H2556a H2556a
To be leavened, to ferment; figuratively to become embittered or soured in heart
At its root this verb describes the chemical process of fermentation—dough rising through the action of leaven. In Exodus 12:34 and 12:39, it appears in the narrative urgency of the Exodus: the Israelites left Egypt before their dough could become leavened. Hosea 7:4 uses the image of dough left to rise as a metaphor for moral corruption. The Hithpael in Psalm 73:21 shifts the sense inward: the psalmist's heart was 'soured' or embittered. Spanish 'se amargaba' and English 'was embittered' capture this emotional turn.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To be leavened or to ferment, said of dough undergoing the rising process. Exodus 12:34 and 12:39 both describe the Israelites' dough that had not yet leavened when they departed Egypt. Hosea 7:4 extends the baking metaphor to describe a baker who ceases stirring while the dough ferments, picturing moral complacency. The reflexive Hithpael in Psalm 73:21 turns the fermentation image inward: the psalmist's spirit was 'soured' or embittered, paralleled by the phrase 'my kidneys were pierced.' Spanish 'leudó' reflects the literal sense, while 'se amargaba' captures the emotional extension. 4×
AR["تَمَرْمَرَ", "يَختَمِرَ", "يَخْتَمِرَ", "يَخْتَمِرْ"]·ben["তার-গাঁজন", "তিক্ত-হয়েছিল", "ফুলে-ওঠার", "ফুলেছিল"]·DE["Krieg-embittered", "[חמצתו]", "es-war-gesaeuertes"]·EN["it-is-leavened", "it-was-leavened", "was-embittered"]·FR["cela-était-levé", "vinaigre"]·heb["חמיצתו", "חמץ", "יחמץ", "יתחמץ"]·HI["कड़ुआ-हो-गया-था", "खमीर-उठने-उसके", "खमीर-होए", "खमीरी-हुई"]·ID["beragi", "jadi-pahit", "mengkhami"]·IT["[חמצתו]", "[יתחמץ]", "esso-fu-leavened"]·jav["dados-mawi-ragi", "masam", "mawi-ragi"]·KO["그것의-발효라", "그것이-발효함", "발효되지", "쓰라렸나이다"]·PT["levedar", "levedar-dela", "levedou", "se-amargurava"]·RU["вскисло", "закваски-его", "кисло-было", "чем-вскисло"]·ES["leudara", "leudó", "se-amargaba", "su-fermentación"]·SW["haujachacha", "imechacha", "ulipochachuka", "umeumuka"]·TR["acılandı", "mayalandı", "mayalanmadan", "mayalanmasına"]·urd["خمیر-اُٹھنا-اُس-کا", "خمیر-اٹھا-تھا", "خمیر-اٹھے", "کڑوا-ہو-گیا-تھا"]
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
† I. חָמֵץ vb. be sour, leavened (NH id., Pi. Hiph. make sour, leaven; Arabic حَمُضَ be sour; Aramaic חֲמַע be sour, leavened, ܚܡܰܥ, be leavened)— Qal Pf. חָמֵץ Ex 12:39; Impf. יֶחְמָ֑ץ Ex 12:34; Inf. sf. חֻמְצָתוֹ Ho 7:4;—be leavened, of dough (בָּצֵק), Ex 12:34, 39 (E), cf. Ho 7:4. Hithp. be soured, embittered, ψ 73:21 (‖ כִּלְיוֹתַי אֶשְׁתּוֹנָן).