νῆστις
nēstis
G3523 substantive adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
not having eaten; abstaining from food; fasting. The primary sense is one who is fasting, either through voluntary abstention or involuntary lack of food, with possible extension to a state of hunger resulting from not having eaten.
Semantic Range
not having eaten, fasting (voluntarily or involuntarily), abstaining from food, being hungry due to not eating
Root / Etymology
Compound of the inseparable negative prefix νη- (not) and the verb ἐσθίω ('to eat').
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, νῆστις referred broadly to anyone who had not eaten or was fasting, whether by choice or from lack of provisions. In the Septuagint and the New Testament, the term usually denotes a person who is fasting, emphasizing ritual or spiritual abstention from food rather than mere physical hunger. English translations often render the term as 'fasting,' but this can obscure its potential nuance of both chosen and forced hunger. The word appears infrequently in the New Testament, with parallel uses in broader Koine and Hellenistic Jewish literature where fasting had ritual, penitential, and communal functions. Distinct from terms like νηστεία, which more specifically means 'fast' as an activity or practice, νῆστις refers more concretely to the condition or state of not having eaten, with possible religious, ascetic, or practical contexts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the inseparable negative particle (not) and ἐσθίω; not eating, i.e. abstinent from food (religiously):--fasting.
Root Family
νησ- (nēstis) — not eating, abstaining, fasting
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3523-01 |
νήστεις | nesteis | ADJ.S ACC M PL |
fasting | those not eating | fasting | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3523-01 |
Matthew 15:32 | νήστεις | nesteis | ADJ.S ACC M PL |
fasting | those not eating | fasting |
G3523-01 |
Mark 8:3 | νήστεις | nesteis | ADJ.S ACC M PL |
fasting/hungry | those not eating | hungry |