The act of offering thanks or being thankful, usually to God. Often connected to provision, deliverance, or God’s character. Commonly associated in Scripture with meals and worship.

The concept of thanksgiving evolves theologically throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, it is closely tied with the verb “to bless” (בָּרַךְ, barakh; e.g., Deut 8:10). The most common Hebrew noun used for “thanks” (תּוֹדָה, todah) derives from the verb “to praise, confess” (יָדָה, yadah). While Genesis bears little evidence of individuals offering thanks to God, by the time of Leviticus the Israelites had instituted a thanks offering as part of the sacrificial system (Lev 7:11–15). Thanksgiving bears a prominent place in the Psalms, both on an individual (e.g., Psa 116) and communal (e.g., Psa 100) level.

In the New Testament, thanksgiving is tied to the concept of “grace” (χάρις, charis). Most Greek words related to “thanks” are semantically connected, including the noun “thanksgiving” (εὐχαριστία, eucharistia), the adjective “thankful” (εὐχάριστος, eucharistos), and the verb “to give thanks, be thankful” (εὐχαριστέω, eucharisteō). People in the New Testament offer thanksgiving to God in worship (e.g., 1 Tim 2:1), individual prayer (e.g., Acts 28:15), and at meals (e.g., Matt 15:36–37). Expressions of thanksgiving appear throughout Paul’s writings (e.g., Phil 1:3–8). In the New Testament, thanksgiving is often a response to the redemptive work of Jesus (e.g., Rom 7:25). Texts like Luke 24:30 indicate that thanksgiving held an important part in Jewish and Christian meals.

This day, the holiest, the happiest, the most glorious of words, and thoughts, and emotions belong to you. Use them! God help you to enjoy them; and His be the praise, while yours is the comfort evermore. Amen.