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חָמֵץ

𐤇𐤌𐤑

châmêts

H2557 noun

SILEX Entry

Root חמץ to be sour, to become leavened, to ferment, to embitter

Definition

Substance that has undergone fermentation, used chiefly to refer to leaven (material or bread that is not unleavened) and by extension, the process or result of fermentation. In some contexts, used figuratively to denote moral corruption or arrogance, based on the action of 'rising' or 'swelling.' The term contrasts with unleavened bread (מַצָּה) and is used particularly to specify what is prohibited in certain ritual commandments.

Semantic Range

leavened bread, any leavened or fermented food, substance that causes fermentation (leaven), metaphor for moral or ritual impurity (rare/late); in legal contexts, anything forbidden due to fermentation

Root / Etymology

From the root חָמֵץ (ḥ-m-ṣ), which conveys the idea of being sour, fermented, or leavened, and by extension, to become embittered or to rise (as with dough). The word חָמֵץ derives from this root, referring to that which has been fermented or leavened — most often in reference to bread or dough that has been allowed to rise.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָמֵץ appears primarily in legal and ritual contexts within the Torah, especially relating to the festival of Unleavened Bread (Pesach/Matzot), where its presence is strictly prohibited among the Israelites (e.g. Exodus 12:15, 12:19; Leviticus 2:11; Deuteronomy 16:3). The underlying practice was the avoidance of any fermented or leavened product, contrasting symbolically with the hastiness and purity of unleavened bread. In later periods and biblical texts, חָמֵץ is rarely used as a metaphor but occasionally appears with figurative force (see Amos 4:5, possibly irony regarding ritual misuse). Later Jewish tradition (Rabbinic) further extends the metaphor of leaven to symbolize the inclination toward wrongdoing, but this is not explicit in biblical usage. The Strong's gloss includes 'extortion' perhaps confusing the figurative meaning of related verbs with this noun; this sense is not attested for חָמֵץ as a noun in the Hebrew Bible. English translations, by using 'leaven' or 'leavened bread,' sometimes lose the broader semantic potential of the word’s underlying process of fermentation, which could include other substances in the ancient context.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

xlit châmêtz corrected to châmêts; from חָמֵץ; ferment, (figuratively) extortion; leaven, leavened (bread).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חמץ (ḥ-m-ṣ) — to be sour, to ferment, to become leavened, to embitter

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2541 חָמוֹץ violent man
H2548 חָמִיץ fermented
H2556 חָמֵץ fermented thing
H2558 חֹמֶץ in the soured drink

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2557-01 חָמֵ֗ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance 10
H2557-02 מַחְמֶ֗צֶת machemetset HVhrfsa leavened fermenting agent 2
H2557-03 מֵֽ/חָמֵץ֙ mechamets HR/Ncmsa leavened-bread leavened substance 1

Occurrences in Scripture

13 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2557-01 Exodus 12:15 חָמֵ֗ץ chamets HNcmsa what is leavened fermented substance
H2557-02 Exodus 12:19 מַחְמֶ֗צֶת machemetset HVhrfsa what is leavened fermenting agent
H2557-02 Exodus 12:20 מַחְמֶ֖צֶת machemetset HVhrfsa leavened fermenting agent
H2557-01 Exodus 13:3 חָמֵֽץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Exodus 13:7 חָמֵ֗ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Exodus 23:18 חָמֵ֖ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Exodus 34:25 חָמֵ֖ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Leviticus 2:11 חָמֵ֑ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Leviticus 6:10 חָמֵ֔ץ chamets HNcmsa leaven fermented substance
H2557-01 Leviticus 7:13 חָמֵ֔ץ chamets HNcmsa leavened fermented substance
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