What does βρῶσις (brōsis) mean in the Bible?
G1035 names food or eating. John uses it sparingly but strategically.
Greek · G1035
βρῶσις
Eating
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βρῶσις G1035
Pronunciation brōsis
What does βρῶσις (brōsis) mean in the Bible?
G1035 names food or eating. John uses it sparingly but strategically.
Reader summary
Full entry for βρῶσις (G1035) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1035?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include food (5), eating (2), rust (2), meal (1), what you eat (1).
Where does βρῶσις (brōsis) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:19. Its strongest book concentrations include John (4), Matthew (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G1035 names food or eating. John uses it sparingly but strategically. In John 4, Jesus tells the disciples He has food they do not know about, and the passage explains that His food is to do the will of the One who sent Him and finish His work. In John 6, Jesus commands the crowd not to labor for perishing food, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man gives.
Later He says His flesh is true food and His blood true drink. The word therefore helps readers see how John moves from material provision to mission, enduring life, and the self-giving of Jesus. It must be taught by the passage, not by appetite metaphors alone.
How the Bible Uses It
G1035 links food with Jesus' mission in John 4 and with enduring life and true food in John 6. John contrasts perishing food with the Son's life-giving gift.
- John.4.32
But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
Jesus says He has food to eat that the disciples know nothing about. The word prepares His explanation of doing the Sender's will.
- John.6.27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
Jesus tells the crowd not to work for food that perishes, but for food enduring to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give.
- John.6.55
For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
Jesus says His flesh is real food and His blood real drink. The word is brought into the bread-of-life discourse's strongest claim.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It food 5× John 4:32, John 6:27, John 6:55, 2 Corinthians 9:10
eating 2× Romans 14:17, 1 Corinthians 8:4
rust 2× Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20
meal 1× Hebrews 12:16
what you eat 1× Colossians 2:16
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:19 βρῶσις to rust Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 6:20 βρῶσις to rust Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular John 4:32 βρῶσιν to food Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular John 6:27 βρῶσιν to food Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular John 6:27 βρῶσιν to food Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular John 6:55 βρῶσις to food Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Romans 14:17 βρῶσις to eating Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 1 Corinthians 8:4 βρώσεως to eating Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 9:10 βρῶσιν to food Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Colossians 2:16 βρώσει to what you eat Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:19
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 7
Matthew 2 John 4 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 1
Source forms
βρῶσιν 4x brōsin John 4:32, John 6:27, 2 Corinthians 9:10
βρῶσις 4x brōsis Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20, John 6:55, Romans 14:17
βρώσεως 2x brōseōs 1 Corinthians 8:4, Hebrews 12:16
βρώσει 1x brōsei Colossians 2:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 4x John 4:32, John 6:27, 2 Corinthians 9:10
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 4x Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20, John 6:55, Romans 14:17
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2x 1 Corinthians 8:4, Hebrews 12:16
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 1x Colossians 2:16
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask whether the passage contrasts perishing food with the work and gift of Jesus.
- Receive the food imagery as a call to life in Christ, not as a promise of constant material fullness.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that John uses food language to despise ordinary bodily needs.
- Do not claim that food imagery alone explains the whole bread-of-life discourse.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Food or eating viewed as sustenance; metaphorically, spiritual nourishment in Johannine theology.
Strong's G1035
Lexical occurrences 11 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 4 forms 11 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Colossians 2:16–23 Source Gloss
eating
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:19 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
βρῶσις brwsiv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse Matthew 6:20 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
βρῶσις brwsiv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse John 4:32 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
βρῶσιν brwsin
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse John 6:27 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
βρῶσιν brwsin
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse John 6:27 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
βρῶσιν brwsin
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse John 6:55 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
βρῶσις, brwsiv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse Romans 14:17 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
βρῶσις brwsiv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse 1 Corinthians 8:4 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
βρώσεως brwsewv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:10 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
βρῶσιν brwsin
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse Colossians 2:16 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
βρώσει brwsei
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verse Hebrews 12:16 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
βρώσεως brwsewv
eating, food, a meal, rust
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 4 Aligned forms 11 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (11)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 6:19 · Matt 6:20 · John 6:55 · Rom 14:17 4×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine 1 Cor 8:4 · Heb 12:16 2×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Col 2:16 1×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 4:32 · John 6:27 · 2 Cor 9:10 4×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Literal eating and drinking in context of Jewish dietary laws and regulations
Physical food contrasted with spiritual nourishment that endures to eternal life
Metaphorical spiritual nourishment, doing God's will as sustenance for the soul
Corrosion or decay that destroys earthly possessions and material wealth
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
βρῶσις is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G1035 matters because John uses food language to expose what people seek and what Jesus gives. The disciples in John 4 think in ordinary categories, but Jesus speaks of doing the Father's will and finishing His work. The crowd in John 6 has eaten bread, but Jesus tells them not to labor for perishing food. Then He identifies His own flesh as real food in the bread-of-life discourse.
The noun therefore helps teachers connect provision, mission, and eternal life. It also warns against reducing discipleship to satisfied appetite. Jesus does not despise bodily food, but He reveals a gift that perishing food cannot provide.
Anchor passage
John.6.27
Doctrinal connections
- G2307 Will: John 4 connects Jesus' food with doing the Sender's will.
- G3992 Send: Jesus' food is tied to the mission of the One who sent Him.
- G5315 Eat: the food noun belongs to John's larger eating and bread discourse.
- G740 Bread: John 6 contrasts perishing food with bread from heaven.
- G2222 Life: enduring food is ordered toward eternal life.
- G5207 Son of Man: the Son of Man gives the food that endures.
G1035 is a noun for food or eating. In John, the noun's theological force comes from Jesus' explanation of mission and His bread-of-life discourse.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture presents God as provider of daily bread and wilderness food. John receives that theme and points to Jesus as the giver of food that endures to eternal life.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain