Day 60 of 75 · Parables and teaching

Sh-T-Y

eshti: drink

אשתי

ܐܫܬܝ

The feel

Eshti means to drink. Eating and drinking often go together in the Gospels, and drinking comes up in anxious questions, a cold cup given to a little one, a Samaritan well at noon, and the last meal. The Peshitta calls the wedding at Cana meshtuta, literally "the drinking."

The root family

Form	Pattern	Transliteration	Script	Standard	Qala rendering
eshti	Peal verb, perfect	eshti	אשתי ܐܫܬܝ	to drink	drink
eshtaw	Peal imperative, plural	eshtaw	אשתו ܐܫܬܘ	drink!	"Drink from it, all of you" (Matthew 26:27)
shate	Peal active participle	shāte	שתא ܫܬܐ	drinking; a drinker	drinking · a drinker (Luke 7:33–34)
meshtuta	noun (m-pattern)	meshtutā	משתותא ܡܫܬܘܬܐ	banquet, wedding feast	the wedding feast: literally "the drinking" (so the Peshitta names the wedding at Cana, John 2:1)

Written ܫܬܐ, the participle shate looks the same as the numeral six, a word from a different family.

In the Gospels the verb appears in the Peal, eshti, to drink, as the imperative eshtaw (Matthew 26:27), the imperfect neshte (Matthew 6:31) and the participle shate (Luke 7:33-34).

In his voice

Matthew 26:27

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, gave it to them, and said, "Drink from it, all of you.

eshtaw menneh kulkhon, "drink from it, all of you." The imperative is plural, so the command includes everyone at the table.

John 4:7

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Yeshua said to her, "Give me a drink,"

hav li mayya eshte, "Give me a drink," literally give me water, that I may drink. The conversation that ends with living water begins with Yeshua's own thirst.

Matthew 6:31

So don't worry, asking, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?"

mana neshte, "what will we drink?" The imperfect of the root, quoted as a worried question. Just before this, Yeshua points to the birds and the wildflowers.

Practice

When you get thirsty today, drink a glass of water slowly and be glad of it. Then say eshti aloud.

Connections

ʾ-K-L, eating M-Y-ʾ, water Ḥ-M-R, wine L-B-Sh, clothing eshti: to drink

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