:3. In ordinary Greek it describes a person who has not yet eaten that day.