BIBLICAL INDEX References to fasting in Old Testament Scripture, whether full or partial, are given in order.
Abraham's servant seeking a bride for Isaac
"And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on." (Genesis 24:33)Moses' first period of forty days on Sinai
"And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." (Exodus 34:28)On the day of Atonement
"(29)And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: (31)It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever." (Leviticus 16:29,31)Until the sheaf of the wave offering was offered
"And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings." (Leviticus 23:14)On the day of Atonement
"(27)Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (32)It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." (Leviticus 23:27,32)The law of the Nazarite
"(3)He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. (4)All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk." (Numbers 6:3-4)On the day of Atonement
"And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein:" (Numbers 29:7).Moses' two periods of forty days on Sinai
"(9)When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: (18)And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." (Deuteronomy 9:9,18)By Israel after their defeat by Benjamin
"Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD." (Judges 20:26)Hannah's prayer for a child
"(7)And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. (8)Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?" (I Samuel 1:7-8).At Mizpeh under Samuel
"And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh." (I Samuel 7:6)Saul's curse uttered in battle
"(24)And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. (25)And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. (26)And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. (27)But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. (28)Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. (29)Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. (30)How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?" (I Samuel 14:24-30).Jonathan grieved at Saul's hatred of David
"So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame." (I Samuel 20:34)Saul before his death in battle
"Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night." (I Samuel 28:20)Egyptian servant David found in the field
"(11)And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; (12)And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights." (I Samuel 30:11-12)By those that buried Saul and his sons
"And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days." (I Samuel 31:13)By David and his men at news of Saul's death
"And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword." (II Samuel 1:12)By David at Abner's death
"And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down." (II Samuel 3:35)Uriah's self-discipline in time of battle
"And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing." (II Samuel 11:11)By David for the child of Bathsheba
"(16)David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. (17)And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. (18)And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? (19)But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. (20)Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. (21)Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. (22)And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? (23)But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (II Samuel 12:16-23)By prophet who cried against altar at Bethel
"(8)And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: (9)For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. (10)So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. (11)Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. (12)And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. (13)And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, (14)And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. (15)Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. (16)And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: (17)For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. (18)He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. (19)So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. (20)And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: (21)And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, (22)But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. (23)And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. (24)And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase." (I Kings 13:8-24)Elijah's restricted diet at Cherith and Zarephath
"(6)And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. (14)For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. (15)And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. (16)And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah." (I Kings 17:6,14-16)By Elijah on his journey to Horeb
"And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God." (I Kings 19:8)By Ahab after Naboth's refusal
"(4)And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. (5)But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" (I Kings 21:4-5).When Naboth was set on high at Jezebel's instigation
"(9)And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: (12)They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people." (I Kings 21:9,12)By Ahab in self-humiliation
"And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly." (I Kings 21:27)By those who buried Saul and his sons
"They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days." (I Chronicles 10:12)Proclaimed by Jehoshaphat before battle
"And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." (II Chronicles 20:3)Proclaimed by Ezra at the river Ahava
"(21)Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. (22)For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. (23)So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us." (Ezra 8:21-23)Ezra mourning for the faithlessness of the exiles
"And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God," (Ezra 9:5).Ezra mourning for the faithlessness of the exiles
"Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away." (Ezra 10:6)By Nehemiah for the restoration of Jerusalem
"And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven," (Nehemiah 1:4).By people of Jerusalem, confessing their sins
"Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them." (Nehemiah 9:1)By the Jews following Haman's decree
"And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes." (Esther 4:3)Called by Esther before audience with the king
"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)In connection with the feast of Purim
"To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry." (Esther 9:31)As a result of pain or sickness
"(19)He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: (20)So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat." (Job 33:19-20)David on behalf of others who were sick
"But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom." (Psalm 35:13)When the Psalmist's tears became his food
"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalm 42:3).The cause of David being reproached
"When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach." (Psalm 69:10)The Psalmist forgets food in his affliction
"My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread." (Psalm 102:4)As a result of sickness
"(17)Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. (18)Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death." (Psalm 107:17-18)The cause of David's physical weakness
"My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness." (Psalm 109:24)The kind of fasting which pleases God
"(1)Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (2)Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. (3)Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. (4)Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (5)Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? (6)Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (7)Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (8)Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. (9)Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (10)And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (11)And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (12)And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (13)If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: (14)Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 58:1- 14)That which is unacceptable to God
"When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." (Jeremiah 14:12)Baruch reading Jeremiah's scroll on a fast day
"(6)Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. (9)And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem." (Jeremiah 36:6,9)Daniel and his companions refuse the king's food
"(12)Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. (13)Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. (14)So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. (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. (16)Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse." (Daniel 1:12-16)Darius when Daniel was in the lions' den
"Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him." (Daniel 6:18)Daniel praying for Jerusalem
"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:" (Daniel 9:3).Daniel's three weeks' partial fast
"(2)In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. (3)I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." (Daniel 10:2-3)In view of the day of the Lord
"Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD," (Joel 1:14).When returning to God with all the heart
"Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:" (Joel 2:12).Proclaimed by blowing a trumpet in Zion
"Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:" (Joel 2:15).Proclaimed by the people and king of Nineveh
"(5)So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. (6)For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. (7)And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8)But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. (9)Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" (Jonah 3:5-9).With mourning in the fifth and seventh months
"(3)And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? (4)Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, (5)Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" (Zechariah 7:3-5).Kept in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months
"Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace." (Zechariah 8:19)