Question 1

What does "Meat" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Meat" means "food." The broad concept of God-given sustenance. When Jesus asked 'Is not the life more than meat?' He meant all nourishment, all provision -- not just protein. The meat offering was grain and oil, symbols of daily bread, not butchered animals.

Question 2

Why did the word "Meat" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Narrowed from 'food/nourishment in general' (Old English mete) to specifically 'animal flesh,' making the 'meat offering' (a grain/flour offering) sound like an animal sacrifice. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by ~1800.

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Meat"?

Accepted Answer

"Meat" was replaced by: "food" (though this generic and undifferentiated; meat carried the sense of substantial, life-sustaining nourishment); "grain offering" (though this technically accurate for leviticus but loses the broader theological metaphor of god as provider of all sustenance).

What Does “Meat” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost