The Meaning of John 4:32 Explained

John 4:32

KJV: But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

YLT: and he said to them, 'I have food to eat that ye have not known.'

Darby: But he said to them, I have food to eat which ye do not know.

ASV: But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  he said  unto them,  I  have  meat  to eat  that  ye  know  not  of. 

What does John 4:32 Mean?

Context Summary

John 4:27-38 - The Rewards Of Service
As soon as Jesus opens the living spring within our hearts, we abandon our water pots. When we are saved, we must hasten with the tidings to those with whom we have sinned. First find Christ for yourself; then say, "Come and see." He who knows us with an unchallengeable knowledge cannot be other than the Christ.
The disciples were naturally astonished when they came upon this interview. They might have asked the woman what she was seeking, and the Master why He was talking to her. But they were silent; the awe of God was upon them. Their natural care for their beloved leader led them to press on Him the viands they had purchased, but they were destined to learn that the soul may be nourished in obeying the will of God. The whiteness of the harvest appeared in the crowds that were coming down the valley; but at harvest time we are sometimes apt to forget the sower who passed home without seeing the result of his labor. That is not the divine method. The sower is rewarded for his share, as the reaper for his-they rejoice together. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 4

1  Jesus talks with a woman of Samaria, and reveals his identity to her
27  His disciples marvel
31  He declares to them his zeal for God's glory
39  Many Samaritans believe on him
43  He departs into Galilee, and heals the ruler's son that lay sick at Capernaum

Greek Commentary for John 4:32

Meat [βρωσιν]
Originally the act of eating (Romans 14:17) from βιβρωσκω — bibrōskō but soon and commonly as that which is eaten like βρωμα — brōma once in John (John 4:34). So here and John 6:27, John 6:55. Cf. vernacular English “good eating,” “good eats.” I … ye Emphatic contrast. Spiritual food Jesus had. [source]
Meat [βρῶσιν]
Originally the act of eating (Colossians 2:16), but often of that which is eaten. A parallel is found in the vulgar phrase, a thing is good or poor eating. The word is always used by Paul in its original sense. [source]
Know not of [οὐκ οἴδατε]
Incorrect. Rev., rightly, ye know not; i.e., you do not know its virtue. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 4:32

Luke 10:21 Rejoiced in the Holy Spirit [ηγαλλιασατο τωι πνευματι τωι αγιωι]
First aorist middle of the late verb αγαλλιαω — agalliaō for αγαλλω — agallō to exult. Always in the middle in the N.T. save Luke 1:47 in Mary‘s Magnificat. This holy joy of Jesus was directly due to the Holy Spirit. It is joy in the work of his followers, their victories over Satan, and is akin to the joy felt by Jesus in John 4:32-38 when the vision of the harvest of the world stirred his heart. The rest of this verse is precisely like Matthew 11:25., a peculiarly Johannine passage in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark, and so from Q (the Logia of Jesus). It has disturbed critics who are unwilling to admit the Johannine style and type of teaching as genuine, but here it is. See note on Matthew 11:25 for discussion. “That God had proved his independence of the human intellect is a matter for thankfulness. Intellectual gifts, so far from being necessary, are often a hindrance” (Plummer). [source]
John 6:27 Meat [βρῶσιν]
See on John 4:32. In Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20, and there only, it is used in the sense of rust, that which eats or corrodes. Similarly, corrode is from rodo, to gnaw. [source]
John 4:34 Meat [βρῶμα]
A different word from that in John 4:32, signifying what is eaten. [source]
John 6:27 Work not for [μη εργαζεστε]
Prohibition with μη — mē and present middle imperative of εργαζομαι — ergazomai old verb from εργον — ergon work. The meat The act of eating (Romans 14:17), corrosion (Matthew 6:19), the thing eaten as here (2 Corinthians 9:10). See note on John 4:32. Which perisheth Present middle participle of apollumi They were already hungry again. Unto eternal life Mystical metaphor quite beyond this crowd hungry only for more loaves and fishes. Bernard thinks that John has here put together various sayings of Christ to make one discourse, a gratuitous interpretation. Will give Future active indicative of εις ζωην αιωνιον — didōmi The outcome is still future and will be decided by their attitude towards the Son of man (John 6:51). For him the Father, even God, hath sealed Literally, “For this one the Father sealed, God.” First aorist active indicative of διδωμι — sphragizō to seal. See elsewhere in John 3:33 (attestation by man). Sealing by God is rare in N.T. (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). It is not clear to what item, if any single one, John refers when the Father set his seal of approval on the Son. It was done at his baptism when the Holy Spirit came upon him and the Father spoke to him. Cf. John 5:37. [source]
John 6:55 Meat indeed [αλητης βρωσις]
So the best MSS., “true food.” See note on John 4:32 for βρωσις — brōsis as equal to βρωμα — brōma (a thing eaten). Drink indeed Correct text, “true drink.” For ποσις — posis see Romans 14:17; Colossians 2:16 (only N.T. examples). [source]
Colossians 2:16 Meat - drink [βρώσει - πόσει]
Properly, eating, drinking, as 1 Corinthians 8:4; but the nouns are also used for that which is eaten or drunk, as John 4:32(see note); John 6:27, John 6:55; Romans 14:17. For the subject-matter compare Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 8:8; Hebrews 9:10, and note on Mark 7:19. The Mosaic law contained very few provisions concerning drinks. See Leviticus 10:9; Leviticus 11:34, Leviticus 11:36; Numbers 6:3. Hence it is probable that the false teachers had extended the prohibitions as to the use of wine to all Christians. The Essenes abjured both wine and animal food. [source]
Revelation 1:2 Testimony [μαρτυρίαν]
For the phrase to witness a witness see John 4:32. For the peculiar emphasis on the idea of witness in John, see on John 1:7. The words and the ides are characteristic of Revelation as of the Gospel and Epistles. [source]

What do the individual words in John 4:32 mean?

- But He said to them I food have to eat that you not know
δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἐγὼ βρῶσιν ἔχω φαγεῖν ἣν ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εἶπεν  He  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
βρῶσιν  food 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: βρῶσις  
Sense: act of eating.
φαγεῖν  to  eat 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἐσθίω  
Sense: to eat.
ἣν  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
οἴδατε  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.