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It has been the practice for millennia to fast from all food and drink upon Yom Kippur [i.e., the Day of Atonement], yet in these last days, some men are standing up to speak against it--teaching that no one need fast at all. Their argument hinges on the meaning of the phrase "afflict your souls" which makes up part of the instruction for the Day of Atonement observance. The Word says:

Leviticus 16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls [`anah nephesh], and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

Leviticus 16:31 It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls [`anah nephesh], by a statute for ever.

Numbers 29:7 And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls [`anah nephesh]: ye shall not do any work therein:

Leviticus 23:27-32 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls [`anah nephesh], and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, He shall be cut off from among His people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls [`anah nephesh]: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.

Note how serious the matter is: "...whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among His people..."

IF people refuse to, or simply cease to, "afflict their souls," they will cease to His--they will be cut off!

So, what does it mean? How does one “afflict” their “soul”?

As I often warn, be careful with word studies - it is easy to stumble when trying to walk through an unknown language. Context is key - it will affect the meaning of the words.

With context in view, let us consider the Biblical usage of these Hebrew words.

AFFLICT - 'anah

Genesis 15:13 And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict [עָנָה `anah] them four hundred years;

Exodus 1:12 But the more they afflicted [עָנָה `anah] them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

Genesis 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly [עָנָה `anah] with her, she fled from her face.

Genesis 16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit[עָנָה `anah] thyself under her hands.

Exodus 10:3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble [עָנָה `anah] thyself before Me? let My people go, that they may serve Me.

Deuteronomy 8:3 And He humbled [עָנָה `anah] thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict [עָנָה `anah] ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Psalms 119:67 Before I was afflicted [עָנָה `anah] I went astray: but now have I kept Thy word.

Psalms 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted [עָנָה `anah]; that I might learn Thy statutes.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith [עָנָה `anah].

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it [עָנָה `anah].

Daniel 10:2-3 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. ...12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten [עָנָה `anah] thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

In these examples, we see that 'anah does not solely in itself denote "fasting," but it can carry that definition by context.

But the commandment isn't simply to 'anah -- it is to 'anah our nephesh.

So, what's a nephesh? More importantly, how is a nephesh 'anah-ed? [please excuse the Heb-lish (Hebrew/English conglomeration) -- just trying to keep it simple here].

Nephesh is translated numerous ways into English. At its root is the meaning of "throat" as it relates to breathing and eating. Please note:

“In the Old Testament the term nephesh is used in a concrete way to refer to the throat as it relates to breathing and eating (gullet). In Isaiah 5:14 the word nephesh is translated “appetite,” but it really means “throat” (see also Ps. 107:9, where “the thirsty” is literally “the dried-out throat” (nephesh). The throat is also the instrument of breathing (Jer. 15:9). The use of the word for the throat indicates that nephesh expresses the idea of life and desire, in this case for food and water. The other uses of “soul” appear to be derived from this more concrete one.” (Angel Rodriguez, “Meaning of the word ‘soul’ in the Bible,” https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/theology-state-dead/meaning-word-soul-bible)

Nephesh is further defined as:

“The person as a being of desires: The need of the “soul” for food, water, and breath extends to include desires and emotions in general. In the Bible the “soul” designates the whole person as characterized by desires, wishes, even cravings. This emphasizes that humans are emotional beings. Proverbs states: “The laborer’s appetite [nephesh, desires, needs] works for him” (Prov. 16:26), that is to say, motivates him to work. The Psalmist prays, “Do not turn me over to the desire [literally, “Do not give me up to the nephesh (desire, greed)] of my foes” (Ps. 27:12)." (ibid.)

The Scripture clearly illustrates this in further verses:

Nephesh and Appetite

Isaiah 29:8 It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul [nephesh] is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul [nephesh] hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

Proverbs 23:2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite [nephesh].

Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite [nephesh] is not filled.

Proverbs 27:7 The full soul [nephesh] loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul [nephesh] every bitter thing is sweet.

Numbers 11:4-6 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul [nephesh] is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Psalms 107:9 For He satisfieth the longing soul [nephesh], and filleth the hungry soul [nephesh] with goodness.

Isaiah 56:11 Yea, they are greedy [nephesh] dogs which can never have enough...

Now, yes, Scripturally, nephesh can carry many different meanings, but our subject here however is not simply "nephesh," but "`anah nephesh." What does this mean?

The 'anah-ing of the nephesh (again, excuse the Heb-lish) is only referenced in twelve verses of Hebrew Scripture.

Of these twelve verses, four are in direct context to fasting, while six others are in reference to the instruction of how to observe Yom Kippur. The other two occurrences reference the affliction of Joseph [Psalm 105:18], and a wife’s oath to afflict her soul [Numbers 30:13].

Let’s look at the four verses that clearly connect ‘anah nephesh with fasting.

Afflict Your Souls = Fasting

Psalms 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

Isaiah 58:3-5 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

Verse 3 begins with a doublet (wherein the same thoughts are conveyed in two different phrases). Note:

“Wherefore have we fasted...” is equal to “wherefore have we afflicted our soul...”

“...and thou seest not?” is equal to “...and thou takest no knowledge?”

Isaiah 58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

And here, the afflicted soul is equated with the hungry!

Now, let’s consider the context of the six verses that reference the command for Yom Kippur [all six verses are cited at the start of this article]. Historically, how has Israel always observed Yom Kippur?

Please consider these were the people who originally received the instruction in their own native language -- they didn't wrangle with "word studies" -- they knew what the phrase meant -- how did/do they perform the command to 'anah their nephesh?

Historically, and I've seen no ancient witnesses to the contrary, Yom Kippur has always been kept by fasting from all food and drink.

For example:

Yoseph Ben Mattiyahu (a.k.a., Flavius Josephus) wrote of Yom Kippur, saying: "On the tenth day of the same lunar month they fast till the evening; and on this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins." (Antiquities 3.10.3)

Philo Judaeus likewise recorded: "On the tenth day the fast takes place which they take seriously–not only those who are zealous about piety and holiness, but even those who do nothing religious the rest of the time. For all are astounded, overcome with the sacredness of it;" (The Special Laws 1:186)

And, in another place, he witnessed:

"(193) And after the feast of trumpets the solemnity of the fast is celebrated, Perhaps some of those who are perversely minded and are not ashamed to censure excellent things will say, “What sort of a feast is this where there is no eating and drinking, no troupe of entertainers or audience, no copious supply of strong drink nor the generous display of a public banquet, nor moreover the merriment and revelry of dancing to the sound of flute and harp, and timbrels and cymbals, and the other instruments of music which awaken the unruly lusts through the channel of the ears? (194) For it is in these and through these, it seems, that they think good cheer consists. They do this in ignorance of the true good cheer which the all-wise Moses saw with the most sharpsighted eyes and so proclaimed the fast a feast and named it the greatest of feasts in our ancestral language, “a Sabbath of Sabbaths,” or as the Greeks would say, a seven of sevens and a holier than things holy. He did this for many reasons. (195) The first reason is the temperance which the lawgiver is continually exhorting men to display at all times, both in their language and in their appetites, both in and below the belly. And he most especially enjoins them to display it now, when he devotes a day to the particular observances of it. For when a person has once learnt to be indifferent to meat and drink, those very necessary things, what can there be of things which are superfluous that he would find any difficulty in disregarding? (196) The second reason is, that every one is at this time occupied in prayers and supplications, and since they all devote their entire leisure to nothing else from morning till evening, except to most acceptable prayers by which they endeavour to gain the favour of God, entreating pardon for their sins and hoping for his mercy, not for their own merits but through the compassionate nature of that Being who will have forgiveness rather than punishment. (197) The third is an account of the time at which this fast is fixed to take place; for by this season all the fruits which the earth has produced during the whole year are gathered in. And therefore to proceed at once to devour what has been produced Moses looked upon as an act of greediness; but to fast, and to abstain from touching food, he considered a mark of perfect piety which teaches the mind not to trust to the food which it may have prepared as the cause of health or life. (198) Therefore those who, after the gathering in of the harvest, abstain from the food, do almost declare in express words, “We have with joy received, and we shall cheerfully store up the bounteous gifts of nature; but we do not ascribe to any corruptible thing the cause of our own durable existence, but we attribute that to the Saviour, to the God who rules in the world, and who is able, either by means of these things or without them, to nourish and to preserve us." (The Special Laws 2:193-198)

And, in yet another, he wrote:

"(23) Again, who is there who does not pay all due respect and honour to that which is called “the fast,” and especially to that great yearly one which is of a more austere and venerable character than the ordinary solemnity at the full moon? on which, indeed, much pure wine is drunk, and costly entertainments are provided, and everything which relates to eating and drinking is supplied in the most unlimited profusion, by which the insatiable pleasures of the belly are inflamed and increased. (24) But on this fast it is not lawful to take any food or any drink, in order that no bodily passion may at all disturb or hinder the pure operations of the mind; but these passions are wont to be generated by fulness and satiety, so that at this time men feast, propitiating the Father of the universe with holy prayers, by which they are accustomed to solicit pardon for their former sins, and the acquisition and enjoyment of new blessings." (On the Life of Moses 2:24)

The NT also speaks of Yom Kippur in Acts 27:9 which it references as "the Fast."

Clearly -- Scripturally and historically, Yom Kippur is a day of fasting.

Is simply refraining from food and drink all that our Father is desiring from us each Yom Kippur? No, He wants our full submission - for us to "deny ourselves" in all ways, and "not our will, but His" be sought and performed.

This we should do, but not leave the other undone. Afflict your soul with fasting as instructed for Yom Kippur -- draw near to Him, and He will draw nigh to you!

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