Fasting (Heb. tsôm ; Gr. n’stéia ). Abstinence from food, whether for religious reasons or due to lack of food, or period of such abstinence. The OT records no divine command requiring fasting as a religious duty, except on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:30, 31; 23:27; Num 29:7; cf Act 27:9; see also Yoma tractate of the Mishnah). However, there are numerous cases of voluntary fasting for religious reasons. In such situations, he presumably reflected a spirit of willful self-sacrifice and humility before God; sometimes penance for sin. Often, when accompanied by intercession before God for specific requests, it expressed sincerity and unselfishness. The Israelites fasted after the slaughter of the Benjamites (Jdg 20:26). They did it again as a sign of repentance for idolatry when they interceded with God asking to be delivered from the Philistines (1Sa 7:6). The men of Jabesh Gilead fasted after burying Saul and his sons, apparently contrite or lamenting Israel’s defeat (31:13). David and his followers did the same upon receiving the news of Saul’s death (2Sa 1:12). Later, David fasted while interceding with the Lord for the life of his son Bathsheba gave him (12:21-23). Daniel fasted when he interceded with God for an end to the captivity (Dan 9:3). Ezra and his group of exiles fasted while praying for divine protection on their journey back to Jerusalem from Babylon (Ezr 8:23). Nehemiah abstained from food when he learned of the “great evil and disgrace” suffered by the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem (Neh 1:4). Esther did the same before interceding with Ahasuerus for her people (Esther 4:16), and invited the Jews to accompany her in her abstinence. Only rarely does the OT express the divine attitude regarding the practice of fasting. 121 In Isa 58:3-7 God rejects him from his people at a time of national apostasy, declaring that the “fast” he “chosen” consists of justice and mercy towards others. In Jer 14:12 he refuses to accept it if it is not accompanied by a reformation of life. During the Babylonian captivity the Jews had become accustomed to fasting on certain anniversaries related to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, and perhaps for the murder of Gedaliah (Zec 7:5; cf 2Ki 25:1-4, 8, 9, 25; Jer 52:6, 7), but God was not interested in these supposed external symbols of humility and repentance (Zech 7:5). Only once (Jl. 2:12) God invites fasting as evidence of repentance. Moses (Exo 34:28) and Jesus (Mat 4:2) fasted 40 days each, but under circumstances in which food was not readily available. Pious Jews fasted twice a week (Luk 18:12) -on Mondays and Thursdays-, a practice that Jesus neither supported nor censured, although he and his disciples did not observe these ritual fasts (Mat 9:14, 15; Mar 2 :18-20; Luke 5:33-35). The only instruction he gave regarding fasting was that it should not be ostentatious (Mat 6:16-18), but sincere. The leaders in Antioch fasted before ordaining Paul to the ministry of the gospel (Acts 13:2, 3). Later the apostle followed the same practice when he ordained elders in the local churches he established (14:23). There is strong textual evidence to omit the term from Mat 17:21, Mar 9:29, Act 10:30 and 1Co 7:5 If this evidence is accepted, the NT has no divine command to fast or express approval of fasting. To afflict the body for the sin of the soul is to dodge the problem and miss the true nature of repentance, since sin is a disease of the soul and not of the body. The main benefit of fasting is the mental clarity that comes from total or partial abstinence from food, and which enables a person to perceive God’s will more clearly. On the other hand, sometimes there is so much focus on seeking divine help in a time of crisis that physical needs and the desire to feed are often overlooked. The Pharisees interpreted Neh 8:10,12 to make it illegal to fast on the Sabbath (unless the Sabbath fell on the Day of Atonement cf Judith 8:6). Later Christianity made Saturday a fast day and Sunday a holiday. Hoe. Translation of the: 1. Heb. ‘Lth, “hoe”. Agricultural implement used for digging and carp (1Sa 13:20, 21; Jl. 3:10; Mic 4:3). Other related terms are: 2. Heb. majarLshah (believed by some to be a mispronunciation and spelling of jermLsh, “sickle”, in 1Sa 13:20), “pick hoe”, and majaresheth (which in 1Sa 13:21 could refer to plowshares, in hoes place). 3. Heb. jereb, literally “sword” (2Ch 34:6, Josiah “plows” the high places of some cities); the passage is obscure in Hebrew. 4. Heb. ma’dLr, “hoe” (Isa 7:25). Hoe. See Hoe.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Latin jejunum. Religious mortification consisting of abstaining from food, drink or sexual contact. Moses was with Yahweh forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water, when he received the tables of the Covenant Ex 34, 28. he was obliged to a. by law, on certain dates, on some festivals, such as for the great day of Atonement Lv 16, 29 and 23, 26-27; Numbers 29, 7-11; in the fourth year of King Darius, 518 BC. C., through Zechariah, Yahweh ordered a fast to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 BC. C. Za 7, 3-5; 8, 19. Before a sacred act, abstinence from the sexual act is requested, since this makes it impure Ex 19, 15; 1 S 21, 15. Those consecrated to the Nazirite were required to refrain from intoxicating drinks Nm 6, 3.
The Israelites fasted on different occasions and for different reasons such as due to a tragedy, such as when the Benjaminites defeated them Jc 20, 26; as penance Jl 1, 14; 2, 12; they fasted for the dead, as in the death of Saul 1 S 31, 13; 2 Sam 1, 12; David refrained from tasting food because of the death of Abner 2 S 3, 35; the prophet Daniel prayed to God, confessing his sins and those of the people, accompanied by fasting, and then the angel Gabriel appeared to explain the vision that the prophet had had Dn 9, 3 ss.
Religious practices such as fasting fell into a mere formality, external worship that God detests Am 5, 21 ss, and the prophets combated this imposture Is 58, 3-7; Jer 14, 12; Ze 7, 5.
This same simulation and hypocrisy confronts Christ with the Pharisees Mt 9, 14-15; Mark 2, 18-22; Lk 5, 33-39; The same happens in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector Lk 18, 9-14.
Jesus Christ fasted in the desert forty days and forty nights after which he felt hungry and received the first temptation Mt 4, 2.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
The scriptures frequently mention abstinence from food and drink. Sometimes instead of using the single word fast, the descriptive phrase “afflict the soul” is used, referring to physical fasting rather than spiritual humiliation (Lev 16:29-31; Lev 23:27; Num 30:13 ; Isa 58:3, Isa 58:5, Isa 58:10).
The only fast required by Moses was on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29, Lev 16:31; Lev 23:27-32; Num 29:7; Jer 36:6). Many fasts were observed on special occasions for transgressions or to avert present or impending calamities (1Sa 7:6; Jer 36:9; 1Ki 21:9, 1Ki 21:12; 2Sa 12:16, 2Sa 12:21-23).
After captivity, four annual fasts were held in memory of the national calamities that the country had suffered; they are only mentioned in Zechariah (Zec 7:1-7; Zec 8:19). In rabbinic times the festival of Purim (Est 9:31-32) was accompanied by a fast to commemorate the fast of Esther, Mordecai and the Jews (Est 4:1-3, Est 4:15-17). The OT mentions other fasts in which individuals (Neh 9:1; Dan 9:3) or the entire people participated (Ezr 8:21-23; Neh 9:1; Jon 3:5).
The fast of the Israelites could be partial or total, depending on the duration of the fast.
Daniel mourned three full weeks (Dan 10:2-3); a longer fast is mentioned in Neh 1:4; the fast on the Day of Atonement lasted 24 hours (Lev 23:32). The 40-day fasts of Moses and Elijah were exceptional (Exo 34:28; 1Ki 19:8).
Religious fasting was observed as a sign of mourning for sin, in order to deflect divine anger or gain divine compassion. The prophets frequently condemn the abuse of the custom because the Israelites superstitiously thought that it had value even if it was not accompanied by purity and righteousness (Isa 58:3-7; Jer 14:10-12; Zechariah 7-8). The fasts were not necessarily religious in nature. They were common when a loved one died (eg 1Sa 31:13; 2Sa 1:12).
The Gospels show that frequent fasts were common among those Jews who wanted to lead a highly religious life (eg, Luk 2:37; Luk 18:12). They do not record any occasions during which Jesus fasted (Editor’s Note: except Mat 4:2ff.) and only include two or three occasions on which he mentioned it. He warned that he should not become an occasion to proclaim piety (Mat 6: 16-18). Jesus also said that fasting, which is a sign of mourning, did not fit with the joy that should characterize those who knew that the Messiah had finally come and was with them (Mat 9:14-17; Mar 2:18- 22; Luke 5:33-39). On another occasion Jesus said that a certain type of demon did not go out without prayer and fasting, although the word fasting is not found in some mss. (Matt 17:21; Mark 9:29). The other two NT references deal with voluntary fasting for religious purposes (Acts 13:2-3; Acts 14:23).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
See “Withdrawal”.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Abstinence from food for a certain time. Also called a. to the period in which it is practiced. No known example of a. among the patriarchs nor is there a commandment in the † ¢ Pentateuch about a., except for the example of Moses on Sinai, where he was † œforty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water † (Exo 24:18; Deu 9 : 9). However, everything seems to indicate that its practice is something immemorial, shared by the Hebrews with other peoples and religions that emphasize a. as an eminently religious custom.
The first mention we read of a. in the Scriptures it appears in the book of Judges, when in the civil war against the tribe of Benjamin the Israelites were initially defeated. “The children of Israel… fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings…they asked the Lord…† (Judges 20:26-27). So from this moment we are mentioned a. related to prayer. On another occasion the people were gathered by Samuel at †¢Mizpah †œand they fasted that day, and there they said, We have sinned against the Lord† (1Sa 7:6). On this occasion it is the result of an attitude of contrition, repentance and confession.
a. may include abstinence from other things in…