לֶחֶםlechem

bread, food

Pronunciation: lekh'-em · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H3899

Meanings

1. bread, the ordinary food of early Hebrews (Exodus 21:14; Numbers 21:5; Joshua 9:5)

b. = bread-corn, the material from which bread is made, i.e. wheat, barley, etc. (Genesis 41:54; Genesis 41:55; Genesis 47:13)

2. food, in general

a. of man (Judges 13:16; Judges 13:15; 1 Samuel 14:24)

b. of animals (Proverbs 6:8; Proverbs 30:25; Proverbs 65:25)

c. of God (in sacrifices) (Leviticus 21:6; Leviticus 21:8; Leviticus 21:17)

3. other phrases and figurative uses are

a. food gained by wickedness, bread of idleness (Proverbs 4:17; Proverbs 20:17; Proverbs 23:3)

b. our food are they, prophet and his house (Numbers 14:9; Deuteronomy 7:16; Psalms 42:4)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 298 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
  • Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine.
  • Genesis 18:5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
  • Genesis 21:14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.
  • Genesis 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
  • Genesis 27:17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).