Lexical Summary chamets: To be leavened, to be sour Original Word: חָמֵץ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cruel man, dyed, be grieved, leavened A primitive root; to be pungent; i.e. In taste (sour, i.e. Literally fermented, or figuratively, harsh), in color (dazzling) -- cruel (man), dyed, be grieved, leavened. Brown-Driver-Briggs I. חָמֵץ verb be sour, leavened (Late Hebrew id., Pi`el Hiph`il make sour, leaven; Arabic  be sour; Aramaic חֲמַע be sour, leavened,  be leavened) — Qal Perfect חָמֵץ Exodus 12:39; Imperfect יֶחְמָ֑ץ Exodus 12:34; Infinitive suffix חֻמְצָתוֺ Hosea 7:4 +; — be leavened, of dough (בָּצֵק), Exodus 12:34,39 (E), compare Hosea 7:4. Hitph. be soured, embittered, Psalm 73:21 ("" כִּלְיוֺתַי אֶשְׁתּוֺנָן). II. [חמץ] verb be red (? compare Aramaic Qal Passive participle construct חֲמוּץ בְּגָדִים red of garments Isaiah 63:1; possibly also Imperfect3feminine singular תֶּחֱמַץ Psalm 68:24 that thy foot may be red with blood (for ᵑ0 תמחץ; so Krochm Hi Gr; most, however, read תרחץ see רחץ). III. [חמץ] verb be ruthless (dubious √; perhaps by-form of חמס; perhaps erroneous for it; identification by most with I. חמץ, be sour, hence sharp, violent, but connection improbable) — only Qal Participle active מִכַּף מְעַוֵּל וְחוֺמֵץ Psalm 71:4 from the hand of the unjust and ruthless ("" מִיַּד רָשָׁע). Topical Lexicon Root Imagery Chamets evokes the natural process in which dough turns sour and swells. From that everyday picture Scripture draws two interconnected ideas: (1) literal fermentation, and (2) what souring looks like when transferred to human character—bitterness, violence, ruthless oppression, or scarlet-stained guilt. Exodus and the Birth of a Nation The word first appears in the Passover story. Israel left Egypt so quickly that “their dough had not yet leavened” (Exodus 12:39). The flat, hastily baked bread became a perpetual memorial of God’s swift deliverance and remains the backdrop for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Chamets there underlines separation: to be God’s people is to turn from the old life before its corrupting power has time to work. Paul will later apply the same picture to the church: “A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Prophetic Oven of Hosea Hosea 7:4 extends the image to moral decay: “They are all adulterers, like an oven… from the kneading of the dough until it rises”. Israel’s unchecked passions smolder under the surface until, like fermented dough, they swell into open rebellion. Chamets here warns that sin incubates quietly but inevitably. Bitterness in the Heart Psalm 73:21 moves from dough to inner life: “When my heart was grieved and embittered”. Souring describes a spiritual condition where envy and doubt ferment into sharp resentment. In Psalm 71:4 the same root labels violent men—“unjust and ruthless”—whose cruelty is the outward counterpart to inner sourness. What begins unseen within a person eventually tastes sour in conduct and relationships. Crimson Garments of Judgment Isaiah 63:1 pictures the coming Warrior-Redeemer “with crimson-stained garments from Bozrah.” The participle built on chamets signals clothes steeped, as if dipped in fermenting juice that has turned dark red—an arresting emblem of executed judgment. The One who once required unleavened bread now strides forth to trample the fully fermented wickedness of the nations. Theological Thread 1. Urgency of Obedience—Israel’s unleavened bread shows that salvation is God’s act; lingering only lets corruption rise. Ministry Application • Personal holiness: examine motives before they sour; repentance is easiest early. Chamets, then, is more than a culinary term. It is Scripture’s vivid reminder that what ferments in secret will either be purged by grace or exposed by judgment. Forms and Transliterations וְחוֹמֵץ׃ וחומץ חֲמ֤וּץ חָמֵ֑ץ חֻמְצָתֽוֹ׃ חמוץ חמץ חמצתו׃ יִתְחַמֵּ֣ץ יֶחְמָ֑ץ יחמץ יתחמץ chaMetz chaMutz chumtzaTo ḥā·mêṣ ḥă·mūṣ ḥāmêṣ ḥămūṣ ḥum·ṣā·ṯōw ḥumṣāṯōw vechometz wə·ḥō·w·mêṣ wəḥōwmêṣ yechMatz yeḥ·māṣ yeḥmāṣ yiṯ·ḥam·mêṣ yitchamMetz yiṯḥammêṣLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 12:34 HEB: בְּצֵק֖וֹ טֶ֣רֶם יֶחְמָ֑ץ מִשְׁאֲרֹתָ֛ם צְרֻרֹ֥ת NAS: before it was leavened, [with] their kneading bowls KJV: their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs INT: their dough before leavened their kneading bound Exodus 12:39 Psalm 71:4 Psalm 73:21 Isaiah 63:1 Hosea 7:4 6 Occurrences |
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Ethpa`al blush, be ashamed, possibly originally be red); —