'Food' in the Bible

God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you,

for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.”

Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.

The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.

Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”

‘Bring me the game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’

So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved.

Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear,

He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food.

The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”

Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities. He put the food in every city from the fields around it.

and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

Extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.“Where do you come from?” he asked.“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

“No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said.

The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us some food.”

If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

They said, “Sir, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.

We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in the bags.”

Then Joseph commanded his steward: “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s money at the top of his bag.

But our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us some food.’

He sent his father the following: 10 donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and 10 female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey.

And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food for their dependents.

But there was no food in that entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.

When the money from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The money is gone!”

But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the money is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the herds of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

Why should we die here in front of you—both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”

At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”

Asher’s food will be rich,and he will produce royal delicacies.

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.

If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.

Then the priest will burn the food on the altar, as a fire offering to the Lord.

Then the priest will burn the food on the altar, as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma.“All fat belongs to the Lord.

Any edible food coming into contact with that unclean water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean.

“If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.

“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten.

They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy.

You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy.

“Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect is to come near to present the food of his God.

No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God.

He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy.

When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.

But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it.

Neither you nor a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”

Whatever the land produces during the Sabbath year can be food for you—for yourself, your male or female slave, and the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you.

All of its growth may serve as food for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.

You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit.

Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land.

Contemptible people among them had a strong craving for other food. The Israelites cried again and said, “Who will feed us meat?

you are to offer a contribution to the Lord when you eat from the food of the land.

The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”

“Command the Israelites and say to them: Be sure to present to Me at its appointed time My offering and My food as My fire offering, a pleasing aroma to Me.

You are to offer the same food each day for seven days as a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering.

You may purchase food from them with silver, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.

You can sell us food in exchange for silver so we may eat, and give us water for silver so we may drink. Only let us travel through on foot,

a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.

“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. You must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?

But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce food. You may cut them down to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.

“Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or anything that can earn interest.

Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.

This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and crumbly.

The Angel of the Lord said to him, “If I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.

She and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food.

Those who are full hire themselves out for food,but those who are starving hunger no more.The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,but the woman with many sons pines away.

“Suppose we do go,” Saul said to his attendant, “what do we take the man? The food from our packs is gone, and there’s no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

Then, one of the troops said, “Your father made the troops solemnly swear, ‘The man who eats food today is cursed,’ and the troops are exhausted.”

He got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father’s shameful behavior toward David.

Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel’s words and was also weak because he hadn’t had any food all day and all night.

Now please listen to your servant. Let me set some food in front of you. Eat and it will give you strength so you can go on your way.”

Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, for he hadn’t eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.

You, your sons, and your servants are to work the ground for him, and you are to bring in the crops so your master’s grandson will have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.

but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.

Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.

His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”

Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you’re sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare food in my presence so I can watch and eat from her hand.’”

Solomon had 12 deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.

Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing.

My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”

and Solomon provided Hiram with 100,000 bushels of wheat as food for his household and 110,000 gallons of oil from crushed olives. Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.

the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.

Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, ordered that he be given food, and gave him land.

and took 100 prophets and hid them, 50 men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets.

Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of the prophets of the Lord, 50 men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.

So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

So Ahab went to his palace resentful and angry because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had told him. He had said, “I will not give you my fathers’ inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and didn’t eat any food.

Then his wife Jezebel said to him, “Now, exercise your royal power over Israel. Get up, eat some food, and be happy. For I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.

Elisha replied, “Don’t kill them. Do you kill those you have captured with your sword or your bow? Set food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and go to their master.”