ἑορτή (heortē)
heortē
festival
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 25 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun heortē designates a religious festival or feast day, serving as the standard New Testament translation for the Hebrew chag. It appears twenty-five times across the Gospels and Acts, marking the rhythmic calendar of Jewish life that shaped Jesus’ ministry. The word captures more than a simple holiday; it refers to specific appointed gatherings centered on worship and communal observance.
Its usage is highly concrete, often specifying which festival is in view. John frequently names the Passover (Jn 2:13; 11:55), the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2), or the unnamed feast at Cana (Jn 4:45). Luke highlights Jesus’ annual journey to Jerusalem for such occasions, noting his parents’ custom of going up to the festival each year (Lk 2:41-42). This regularity underscores how these events structured the identity and piety of first-century Jews.
Translators typically render heortē as "feast" or "festival," preserving its sense of a sacred appointment. The term carries theological weight in passages like Colossians 2:16, where Paul describes these festivals as shadows pointing to Christ. By anchoring the narrative in these real historical gatherings, the Gospels show how divine revelation unfolded within the specific cultural and religious rhythms of Israel.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word heortē refers to a religious festival, marking the sacred rhythm of Jewish life in the first century. These were not merely holidays but appointed gatherings centered on worship and communal observance. By anchoring Jesus’ ministry in these real historical events, the Gospels show how divine revelation unfolded within the specific cultural context of Israel.
For your faith, this reminds us that God meets us in the ordinary flow of life. Jesus participated in Passover, Tabernacles, and other feasts, sanctifying these times for His people. When you gather with others for worship or celebrate milestones, you are participating in a long tradition of honoring God together.
Even Paul later described these festivals as shadows pointing to Christ (Colossians 2:16). This means that while the specific rituals have found their fulfillment in Jesus, the desire to gather and remember God’s work remains a vital part of Christian life. It invites us to see our own gatherings as opportunities to encounter His presence.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 25 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- feast13×
- feast,4×
- feast.2×
- [the] feast2×
- Feast2×
- to a feast1×
- feast?1×
- feast;1×
- Feast,1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἑορτῆς5×
- ἑορτὴν5×
- ἑορτὴ4×
- ἑορτῇ3×
- ἑορτήν,3×
- ἑορτῇ,2×
- ἑορτῇ·1×
- ἑορτῇ.1×
- ἑορτήν;1×
- ἑορτήν.¶1×
- ἑορτήν1×
Key Verses
-
Luke 2:41
His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
This verse establishes the regularity of Jesus’ family life, showing that devotion to God was woven into the annual calendar of their home.
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John 7:37
Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!
On the final day of the Feast of Booths, Jesus uses the occasion to offer living water, transforming a ritual symbol into a spiritual promise.
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John 13:1
Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The narrative sets the Last Supper against the backdrop of the Passover feast, highlighting the timing of Jesus’ departure and love for His own.
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Colossians 2:16
Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,
Paul clarifies that these festival days were shadows pointing to Christ, freeing believers from judging one another based on ritual observance.