Lexical Summary
lechem: bread, food, meal
Original Word:לֶחֶם
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:lechem
Pronunciation:LEH-khem
Phonetic Spelling:(lekh'-em)
KJV: ((shew-))bread, X eat, food, fruit, loaf, meat, victuals See also H1036
NASB:bread, food, meal, loaves, meals, fruit, prey
Word Origin:[fromH3898 (לָחַם - To fight)]
1. food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
showbread, eat, food, fruit, loaf, meat, victuals
Fromlacham; food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it) -- ((shew-))bread, X eat, food, fruit, loaf, meat, victuals. See alsoBeyth l-'Aphrah.
see HEBREWlacham
see HEBREWBeyth l-'Aphrah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
lachamDefinitionbread, food
NASB Translationbread (188), food (87), fruit (1), loaves (3), meal (7), meal* (1), meals (2), prey (1), provision (1), showbread* (4), something (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
2961Samuel 9:7 and (rarely)
Genesis 49:20 (see below, and Dr
1Samuel 10:4) (Phoenician
bread; Late Hebrew ; Aramaic ,
, as Hebrew; Arabic
flesh, meat, (compare Frä
30)); — absolute
Genesis 3:19 +;
Genesis 31:54 +;
Psalm 14:4 2t.; construct
Hosea 9:4 +; suffix
Job 3:24 +, Obadiah 7 +,
Hosea 9:4b, +
Hosea 9:4a (for ), We GASm Now, + etc.; —
bread, the ordinary food of early Hebrews (BenzArchaeology 84 ff NowArchaeology 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) +;loaf of bread1 Samuel 2:36 + (see below ), and without (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;cake of bread2 Samuel 6:19;Exodus 29:23 + (see below
); made from barley ();Judges 7:13;2 Kings 4:42 (see also above); from wheat-flour ()Exodus 29:2 (P); compare the mixtureEzekiel 4:9; made by baking ()Isaiah 44:15,19;Leviticus 26:26 (H; compareJeremiah 37:21);a bit of bread1 Samuel 2:36;1 Kings 17:11;Proverbs 28:21, compareEzekiel 13:19, as modest term for a hospitable mealGenesis 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 (alsoExodus 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 meal1 Samuel 20:27, =take a mealGenesis 31:54 (twice in verse);Genesis 37:25;Genesis 43:25,32 +;Psalm 41:10eat my bread, establishing an obligation, compare Obadiah 7 (read according to MartiKau AT; strike out Hi We, compare VB) =make a feastEcclesiastes 10:19;staff of bread (assupport of life), only lateEzekiel 4:16;Ezekiel 5:16;Ezekiel 14:13;Leviticus 26:26 (H),Psalm 105:16; cf .Isaiah 3:1 (gloss);leavened bread isLeviticus 7:13;unleavened bread isExodus 29:2 (both P);bread of the face (of ; i.e. in his presence, DiLeviticus 24:9 Dr1Sam 21:7); in the sanctuary1 Samuel 21:7;1 Kings 7:48 2Chronicles 4:19;Exodus 25:30;Exodus 35:13;Exodus 39:36, withoutExodus 40:23 (all P); =Numbers 4:7 (P),1 Samuel 21:5; in Chronicles1 Chronicles 9:32; compare1 Chronicles 23:29;Nehemiah 10:34, 2Chronicles 13:11 opposed to1 Samuel 21:5;Leviticus 23:17wave-loaf;Leviticus 23:20;2 Kings 4:42bread of first-fruits.
=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;Numbers 15:19 (P),2 Kings 18:32 =Isaiah 36:17.
food in General:
,Judges 13:16 (kid,Judges 13:15)1 Samuel 14:24 (twice in verse);1 Samuel 14:28 (honey),1 Samuel 28:20;1 Samuel 30:12;Proverbs 22:9;Proverbs 27:27 (twice in verse) (goat's milk) +;Psalm 136:25.
,Proverbs 6:8;Proverbs 30:25; Prov 65:25;Job 24:5 +Psalm 147:9
(in sacrifices): (compare RSSemitic i. 207, 2nd ed., 224)Leviticus 21:6 compareLeviticus 21:8;Leviticus 21:17;Leviticus 21:21;Leviticus 21:22,Leviticus 22:25 (all H), compareNumbers 28:2 (P),Ezekiel 16:19;Ezekiel 44:7, andMalachi 1:7, also ()Leviticus 3:11,16;Numbers 28:24 (all P).
Proverbs 4:17 (accusative of congnate meaning with verb with ), probably =food gained by wickedness "" , compareProverbs 20:17,Proverbs 23:3;Proverbs 31:27 =bread of idleness, i.e. unearned; Proverbs 30:8 (opposed to riches and poverty, see );1 Kings 22:27 2Chronicles 18:26, vid below;Psalm 127:2 see II. ;Hosea 9:4, vid . p.20 a;Ezekiel 24:17,22 of food offered to mourners, compareJeremiah 16:7 (where insert Gf Gie);Ecclesiastes 11:1 usual interpration of benevolent giving (compare Now); De and others of sea-commerce in bread-stuffs, compareProverbs 31:14.
figurativeNumbers 14:9 (JE)our food are they, i.e. we will devour, destroy, them (compareDeuteronomy 7:16);Psalm 42:4; comparePsalm 80:6 (see above); of evil deeds of wickedJob 20:14;Jeremiah 11:19 apparentlyfig.of destroying theprophet and his house, but read probablyin its freshness (i.e. untimely), so Hi Gf Che Gie (see below above).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewלֶחֶם (lechem) functions in Scripture as the ordinary word for bread and, by extension, for food, sustenance and hospitality. From Genesis to Malachi it appears in virtually every literary genre—law, narrative, wisdom, poetry and prophecy—about 296 times, forming a thread that ties creation, covenant, worship and messianic hope together.
Bread as Daily Sustenance
• After the fall, bread becomes the emblem of labor-marked survival: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread” (Genesis 3:19).
• In patriarchal accounts it signals simple hospitality (Genesis 18:5;Genesis 24:33) and basic provision (Genesis 28:20).
• Proverbs calls the righteous to generosity: “A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).
Instruction in Dependence on God
• The wilderness manna—called “bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4, 15)—teaches Israel that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
• Daily gathering trained faith; hoarding bred rot (Exodus 16:19-20). The pattern foreshadows the petition “Give us this day our daily bread” and insists on continual trust rather than stored security.
Bread in Covenant and Festivals
• Passover night combines the lamb with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8). Unleavened loaves symbolize haste (no time for rising) and moral purity (removal of corruption), themes reinforced annually in the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20;Deuteronomy 16:3).
• Firstfruits and Pentecost mark harvest with grain offerings of bread (Leviticus 23:17), acknowledging the LORD as the true Land-giver.
Bread of the Presence (Showbread)
• Twelve loaves, replaced every Sabbath, rest continually before God on the golden table (Exodus 25:30;Leviticus 24:5-9). They witness to His perpetual fellowship with the twelve tribes and His role as Host in His own sanctuary.
• When David, in distress, ate this consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:6), the narrative highlights mercy over ritual and anticipates the Lord of the Sabbath’s teaching (Mark 2:25-28).
Bread in Miraculous Provision
• Elijah and the widow of Zarephath share a last cake and meet divine multiplication (1 Kings 17:12-16).
• An angel brings Elijah “a cake of bread baked on hot stones” to sustain him for forty desert days (1 Kings 19:6-8).
• Elisha feeds a hundred men with twenty barley loaves (2 Kings 4:42-44), prefiguring the greater miracle of the five thousand.
Bread in National Life and Kingship
• Solomon’s royal table required vast quantities of bread-related staples (1 Kings 4:22-23), reflecting covenant prosperity.
• Siege warnings speak of measured bread (Ezekiel 4:16), depicting divine judgment by scarcity.
Bread in Wisdom Literature and Poetry
• “Bread of tears” (Psalm 80:5) and “bread of sorrows” (Psalm 127:2) picture grief and anxious toil.
• Contrasts emerge: “bread of wickedness” (Proverbs 4:17) versus “bread eaten in peace” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).
Prophetic and Messianic Significance
• Bethlehem—literally “house of bread”—is prophesied as Messiah’s birthplace (Micah 5:2), intertwining physical bread imagery with the advent of the true Bread.
• Isaiah invites the thirsty: “Why spend money on that which is not bread? … Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good” (Isaiah 55:2), linking the call to repentance with nourishment that truly satisfies.
Foreshadowing the Bread of Life
Although לֶחֶם occurs in Hebrew texts, its theological trajectory reaches fulfillment in the incarnate Son: “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger’” (John 6:35). The Old Testament history of bread—daily, sacred, miraculous—prepares hearts to recognize and receive the One who gives eternal sustenance.
Bread and Ministry Applications
• Dependence: Regular prayer for daily bread shapes humble reliance on God’s provision.
• Hospitality: Sharing literal bread models covenant community and gospel welcome.
• Worship: Weekly gathering around Word and Table echoes the Bread of the Presence—God fellowshipping with His people.
• Mission: As Elijah carried bread to the widow and Elisha fed the hungry, so the church bears both physical help and the Bread of Life to a needy world.
Representative Occurrences (selection)
Genesis 3:19;Genesis 18:5;Exodus 12:8, 15-20;Exodus 16:4-5, 15;Exodus 25:30;Leviticus 24:5-9;Deuteronomy 8:3;Judges 6:19;1 Samuel 21:6;1 Kings 17:12-16;1 Kings 19:6-8;2 Kings 4:42-44;Psalm 80:5;Psalm 127:2;Proverbs 4:17;Proverbs 22:9;Isaiah 55:2;Ezekiel 4:16;Micah 5:2.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּלֶ֤חֶם בְּלַחְמ֖וֹ בְּלַחְמֶ֔ךָ בְּלַחְמוֹ֙ בְֽלַחֲמִ֑י בְלַחְמֽוֹ׃ בַּלֶּ֖חֶם בַּלֶּ֙חֶם֙ בַּלֶּ֣חֶם בַּלָּ֑חֶם בלחם בלחמו בלחמו׃ בלחמי בלחמך הַלֶּ֔חֶם הַלֶּ֖חֶם הַלֶּ֗חֶם הַלֶּ֙חֶם֙ הַלֶּ֛חֶם הַלֶּ֤חֶם הַלֶּ֨חֶם הַלָּֽחֶם׃ הלחם הלחם׃ וְ֝לֶ֗חֶם וְ֠לֶחֶם וְהַלֶּ֤חֶם וְלֶ֖חֶם וְלֶ֙חֶם֙ וְלֶ֣חֶם וְלֶ֤חֶם וְלֶ֥חֶם וְלֶחֶם֩ וְלַחְמִי֩ וְלַחְמֶ֗ךָ וְלַלֶּ֥חֶם וָלֶ֧חֶם וּבַלָּ֑חֶם וּלְלֶ֨חֶם ובלחם והלחם ולחם ולחמי ולחמך וללחם כְּלֶ֤חֶם כַּלֶּ֣חֶם כלחם לְֽ֭לַחְמְךָ לְלֶ֔חֶם לְלֶ֣חֶם לְלָ֑חֶם לֶ֑חֶם לֶ֔חֶם לֶ֖חֶם לֶ֗חֶם לֶ֙חֶם֙ לֶ֚חֶם לֶ֛חֶם לֶ֜חֶם לֶ֝֗חֶם לֶ֣חֶם לֶ֤חֶם לֶ֥חֶם לֶ֧חֶם לֶ֨חֶם לֶ֭חֶם לֶּ֙חֶם֙ לֶֽחֶם־ לֶחֶם֒ לֶחֶם֩ לֶחֶם֮ לַ֭חְמִי לַ֭חְמוֹ לַחְמ֑וֹ לַחְמ֖וֹ לַחְמ֣וֹ לַחְמְךָ֖ לַחְמְךָ֗ לַחְמְכֶ֖ם לַחְמְכֶם֙ לַחְמִ֑י לַחְמִ֜י לַחְמִֽי׃ לַחְמִי֙ לַחְמֵ֔נוּ לַחְמֵ֖נוּ לַחְמֵ֗נוּ לַחְמֵ֣נוּ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ לַחְמָ֑הּ לַחְמָ֖ם לַחְמָ֣ם לַחְמָֽהּ׃ לַחְמָֽם׃ לַחְמָם֙ לַחְמֽוֹ׃ לַחְמוֹ֙ לַלֶּ֙חֶם֙ לַלֶּ֣חֶם לַלָּ֑חֶם לָ֑חֶם לָ֥חֶם לָֽחֶם׃ לחם לחם־ לחם׃ לחמה לחמה׃ לחמו לחמו׃ לחמי לחמי׃ לחמך לחמכם לחמם לחמם׃ לחמנו ללחם ללחמך מְבִיאִ֣ים מִלֶּ֣חֶם מִלֶּ֥חֶם מִלַּחְמ֣וֹ מביאים מלחם מלחמו bal·lā·ḥem bal·le·ḥem balLachem ballāḥem balLechem balleḥem ḇə·la·ḥă·mî bə·laḥ·me·ḵā bə·laḥ·mōw ḇə·laḥ·mōw bə·le·ḥem belachMecha belachMo ḇəlaḥămî bəlaḥmeḵā bəlaḥmōw ḇəlaḥmōw beLechem bəleḥem hal·lā·ḥem hal·le·ḥem halLachem hallāḥem halLechem halleḥem kal·le·ḥem kalLechem kalleḥem kə·le·ḥem keLechem kəleḥem lā·ḥem Lachem lachMah lachMam lachmeCha lachmeChem lachMenu lachMi lachMo laḥ·māh laḥ·mām laḥ·me·ḵā laḥ·mə·ḵā laḥ·mə·ḵem laḥ·mê·nū laḥ·mî laḥ·mōw lāḥem laḥmāh laḥmām laḥmeḵā laḥməḵā laḥməḵem laḥmênū laḥmî laḥmōw lal·lā·ḥem lal·le·ḥem lalLachem lallāḥem lalLechem lalleḥem le·ḥem le·ḥem- lə·lā·ḥem lə·laḥ·mə·ḵā lə·le·ḥem Lechem leḥem leḥem- leLachem Lelachmecha ləlāḥem ləlaḥməḵā leLechem ləleḥem mə·ḇî·’îm məḇî’îm meviIm mil·laḥ·mōw mil·le·ḥem millachMo millaḥmōw milLechem milleḥem ū·ḇal·lā·ḥem ū·lə·le·ḥem ūḇallāḥem uleLechem ūləleḥem uvalLachem vaLechem vehalLechem velachaMi velachMecha velachMi velachMo velalLechem veLechem wā·le·ḥem wāleḥem wə·hal·le·ḥem wə·laḥ·me·ḵā wə·laḥ·mî wə·lal·le·ḥem wə·le·ḥem wəhalleḥem wəlaḥmeḵā wəlaḥmî wəlalleḥem wəleḥem
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