meat meaning in the KJV
Meat often means food in the KJV, with a wider sense than animal flesh.
Meaning in context
Meat is often a general word for food. Genesis 1:29 uses it for seed-bearing herbs and the fruit of trees, so that sentence itself shows that the word is not limited to animal flesh.
Meat offering is a particular expression in the law. Leviticus 2:1 describes an offering of fine flour, oil, and frankincense. Read the instructions rather than assuming the offering consists of flesh.
The word can also be figurative. In John 4:34 the statement about meat concerns doing the will of the Father and finishing his work. A food sense in one passage does not require a literal meal in every passage.
KJV examples
Genesis 1:29 KJVAnd God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon 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.
Meat refers to food supplied from herbs and trees.
Leviticus 2:1 KJVAnd when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
The ingredients in this meat offering are specified in the verse.
John 4:34 KJVJesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The statement uses meat figuratively in connection with doing the Father’s will.
First exact-word occurrence
Genesis 1:29 KJVAnd God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon 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.
This is the earliest occurrence of this exact English spelling in canonical KJV Bible order. A related word form, a subject, or a person may appear earlier.
Find every occurrence
The exact English word meat appears 290 times in 274 KJV verses. Counts ignore letter case and exclude other spellings and word forms.
Explore all meat occurrences in Word StudyFor original-language details, select the word in the particular chapter. A word can represent different terms or constructions in different verses.
Related word studies
Study method
These explanations are separate study notes. Every Scripture quotation above is copied from the existing KJV chapter text. Read the whole chapter and compare the setting before applying a meaning to another occurrence.