The Hebrew noun oklah (אׇכְלָה) means "food, eating" — the thing that is eaten, or the act of eating. It is a feminine noun derived from the root akal (H398, to eat). The word appears multiple times in the Pentateuch and prophets, often in the phrase le-oklah ("for food") describing what is given or taken as sustenance.
In Genesis 1:29–30, God provides vegetation as oklah — food — for humans and animals alike, expressing His role as provider and sustainer of life. The creation narrative frames food as gift, establishing a theology of provision that runs through all of Scripture. In prophetic literature, oklah appears in judgment contexts — destruction described as being "consumed" or "given for food." But the greater trajectory of Scripture moves from Eden's provision to the eschatological feast (Isaiah 25:6), where God spreads a banquet for all peoples. Jesus invoked this imagery in the Last Supper and the feeding of the multitudes.