FAST, FASTING (צﯴם, H7427, LXX νηστεύειν, Vul. jejunus. To abstain from food or the period in which the abstinence takes place.
I. Old Testament
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A. Psychology of fasting. Abstinence from food and/or drink in times of distress is practiced among many peoples. In Scripture refusal to eat when under violent emotions such as jealousy, anger, and vexation is seen when Hannah would not eat when provoked by her rival (1 Sam 1:7); when Jonathan abstained from eating in anger when his father cast the spear at him because of his relationship with David (20:34); and when Ahab refused food because he could not have Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:4). This type of abstinence has nothing to do with religious fasting.
Religious abstinence in Scripture often is accompanied by the putting on of sackcloth and ashes. This self-affliction seems to have as its basic psychology to say to the Deity, “I am penitent; I am not high and mighty. You need not afflict me further.” Perhaps also an appeal to the pity of the Deity is involved. The one case where a specific motive is supplied is that of David: “I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’” (2 Sam 12:22). There is the humbling of oneself before God: “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days” (1 Kings 21:29).
Patriarchal fasts are not mentioned specifically in Scripture. Fasting is mentioned first at Sinai when Moses refrained from eating forty days and nights while on the mount (Exod 34:28; Deut 9:9) and also after his breaking the tables of stone (9:18).
B. Occasions of fasting
1. Day of Atonement. By the law, “afflicting one’s soul” (עָנָה נֶפֶשׁ; LXX kakoun tēn psuchēn or tapeinoun tēn psuchēn) from morning until evening, is strictly demanded on the Day of Atonement—the tenth of the seventh month. The penalty for infraction is to be cut off from the community (Lev 16:29ff.; 23:27-32; Num 29:7; Jer 36:6). While neither the verb nor the noun for fast and fasting occur in this section of the Pentateuch, “afflicting one’s soul” equals fasting. This fast was observed by the Qumran community according to its calendar (Zad Frag 6) though the wicked priest is said “to cause them to stumble on the Day of Fasting” (1QpHab xi).
The rabbis ruled that one could not eat a quantity as large as a date on this day, and enacted other privations. According to the Mishna, Yoma 8:1, on the Day of Atonement it is forbidden to eat, or drink, or bathe, or anoint oneself, or wear sandals, or to indulge in conjugal intercourse. When the day fell on a Sabbath, the duty to fast took precedence over the normal manner of Sabbath observance (M. Menahoth 11:9).
Since this fast par excellence (cf. Philo, On Special Laws I, 186; II, 193ff.; Life of Moses II, 23; Jos., Antiq. 14. 16. 4; 17. 6. 4) came in the fall of the year, it might be used to indicate that the winter season was at hand, e.g., “the fast was now already past” (Acts 27:9 KJV). Romans considered that sailing was hazardous after Sept. 11 and that it ceased on Nov. 11 not to be resumed until March 10 (Vegetius, De Re Militari iv. 39; Caesar, Bell. Gallico iv. 36; v. 23); while some rabbis considered travel on the sea to be possible from Passover to the Feast of Tabernacles (SBK III, 771).
2. Times of distress. In addition to the Mosaic fast, Israelites fasted without specific commandment on numerous other occasions in time of distress. Some were communal affairs while others were acts of the private individual.
a. War or the threat of it. Israel fasted at Bethel in the war against the Benjamites (Judg 20:26); at Mizpah in the Philistine war (1 Sam 7:6); Saul had not eaten all day and all night before his visit to the witch of Endor (1 Sam 28:7-20). Fasting might be imposed upon warriors in a campaign (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 7:6), though the evidence is insufficient to conclude that it always was demanded. Saul issued a curse on the man who ate before evening that he might take vengeance on his enemies the Philistines. Jonathan’s breaking his father’s injunction would have cost him his life had not the people intervened (1 Sam 14:24ff.).
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b. Sickness. David fasted and wept for his son while the boy was ill, but when the boy died, contrary to the expectations of his servants, he washed, anointed himself, went to the house of the Lord and then ordered food (2 Sam 12:16ff.). The psalmist also mentions fasting for sick friends (Ps 35:13).
c. Mourning. The men of Jabesh-gilead fasted seven days for Saul (1 Sam 31:13; 1 Chron 10:12); David and the people fasted for Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam 1:12); and the custom of fasting in mourning is considered normal behavior (12:21).
d. Penitence. Calamities were considered manifestations of divine anger. Acts of penitence were therefore the way to end them. Perhaps in this light is to be interpreted the fast requested by Jezebel at which the fate of Naboth was decided (1 Kings 21:9ff.). Ahab fasted—not in vain—after being threatened by Elijah for having taken Naboth’s life and vineyard (21:27). The general fast at the communal reading of the law by Ezra was an act of penitence (Neh 9:1).
After the destruction of the Temple in a.d. 70 and sacrifice was no longer possible, fasting was allied in the Rabbinic view with sacrifice (T. B. Ber 17a). As a means of expiation it was preferred by some over almsgiving (T. B. Ber 32b), while others placed its value in the accompanying almsgiving (T. B. Ber 6a). Neither fasting nor confessing sufficed, unless they were accompanied by a practical amendment of conduct (T. B. Ta’an 16a).
e. Impending danger. Jehoshaphat fasted when threatened by Edom (2 Chron 20:3). Jehoiachim proclaimed a fast in the ninth month of his fifth year (Jer 36:9). Ezra led a fast when seeking the favor of God toward his return from exile (Ezra 8:21)—a journey likely to be fraught with many dangers, but for which he did not wish to ask for mounted guards. Nehemiah fasted when he heard of the state of Jerusalem (Neh 1:4). The Jews fasted when they heard that Haman had obtained the king’s decree against them (Esth 4:3); Esther and Mordecai fasted before she went before the king (4:16) and the establishment of Purim is said to deal with fasts and lamentations (9:31). The onset of a locust plague might occasion a fast in which all elements of the community—people, elders, children, and even the bride and bridegroom—participate (Joel 1:14; 2:15).
f. Commemoration of calamities. During and after the Exile special fasts were observed on the days calamities had befallen Jerusalem (M. Ta’an 4:6). The tenth of the fifth month was the burning of the Temple (cf. Jer 52:12, 13); the second day of the seventh month was the murder of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:23-25; Jer 41:1ff.); on the tenth day of the tenth month was the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1); and on the ninth day of the fourth was its fall (25:3, 4). An inquiry by men of Bethel concerning the validity of these fasts in the fifth and seventh month brought a reply from Zechariah that obedience, justice, and kindness rather than fasting were significant in the sight of the Lord (Zech 7:1-14). The fasts were to be seasons of joy (Zech 8:19).
h. Drought. By the 1st cent. a fast was the preferred method of appealing to the Lord for rain. If the fall rains did not make their appearance in due time, first individuals voluntarily fasted, but if this action was ineffective, a communal fast of three days was proclaimed. If no rain fell, three more days were proclaimed, and, if necessary, seven more days to make a total of thirteen. These were of increasing severity. At first eating and drinking after nightfall, washing oneself, anointing oneself, putting on of sandals, and marital intercourse were permitted. In the second period these were prohibited, and in the last period shops were closed except on Mondays after dark and on Thursdays. The shofar was blown (M. Ta’an 1:5ff). The individual could not dissassociate himself from the community at such times and refuse to fast (T. B. Ta’an 11a). These customs and other Jewish fasting practices are the subject of extended treatment in the Mishna tractate, Ta’anit.
3. Preparation for revelation. In the cases of Moses (Exod 34:28; Deut 9:9, 18) and Daniel (Dan 9:3) fasting was engaged in as a preparation for receiving revelation.
C. Length of fasts. A fast was often for one day (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 14:24; 2 Sam 1:12; 3:35) from sunrise to sunset, and after sundown food would be taken. Or a fast might be for one night (Dan 6:18) Aram. טְוָ֔ת. The fast of Esther continued three days, day and night, which seems to be a special case (Esth 4:16). Jesus also is said to have fasted day and night (Matt 4:2). At the burial of Saul the fast by Jabesh-gilead was seven days (1 Sam 31:13; 1 Chron 10:12). David fasted seven days when his child, born after his illicit affair with Bathsheba, was ill (2 Sam 12:16-18). Prolonged fasting brought on weakness (Ps 109:24; cf. 1 Sam 28:20). Moses’ fast for forty days (Exod 34:28; Deut 9:9), Elijah’s (1 Kings 19:8), and Jesus’ (Matt 4:2; Luke 4:2) are the longest recorded in Scripture.
A weakened form of fasting might involve abstinence from wine, flesh, dainty food, and from anointing oneself for an extended period such as three weeks (Dan 10:2f.).
D. Participation of beasts in fasting. The unusual custom practiced in Nineveh, including animals in a fast (Jonah 3:7), is also attested for Jews (Judg 4:10-13).
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E. Display in fasting. Fasting lent itself to external show and it is this feature of the practice which the prophets attack. The most vigorous attack is that made in Isaiah 58 when people complain that they have fasted and God has not seen (Isa 58:3). In contrast to the external display of bowing one’s head like a rush and spreading sackcloth under oneself (58:5), the fast pleasing to the Lord is to loose the bonds of wickedness, to let the oppressed go free, to share bread with the hungry, to bring the poor into one’s house, and to cover the naked (58:6, 7). Joel called for a rending of hearts and not of garments (Joel 2:13). The Lord refused to heed the fast of Jerusalem in her degradation (Jer 14:12).
II. Apocrypha
The Apoc. and Pseudep. extol the merits of fasting. Judith fasted each day of the week except upon Friday, the Sabbath, and upon certain feast days (Judg 8:6). This fast extending through all the days of her widowhood is considered an extraordinary act of piety. Jeremiah and others fasted (2 Bar 5:7). Ezra fasted in preparation for receiving visions (4 Ezra 6:31; cf. 9:24). Fasting in times of danger is attested for the Maccabean period (1 Macc 3:47; 2 Macc 13:12). Reuben (Test Reub 1:10) and Judah (Test Jud 15:4) fasted in penitence. Simeon fasted two years because of his hatred for Joseph (Test. Sim 3:4). Joseph fasted during the seven years he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife (Test. Jos 3:4; 4:8; cf. 10:1). Benjamin was born after his mother had fasted twelve days (Test. Ben 1:4). Fasting makes atonement for sins of ignorance (Pss Sol 3:8). Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness are jointly praised in Tobit (Tobit 12:8). But if one fasts and sins again, his humiliation is unprofitable (Ecclus 34:26).
III. New Testament
John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast often (Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33). Though Jesus fasted in the wilderness (Matt 4:2; Mark 1:13) fault was found with Jesus and His disciples for failure to fast. To this objection Jesus replied that His disciples would fast when the bridegroom was taken from them (Matt 9:14, 15; Mark 2:18, 19; Luke 5:33-35).
In what appears to be a paranomasia: “disfigure (aphanizousin) their faces that they may appear (phanōsin),” Jesus castigated insincere fasting of hypocrites whose mournful faces were to be seen of men. In the cases of almsgiving and praying, they received that which they sought, namely, the praises of men. He charged the washing of the face and the anointing of the head that the fast not be seen of men but of God who sees in secret (Matt 6:16-18).
The claim of the Pharisee in the parable to fast twice in the week is in excess of any demand made of him (Luke 18:12), but is paralleled in the church of the 2nd cent. in the exhortation to fast on Wednesday and Friday as contrasted to the fast on Monday and Thursday of the Jews (here called hypocrites; Didache 8:1). T. B. Ta’an 12 also attests the custom of fasts on Monday and Thursday and the pious might fast more often (Judg 8:6). A late source reports that Jews refrain from fasting on Sunday because of the Nazoreans (T. B. Ta’an 27b).
Prayer and fasting frequently are associated together. Anna served God with fasting (Luke 2:37). Certain demons could be cast out only by fasting (Matt 17:21 TR; Mark 9:29 TR); Paul fasted following his vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:9). Cornelius was fasting before his vision (10:30, some texts). The sending of Barnabas and Saul out on the first missionary journey was preceded by fasting (13:2, 3). Those on the ship with Paul in the storm abstained from food for fourteen days (27:33). A couple may abstain from conjugal relations by consent to give themselves to fasting (1 Cor 7:5 TR). Paul claims to be approved to the church in fasting (2 Cor 6:5) and lists as one of his sufferings “in fastings often” (11:27 KJV). These last cases may be cases of abstinence due to the unavailability of food which in the NT is also called nesteia (cf. Matt 15:32 RSV). Other than these cases, there is nothing in the NT epistles about fasting.
Jews of Jerusalem pledged themselves not to eat until they had killed Paul (Acts 23:12, 14). We are informed in Mishna Nedarim 5:6; 9:1f. that such vows were not considered binding in cases where they could not be carried out.
IV. The second century church
In the 2nd cent., in addition to fasts twice in the week (Didache 8:1; cf. Disascalia 5:14) which days are chosen specifically to differ from the Jews who fast on Monday and Thursday (cf. M. Ta’an 1:3-7)—a fast by the baptized, the baptizer, and other members of the community who are able, preceded the baptismal ceremony (Didache 7:4). The Epistle of Barnabas allegorizes fasting as it does the other demands of the law (Ep. of Barnabas 3:1ff). Second Clement 16:4 evaluates fasting as better than prayer. Hermas calls fasting “keeping a station,” but proclaims the good life as the real fast pleasing to the Lord (Hermas, Sim. V. 1). He speaks of a fast in which only bread and water are eaten and the money which otherwise would be spent is saved to be spent on charity (Sim. V. 3).
Bibliography I. Abrahams, Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels (1917), I, 121-128; J. F. Moore, Judaism (1927), II, 55ff.; 257ff.; SBK (1928), IV, 77-114; J. Pedersen, Israel, Its Life and Culture (1940), III, 11f.; 456f.; J. Behm, TWNT (1942), IV, 925-935.
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