ἀσιτία (asitia)
asitia
fasting
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun asitia denotes a state of not eating, covering both voluntary fasting and involuntary starvation. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Acts 27:21, where Paul addresses the crew of a ship caught in a violent storm. The context describes their prolonged suffering at sea, making this a rare instance of the word referring to enforced abstinence rather than spiritual discipline.
Its root connects to the adjective asitos, meaning "without food." While closely related to the more common term nēsteia, which typically implies a deliberate religious fast, asitia is broader. It can simply mean a lack of appetite or even sea-sickness, highlighting physical deprivation rather than spiritual intent. This distinction shows how Greek vocabulary captures both the act of fasting and the physical condition of hunger.
Translators often render this word as "fasting" or "abstinence," but the setting in Acts emphasizes the harsh reality of their ordeal. The crew had gone without food for many days, not as a pious exercise, but out of necessity and distress. This usage reminds readers that the biblical language for fasting includes both chosen devotion and unavoidable suffering.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word asitia describes a state of being without food, covering both voluntary fasting and involuntary starvation. In Acts 27:21, Paul uses this term to describe the crew’s prolonged suffering during a violent storm. They had gone many days without eating, not as a spiritual discipline, but out of sheer necessity and distress.
This rare usage reminds us that biblical language for fasting includes both chosen devotion and unavoidable suffering. When you face seasons of hardship where your strength fails or your needs go unmet, you are not alone. God sees the physical reality of your struggle, just as He saw the crew’s exhaustion on that ship.
Even in moments of enforced abstinence, His presence remains steady. You can trust that He sustains you through both the times you choose to seek Him and the times when life simply wears you down. His care does not depend on your ability to perform spiritually, but on His faithful love for you.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- time without food1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἀσιτίας1×
Key Verses
-
Acts 27:21
When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them and said, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete and have gotten this injury and loss.
This is the only New Testament occurrence of asitia, highlighting Paul's observation of the crew's involuntary starvation during their shipwreck ordeal rather than a religious fast.