Hebrew word · H2938

טָעַם

ta'am

to taste

Literally to taste food or drink (1 Sam 14:24, 29; 2 Sam 19:35; Jonah 3:7). By extension, to perceive or judge something by trying it out (Prov 31:18). The related noun ṭaʿam means flavour, but also good sense, judgment or discretion (1 Sam 25:33, Abigail's 'good sense'; Ps 119:66).

Appears 11 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to taste, perceive, eat

1a) (Qal) to taste

Aramaic equivalent: te.am (טְעֵם "to feed" H2939)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 34:8

Range of meaning

Literally to taste food or drink (1 Sam 14:24, 29; 2 Sam 19:35; Jonah 3:7). By extension, to perceive or judge something by trying it out (Prov 31:18). The related noun ṭaʿam means flavour, but also good sense, judgment or discretion (1 Sam 25:33, Abigail's 'good sense'; Ps 119:66).

Against the English

Every major English version says 'taste', which is right. What English loses is that the Hebrew word family moves easily from the tongue to judgment. 'Taste' here is how a person finds out what something is really like.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 31:18 uses almost the same wording: ṭāʿămâ kî-ṭôb saḥrāh, 'she perceives (tastes) that her trading is good.' The heading of Psalm 34 reads 'when he changed his ṭaʿam (behaviour or good sense) before Abimelech', which recalls 1 Sam 21:13, where David pretends to be mad at Gath. The Greek Septuagint uses geusasthe ('taste'), and 1 Peter 2:3 picks this up: 'if you have tasted that the Lord is kind.'

From the study of Proverbs 31:18

Range of meaning

To taste food (1 Sam 14:24, 29; 2 Sam 19:35), and from that, to find out by experience, to judge or discern. The related noun ṭaʿam means both 'taste' and 'good judgment, discretion' (1 Sam 25:33, of Abigail; Prov 11:22; 26:16).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'perceives' and BSB 'sees' are accurate but lose the picture of tasting. NASB 'senses' is closer. NLT 'makes sure' turns finding something out into making something happen.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 34:8 (Hebrew 34:9) has the same pair, ṭaʿămû … kî-ṭôb, 'taste and see that the LORD is good.' The Latin Vulgate seems to bring that psalm into this verse ('she tasted and saw'). The Greek LXX keeps the tasting image (egeusato).

From the study of 1 Samuel 14:24

Range of meaning

To taste or sample food (2 Sam 3:35; Jonah 3:7). Elsewhere it is extended to perceive or judge (Ps 34:8; Prov 31:18), and the related noun ta'am means 'taste' and also 'good sense, discernment'.

Against the English

English 'tasted' is accurate. What can be missed is that the same verb is the hinge of the whole story.

Used elsewhere in the period

Within the chapter: v. 29 ('because I tasted a little of this honey'), v. 43 (ta'om ta'amti, 'I did indeed taste a little honey'). Compare Jonah 3:7, a royal decree that no one 'taste' anything.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 14:24 טָעַ֥ם it tasted

    Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

    Here: Not even a taste. The same verb comes back with heavy irony when Jonathan confesses, 'I only tasted a little honey' (v. 43).

  2. 1 Samuel 14:29 טָעַ֔מְתִּי I tasted

    “My father has brought trouble to the land,” Jonathan replied. “Just look at how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

  3. 1 Samuel 14:43 טָעֹ֨ם טָעַ֜מְתִּי certainly <to taste>, I tasted

    “Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?”

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 3:35 אֶטְעַם־ I will taste

    Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

  2. 2 Samuel 19:35 יִטְעַ֤ם will he taste

    I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

    Here: To taste, to perceive flavour. His palate no longer registers what he puts in his mouth.

Job · 2

  1. Job 12:11 יִטְעַם־ it tastes

    Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its food?

  2. Job 34:3 יִטְעַ֥ם it tastes

    For the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food.

    Here: To taste food. The root also gives the noun taʿam, 'discernment, good sense' (1 Sam 25:33; Ps 119:66), so tasting is already a picture of judging.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 34:8 טַעֲמ֣וּ taste

    Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

    Here: A plural command: 'taste, all of you.' It means to taste with the mouth, but also to try something out and judge it from experience. It is the first word of the ṭet line of this alphabet poem, and it picks up the word 'taste/good sense' (ṭaʿam) in the psalm's heading.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 31:18 טָ֭עֲמָה she perceives

    She sees that her gain is good, and her lamp is not extinguished at night.

    Here: Literally 'she has tasted.' She knows the worth of her trade from first-hand experience, the way you know food by tasting it, not because someone told her. The verb's first letter ṭet makes this the ṭet line of the alphabet poem.

Jonah · 1

  1. Jonah 3:7 יִטְעֲמוּ֙ they taste

    Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink.

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