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Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary: The New Testament Greek word: εορτη

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/e/e-o-r-t-et.html

εορτη

Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary

εορτη

The noun εορτη (eorte) means feast. It's officially a mystery where this noun comes from, but here at Abarim Publications we surmise it may have some deep kinship with the Latin hortus, which stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "gher-", from which also stems the Greek verb χαιρω (chairo), meaning to rejoice.

Feasts were a major element of Israel's social character — see our articles on the Hebrew verb חגג (hagag), to gather for a feast, and the derived name Haggai — and their primary function appears to have been similar to that of the weekly Sabbath, namely to "practice" freedom and a perpetual state of joy.

Our noun εορτη (eorte) occurs 27 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and from it derives:

  • The verb εορταζω (heortazo), meaning to feast, to make or attend a feast (1 Corinthians 5:8 only).