3889. Lush
Lexical Summary
Lush: To knead

Original Word: לוּשׁ
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Luwsh
Pronunciation: loosh
Phonetic Spelling: (loosh)
KJV: Laish (from the margin)
Word Origin: [from H3888 (לוּשׁ - knead)]

1. kneading
2. Lush, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Laish

From luwsh; kneading; Lush, a place in Palestine -- Laish (from the margin). Compare Layish.

see HEBREW luwsh

see HEBREW Layish

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
the same as Layish, q.v.

Brown-Driver-Briggs
לושׁ (Kt) proper name, masculine, לַ֫יִשׁ see לישׁ.

לָז, לָזֶה, לֵזוּ see הַלָּז etc.

לְזוּת

see לוז above.

לַח

see below לחח.

לחה (√ of following, possibly from smoothness, compare Arabic peel off; Syriac strip off, erase).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The entry indexed as Strong’s Hebrew 3889 designates a verb whose fundamental action is the working of dough. Although that precise verbal form never surfaces in the extant Old Testament text, its concept saturates the biblical narrative through cognate forms and related nouns. The motion of pressing, folding, and blending dough supplied Israel with its daily bread, provided offerings for the altar, and furnished enduring metaphors for spiritual reality.

Cultural and Historical Background

Bread making in ancient Israel began at dawn. A woman would measure flour, pour in water or oil, add leaven when appropriate, and work the mass until smooth. Kneading bowls (Exodus 12:34) and troughs (Exodus 8:3) were standard utensils. Three seahs—about twenty-two liters—of flour constituted a generous batch (Genesis 18:6), befitting hospitality customs that prized lavish provision for guests and strangers. Because dough spoiled quickly in the desert climate, kneading was performed daily, linking the action to the rhythms of manna (“Give us today our daily bread,” Matthew 6:11) and reinforcing dependence on the LORD for sustenance.

Related Hebrew Terms and Forms

Other verbal roots in the same semantic field (for example, the form that appears in Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 28:24; 2 Samuel 13:8) share consonants with Strong’s 3889 and confirm the antiquity of the word-picture. Derivative nouns denote “kneading bowl,” “mortar,” or “mixed flour,” demonstrating how the linguistic family grows outward from the core action of working dough.

Imagery of Kneading in Scripture

Hospitality

Genesis 18:6 recounts Abraham’s urgency: “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.” The patriarch’s immediate recourse to kneading underscores the practice as the first tangible expression of welcoming the divine visitors.

Deliverance

At the Exodus, Israel left Egypt with bowls still wrapped in cloth, dough unrisen on their shoulders (Exodus 12:34). Kneading had begun but was halted by God’s summons to liberty, imbuing the act with eschatological overtones—redemption interrupts ordinary labor.

Domestic Tragedy and Intrigue

Narratives such as Tamar’s service to Amnon (2 Samuel 13:8) or the medium of Endor feeding Saul (1 Samuel 28:24) situate kneading in scenes charged with moral tension, illustrating how everyday tasks can unfold within accounts of covenant faithfulness or failure.

Sacrificial and Liturgical Context

Grain offerings often required the mixture of fine flour with oil, then baking on a griddle or in an oven (Leviticus 2:4-5). Though the verb form 3889 is absent, the procedure mirrors kneading and highlights themes of purity—no leaven, no honey—befitting the holiness of Yahweh. In Temple worship the “bread of the Presence” (Leviticus 24:5-9) demanded exact quantities and careful preparation, reinforcing the sacred dimension of common food.

Prophetic and Wisdom Motifs

Prophets drew on household crafts to make their point. Hosea compares Israel to “a cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8), the result of negligent kneading or baking. Ezekiel’s enacted siege bread (Ezekiel 4:12-17) dramatizes the coming scarcity; even when one can knead dough, the ingredients will be rationed. Proverbs extols the virtuous wife who “rises while it is still night” to prepare food for her household (Proverbs 31:15), implying the early-morning knead.

New Testament Echoes

While Greek terminology replaces the Hebrew, the conceptual backdrop remains. Jesus’ parable of the leaven pictures a woman who “took leaven and mixed it into fifty pounds of flour until it was all leavened” (Luke 13:21). Paul repurposes the image ethically: “Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven” (1 Corinthians 5:6-7). The unseen transformation within kneaded dough becomes an emblem of both the hidden advance of God’s kingdom and the pervasive danger of sin.

Theological Significance

1. Dependence and Provision: Daily kneading testifies to the Creator’s ongoing supply (Psalm 104:14-15).
2. Transformation: Leaven’s silent permeation exemplifies spiritual influence, whether holy or corrupt.
3. Community and Fellowship: Shared bread, produced by shared labor, cements covenant fellowship—seen from the tabernacle table to the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
4. Holiness and Separation: Unleavened dough in Passover week reminds believers that redemption calls for cleansing from the old leaven of malice (1 Corinthians 5:8).

Ministry and Devotional Applications

• Hospitality Ministry: Kneading invokes tangible service; modern believers can embody Abrahamic generosity by providing fresh bread for guests or the needy.
• Teaching Illustrations: Leaders may demonstrate the mixing of leaven to visualize kingdom growth or sanctification.
• Spiritual Disciplines: Kneading’s repetitive motions encourage meditation on Scripture—each fold a reminder to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16).
• Counseling and Sanctification: Just as dough must be worked thoroughly, so believers submit to the Spirit’s thorough shaping, confident that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

Conclusion

Though Strong’s Hebrew 3889 never appears in canonical verses, its underlying action is woven through the fabric of biblical life and revelation. From patriarchal tents to prophetic warnings and apostolic teaching, kneading dough embodies God’s provision, illustrates His transformative work, and beckons His people to daily, diligent participation in His purposes.

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