Other Fasts

In addition to the fast on the Day of Atonement, the Old Testament mentions general and individual fasts undertaken for a variety of purposes, including mourning, repentance, and seeking divine deliverance. Fasting was a means of asking God to have pity and relent from inflicting punishment on the person or people praying. For example, David hoped to see divine compassion over his newborn son’s life by fasting, perhaps imitating the conditions surrounding death (2 Sam 12:17–23). The Israelites also practiced fasting following the loss of loved ones. After the death of his sons, Aaron refused to eat the prescribed priestly meal (Lev 10:16–20). In Aaron’s case, the fast suggests not only mourning but also rage, as he declined to eat with God because God had struck down his sons (Lev 10:1–3; Sharon, “When Fathers Refuse,” 138).

Other passages suggest that fasting acted as an aid for prayer (Neh 1:4–10; Pss 35:13; 109:21–24; Dan 6:18; 9:3; 10:1–3). Israelite leaders prayed and fasted during wartime to ask for God’s guidance and intervention (Judg 20:26–28; 1 Sam 7:5–13) and to make requests for success in battle (2 Chr 20:3). Fasting also accompanied prayer when requesting relief from famine (Jer 14:1–12; Joel 1:14). Those fasting may have hoped their denial and anguish would produce a response from God.

Fasting in observance of Purim is often traced to the book of Esther. Purim is a two-day festival—a fast followed by a feast—to celebrate the Jews’ deliverance from destruction and their victory over their enemies. Both fasting and feasting are mentioned in Esth 9:25–32.