לִ/לְח֣וֹם
𐤋/𐤋𐤇𐤅𐤌
lilechom
to eat
a primitive root; to feed on; figuratively, to consume; by implication, to battle (as destruction); devour, eat, [idiom] ever, fight(-ing), overcome, prevail, (make) war(-ring).
Proverbs 23:1 · Word #3
Lexicon H3898
| Lemma | לָחַם |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤋𐤇𐤌 |
| Transliteration | lâcham |
| Strong's | H3898 |
| In-context | to eat |
Morphology HR/Vqc
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state |
| Binyan | q — Qal — Simple active |
| Conjugation | c — Infinitive Construct — The verbal noun ("to ...") |
SIBI-P1 H3898-10
to wage consuming-battle
| Root | לחם (l-ḥ-m) |
| Core Meanings | to feed on, consume, devour, wage battle |
| Semantic Range | to eat, to devour, to consume, to fight, to wage war, to do battle, to overcome |
| Conceptual Significance | The root imagery connects warfare with consumption—battle as an act of devouring or being devoured. This metaphor underscores the total, destructive nature of ancient combat and highlights the biblical portrayal of conflict as a consuming force. |
| Morphological Notes | Qal infinitive construct of לָחַם with prefixed preposition לְ (“to”). Active simple stem, expressing the verbal idea in its basic form. |
| Rendering Rationale | The form is a Qal infinitive construct with prefixed לְ (“to”), so it is rendered as “to wage…”. The hyphenated expression “consuming-battle” preserves the root idea of devouring or consuming that underlies both eating and fighting in לָחַם, reflecting the conceptual link between physical consumption and warfare. |
AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)
Words from Root לחם (to feed on, consume, devour, wage battle)
| SILEX Code | Transliteration | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
H3899-01 |
balachem | in the bread |
H3899-02 |
balechem | in the bread |
H4421-01 |
bamilechamah | in the fighting |
Word Usage (177 occurrences of H3898)
| Location | Form | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exodus 1:10 | וְ/נִלְחַם | venilecham | and fight |
| Exodus 14:14 | יִלָּחֵ֣ם | yilachem | will-fight |
| Exodus 14:25 | נִלְחָ֥ם | nilecham | fights |