ἄζῡμος G0106
Unleavened; especially as a substantive: unleavened bread, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (ta Azyma).
An adjective meaning 'without leaven, unleavened,' used overwhelmingly as a substantive in the New Testament. In the Synoptic Gospels it appears in the phrase 'the feast of unleavened bread' (ta Azyma), marking the week-long festival following Passover when only bread made without yeast was eaten (Matt 26:17; Mark 14:1, 12; Luke 22:1, 7). Paul draws on this ritual background metaphorically in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, urging believers to be 'unleavened' -- pure and free from the old leaven of malice. Spanish 'sin-levadura/azimos' and French 'sans-levain' consistently reflect the core meaning across both literal and figurative uses.
Senses
1. unleavened bread — Used substantivally for unleavened bread or the Feast of Unleavened Bread (he heorte ton Azymon). All eight Synoptic occurrences designate the festival period or the bread itself: Matt 26:17, Mark 14:1, 12, Luke 22:1, 7, and Acts 12:3; 20:6. Spanish 'panes-sin-levadura' and 'azimos' directly name the bread, while French 'pains-sans-levain' and German renderings point to the same concrete, ritual referent. The term evokes the Exodus narrative and Israel's hasty departure without time for dough to rise. 8×
AR["الْفَطِيرِ", "فَطيرِ", "فَطِيرُ", "فَطِيرِ", "ٱلْفَطِيرِ"]·ben["খামিরবিহীন-রুটির", "খামিরশূন্য-রুটি", "খামিরশূন্য-রুটির", "খামিরহীনে", "তাড়িশূন্য-রুটির"]·DE["ἀζύμοις", "ἀζύμων", "ἀζύμων --", "ἄζυμα"]·EN["Unleavened-Bread", "unleavened-bread"]·FR["pains-sans-levain", "sans-levain"]·heb["הַמַּצּוֹת", "מַצּוֹת"]·HI["अखमीरी-रोटियों-के", "अखमीरी-रोटी", "अखमीरी-रोटी-के", "अखमीरीयों"]·ID["Roti-Tidak-Beragi", "roti-tak-beragi", "roti-tidak-beragi", "tidak-beragi"]·IT["azuma", "azumon", "azzimo"]·jav["riyaya-roti-tanpa-ragi", "roti-tanpa-ragi", "roti-tanpa-ragi,", "roti-tanpa-ragi--", "tanpa-ragi", "tanpa-ragi,"]·KO["누룩-없는-것들", "무교병-의", "무교병-절의", "무교병의", "무교절의", "무교절이"]·PT["pães-ázimos,", "ázimos"]·RU["Опресноки", "Опресноков", "бесквасных", "опресноков", "опресноков,"]·ES["panes-sin-levadura", "sin-levadura", "ázimos"]·SW["Isiyochachwa", "Mikate-Isiyochachwa", "mikate-isiyochachwa", "mikate-isiyotiwa-chachu", "mikate-isiyotiwa-chachu-"]·TR["Mayasız-Ekmekler", "Mayasız-Ekmeklerin", "mayasız ekmeklerde", "mayasız-ekmeklerin", "mayıasız-ekmeğin", "mayıasızın", "mayısızların"]·urd["بے-خمیری", "بے-خمیری-روٹی-کے", "بے-خمیری-روٹیوں", "فطیر", "فطیری-کے"]
2. unleavened — The adjective used predicatively or metaphorically to describe a state of being 'unleavened' -- pure, free from corruption. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul declares 'you are unleavened' (azymoi este), reinterpreting the Passover purging of leaven as a moral imperative to cleanse out malice and wickedness. English 'unleavened,' Spanish 'sin-levadura,' and French 'sans-levain' all render this as an adjective qualifying the community rather than naming the bread, marking the shift from ritual substance to ethical metaphor. 1×
AR["فَطيرٌ"]·ben["খামিরহীন।"]·DE["ἄζυμοι"]·EN["unleavened"]·FR["sans-levain"]·heb["מַצּוֹת"]·HI["अखमीरी"]·ID["tidak-beragi."]·IT["azzimo"]·jav["tanpa-ragi."]·KO["누룩-없는-자들"]·PT["ázimos"]·RU["бесквасные."]·ES["sin-levadura"]·SW["bila-chachu."]·TR["mayasız"]·urd["بے-خمیری"]
Related Senses
H8081 1. oil (substance) (180×)H3196 1. wine (fermented grape juice) (141×)H1706 1. honey (54×)H4682 1. unleavened bread/cakes (53×)H2461 1. milk (42×)H8492 1. new wine / must (38×)H0400 1. food, nourishment (36×)G3631 1. wine (34×)H3978 1. food, nourishment (30×)H1314 1. spice / perfume / balsam (29×)H7416 1. pomegranate (fruit/ornament) (28×)H3323 1. fresh oil, olive oil (23×)H2964 1. prey, torn flesh (19×)H3899 2. food, sustenance (19×)G1033 1. food (17×)G5160 1. food (16×)H5561 1. spices, aromatic substances (16×)H0402 1. food, nourishment (14×)G2219 1. leaven (13×)H4478a 1. manna (13×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄζῡμος, ον, without process of fermentation, Refs 5th c.BC+:—of bread, unleavened, ἄρτοςRefs 5th c.BC+; ἄρτους ἀ., ἄζυμα λάγανα, LXXthe feast of unleavened cakes, NT; ἡ ἑορτὴ τῶν ἀ. LXX+NT