לֶ֫חֶם 296 noun masculine1 Samuel 9:7 and (rarely)
feminineGenesis 49:20 (see below, and Dr
1 Samuel 10:4)
bread, food (Phoenician
לחם bread; Late Hebrew
לֶחֶם; Aramaic
לַחְמָא,

, as Hebrew; Arabic
flesh, meat, (compare Frä
30)); — absolute
ל׳ Genesis 3:19 +;
לָ֑חֶם Genesis 31:54 +;
לֶ֑חֶם Psalm 14:4 +
2 times; construct
לֶחֶם Hosea 9:4 +; suffix
לַחְמִי Job 3:24 +,
לַחְמְךָ Obadiah 7 +,
לַחְמָם Hosea 9:4b, +
Hosea 9:4a (for MT
לָהֶם), We GASm Now, + etc.; —
1.
a. bread, the ordinary food of early Hebrews (Benz
Archaeology 84 ff Now
Archaeology i. 109 ff.)
Exodus 21:14 (E),
Numbers 21:5;
Joshua 9:5,
12 (JE),
Deuteronomy 8:3;
Deuteronomy 23:5;
Exodus 16:3 (P) +;
כִּכַּרלֿ׳ loaf of bread 1 Samuel 2:36 + (see
כִּכָּר below
כרר), and without
ככר (always with number)†
1 Samuel 10:4;
1 Samuel 16:20 (see Dr),
1 Samuel 17:7;
1 Samuel 21:4;
1 Samuel 25:18;
2 Samuel 16:1;
1 Kings 14:3;
2 Kings 4:42 †;
חַלַת ל׳ cake of bread 2 Samuel 6:19;
Exodus 29:23 + (see
חַלָּה below
I. חלל); made from barley (
שְׂעֹרִים);
Judges 7:13;
2 Kings 4:42 (see also
לָחֶם above); from wheat-flour (
סֹלֶת חִטִים)
Exodus 29:2 (P); compare the mixture
Ezekiel 4:9; made by baking (
אפה)
Isaiah 44:15,
19;
Leviticus 26:26 (H; compare
Jeremiah 37:21); †
פַּת־ל׳ a bit of bread 1 Samuel 2:36;
1 Kings 17:11;
Proverbs 28:21, compare
Ezekiel 13:19, as modest term for a hospitable meal
Genesis 18:5 (J),
Judges 19:5;
1 Samuel 28:22 †; distinguished from meat (flesh),
Genesis 27:17 (J)
1 Samuel 25:11;
1 Kings 17:6 (twice in verse);
Exodus 16:8,
12 (also
Exodus 16:3 above),
Exodus 29:32,
34;
Leviticus 8:31 (all P),
Leviticus 23:18 (H),
1 Chronicles 12:40;
Psalm 78:20;
Daniel 10:3; = a meal
1 Samuel 20:27,
אָכַל ל׳ =
take a meal Genesis 31:54 (twice in verse);
Genesis 37:25;
Genesis 43:25,
32 +;
אכל לַחְמִי Psalm 41:10 eat my bread, establishing an obligation, compare
Obadiah 7 (read
אֹכְלֵי ל׳ according to Marti
Kau AT; strike out
ל׳ 
Hi We, compare VB)
עשׂה ל׳ =
make a feast Ecclesiastes 10:19;
מַטֵּה ל׳ staff of bread (as
support of life), only late †
Ezekiel 4:16;
Ezekiel 5:16;
Ezekiel 14:13;
Leviticus 26:26 (H),
Psalm 105:16; cf.
מִשְׁעַן ל׳ Isaiah 3:1 (gloss) †;
leavened bread is
חָמֵץ ל׳ Leviticus 7:13;
unleavened bread is
מַצּוֺת ל׳ Exodus 29:2 (both P); †
(הַ)פָּנִים ל׳ bread of the face (of
י׳; i.e. in his presence, Di
Leviticus 24:9 Dr
1 Samuel 21:7); in the sanctuary
1 Samuel 21:7;
1 Kings 7:48 2 Chronicles 4:19;
Exodus 25:30;
Exodus 35:13;
Exodus 39:36, without
פ׳ Exodus 40:23 (all P); =
הַתָּמִיד ל׳ Numbers 4:7 (P),
קֹדֶשׁ ל׳ 1 Samuel 21:5; in Chronicles
הַמַּעֲרָ֑כֶת ל׳ 1 Chronicles 9:32; compare
1 Chronicles 23:29;
Nehemiah 10:34,
ל׳ מ׳ 2 Chronicles 13:11; opposed to
חֹל ל׳ 1 Samuel 21:5 †;
תְּנוּפִה ל׳ Leviticus 23:17 wave-loaf;
(הַ)בִּכֻּרִים ל׳ Leviticus 23:20;
2 Kings 4:42 bread of first-fruits.
† b. =
bread-corn, the material from which bread is made, i.e. wheat, barley, etc.:
Genesis 41:54,
55 (E),
Genesis 47:13,
15,
17 (twice in verse);
Genesis 47:19 (J),
Genesis 49:20 (poem in J),
Isaiah 28:28;
Isaiah 30:23;
Isaiah 55:10;
Jeremiah 5:17;
Ezekiel 48:18;
Job 28:5;
Proverbs 28:3;
Psalm 104:14;
הָאָרֶץ ל׳ Numbers 15:19 (P),
ארץ ל׳ 2 Kings 18:32 =
Isaiah 36:17 †.
2. food in general:
3. other phrases and figurative uses are:
a. רֶשַׁע ל׳ Proverbs 4:17 (accusative of congnate meaning with verb with
לָחַם), probably =
food gained by wickedness ׅ ||
(יִיִן חֲמָסִים, compare
שָׁ֑קֶר ל׳ Proverbs 20:17,
כְּזָבִים ל׳ Proverbs 23:3;
עַצְלוּת ל׳ Proverbs 31:27 =
bread of idleness, i.e. unearned;
חֻקִּי ל׳ Proverbs 30:8 (opposed to riches and poverty, see
חֹק);
לַחַץ ל׳ 1 Kings 22:27 =
2 Chronicles 18:26, see
לַחַץ below;
הָעֲצָבִים ל׳ Psalm 127:2 see II.
עֶצָב;
אוֺנִים ל׳ Hosea 9:4, see
אָוֶן;
אֲנָשִׁים ל׳ Ezekiel 24:17,
22 of food offered to mourners, compare
Jeremiah 16:7 (where insert
ל׳ 
Gf Gie);
שַׁלַּח לחמך עלפֿני המים Ecclesiastes 11:1 usual interpration of benevolent giving (compare Now); De and others of sea-commerce in bread-stuffs, compare
Proverbs 31:14.
b. figurative
לַחְמֵנוּ הֵם Numbers 14:9 (JE)
our food are they, i.e. we will devour, destroy, them (compare
Deuteronomy 7:16);
דִּמְעָתִּי ל׳ Psalm 42:4; compare
Psalm 80:6 (see
אכל above);
ל׳ of evil deeds of wicked
Job 20:14;
עֵץ בְּלַחְמוֺ Jeremiah 11:19 apparently fig.of destroying the
prophet and his house, but read probably
בְּלֵחוֺ in its freshness (i.e. untimely), so Hi Gf Che Gie (see
לֵחַ below
לחח above).
See related Aramaic BDB entry
H3900.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
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