ἔφαγον
ephagon
they ate
strengthened for a primary (to eat); used only in certain tenses, the rest being supplied by φάγω; to eat (usually literal):--devour, eat, live.
John 6:23 · Word #10
Lexicon G2068
| Lemma | ἐσθίω |
| Transliteration | esthíō |
| Strong's | G2068 |
| In-context | they ate |
| Literal | they-ate |
Morphology V AOR ACT IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἐσθίω |
| Strong's | G2068 |
SIBI-P1 G2068-04
they were eating
| Root | ἐσθίω (esthiō) |
| Core Meanings | to eat, to consume, to devour, to partake of food, to live by eating |
| Semantic Range | to eat food, to consume a meal, to devour metaphorically, to partake of sacrificial or covenant meals, to live by means of food |
| Conceptual Significance | Eating in the biblical text signifies not only physical sustenance but also fellowship, covenant participation, and dependence on divine provision. Shared meals mark community boundaries, purity concerns, and relational unity within Israel and the early assemblies. |
| Morphological Notes | Verb; imperfect tense; active voice; indicative mood; third person plural. The imperfect denotes continuous or habitual action in past time. Though from ἐσθίω, this form is supplied by the cognate stem φαγ- in certain tenses. |
| Rendering Rationale | The verb ἔφαγον (from ἐσθίω, with forms supplied by φάγω) is parsed here as imperfect active indicative, third person plural. "They were eating" preserves the active voice and indicative mood while reflecting the imperfect tense’s past ongoing or repeated action, maintaining the concrete sense of consuming food inherent in the root. |
AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)
Words from Root ἐσθίω (to eat, to consume, to devour, to partake of food, to live by eating)
| SILEX Code | Transliteration | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
G2068-01 |
ephagen | he/she/it ate (consumed) |
G2068-02 |
ephagete | you (plural) were eating |
G2068-03 |
ephagomen | we were eating |
Word Usage (158 occurrences of G2068)
| Location | Form | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew 6:25 | φάγητε | phagete | |
| Matthew 6:31 | φάγωμεν | phagomen | |
| Matthew 9:11 | ἐσθίει | esthiei |