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Psalms 50:13 — Word Study

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WLCהַֽ֭אוֹכַל בְּשַׂ֣ר אַבִּירִ֑ים וְדַ֖ם עַתּוּדִ֣ים אֶשְׁתֶּֽה׃

BSADo I eatʼâkal [will I, am I to, devour, consume] the fleshbâsâr [body, meat] of bullsʼabbîyr [mighty, strong animals] or drinkshâthâh [feast on, imbibe] the blooddâm [life-giving fluid] of goatsʻattûwd [male goats, sacrificial animals]

Word
Listen & take awayPsalms 50
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 13 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration ('esh.Teh) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Psalms 50:13quick helps
In a sentenceGod questions whether He needs the sacrifices of bulls and goats.
Who is speakingGod, addressing His people.
Where we areIn a psalm that reflects on the nature of true worship.
The hard wordאֶשְׁתֶּֽה
Take awayGod does not require animal sacrifices for sustenance.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbשָׁתָה The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Psalms 50:13

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — God's Call for True Worshipgenerated

12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

Psalms 50:13 is part of a larger passage where God speaks to His people about the nature of worship and sacrifice. He emphasizes that He does not require their offerings, as He owns everything in the world. The psalm challenges the understanding of what it means to truly honor God.


Cross References


The Key Word אָכַל, Ha.'o.khalgenerated

The verb אָכַל (akal) means 'to eat' and is used in various contexts, from literal consumption to figurative expressions like devouring. In this verse, it questions the necessity of eating flesh, emphasizing God's self-sufficiency.

The parsing as a first person common singular verb indicates that God is speaking directly, questioning whether He, the Creator, needs the offerings of His creation.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered consistently across translations, including BSB, KJV, and ASV, all maintaining the question about eating flesh and drinking blood.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The structure of the verse is governed by two finite verbs: אוֹכַל (o.khal) and אֶשְׁתֶּֽה ('esh.Teh), which frame two questions about consumption. The parallelism emphasizes the contrast between God's needs and human offerings.

The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the actions of eating and drinking, highlighting the rhetorical nature of the questions posed.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The Septuagint translates אָכַל as φάγομαι (phagomai), which carries the same meaning of eating. This choice indicates a direct equivalence in the concept of consumption.

The translation aligns closely with the Hebrew, maintaining the rhetorical questions about sacrifice.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Psalms 50:13 asks whether God eats the flesh of bulls or drinks the blood of goats. This verse is part of a larger message where God expresses that He does not need animal sacrifices, as He owns everything in the world.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does this verse imply about God's needs?

It implies that God does not need the sacrifices of animals for sustenance, as He is self-sufficient.

Why does God question the eating of flesh and drinking of blood?

He questions it to highlight the futility of thinking that physical offerings can satisfy Him.

What is the significance of the sacrifices mentioned?

The sacrifices are meant to symbolize devotion and gratitude, but God desires true worship over mere ritual.

How does this verse relate to the overall theme of Psalms 50?

It relates by emphasizing that true worship is not about rituals but about the heart's condition before God.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does it mean to you that God does not require sacrifices for sustenance?
  2. How can you ensure that your worship is genuine and not just ritualistic?
  3. In what ways can you express gratitude to God beyond traditional offerings?
  4. How does understanding God's self-sufficiency change your perspective on worship?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Augustine of Hippo references this verse to illustrate God's point about the futility of thinking He needs sacrifices, as seen in his work on Psalms 50.

Augustine of HippoExposition on Psalms 50 354–430
Why then dost still think of your flocks? "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or shall I drink the blood of he-goats?" [Psalms 50:13].
Early Church Fathers on Psalms 50 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Psalms 50:13 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?] That is, express a pleasure, take delight and satisfaction, in such kind of sacrifices, which can never take away sin: no, I will not;

Read John Gill on Psalms 50 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 50 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

If I did want anything, hast thou such carnal and gross conceptions of me, that I need or delight in the blood of brute creature.

Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 50 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psalms 50:13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?Ver. 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, &c.?] q.d. Are you so thick brained as to think so? Vervecum in patria, crassoque sub aere nati? No; "He that killeth an ox" (unless he kill his corruptions too) "is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb" (unless he see his own guilt, and be carried out to the immaculate Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world) is "as if he cut off a dog’ s neck; he that offereth an oblation" (unless therewith he offer up himself for a whole burnt sacrifice, Romans 12:1) is "as if he offered swine’ s blood; he that burneth incense" (unless he lift up holy hands in prayer…

Read John Trapp on Psalms 50 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9-18) Notice the fine tone of irony that pervades this rebuke, the best weapon against ritualistic errors.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 50 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls] Can ye be so simple as to suppose that I appointed such sacrifices for my own gratification? All these were significative of a spiritual worship, and of the sacrifice of that Lamb of God which, in the fulness of time, was to take away, in an atoning manner, the sin of the world.

Read AdamClarke on Psalms 50 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. Such a gross and material notion of sacrifice was common in heathen countries, and the survival of the phrase ‘bread’ or ‘food of Jehovah’ seems to indicate that it once existed even in Israel. See Leviticus 3:11; Leviticus 21:6; Leviticus 21:8; Leviticus 21:17; Leviticus 21:21; &c. See Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, p. 207.

Read Cambridge on Psalms 50 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? - This is said to show still further the absurdity of the views which seem to have prevailed among those who offered sacrifices.

Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 50 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

NETBNew English Translation2006

Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats?

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?

RVARevised Version, American1894

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Will I eate the flesh of bulles? or drinke the blood of goates?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Should I eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Do I eat the flesh of bulls, And drink the blood of he-goats?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Do I eat the flesh of bulls, || And drink the blood of male goats?

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

Do I eat the flesh of fatted bulls, or drink the blood of he-goats?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Am I to take the flesh of the ox for my food, or the blood of goats for my drink?

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseהַֽ֭doclauseclauseverbאוֹכַלI.eat?noun phrase · objectבְּשַׂ֣ר[the].fleshאַבִּירִ֑יםof.mighty.[bulls]וְand.[the]clausenoun phrase · objectדַ֖םbloodעַתּוּדִ֣יםof.goatsverbאֶשְׁתֶּֽהdo.I.drink?

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree in their wording for this verse, with all six words matched in the Septuagint, indicating a consistent transmission of the text.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

הַֽ֭אוֹכַל בְּשַׂ֣ר אַבִּירִ֑ים וְדַ֖ם עַתּוּדִ֣ים אֶשְׁתֶּֽה׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
הַֽ֭אוֹכַלφάγομαιבְּשַׂ֣רκρέαאַבִּירִ֑יםταύρωνוְדַ֖םαἷμαעַתּוּדִ֣יםτράγωνאֶשְׁתֶּֽה׃πίομαι

6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Psalms 50:13אָכַל¿ do I eat¿ do I eatאָכַלבָּשָׂר[the] flesh[the] flesh ofבָּשָׂראָבִּירmighty [bulmighty [bulls]אָבִּירדָּםand [the] band [the] bloodדָּםעַתּוּדgoatsgoatsעַתּוּדשָׁתָהdo I drink?do I drink?שָׁתָהבָּשַׂרto bear tito bear tidingsבָּשַׂרדָּמַםto silenceto silence: staדָּמַםעָתֹדbe readybe readyעָתֹדאָבִירmightymightyאָבִירשָׁקָהto water: to water: waterשָׁקָהשָׁתָהto drinkto drinkשָׁתָהלֶ֫חֶםfoodfoodלֶ֫חֶםעוֹרskinskinעוֹרעֶ֫צֶםboneboneעֶ֫צֶםדַּהֲרָהrushingrushingדַּהֲרָהפַּרbullockbullockפַּרזָרַקto scatterto scatterזָרַקנָקִיinnocentinnocentנָקִיכֶּ֫בֶשׂlamblambכֶּ֫בֶשׂאַ֫יִלramramאַ֫יִלשֵׁכָרstrong dristrong drinkשֵׁכָריַ֫יִןwinewineיַ֫יִן
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Psalms 50:13

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
הַֽ֭אוֹכַלHa.'o.khal ¿ do I eat H398 Particle · verb qal imperfect first person common singular
810× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to eat or devour, and it's used in many stories, including when Jesus fed the 5000 with fish and bread in the book of Matthew. It's about taking in nourishment and being satisfied.
Amplified meaning
will I, am I to, devour, consume
Tyndale gloss
to eat
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אָכַל (akal) means 'to eat' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including literal consumption by humans and animals, as well as figurative uses like devouring by fire or destruction. It can describe actions such as feeding or causing to eat, and it also appears in contexts of oppression and destruction. The verb has various forms, indicating different subjects and nuances.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אָכַל 806 vb. eat

Qal

eat, human subject

of beasts, birds, etc., eat, devour

fig. of fire, devour, consume

of sword, devour, slay

in genl., devour, consume, destroy

fig. of oppression, devour the poor

Niph.

be eaten by man

be devoured by fire, consumed

be wasted, destroyed, of flesh

Pu. be consumed

Hiph.

cause to eat, feed with

cause to devoure, obj. sword

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H398 אָכַל eat .. eat, human subject

. of beasts, birds, etc., eat, devour

. fig. of fire, devour, consume

. of sword, devour, slay

. in genl., devour, consume, destroy

. fig. of oppression, devour the poor

. . be eaten by man

. be devoured by fire, consumed

. be wasted, destroyed, of flesh

. be consumed

. . cause to eat, feed with

. cause to devoure, obj. sword

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

398 'akal aw-kal'

a primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively):--X at

all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up),

feed (with), food, X freely, X in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay)

meat, X quite.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אָכַל (a.khal) — to eat.

1) to eat, devour, burn up, feed

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to eat (human subject)

1a2) to eat, devour (of beasts and birds)

1a3) to devour, consume (of fire)

1a4) to devour, slay (of sword)

1a5) to devour, consume, destroy (inanimate subjects - ie, pestilence, drought)

1a6) to devour (of oppression)

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be eaten (by men)

1b2) to be devoured, consumed (of fire)

1b3) to be wasted, destroyed (of flesh)

1c) (Pual)

1c1) to cause to eat, feed with

1c2) to cause to devour

1d) (Hiphil)

1d1) to feed

1d2) to cause to eat

1e) (Piel)

1e1) consume

Aramaic equivalent: a.khal (אֲכַל "to devour" H0399)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Part | V-Qal-Imperf-1cs — Particle · verb qal imperfect first person common singular
HTi/Vqi1cs
¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
בְּשַׂ֣רbe.Sar [the] flesh of H1320 Noun common · masculine singular construct
270× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for flesh refers to the body or a person, and can also describe living things or animals. In the Bible, it is used to describe humans and animals, as in Genesis and Leviticus.
Amplified meaning
body, meat
Tyndale gloss
flesh
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

בָּשָׂר (basar) means 'flesh' and encompasses various meanings, including the physical body, kinship, and a euphemism for male genitalia. It can refer to humans, animals, and all living things, highlighting the frailty of man in relation to God. The entries consistently emphasize its bodily and relational aspects.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

בָּשָׂר 266 n.m. flesh

of the body

flesh for the body itself

male organ of generation (euphemism)

flesh for kindred, blood-relations

man over against God as frail or erring

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1320 בָּשָׂר flesh . of the body

. flesh for the body itself

. male organ of generation (euphemism)

. flesh for kindred, blood-relations

. man over against God as frail or erring

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1320 basar baw-sawr'

from 1319; flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body,

person; also (by euphem.) the pudenda of a man:--body, (fat,

lean) flesh(-ed), kin, (man-)kind, + nakedness, self, skin.

see HEBREW for 01319

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

בָּשָׂר (ba.sar) — flesh.

1) flesh

1a) of the body

1a1) of humans

1a2) of animals

1b) the body itself

1c) male organ of generation (euphemism)

1d) kindred, blood-relations

1e) flesh as frail or erring (man against God)

1f) all living things

1g) animals

1h) mankind

Aramaic equivalent: be.shar (בְּשַׁר "flesh" H1321)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular construct
HNcmsc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
אַבִּירִ֑ים'a.bi.Rim mighty [bulls] H47 Adj
17× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
A term used to describe something or someone as mighty or strong, often referring to God or powerful animals. In the Bible, it is used to describe God's power, like in Genesis 49:24, and strong animals, like oxen.
Amplified meaning
mighty, strong animals
Tyndale gloss
mighty: ox
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אָבִּיר (abbiyr) means mighty or valiant, and can refer to men, angels, or animals. It also has metaphorical uses, describing enemies, princes, or sacrificial objects. The word can imply strength or obstinacy, and is associated with concepts of power in various contexts.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אָבִּיר adj. mighty, valiant

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H47 אָבִּיר mighty, valiant

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

47 'abbiyr ab-beer'

for 46; --angel, bull, chiefest, mighty (one),

stout(-hearted), strong (one), valiant.

see HEBREW for 046

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אַבִּיר (ab.bir) — mighty: ox.

1) mighty, valiant

1a) of men

1b) of angels

1c) of animals

1d) (metaph)

1d1) of enemies

1d2) of princes

1d3) of sacrificial objects

1e) obstinate (fig.)

אַבִּיר (ab.bir) — mighty: stallion.

1) mighty, valiant

1a) of men

1b) of angels

1c) of animals

1d) (metaph)

1d1) of enemies

1d2) of princes

1d3) of sacrificial objects

1e) obstinate (fig.)

אַבִּיר (ab.bir) — mighty: strong.

1) mighty, valiant

1a) of men

1b) of angels

1c) of animals

1d) (metaph)

1d1) of enemies

1d2) of princes

1d3) of sacrificial objects

1e) obstinate (fig.)

אַבִּיר (ab.bir) — mighty: angel.

1) mighty, valiant

1a) of men

1b) of angels

1c) of animals

1d) (metaph)

1d1) of enemies

1d2) of princes

1d3) of sacrificial objects

1e) obstinate (fig.)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj — Adj
HAampa
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Of Bashan, pasturing in a fertile region and with but few keepers, became strong and fierce, and might "compass about" and intruder, and trample him under foot. They are symbols of powerful, fierce, and numerous foes, Ps 22:12 68:30 Isa 34:7. See OX.

¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
וְדַ֖םve.Dam and [the] blood of H1818 Conjunction · noun common masculine singular construct
360× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Blood refers to the liquid that flows through the body, essential for life. In the Bible, blood is often used to symbolize life, guilt, or sacrifice, as seen in the story of Jesus' crucifixion.
Amplified meaning
life-giving fluid
Tyndale gloss
blood
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

דָּם (dam) means 'blood' and refers to the blood of both humans and animals. It is often associated with death, particularly when shed, and can also figuratively denote the juice of grapes or bloodshed. The term carries religious significance and is used in various contexts, including references to guilt and innocence.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

דָּם 300 n.m. blood

blood of man or animal

usually blood become visible

blood used with religious significance

fig. of wine

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1818 דָּם blood

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1818 dam dawm

from 1826 (compare 119); blood (as that which when shed

causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of

the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) bloodshed

(i.e. drops of blood):--blood(-y, -guiltiness, (-thirsty), +

innocent.

see HEBREW for 01826

see HEBREW for 0119

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

דָּם (dam) — blood.

1) blood

1a) of wine (fig.)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj | N-ms — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular construct
HC/Ncmsc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
עַתּוּדִ֣ים'a.tu.Dim goats H6260 Noun common · masculine plural absolute
29× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word can refer to a full-grown male goat, like the ones used in sacrifices in Leviticus. It can also be used figuratively to describe leaders or important people, like the chiefs of the tribes of Israel in Numbers.
Amplified meaning
male goats, sacrificial animals
Tyndale gloss
goat
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

עַתּוּד (attuwd) refers to a he-goat or ram, specifically indicating a full-grown animal. It can also figuratively denote leaders among people, described as 'chief ones.' The word is derived from a root meaning 'prepared' and is used only in the plural form.

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H6260 עַתּוּד he-goat

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

6260 `attuwd at-tood'

or sattud {at-tood'}; from 6257; prepared, i.e. full grown;

spoken only (in plural) of he-goats, or (figuratively) leaders

of the people:--chief one, (he) goat, ram.

see HEBREW for 06257

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

עַתּוּד (at.tud) — goat.

ram, he-goat, chief one

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural absolute
HNcmpa
¿ do I eat [the] flesh of mighty [bulls] and [the] blood of goats do I drink?
אֶשְׁתֶּֽה׃'esh.Teh do I drink? H8354 Verb · Qal · imperfect first person common singular
217× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this Hebrew word means to drink, and it's used in many ways, like drinking from a cup or feasting. It's also used to describe being drunk or taking part in a big celebration. We see it in stories like the Last Supper in Matthew 26:27.
Amplified meaning
feast on, imbibe
Tyndale gloss
to drink
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

שָׁתָה (shathah) means 'to drink' and can refer to both literal drinking and figurative uses, such as feasting or experiencing God's wrath. It is a primitive root that appears in various forms, including Qal and Niphal, indicating actions like drinking and being drunk. The lexicons note its connection to the Aramaic equivalent שְׁתָה (she.tah), but do not present significant disagreements.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

שָׁתָה 217 vb. drink

Qal 216

Niph. all which is (may be) drunk

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H8354 שָׁתָה drink

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

8354 shathah shaw-thaw'

a primitive root; to imbibe (literally or figuratively):--X

assuredly, banquet, X certainly, drink(-er, -ing), drunk

(X -ard), surely. (Prop. intensive of 8248.)

see HEBREW for 08248

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

שָׁתָה (sha.tah) — to drink.

1) to drink

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to drink

1a1a) of drinking cup of God's wrath, of slaughter, of wicked deeds (fig)

1a2) to feast

1b) (Niphal) to be drunk

Aramaic equivalent: she.tah (שְׁתָה "to drink" H8355)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
V-Qal-Imperf-1cs — Verb · Qal · imperfect first person common singular
HVqi1cs
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See FOOD; DRINK, STRONG.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Drink

The drinks of the Hebrews were water, wine, “strong drink,” and vinegar. Their drinking vessels were the cup, goblet or “basin,” the “cruse” or pitcher, and the saucer.

To drink water by measure (Ezek. 4:11), and to buy water to drink (Lam. 5:4), denote great scarcity. To drink blood means to be satiated with slaughter.

The Jews carefully strained their drinks through a sieve, through fear of violating the law of Lev. 11:20, 23, 41, 42. (See Matt. 23:24. “Strain at” should be “strain out.”)

Nave's Topical Bible

→ INTOXICATING

See ABSTINENCE, TOTAL

→ See DRUNKARD

→ See DRUNKENNESS

→ See WINE

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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