What does ἐσθίω (esthíō) mean in the Bible?
Esthio means to eat or consume food. Matthew uses ordinary eating to expose boundaries, accusations, bodily need, and divine provision.
Greek · G2068
ἐσθίω
To eat
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἐσθίω G2068
Pronunciation esthíō
What does ἐσθίω (esthíō) mean in the Bible?
Esthio means to eat or consume food. Matthew uses ordinary eating to expose boundaries, accusations, bodily need, and divine provision.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐσθίω (G2068) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2068?
The BSB source-word alignment has 65 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include eat (9), eating (8), eats (5), to eat (4), [does so] (2).
Where does ἐσθίω (esthíō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:11. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (17), Luke (12), Mark (11), Matthew (11).
What This Word Actually Means
Esthio means to eat or consume food. Matthew uses ordinary eating to expose boundaries, accusations, bodily need, and divine provision. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, provoking questions about fellowship; opponents reject both John's fasting and Jesus' table presence; hungry disciples eat grain on the Sabbath; and the multitude eats from bread Jesus supplies.
The verb is common and does not make every meal sacramental or every shared table an endorsement of all conduct. Eating remains a creaturely gift and a relational act that can express welcome, dependence, justice, or exclusion. Christian tables should receive overlooked people, protect those with allergies and scarcity, resist gluttony and contempt, and join gratitude with practical provision rather than using fellowship language to conceal coercion or unsafe access.
How the Bible Uses It
Esthio names ordinary eating. Matthew's selected scenes turn meals into sites of contested welcome, inconsistent criticism, Sabbath need, and compassionate provision for a hungry crowd.
- Matt.9.11
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Matthew 9:11 records the Pharisees asking why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners. Table fellowship becomes a visible expression of His physician-like mission.
- Matt.11.18
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
Matthew 11:18 says John came neither eating nor drinking in the ordinary social pattern and was accused of having a demon. Critics reject ascetic distance.
- Matt.11.19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”
Matthew 11:19 says the Son of Man came eating and drinking and was called a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners. Critics also reject hospitable presence.
- Matt.12.1
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
Matthew 12:1 says Jesus' hungry disciples pluck heads of grain and eat on the Sabbath. Bodily need enters the legal dispute.
- Matt.14.21
About five thousand men were fed, besides women and children.
Matthew 14:21 counts about five thousand men besides women and children who ate from Jesus' multiplied provision. The understated verb sits within abundant compassion.
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 eat 9× Matthew 9:11, Matthew 15:27, Mark 7:3, Mark 7:28
eating 8× Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Mark 2:16, Mark 7:2
eats 5× Romans 14:2, Romans 14:6, 1 Corinthians 11:27, 1 Corinthians 11:29
to eat 4× Matthew 24:49, Luke 12:45, Acts 27:35, 1 Corinthians 11:22
[does so] 2× Romans 14:6
[People] were eating 2× Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28
eat [them] 2× Matthew 12:1, Luke 6:1
fed 2× Matthew 14:21, Matthew 15:38
they eat 2× Matthew 15:2, Mark 7:5
were eating 2× Matthew 26:26, Luke 15:16
you eat 2× 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 11:26
[does not] 1× Romans 14:3
[does] 1× Romans 14:3
[that] they eat [such food] 1× 1 Corinthians 8:7
abstains 1× Romans 14:6
consume 1× Hebrews 10:27
do you eat 1× Luke 5:30
does not drink 1× 1 Corinthians 9:7
does not eat [everything] 1× Romans 14:3
does not eat of 1× 1 Corinthians 9:7
eat [it] 1× 1 Corinthians 10:28
eat of 1× 1 Corinthians 9:13
eats [everything] 1× Romans 14:3
He eat 1× Mark 2:16
he eats 1× 1 Corinthians 11:28
he shall not eat 1× 2 Thessalonians 3:10
he should eat 1× 1 Corinthians 11:34
His food was 1× Mark 1:6
is eating 1× Mark 14:18
keep on eating 1× Luke 5:33
they do not eat 1× Mark 7:4
they were eating 1× Matthew 26:21
to earn their own living 1× 2 Thessalonians 3:12
to let his eating be 1× Romans 14:20
While they were eating 1× Mark 14:22
you may eat 1× Luke 22:30
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:11 ἐσθίει to eat Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 11:18 ἐσθίων to eating Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 11:19 ἐσθίων to eating Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 12:1 ἐσθίειν to eat [them] Verb - Present Infinitive Active Matthew 14:21 ἐσθίοντες to fed Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 15:2 ἐσθίωσιν to they eat Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 15:27 ἐσθίει to eat Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 15:38 ἐσθίοντες to fed Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 24:49 ἐσθίῃ to to eat Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 26:21 ἐσθιόντων to they were eating Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 9:11
Aligned rows 65
Books represented 8
Matthew 11 Mark 11 Luke 12 Acts 1 Romans 10 1 Corinthians 17 2 Thessalonians 2 Hebrews 1
Source forms
ἐσθίει 10x esthiei Matthew 9:11, Matthew 15:27, Mark 2:16, Romans 14:2
ἐσθίων 10x esthiōn Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Mark 14:18, Luke 7:33
ἐσθίουσιν 8x esthiousin Mark 7:2, Mark 7:3, Mark 7:4, Mark 7:5
ἐσθίειν 6x esthiein Matthew 12:1, Luke 12:45, Acts 27:35, 1 Corinthians 8:10
ἐσθίετε 6x esthiete Luke 5:30, Luke 10:8, 1 Corinthians 10:25, 1 Corinthians 10:27
ἤσθιον 4x ēsthion Luke 6:1, Luke 15:16, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28
ἐσθιέτω 3x esthietō 1 Corinthians 11:28, 1 Corinthians 11:34, 2 Thessalonians 3:10
ἐσθίοντες 3x esthiontes Matthew 14:21, Matthew 15:38, 1 Corinthians 10:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 11x Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Mark 1:6, Mark 14:18
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 10x Matthew 9:11, Matthew 15:27, Mark 2:16, Romans 14:2
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 8x Mark 7:2, Mark 7:3, Mark 7:4, Mark 7:5
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 6x Matthew 12:1, Luke 12:45, Acts 27:35, 1 Corinthians 8:10
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 4x Luke 6:1, Luke 15:16, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 4x Luke 10:8, 1 Corinthians 10:25, 1 Corinthians 10:27, 1 Corinthians 10:28
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural 4x Matthew 26:21, Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:18, Mark 14:22
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 4x Matthew 14:21, Matthew 15:38, Luke 10:7, 1 Corinthians 10:18
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not treat shared food as automatic endorsement, sacrament, reconciliation, or permission for unsafe relational access.
- Do not romanticize hospitality while ignoring hunger, allergies, disability access, eating disorders, cultural dignity, labor, or financial burden.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not treat shared food as automatic endorsement, sacrament, reconciliation, or permission for unsafe relational access.
- Do not romanticize hospitality while ignoring hunger, allergies, disability access, eating disorders, cultural dignity, labor, or financial burden.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Eating as participation in community meals and sacred rituals, not merely consuming food.
Strong's G2068
Lexical occurrences 157 verses Greek text appearances 65 times 16 shown below Word forms 6 forms 157 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Matthew 6:25 Source Gloss
to eat
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 65 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:11 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐσθίει esqiei
I eat
Read verse Matthew 11:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐσθίων esqiwn
I eat
Read verse Matthew 11:19 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐσθίων esqiwn
I eat
Read verse Matthew 12:1 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἐσθίειν. esqiein
I eat
Read verse Matthew 14:21 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐσθίοντες esqiontev
I eat
Read verse Matthew 15:2 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
ἐσθίωσιν. esqiwsin
I eat
Read verse Matthew 15:27 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐσθίει esqiei
I eat
Read verse Matthew 15:38 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐσθίοντες esqiontev
I eat
Read verse Matthew 24:49 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἐσθίειν esqiein
I eat
Read verse Matthew 26:21 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἐσθιόντων esqiontwn
I eat
Read verse Matthew 26:26 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἐσθιόντων esqiontwn
I eat
Read verse Mark 1:6 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐσθίων esqiwn
I eat
Read verse Mark 2:16 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
ἐσθίοντα esqionta
I eat
Read verse Mark 2:16 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐσθίει esqiei
I eat
Read verse Mark 7:2 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
ἐσθίοντας esqiontav
I eat
Read verse Mark 7:3 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἐσθίουσι, esqiousin
I eat
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 6 Aligned forms 157 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect, Future Voices Active, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 40×
Aorist Active Matt 12:4 · Matt 14:16 · Matt 15:20 · Matt 25:35 · Matt 25:42 · Matt 26:17 · Mark 2:26 · Mark 3:20 · Mark 5:43 · Mark 6:31 · Mark 6:37 · Luke 6:4 · Luke 8:55 · Luke 9:13 · Luke 14:1 · Luke 22:15 34×
Present Active Matt 12:1 · Luke 12:45 · Acts 27:35 · 1 Cor 8:10 · 1 Cor 11:22 · Heb 10:27 6×
Indicative states a fact or reality 49×
Aorist Active Matt 12:4 · Matt 14:20 · Matt 15:37 · Mark 6:42 · Mark 8:8 · Luke 9:17 · John 6:23 · John 6:31 · John 6:49 · John 6:58 · 1 Cor 10:3 · Mark 2:26 · Luke 4:2 · Luke 6:4 · Luke 24:43 · Acts 9:9 21×
Present Active Matt 9:11 · Matt 15:27 · Mark 2:16 · Rom 14:2 · Rom 14:6 · 1 Cor 9:7 · 1 Cor 11:29 · Mark 7:2 · Mark 7:3 · Mark 7:4 · Mark 7:5 · Mark 7:28 · Luke 5:33 · 1 Cor 8:7 · 1 Cor 9:13 · Luke 5:30 20×
Imperfect Active Luke 6:1 · Luke 15:16 · Luke 17:27 · Luke 17:28 4×
Future Middle Luke 14:15 · Jas 5:3 · Luke 17:8 · Rev 17:16 4×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 23×
Present Active Matt 11:18 · Matt 11:19 · Mark 14:18 · Luke 7:33 · Luke 7:34 · Rom 14:3 · Rom 14:6 · 1 Cor 11:29 · Matt 14:21 · Matt 15:38 · Luke 10:7 · 1 Cor 10:18 · Matt 26:21 · Matt 26:26 · Mark 14:22 · Rom 14:20 21×
Aorist Active Mark 6:44 · Luke 15:23 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 32×
Aorist Active Matt 15:32 · Mark 6:36 · Mark 8:1 · Mark 8:2 · John 6:5 · John 18:28 · Matt 6:25 · Luke 12:22 · Luke 12:29 · John 6:53 · Rev 19:18 · Matt 6:31 · Luke 22:8 · 1 Cor 8:8 · 1 Cor 15:32 · Mark 14:14 26×
Present Active Matt 15:2 · 2 Thess 3:12 · Matt 24:49 · 1 Cor 11:27 · Luke 22:30 · 1 Cor 11:26 6×
Imperative command or strong request 12×
Present Active Luke 10:8 · 1 Cor 10:25 · 1 Cor 10:27 · 1 Cor 10:28 · 1 Cor 11:28 · 1 Cor 11:34 · 2 Thess 3:10 7×
Aorist Active Luke 12:19 · John 4:31 · Acts 10:13 · Acts 11:7 · Matt 26:26 5×
Optative wish or remote possibility 1×
Aorist Active Mark 11:14 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 53 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 50 imperfect 3
Voice
active 53
Mood
indicative 20 participle 18 imperative 7 infinitive 4 subjunctive 4
NT Occurrences
Matthew 9:11 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Matthew 11:19 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Matthew 12:1 ἐσθίειν present active infinitive infinitive Matthew 14:21 ἐσθίοντες present active participle participle Matthew 15:2 ἐσθίωσιν present active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 15:27 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Matthew 15:38 ἐσθίοντες present active participle participle Matthew 26:21 ἐσθιόντων present active participle participle Matthew 26:26 Ἐσθιόντων present active participle participle Mark 1:6 ἔσθων present active participle participle Mark 2:16 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Mark 2:16 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Mark 7:2 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 7:28 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 7:3 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 7:4 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 7:5 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 14:18 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Mark 14:22 ἐσθιόντων present active participle participle Luke 7:33 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Luke 7:34 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Luke 10:8 ἐσθίετε present active imperative imperative Luke 15:16 ἤσθιον imperfect active indicative background Luke 17:27 ἤσθιον imperfect active indicative background Luke 17:28 ἤσθιον imperfect active indicative background Acts 27:35 ἐσθίειν present active infinitive infinitive Romans 14:2 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Romans 14:20 ἐσθίοντι present active participle participle Romans 14:3 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Romans 14:3 ἐσθίοντα present active participle participle Romans 14:3 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Romans 14:3 ἐσθίοντα present active participle participle Romans 14:6 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Romans 14:6 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing Romans 14:6 ἐσθίων present active participle participle Romans 14:6 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 8:10 ἐσθίειν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 8:7 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 9:13 ἐσθίουσιν present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 9:7 ἐσθίει present active indicative ongoing
+13 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
ordinary consumption of food, physical sustenance and daily provision
partaking of the Lord's Supper, religious observance and communal meal
table fellowship and social participation in a meal, metaphor for kingdom inclusion
reveling and indulgence, excessive consumption indicating moral carelessness
metaphorical devouring or consuming, judgment upon wealth and material excess
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 157 lexical occurrence verses.
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
Esthio keeps discipleship embodied. Jesus' meals with stigmatized people enact His mission toward sinners without making sin irrelevant. The paired accusations against John and Jesus expose critics who reject both fasting and feasting because no faithful posture satisfies their resistance. Hungry disciples eating grain bring mercy and creaturely need into Sabbath interpretation.
The fed multitude shows Jesus attending to bodies rather than offering teaching as a substitute for bread. Churches should cultivate tables where lonely and marginalized people are treated with dignity, dietary needs are respected, and those lacking food receive concrete provision. Hospitality must retain wise boundaries and never purchase access or silence.
Eating together becomes gospel-shaped when gratitude, truth, safety, generosity, and welcome meet around real food.
Anchor passage
Matt.9.11
Doctrinal connections
- Incarnation: Jesus' mission enters ordinary embodied life and shared meals.
- Grace and repentance: fellowship with sinners serves the physician's call rather than moral indifference.
- Mercy: human hunger matters in faithful interpretation of religious practice.
- Providence: Jesus receives and supplies food for a crowd from compassionate abundance.
- Wisdom: hostile critics can condemn opposite practices when their resistance is fixed.
- Church fellowship: shared tables should embody dignity, safety, truth, and care for need.
Esthio is the ordinary verb to eat or consume food. Figurative and cultic meanings can occur elsewhere, but each context must establish them rather than deriving symbolism from the verb alone.
From Old to New Testament
Creation gives food, Israel eats covenant meals and manna, prophets condemn feasts detached from justice, and wisdom welcomes the needy to a generous table.
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