Bible Dictionaries
Leaven

Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Heb. seor (Exodus 12:15,19; 13:7; Leviticus 2:11 ), the remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and become acid.

  • Heb. hamets, properly "ferment." In Numbers 6:3 , "vinegar of wine" is more correctly "fermented wine." In Exodus 13:7 , the proper rendering would be, "Unfermented things [Heb. matstsoth] shall be consumed during the seven days; and there shall not be seen with thee fermented things [hamets], and there shall not be seen with thee leavened mass [seor] in all thy borders." The chemical definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a continual motion."

    The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire (Leviticus 2:11; 7:12; 8:2; Numbers 6:15 ). Its secretly penetrating and diffusive power is referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:6 . In this respect it is used to illustrate the growth of the kingdom of heaven both in the individual heart and in the world (Matthew 13:33 ). It is a figure also of corruptness and of perverseness of heart and life (Matthew 16:6,11; Mark 8:15; 1 Corinthians 5:7,8 ).

    Bibliography Information
    Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Leaven'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ebd/​l/leaven.html. 1897.