Greek word · G4906

συνεσθίω

synesthiō

to eat with

'To eat together with', to share a meal. In the ancient Mediterranean a shared table was a public statement of acceptance, friendship and belonging. Who you ate with signalled who you counted as your own.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

συν-εσθίω

[in LXX: Genesis 43:32, Exodus 18:12 (אָכַל), 2 Kings 12:17 (בָּרָה), Psalms 101:5 * ;]

to eat with one: with dative of person(s), Luke 15:2, Acts 10:41 11:3, 1 Corinthians 5:11; before μετά, with genitive of person(s), Galatians 2:12.†

(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 1 Corinthians 5:11

Range of meaning

'To eat together with', to share a meal. In the ancient Mediterranean a shared table was a public statement of acceptance, friendship and belonging. Who you ate with signalled who you counted as your own.

Against the English

All English versions render it 'eat (with)'. The English is accurate, but modern readers may not feel how much a shared meal meant socially.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 15:2 ('this man welcomes sinners and eats with them'); Acts 11:3; Gal 2:12 (Peter withdrawing from eating with Gentiles). In Corinth, believers met in homes for meals that included the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:20–34). Qumran's Community Rule disciplined members by barring them from the common meal.

From the study of Galatians 2:12

Range of meaning

'To eat together with someone.' In the ancient Mediterranean world a shared meal was never just about food. It signalled acceptance, friendship and belonging to the same group.

Against the English

'Eat with' is accurate. Modern readers, though, may hear a casual lunch. The Greek imperfect ('he was eating', 'he used to eat') shows a settled, regular habit, which BSB's 'used to eat' and YLT's 'was eating' bring out.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same verb carries the charge against Peter in Acts 11:3: 'You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them' (synephages). It is used of Jesus' scandalous meals with 'sinners' (Luke 15:2). In 1 Cor 5:11 it marks community boundaries ('not even to eat with such a one'). Jewish texts show that whether, and how, to eat with Gentiles was a live issue: Jubilees 22:16 ('separate yourself from the nations, and do not eat with them'); Joseph and Aseneth 7:1 (Joseph eats at a separate table); Daniel 1:8, Judith 12:1–4, Tobit 1:10–11. Pagan writers noticed it too: Tacitus (Histories 5.5) says Jews are 'separate at meals'.

From the study of Acts 10:41

Range of meaning

To eat together with someone, sharing a meal and table. In Jewish and Greco-Roman culture this was a mark of close fellowship and acceptance. Paired with sympinō (G4844, 'to drink with'), it means full table fellowship.

Against the English

'Ate and drank with him' is accurate. What English readers may miss is that the 'with' is built into both verbs and carries social weight: you ate with family, friends and equals, not with outsiders.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 24:37-43: the disciples think they are seeing a spirit, and Jesus eats broiled fish in front of them. Luke 24:30-35: Emmaus. Acts 1:4: sunalizomenos, probably 'while eating salt with them'. Ancient Jewish writers held that heavenly beings only seemed to eat. In Tobit 12:19 the angel says 'I did not eat or drink; you were seeing a vision'. Philo (On Abraham 118) and Josephus (Antiquities 1.197) explain away the angels' meal in Genesis 18 the same way. Ignatius (To the Smyrnaeans 3.3, c. AD 110) echoes this verse: after the resurrection Jesus 'ate and drank with them as one in the flesh'.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 15:2 συνεσθίει he eats with

    So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

    Here: Sharing a table. In that world this publicly declared acceptance and belonging. This is the heart of the offence, and the present tense again marks a pattern.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 10:41 συνεφάγομεν we ate with

    not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

    Here: 'We ate together with him.' This means sharing a meal at the same table, the closest kind of social contact, and it shows his body was really there. The same verb is used against Peter in 11:3: 'you ate with them.'

  2. Acts 11:3 συνέφαγες you ate with

    and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 5:11 συνεσθίειν. to eat.

    But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

    Here: Sharing a table. In that culture this publicly signalled acceptance, belonging and mutual honour.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 2:12 συνήσθιεν· he was eating;

    For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

    Here: 'He was eating together with'. The tense describes a habit: this was Peter's regular practice, not a one-off. In that culture, sharing a table meant accepting someone as one of your own.

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