Lexical Summary chamets: leavened, leaven, leavened bread Original Word: חָמֵץ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance leaven, leavened bread From chamets; ferment, (figuratively) extortion -- leaven, leavened (bread). see HEBREW chamets NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom chamets Definition that which is leavened NASB Translation leaven (3), leavened (4), leavened bread (3), which is leavened (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs חָמֵץ noun masculineExodus 13:3 that which is leavened — ֯׳ח Exodus 12:15 10t. — forbidden at Passover Exodus 12:15 (P), Exodus 13:3,7 (JE), Deuteronomy 16:3, in all sacrifices Exodus 23:18; Exodus 34:25 (both J E); compare Amos 4:5; Leviticus 2:11; Leviticus 6:10 (P; apposition); exceptions are ׳לֶחֶם ח of peace-offering Leviticus 7:13 (P), and the wave-loaves (׳ח appositive) Leviticus 23:17 (H). — see RSSem 208 OTJC 2, 345. מַחְמֶ֫צֶת noun feminine anything leavened, only Exodus 12:19,20 (P). Topical Lexicon Definition and Background חָמֵץ (chamets) denotes bread or dough permeated by yeast or other agents of fermentation, resulting in a souring or rising. In the Ancient Near East, leaven was produced by reserving a bit of old dough or by using fermented fruit juice, then mixing it into fresh flour and water. Within Israelite life the product was common fare, yet its ritual use was tightly regulated by divine command. Central Role in Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 12–13 and Deuteronomy 16 place chamets at the heart of Israel’s annual remembrance of redemption. On the night of the Exodus no leaven was to be consumed or even present in the houses, and the prohibition was extended for seven days: “For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses” (Exodus 12:15). The absence of chamets dramatized the haste of departure (“bread of affliction,” Deuteronomy 16:3) and modeled a new life purged from Egypt’s influence. So serious was the command that eating leaven during the feast incurred the penalty of being “cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, 19). The annual search and removal of chamets became a concrete ritual of self-examination and cleansing that continues in Jewish practice and illumines the New Testament call to “celebrate the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8). Prohibitions in Sacrificial Worship Leaven was normally excluded from offerings burned on the altar: “No grain offering that you present to the LORD shall be made with yeast” (Leviticus 2:11). The principle reappears in Exodus 23:18 and Exodus 34:25, where the blood of sacrifice must never be joined with chamets. Fermentation, symbolizing corruption and natural human process, had no place in those rites that typified the spotless character of the coming Messiah and the immediacy of divine provision. Qualified Exceptions: Peace and Firstfruits Offerings Though barred from the altar fire, chamets was not universally forbidden. Two notable exceptions reveal a balanced theology of celebration: In both cases the leavened loaves were lifted before God but not burned, signifying that redeemed, though imperfect, human fellowship can be accepted on the basis of atoning blood. Prophetic Usage Amos 4:5 records Israel’s vain attempt to impress God with ostentatious worship: “Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings.” By highlighting leaven Amos exposes the nation’s superficial piety. What God desired was covenant faithfulness, not theatrical sacrifice tainted by the very element He had regulated. Symbolic and Theological Significance 1. Purity and Separation. Chamets’ removal during Passover teaches that redeemed people are called to a distinct life, hastening away from bondage. Historical Practice Second-Temple sources describe meticulous domestic searches for chamets on the evening before Passover, a tradition likely rooted in Exodus 12:19. In the broader Ancient Near Eastern context, deities were often offered cakes with honey and leaven, making Israel’s restrictions distinctive and theologically intentional. Ministry Applications • Personal Holiness: Periodic “house-cleaning” of attitudes and habits, patterned on the removal of chamets, fosters ongoing sanctification. Christological Insights Jesus, the sinless Passover Lamb, was offered without chamets. His burial and resurrection during the Feast of Unleavened Bread display a life wholly undefiled, while Pentecost’s leavened loaves foreshadow the ingathering of Jews and Gentiles into one Spirit-filled body, accepted though still being sanctified. Key References Exodus 12:15, 19-20; Exodus 13:3, 7; Exodus 23:18; Exodus 34:25 Leviticus 2:11; Leviticus 6:17; Leviticus 7:13; Leviticus 23:17 Forms and Transliterations חָמֵ֑ץ חָמֵ֔ץ חָמֵ֖ץ חָמֵ֗ץ חָמֵֽץ׃ חמץ חמץ׃ מֵֽחָמֵץ֙ מַחְמֶ֖צֶת מַחְמֶ֗צֶת מחמץ מחמצת chaMetz ḥā·mêṣ ḥāmêṣ machMetzet maḥ·me·ṣeṯ maḥmeṣeṯ mê·ḥā·mêṣ mechaMetz mêḥāmêṣLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 12:15 HEB: כָּל־ אֹכֵ֣ל חָמֵ֗ץ וְנִכְרְתָ֞ה הַנֶּ֤פֶשׁ NAS: eats anything leavened from the first KJV: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first INT: whoever eats leavened shall be cut person Exodus 12:19 Exodus 12:20 Exodus 13:3 Exodus 13:7 Exodus 23:18 Exodus 34:25 Leviticus 2:11 Leviticus 6:17 Leviticus 7:13 Leviticus 23:17 Deuteronomy 16:3 Amos 4:5 13 Occurrences |
    |