לָחַם
𐤋𐤇𐤌
lâcham
H3898 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To engage in battle or wage war; to fight in armed conflict, either as an individual or a group. In rarer contexts, the verb can connote struggle, contend, or engage in conflict of a non-military nature. The sense of 'feed on' or 'devour' is not attested in Biblical Hebrew for this root, and likely arises from confusion with similar roots.
Semantic Range
to fight, to wage war, to do battle, to engage in armed conflict, to contend (in non-literal or poetic contexts), to struggle
Root / Etymology
The root is לחם (lamed-chet-mem), commonly associated in Biblical Hebrew with the notion of battle or combat. Although this root shares consonants with לחם ('bread,' H3899), the sense of 'to eat' or 'to feed' is derived from a separate but similarly spelled root; there is no direct etymological connection between 'to wage war' and 'bread/eat.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, לָחַם is consistently used in military contexts, describing armed conflict among Israelite, Judahite, and foreign peoples. Most occurrences refer to literal warfare or battle, though some prophets and poets extend its usage metaphorically to acts of striving or contending. The verb is often used with 'against' (עַל or בְּ), indicating the opposing force. Unlike other Hebrew verbs related to violence (e.g., נלחם 'to strive,' עָרַךְ 'to arrange [for battle]'), לָחַם denotes active participation in hostilities, typically implying mutual engagement. In post-biblical Hebrew and later usage, לָחַם sometimes appears (with clarification) for non-military contest, but in the Tanakh it almost always refers to actual combat. English translations frequently render the verb as 'fight,' 'make war,' or 'battle,' capturing its core contextual meaning. The occasional translation ‘devour’ or 'feed on' found in older resources is not supported by contextual evidence from biblical texts and reflects confusion stemming from the homonymic noun לחם ('bread'). In sum, לָחַם should be understood as 'to fight' or 'to wage war,' never as 'to eat.'
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
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).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
לחם (l-ḥ-m) — to wage war, fight, engage in battle
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1035 | בֵּית לֶחֶם | bread |
| H3433 | יָשֻׁבִי לֶחֶם | bread |
| H3894 | לָחוּם | his edible portion |
| H3899 | לֶחֶם | in the bread |
| H3900 | לְחֶם | bread |
Word Forms
38 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3898-09 |
לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | HR/VNc |
to fight | to engage in battle | 42 |
H3898-15 |
נִלְחָ֥ם | nilecham | HVNrmsa |
fought | the one who is warring | 23 |
H3898-28 |
וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם | vayilachem | HC/VNw3ms |
and fought | and he engaged in battle | 20 |
H3898-26 |
וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ | vayilachamu | HC/VNw3mp |
and fought | and they engaged in battle | 15 |
H3898-17 |
נִלְחָמִ֥ים | nilechamim | HVNrmpa |
fighting | the battling ones | 8 |
H3898-18 |
נִלְחָ֔מוּ | nilechamu | HVNp3cp |
they fought | they engaged in battle | 7 |
H3898-20 |
תִלָּ֣חֲמ֔וּ | tilachamu | HVNi2mp |
fight | you will wage war | 6 |
H3898-37 |
וְ/נִלְחֲמ֥וּ | venilechamu | HC/VNq3cp |
and they will fight | and they waged war | 6 |
H3898-32 |
וְ/נִלְחַם | venilecham | HC/VNq3ms |
and fight | and he fought | 5 |
H3898-31 |
וְ/נִֽלָּחֲמָה֙ | venilachamah | HC/VNh1cp |
and we will fight | and let us wage war | 4 |
Occurrences in Scripture
177 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3898-32 |
Exodus 1:10 | וְ/נִלְחַם | venilecham | HC/VNq3ms |
and fight | and he fought |
H3898-38 |
Exodus 14:14 | יִלָּחֵ֣ם | yilachem | HVNi3ms |
will-fight | he will wage war |
H3898-15 |
Exodus 14:25 | נִלְחָ֥ם | nilecham | HVNrmsa |
fights | the one who is warring |
H3898-28 |
Exodus 17:8 | וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם | vayilachem | HC/VNw3ms |
and fought | and he engaged in battle |
H3898-06 |
Exodus 17:9 | הִלָּחֵ֣ם | hilachem | HVNv2ms |
fight | Engage in battle! |
H3898-09 |
Exodus 17:10 | לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | HR/VNc |
to fight | to engage in battle |
H3898-28 |
Numbers 21:1 | וַ/יִּלָּ֨חֶם֙ | vayilachem | HC/VNw3ms |
and he fought | and he engaged in battle |
H3898-28 |
Numbers 21:23 | וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם | vayilachem | HC/VNw3ms |
and he fought | and he engaged in battle |
H3898-15 |
Numbers 21:26 | נִלְחַ֗ם | nilecham | HVNp3ms |
fought | the one who is warring |
H3898-09 |
Numbers 22:11 | לְ/הִלָּ֥חֶם | lehilachem | HR/VNc |
to fight | to engage in battle |