Abstain, Abstinence - Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Abstain, Abstinence

[ 1,,G568, apecho ]
to hold oneself from" (apo, "from," echomai, the Middle Voice of echo, "to have," i.e., to keep oneself from), in the NT, invariably refers to evil practices, moral and ceremonial, Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Peter 2:11; so in the Sept. in Job 1:1; Job 2:3. See ENOUGH, RECEIVE.

Note: The noun "abstinence" in Acts 27:21, AV, translates asitia, "without food," RV (a, negative, sitos, "food"). Cp. asitos, "fasting," Acts 27:33.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words