The primary verb for eating and consuming. It covers the full range from ordinary meals to metaphorical devouring — fire consuming a sacrifice, a sword devouring in battle, or wisdom being eaten like food. The word appears over 800 times, underscoring that eating is one of Scripture's most theologically loaded acts.
Eating stands at the hinge points of biblical history. The first sin was an act of eating (Gen 3:6) — taking forbidden fruit. The Passover was an act of eating (Exod 12:8) — consuming the lamb whose blood brought deliverance. Manna in the wilderness taught Israel that 'man does not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of the LORD' (Deut 8:3). The verb also describes God's consuming fire (Deut 4:24) and the prophets' eating God's word (Jer 15:16; Ezek 3:1). This trajectory culminates in Jesus declaring, 'Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you' (John 6:53) — transforming eating into the central act of communion with God.