Is "tasting" shallow or decisive in Hebrews 6:4?

Question

Hebrews 6:4 All ESV

"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the holy Spirit." [my emphasis]

Here "tasted" is geusamenous, geuomai comes 15 times in the N.T. as of Englishman's Concordance.

From John 2:9-10

"When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, ...'you have kept the good wine until now.'"

To tell the difference between water and wine only a taste in the mouth would be decisive.

1 Peter:2-3

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Can "tasting" be shallow and incomplete if as in 1 Peter 2:3 it does not mean ingestion but is seen as a preliminary to ingestion?

With regard to Heb 6:4 there are questions on this site which ask such questions as, "Can those who have been saved lose their salvation?"

I want to avoid the losing or not losing salvation discussion as much as possible and focus on one word. Is taste in Hebrews 6:4 shallow and superficial or decisive and sufficient?

Answer 1

The word geuomai (γεύομαι Strong’s G1089) occurs 15x in the TR and is translated 12x as “taste” and 3x as “eat” in the KJV. To better understand its meaning, I examined the other Greek words that convey the idea of eating in the NT. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, there are nine verbs that can mean "to eat." Six, including geuomai, are listed below, along with a quick summary of their gloss/usage. The words are further sorted according to the frequency with which they occur in the NT:

More common:

esthio & phago – to eat, used of ordinary food and drink; metaph. to devour

katesthio – to consume by eating; metaphor. to devour, to squander

Less common:

geuomai – to taste, to eat; metaph. to experience

trogo – to gnaw, crunch, used figuratively of the flesh of Christ

korennymi – to eat enough, to be satiated

While there is a choice of words for the act of eating, geuomai is the only verb cited by Vines as having the meaning of “to taste.” It is also the only word that, when used metaphorically, means “to experience.” Even where geuomai is translated as “eat” (Act 10:10, 20:11, 23:14 KJV), the contexts do not indicate the complete devouring of something or the partaking of a full meal (cf. esthio, phago, and katesthio). Neither is there the suggestion of a protracted activity (cf. trogo) nor the kind of eating that satiates (cf. korennymi).

The OP asks, “Can ‘tasting’ be shallow and incomplete if as in 1 Peter 2:3 it does not mean ingestion but is seen as a preliminary to ingestion?” Based on the above discussion and on the contexts in which geuomai is used, I think the difference between geuomai and the other types of eating actions is less about the depth than the scale of the experience, whether we are speaking of food/drink or something else. A taste may consist of a single bite or a tiny sip yet still be sufficient to provide a real and direct knowledge of something (cf. Heb 2:9).

Tasting is therefore viewed as more than just a preliminary to ingestion. As the OP notes, “To tell the difference between water and wine only a taste in the mouth would be decisive.” In 1 Peter 2-3, one could argue that only those who have tasted the goodness of the Lord would know to long for what is pure. More importantly, the knowledge gained through tasting can serve as the basis for both choice (cf. Mt 27:34) and accountability (cf. Heb 6:4-6).

Answer 2

In fact, Heb 6:4, 5 lists several things about those who were once Christians but have abandoned their faith, namely:

• been enlightened (an allusion to Jesus as the light of the world, John 8:12)
• tasted/eaten the heavenly gift (an allusion to Jesus as the bread of life, John 6)
• shared the Holy Spirit (see John 20:22, Acts 1:8, 2:38, 8:15-17, 10:47, Gal 3:14, 19:2, 3, 1 Thess 1:6, 1 John 2:27, John 14:7, etc.) I note especially that John 14:7 says that "the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit". Thus, any reception of the Holy Spirit is only genuine.
• tasted the goodness of the word of God (possibly an allusion to the goodness of Jesus as described in places like John 1:14??)
• tasted the power of the coming age (this phrase in unique in the NT but possible alludes the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the Christain into a Christ-like person as per John 3:5, Gal 5:22-26, 3:3, Eph 1:13, 4:30, 3:16, 17, Heb 2:4, etc)

This description of five points appears to present a fairly complete picture of the Christian life fully dedicated to God.

Two more matters about the meaning and use of the verb "taste", ie, γεύομαι (geuomai)

• the NT usage does not distinguish between a partial tasting and a complete tasting
• the same word can mean "eat" as per Acts 10:10, 20:11, 23:14. Some instances are debatable whether the word should be translated "taste" or "eat".

Indeed, BDAG defines this word with two broad meanings that boil down to literal and metaphoric, viz:

1. to partake of something by mouth, taste, partake of, eg, John 2:9, Luke 14:24, Acts 23:14, etc
2. to experience something cognitively or emotionally, come to know something, eg, Matt 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27, John 8:52, Heb 2:9, 6:4, 5, 1 Peter 2:3.

I stop to observe that all the metaphoric uses (#2 above) are full emotional tastings/eatings and experiences.

Thus, I conclude that Hebrews 6:4, 5 is a complete experience of the Christian life that has been rejected.

Answer 3

Per Strong's Concordance geuomai

geuomai: to taste, eat
Original Word: γεύομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: geuomai
Phonetic Spelling: (ghyoo'-om-ahee)
Definition: to taste, eat
Usage: (a) I taste, (b) I experience.

NASB Translation
eat (1), eaten (1), taste (8), tasted (4), tasting (1).

Depending on the context the word can have a range of meanings that indicate a variety of levels of involvement/commitment/experience. Here are some examples, all from the NIV.

Here the word is translated "taste" but the context indicates that the invited guests will get nothing of the banquet. Not even get the smallest part - a taste - of the banquet.
Luke 14:24

I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet

Here is an example of a taste being just enough to identify but not enough to qualify as a drink.
Matthew 27:34

There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

Here the word refers to eating a meal
Acts 20:11

Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.

From Thayer's Greek Lexicon

3. to take food, eat: absolutely, Acts 10:10; Acts 20:11; cf. Kypke, Observations, ii., p. 47; to take nourishment, eat — (but substantially as above), with the genitive μηδενός, Acts 23:14; with the ellipsis of a genitive denoting unlawful food, Colossians 2:21.

By "taste" the context indicates that the word "experience" is meant. There is no way of being partially committed when it comes to death.
John 8:52

At this they exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death"

Answer 4

Unfortunately, the one who tastes it does not possess the decisive authority.

Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

The term "tasted" simply means "they know". However, it does not quantify "how much they know", nor does it suggest that "they know and fully abided by it"

Using the example in John 2:9-10, only a few can determine a good wine by tasting it, while others may not recognize it or may even reject it, even the master says it is a good wine.

Therefore, the author of Hebrews uses the term "tasting" in a neutral sense. The focus is to give a warning to those who "knows" the gospel but choose to fall back to their worldly desires.