sitifan  +  655843 Wed, 28 Jan 09 02:00 AM http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search="eat%20of"&version1=50&searchtype=all Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Genesis 3:1 [ The Temptation and Fall of Man ] Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” What does "eat of" mean? Is there any difference in meaning between "eat of" and "eat"? sitifan Joined on Fri, Mar 14 2008 Taiwan Full Member 223 Thank you very much for your reply. Plants, Context

	Grammar Geek  +  655848 Wed, 28 Jan 09 02:11 AM  Its an archaic way of speaking. Eat it, eat from it, eat part of it.      Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,508 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	CalifJim  +  655859 Wed, 28 Jan 09 03:06 AM sitifan “Is there any difference in meaning between "eat of" and "eat"?” There is more difference in style than in meaning, although the meaning is slightly different. The Bible is written in very old English, including very archaic "partitive" structures using "of". eat of it ~ eat some/any of it ~ eat some/any part of it. It's not exactly the same as "eat it".  That would imply "all of it". The partitive is not used in modern English except in imitation of archaic religious style. Here are others: Then the Lord said to Adam, You shall not now take of it, for it has been assigned to the cherubim and the flaming sword ... And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it ... Eve was tempted by the lying words of the Snake and desired to taste of the forbidden fruit but she was afraid to taste of it alone ... CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,128 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Styles, Languages