Lexical Summary aphah: To bake Original Word: אָפָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance baker, meats A primitive root; to cook, especially to bake -- bake(-r, (-meats)). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to bake NASB Translation anger (1), bake (6), baked (8), baker (8), bakers (1), bakers' (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs אָפָה verb bake (Assyrian êpû, Zim BP 43 Aramaic אֲפָא  ) — Qal Perfect, ׳א Genesis 19:3; אָפִיתִי Isaiah 44:19; וְאָפו consecutive Leviticus 26:26 etc.; Imperfect3feminine singular suffix וַתֹּפֵהו1Samuel 28:24; יאֹפו Ezekiel 46:20; תּאֹפו Exodus 16:23; Imperative אֵפו Exodus 16:23; Participle אֹפֶה Genesis 40:1+; אֹפֵהֶם Hosea 7:6; plural אֹפִים Genesis 40:16 +; אֹפוֺת 1 Samuel 8:13, etc. — bake, object לֶחֶםLeviticus 26:26 (H) Isaiah 44:15,19 (compare Jeremiah 37:21); מַצּוֺת Genesis 19:3 (J) 1 Samuel 28:24 עֻגוֺת מצות Exodus 12:39 (J); חַלּוֺת Leviticus 24:5 (H); מִנְחָה Ezekiel 46:20; מָן Exodus 16:23 (twice in verse). (P; — c 2nd object of material Exodus 12:39 בָּצֵק, Leviticus 24:5 סֹלֶת, 1 Samuel 28:24 קֶמַח). Participle always as substantive baker Genesis 40:1,2,5,16,17,20,22; Genesis 41:10 (all E) Hosea 7:4,6; Jeremiah 37:21 ׳מִחוּץ הָא out of the bakers' street; also 1 Samuel 8:13 ("" טַבָּחוֺת, רַקָּחוֺת only here feminine) Nowhere as a menial office, not even 1 Samuel 8:13 where despotic power & growth of court emphasized. Niph`al Imperfect3feminine singular תֵּאָפֶה Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 7:9; 3feminine plural תֵּאָפֶינָה Leviticus 23:17; — passive of Qal be baked, baken of לֶחֶם Leviticus 23:17; מִנְחָה Leviticus 7:9; compare Leviticus 6:10. Topical Lexicon Definition and Range of Meaning אָפָה denotes the act of baking, especially bread or cakes, and thus draws together themes of daily provision, hospitality, sacrifice, and divine judgment. Its twenty-five appearances span Pentateuch, Historical, and Prophetic books, allowing Scripture to weave a rich theology of bread and the hearth. Hospitality and Judgment in the Patriarchal Era Genesis 19:3 introduces Lot preparing “unleavened bread, and they ate,” an urgent hospitality that precedes Sodom’s destruction. Bread fresh from the oven becomes a tangible witness to righteous mercy amid impending wrath, anticipating later calls to welcome strangers (Hebrews 13:2). Palace Intrigue and Divine Providence (Joseph Narrative) Eight occurrences cluster in Genesis 40–41. The “chief baker” embodies royal dependence on daily bread and the fragility of human office. His dream of baskets of baked goods (Genesis 40:16-19) is divinely interpreted, showcasing the Lord who “removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21). The contrast between cupbearer and baker hints at spiritual discernment: life or death hinges on submission to God’s revealed word. Exodus and Wilderness: Covenant Sustenance At the Exodus, “they baked cakes of unleavened bread from the dough they had brought out of Egypt” (Exodus 12:39), memorializing haste and deliverance. In the wilderness the Sabbath command, “Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil” (Exodus 16:23), anchors rest in divine provision. The manna that could be baked prefigures the true Bread from heaven (John 6:32-35). Levitical Worship: Holy Bread and Priestly Portion Leviticus applies אָפָה to grain offerings. Bread “without yeast” (Leviticus 6:17) preserves the symbolism of purity; “every grain offering baked in an oven... shall belong to the priest who presents it” (Leviticus 7:9), underscoring shared fellowship between worshiper, priest, and God. Two loaves “of fine flour baked with leaven” wave before the Lord at Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17), anticipating the ingathering of both Jew and Gentile. Twelve cakes arranged weekly (Leviticus 24:5-9) proclaim the constancy of God’s presence with His people. Covenant Discipline and Scarcity Leviticus 26:26 warns, “Ten women shall bake your bread in one oven... you will eat and not be satisfied.” When covenant loyalty fails, the oven once symbolizing abundance becomes an image of meager rations. Jeremiah 37:21 echoes this in besieged Jerusalem, yet even then “a loaf of bread each day from the Bakers’ Street” testifies to God’s persistent mercy. Royal Economy and Domestic Service Samuel records Israel’s early monarchy requisitioning skilled bakers: “He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers” (1 Samuel 8:13). Later, at Saul’s final meal, a woman “took a fattened calf... and baked unleavened bread” (1 Samuel 28:24), contrasting hurried hospitality with the king’s spiritual ruin. Prophetic Metaphors: Idolatry and Spiritual Infidelity Isaiah 44:15-19 derides the idolater who “warms himself” and “bakes bread” with the same wood he fashions into a god. Hosea seizes oven imagery: “They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker” (Hosea 7:4); passions ungoverned by covenant love burn like untended embers. The metaphor extends to leaders who “prepare their hearts like an oven” (Hosea 7:6), exposing inward corruption beneath religious veneer. Priestly Precincts Restored (Ezekiel’s Vision) Ezekiel 46:20 assigns special rooms “where the ministers of the temple shall boil the guilt offering and bake the grain offering,” protecting the people from sancta contagion. Future worship retains the ordinary act of baking yet sets it apart for holiness, foreshadowing the believer-priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Christological and Theological Reflections Every occurrence of אָפָה converges on the greater reality of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. From Lot’s unleavened urgency to the showbread of continual fellowship, from manna’s Sabbath stillness to Hosea’s smoldering oven, Scripture portrays humanity’s hunger and God’s satisfaction of it in His Son. In the Gospel narratives, Christ feeds multitudes and institutes the Lord’s Supper, dimensions anticipated by the Old Testament baker. Practical Ministry Applications 1. Hospitality: Intentional sharing of food becomes a vehicle of grace (Romans 12:13). Key References Genesis 19:3; Genesis 40:1-22; Genesis 41:10 Leviticus 6:17; 7:9; 23:17; 24:5; 26:26 Forms and Transliterations אֵפ֗וּ אָפִ֤יתִי אָפָ֖ה אֹֽפֵהֶ֔ם אֹפֶ֑ה אפה אפהם אפו אפיתי הָאֹפִ֔ים הָאֹפִ֖ים הָאֹפִֽים׃ הָאוֹפִֽים׃ האופים׃ האפים האפים׃ וְ֠אָפוּ וְאָ֣פָה וְאָפִיתָ֣ וְהָאֹפֶ֑ה וְהָאֹפֶ֗ה וַיֹּאפ֨וּ וַתֹּפֵ֖הוּ וּלְאֹפֽוֹת׃ ואפה ואפו ואפית והאפה ויאפו ולאפות׃ ותפהו יֹאפוּ֙ יאפו מֵֽאֹפֶ֑ה מאפה תֵּֽאָפֶה֙ תֵּאָפֶ֑ינָה תֵאָפֶה֙ תֹּאפ֞וּ תאפה תאפו תאפינה ’ā·p̄āh ’ā·p̄î·ṯî ’āp̄āh ’āp̄îṯî ’ê·p̄ū ’êp̄ū ’ō·p̄ê·hem ’ō·p̄eh ’ōp̄eh ’ōp̄êhem aFah aFiti eFu hā’ōp̄îm hā’ōwp̄îm hā·’ō·p̄îm hā·’ō·w·p̄îm haoFim mê’ōp̄eh mê·’ō·p̄eh meoPeh ofeHem oPeh tê’āp̄eh ṯê’āp̄eh tê’āp̄enāh tê·’ā·p̄e·nāh tê·’ā·p̄eh ṯê·’ā·p̄eh teaFeinah teaPeh tō·p̄ū toFu tōp̄ū ū·lə·’ō·p̄ō·wṯ ūlə’ōp̄ōwṯ uleoFot vaiyoFu vattoFehu veAfah veafiTa Veafu vehaoPeh wat·tō·p̄ê·hū wattōp̄êhū way·yō·p̄ū wayyōp̄ū wə’āp̄āh wə’āp̄îṯā wə’āp̄ū wə·’ā·p̄āh wə·’ā·p̄î·ṯā wə·’ā·p̄ū wə·hā·’ō·p̄eh wəhā’ōp̄eh yō·p̄ū yoFu yōp̄ūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 19:3 HEB: מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וּמַצּ֥וֹת אָפָ֖ה וַיֹּאכֵֽלוּ׃ NAS: a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, KJV: them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, INT: A feast unleavened and baked ate Genesis 40:1 Genesis 40:2 Genesis 40:5 Genesis 40:16 Genesis 40:17 Genesis 40:20 Genesis 40:22 Genesis 41:10 Exodus 12:39 Exodus 16:23 Exodus 16:23 Leviticus 6:17 Leviticus 7:9 Leviticus 23:17 Leviticus 24:5 Leviticus 26:26 1 Samuel 8:13 1 Samuel 28:24 Isaiah 44:15 Isaiah 44:19 Jeremiah 37:21 Ezekiel 46:20 Hosea 7:4 Hosea 7:6 25 Occurrences |
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