To break (specially, of bread)
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G2806 is a Greek verb for breaking, used in the New Testament especially for breaking bread. Matthew 14:19 says Jesus blesses and breaks the loaves, gives them to the disciples, and the disciples give them to the crowd.
Reader summary
Full entry for κλάω (G2806) · Open the biblical lexicon
G2806 is a Greek verb for breaking, used in the New Testament especially for breaking bread. Matthew 14:19 says Jesus blesses and breaks the loaves, gives them to the disciples, and the disciples give them to the crowd.
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] broke [it] (2), [and] broke [them] (2), he broke [it] (2), to break (2), [and] broke it (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4), Mark (3), Matthew (3), 1 Corinthians (2).
G2806 is a Greek verb for breaking, used in the New Testament especially for breaking bread. Matthew 14:19 says Jesus blesses and breaks the loaves, gives them to the disciples, and the disciples give them to the crowd. Luke 22:19 uses the same action when Jesus gives thanks, breaks bread, identifies it with His body given for the disciples, and commands remembrance.
Acts 2:46 describes believers breaking bread from house to house and sharing meals with gladness. First Corinthians 10:16 speaks of the bread the church breaks as participation in the body of Christ. The physical action does not make every meal sacramental, and the verb itself does not mean crucify or prove that Jesus' bones or body were physically broken in every possible sense.
G2806 can hold provision, distribution, table fellowship, remembrance, and communion together when each passage is allowed its own setting. Teachers should keep hungry bodies, shared food, Christ's self-giving, and accountable church participation visible rather than turning broken bread into an abstract religious symbol.
G2806 appears when Jesus distributes loaves, institutes remembrance at the supper, is recognized at Emmaus, and when churches share meals or participate in the bread of communion. The repeated action gains meaning from blessing, giving, recipients, and community setting.
And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Jesus blesses and breaks the loaves before giving them through the disciples to the seated crowd, placing the action inside compassionate provision and ordered distribution.
And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
At the supper Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread, names it as His body given for the disciples, and commands them to act in remembrance of Him.
With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,
The Jerusalem believers break bread in homes and share meals with glad and sincere hearts alongside their continuing temple life and common fellowship.
Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Paul identifies the bread the church breaks as participation in Christ's body within an argument that forbids participation in idolatrous tables.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Breaking bread, especially in liturgical/communal meals, signifies shared fellowship and covenant participation.
Breaking bread, especially in liturgical/communal meals, signifies shared fellowship and covenant participation.
to break, break in pieces: of bread, Mat.14:19 15:36 26:26, Mrk.8:6 14:22, Luk.22:19 24:30, Act.2:46 20:7, 11 27:35, 1Co.10:16 11:24; before εἰς, with accusative of person(s), Mrk.8:19 (cf. ἐκ-, κατα-κλάω).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
15 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
Read verseI break
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 14 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
κλάω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Indicates shared worship and communal meal.Acts 20:7-12
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G2806 is a small table action with several distinct settings. In Matthew 14, Jesus breaks loaves so food can be distributed to a hungry crowd. The disciples receive in order to give, and the action belongs to compassionate provision rather than to a technique for producing abundance. Luke 22 brings the verb into Jesus' final supper. He gives thanks, breaks bread, names His body given for His disciples, and commands remembrance.
The church's practice is therefore centered on His self-giving, not on the skill or status of the person handling the bread. Acts 2 describes breaking bread in homes with gladness and sincerity, showing embodied fellowship and shared meals in the earliest community. First Corinthians 10 intensifies the communal claim: the broken bread is participation in Christ's body and cannot be combined casually with idolatrous tables.
These texts deserve both connection and distinction. Not every occurrence of breaking bread is necessarily a formal communion service, but communion cannot be detached from actual bodies, reconciled fellowship, and responsible participation. Churches should ensure access for disabled people and those with allergies, address hunger and exclusion, protect children and vulnerable adults, and avoid turning table control into spiritual power.
G2806 directs attention from bread in hand to Christ's gift and the people among whom it is shared.
Luke.22.19
G2806 is a Greek verb for breaking, with New Testament usage concentrated on bread. Objects, acts of blessing or thanksgiving, distribution, and meal setting establish whether the passage describes ordinary eating, miraculous provision, or communion practice.
Scripture's earlier bread, manna, fellowship offering, Passover, hospitality, and hunger texts form part of the canonical table world received by Jesus and the church. Those trajectories enrich G2806, but the verb itself does not turn every broken loaf into Passover, Eucharist, or a direct symbol of crucifixion.