In the biblical context, diet refers to the food and drink consumed by individuals, often with spiritual, cultural, and health implications. The Bible provides various guidelines and narratives concerning diet, reflecting the historical and theological significance of food in the lives of God's people.

Old Testament Dietary Laws

The Old Testament, particularly the Torah, outlines specific dietary laws for the Israelites. These laws are primarily found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, where God distinguishes between clean and unclean animals. For example, Leviticus 11:3 states, "You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud." This includes animals like cattle, sheep, and goats. Conversely, animals that do not meet these criteria, such as pigs and camels, are deemed unclean and are not to be consumed (Leviticus 11:4-7).

The dietary laws also extend to sea creatures, where only those with fins and scales are considered clean (Leviticus 11:9). Birds of prey and certain insects are also prohibited (Leviticus 11:13-20). These laws served not only as a means of physical health and hygiene but also as a way to set the Israelites apart as a holy people dedicated to God.

Diet in the New Testament

The New Testament presents a shift in the understanding of dietary restrictions. Jesus Christ, in His teachings, emphasized the importance of inner purity over external observances. In Mark 7:18-19, Jesus declares, "Are you still so dull? Do you not see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then it is eliminated?" This statement signifies a move away from the strict dietary laws of the Old Testament.

The Apostle Paul further addresses dietary practices in his epistles. In Romans 14:14, he writes, "I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean." Paul encourages believers to respect each other's dietary choices and to avoid causing others to stumble in their faith over food (Romans 14:20-21).

Feasting and Fasting

Feasting and fasting are significant aspects of the biblical diet. Feasts such as Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Tabernacles are integral to Israelite worship and community life, as outlined in Leviticus 23. These feasts are times of celebration, remembrance, and thanksgiving to God for His provision and deliverance.

Fasting, on the other hand, is a practice of abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. It is often associated with repentance, prayer, and seeking God's guidance. In the Old Testament, figures like Moses (Exodus 34:28) and Daniel (Daniel 9:3) fasted during times of intercession and revelation. In the New Testament, Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2), and He taught about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing sincerity and humility (Matthew 6:16-18).

Symbolism of Food

Food in the Bible often carries symbolic meaning. Bread, for instance, is a symbol of God's provision and sustenance. In the wilderness, God provided manna, described as "bread from heaven" (Exodus 16:4). In the New Testament, Jesus refers to Himself as the "bread of life" (John 6:35), signifying spiritual nourishment and eternal life.

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is another profound example of food symbolism. The bread and wine represent the body and blood of Christ, commemorating His sacrifice and the new covenant (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Conclusion

The biblical perspective on diet encompasses a range of practices and teachings that reflect the relationship between God and His people. From the dietary laws of the Old Testament to the spiritual freedom in Christ in the New Testament, diet serves as a means of worship, community identity, and spiritual discipline.Genesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Topicalbible.org

Genesis 1:30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps on the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
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Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
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1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your often infirmities.
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Ezekiel 4:9
Take you also to you wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make you bread thereof, according to the number of the days that you shall lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days shall you eat thereof.
Topicalbible.org

Leviticus 3:17
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that you eat neither fat nor blood.
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Daniel 1:12
Prove your servants, I beseech you, ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.
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Daniel 1:15
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.
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1. (n.) Course of living or nourishment; what is eaten and drunk habitually; food; victuals; fare.

2. (n.) A course of food selected with reference to a particular state of health; prescribed allowance of food; regimen prescribed.

3. (v. t.) To cause to take food; to feed.

4. (v. t.) To cause to eat and drink sparingly, or by prescribed rules; to regulate medicinally the food of.

5. (v. i.) To eat; to take one's meals.

6. (v. i.) To eat according to prescribed rules; to ear sparingly; as, the doctor says he must diet.

7. (n.) A legislative or administrative assembly in Germany, Poland, and some other countries of Europe; a deliberative convention; a council; as, the Diet of Worms, held in 1521.

DIET

di'-et ('aruchah, "prescribed"): A daily allowance or portion of food, as that given by King Evil-merodach to Jehoiachin, king of Judah (Jeremiah 52:34 the King James Version; compare 2 Kings 25:30).

2068. esthio -- to eat
... Word Origin akin to edo (to eat) Definition to eat NASB Word Usage ate (21), consume
(2), diet (1), dine (1), does so (1), eat (96), eaten (2), eating (19 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2068.htm - 7k

1467. egkrateuomai -- to exercise self-control
... contain, be temperate. Middle voice from egkrates; to exercise self-restraint (in
diet and chastity) -- can(-not) contain, be temperate. see GREEK egkrates. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1467.htm - 7k

737. aruchah -- a meal, allowance
... allowance, diet, dinner, victuals. Feminine passive participle of 'arach (in the
sense of appointing); a ration of food -- allowance, diet, dinner, victuals. ...
/hebrew/737.htm - 6k

Luther Before the Diet.
... 8. LUTHER BEFORE THE DIET. ... As the news was circulated at Worms that Luther was
to appear before the Diet, a general excitement was created. ...
/.../the great controversy between christ and satan /8 luther before the diet.htm

Luther Before the Diet
... Chapter 8 Luther Before the Diet. ... As the news was circulated at Worms that Luther
was to appear before the Diet, a general excitement was created. ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 8 luther before the.htm

A Diet of Public Worship in the Time of Knox.
... Chapter IV. A Diet of Public Worship in the Time of Knox. "What I have ... be
it.". Such was the course of an ordinary diet of worship. If ...
//christianbookshelf.org/johnston/presbyterian worship/chapter iv a diet of.htm

To J. Tarn, Esq. , Under-Treasurer of the British and Foreign ...
... Paid for fare to Hamburg by steam-boat, diet not included, 7 pounds, 0s 0d. ... diet,
servants, and baggage fees at Stade on the Hanoverian coast, 1 pound, 9s, 0d. ...
/.../borrow/letters of george borrow/to j tarn esq under-treasurer.htm

Concerning Daniel and what Befell Him at Babylon.
... them to be eunuchs; which course he took also with those of other nations whom he
had taken in the flower of their age, and afforded them their diet from his ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 10 concerning daniel and.htm

The Letter of Majesty, 1603-1609.
... a body of armed men to close the Brethren's Houses at Jungbunzlau; and then, having
disgusted two-thirds of his loyal subjects, he summoned a Diet, and asked ...
/.../hutton/history of the moravian church/chapter xiii the letter of.htm

Preface to the Emperor Charles V.
... Most Invincible Emperor, Caesar Augustus, Most Clement Lord: Inasmuch as Your Imperial
Majesty has summoned a Diet of the Empire here at Augsburg to deliberate ...
/.../various/the augsburg confession of faith/preface to the emperor charles.htm

Home-Education.
... of mind. It refers to the proper management of the health of the child,
its diet, habits of exercise and recreation. Parents should ...
/.../philips/the christian home/chapter xvi home-education.htm

The Tetrapolitan Confession.
... Vol. XV. pp.574-576. Comp. also the literature on the Augsburg Diet and the Augsburg
Confession, especially Salig and F??rstemann, quoted in Sec. 41, p.225. ...
/.../ 68 the tetrapolitan confession.htm

The Downfall, 1616-1621.
... As Matthias was growing old and feeble, it was time to choose his successor; and
Matthias, therefore, summoned a Diet, and informed the Estates, to their great ...
/.../hutton/history of the moravian church/chapter xiv the downfall 1616-1621.htm

Diet (2 Occurrences)
... 5. (vi) To eat; to take one's meals. 6. (vi) To eat according to prescribed rules;
to ear sparingly; as, the doctor says he must diet. ...DIET. ...
/d/diet.htm - 8k

Ospray (2 Occurrences)
... OSPRAY. os'-pra (`ozniyah; haliaetos; Latin Pandion haliaetus): A large hawk preferring
a diet of fish. The word is found in the list of abominations only. ...
/o/ospray.htm - 8k

Beans (2 Occurrences)
... They formed a constituent in the bread Ezekiel (4:9) was commanded to make,
as they were in general much used as an article of diet. ...
/b/beans.htm - 8k

Ostrich (9 Occurrences)
... The Hebrew words ya`anah, which means "greediness," and bath ha-ya`anah, "daughter
of greediness," are made to refer to the indiscriminate diet of the ostrich ...
/o/ostrich.htm - 18k

Diest (10 Occurrences)

/d/diest.htm - 9k

Fig (45 Occurrences)
... Figs were used medicinally (2 Kings 20:7), and pressed together and formed into
"cakes" as articles of diet (1 Samuel 30:12; Jeremiah 24:2). ...
/f/fig.htm - 33k

Vulture (16 Occurrences)
... On account of their steady diet of carrion, no one ever has been able to use their
flesh for food, although some daring ornithologists have tried. ...
/v/vulture.htm - 14k

Nurture (1 Occurrence)
... 1. (n.) The act of nourishing or nursing; bringing up; early education. 2. (n.)
That which nourishes; food; diet. 3. (vt) To feed; to nourish. ...
/n/nurture.htm - 7k

Ossifrage (2 Occurrences)
... It was included among the abominations because of its diet of carrion. Gene
Stratton-Porter. Multi-Version Concordance Ossifrage (2 Occurrences). ...
/o/ossifrage.htm - 10k

Low (216 Occurrences)
... (superl.) Smaller than is reasonable or probable; as, a low estimate. 25. (superl.)
Not rich, high seasoned, or nourishing; plain; simple; as, a low diet. 26. ...
/l/low.htm - 39k

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