Topical Bible: Yeast

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Topical Encyclopedia

Definition and Nature:
Yeast, a microscopic fungus, is a leavening agent used in baking and brewing. In biblical times, yeast was a common ingredient in bread-making, causing dough to rise and become light and porous. The process of fermentation, where yeast converts sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, was well understood in ancient cultures.

Biblical References and Symbolism:
Yeast, or leaven, is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, often symbolizing influence, both positive and negative. In the Old Testament, yeast is primarily associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a significant Jewish festival commemorating the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. During this feast, the Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven from their homes and eat unleavened bread for seven days (Exodus 12:15-20). This act symbolized purity and separation from sin, as leaven was seen as a corrupting agent.

In the New Testament, yeast is used metaphorically by Jesus and the apostles. Jesus warns His disciples to "beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6), referring to their hypocritical teachings and corrupting influence. Similarly, the Apostle Paul uses yeast as a metaphor for sin, urging the Corinthian church to "clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new unleavened batch" (1 Corinthians 5:7), emphasizing the need for moral purity and the removal of sinful practices.

Cultural and Religious Practices:
The removal of yeast during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a practice that continues in Jewish tradition today. This ritual underscores the importance of holiness and the rejection of sin. The absence of yeast in the Passover bread serves as a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt, not having time to let their bread rise.

Theological Implications:
Yeast's symbolic representation of sin and corruption highlights the biblical theme of purity and the believer's call to holiness. Just as a small amount of yeast can permeate an entire batch of dough, sin can spread and affect the whole community if not addressed. The Bible's use of yeast as a metaphor serves as a caution against allowing sinful influences to take root in one's life or community.

Positive Symbolism:
While yeast often symbolizes negative influence, it is also used positively in Jesus' parables. In Matthew 13:33 , Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to yeast that a woman mixes into flour until it is all leavened. This parable illustrates the transformative power of the kingdom, suggesting that even a small, seemingly insignificant beginning can lead to a significant and pervasive impact.

Conclusion:
Yeast in the Bible serves as a powerful symbol of influence, both for good and for ill. Its presence in biblical narratives and teachings underscores the importance of vigilance against corruption and the transformative potential of God's kingdom.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The foam, or troth (top yeast), or the sediment (bottom yeast), of beer or other in fermentation, which contains the yeast plant or its spores, and under certain conditions produces fermentation in saccharine or farinaceous substances; a preparation used for raising dough for bread or cakes, and making it light and puffy; barm; ferment.

2. (n.) Spume, or foam, of water.

3. (n.) A form of fungus which grows as individual rounded cells, rather than in a mycelium, and reproduces by budding; esp. members of the orders Endomycetales and Moniliales. Some fungi may grow both as a yeast or as a mycelium, depending on the conditions of growth.

Greek

2219. zume -- leaven
... both lit. and met. 2219 -- leaven (yeast); (figuratively) the of what is
typically (but still very dramatic). Leaven is generally ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2219.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4682. matstsah -- unleavened bread or cake
... From matsats in the sense of greedily devouring for sweetness; properly, sweetness;
concretely, sweet (ie Not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically, an ...
/hebrew/4682.htm - 6k

7603. seor -- leaven
... leaven. From sha'ar; barm or yeast-cake (as swelling by fermentation) -- leaven.
see HEBREW sha'ar. 7602b, 7603. seor. 7604 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7603.htm - 6k

Library

The Parable of the Leaven.
... Christ said that the kingdom of heaven could be likened unto leaven (or yeast),
which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till the whole was ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the new testament/the parable of the leaven.htm

Book vii. On the Useful or the Ordinary
... [Ps.16(17):14 (unknown variant)]. Yeast that does not ferment is inquity; in
the apostle: in the yeast of sincerity and truth. [I:Cor.5:8]. ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/book vii on the useful.htm

The Escape from Egypt
... The Egyptians also told the people to hasten out of the land, for they said, "We
shall all perish." So the people took their dough before the yeast had worked ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the escape from egypt.htm

To the Magnesians
... 2Get rid, then, of the bad yeast [211] "it has grown stale and sour"and
be changed into new yeast, that is, into Jesus Christ. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/richardson/early christian fathers/to the magnesians.htm

At the Last Day Great Changes Take Place Amongst the ??ons as Well ...
... proceeded to gather it into her garner, or, after it has been taken to the mill
and ground to flour, has hidden it in the kneading-trough with yeast until the ...
/.../tertullian/against the valentinians/chapter xxxi at the last day.htm

The Bad Squire
... Over the uplands still, Where the clover and corn lay sleeping On the
side of the white chalk hill. Eversley, 1847. From Yeast. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/the bad squire.htm

Sappho
... Although a thrice-Olympian lot be thine, Only to echo back in every tone The moods
of nobler natures than thine own.' Eversley, 1847 From Yeast. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/sappho.htm

Leaven
... ignorant men, and you have no resources at your back, but you have Me, and that
is enough, and you may be sure that the tiny morsel of yeast will penetrate the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/leaven.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... [Leaven, which answered to our modern yeast, was a symbol of a secret, penetrating,
pervasive influence, usually of a corrupting nature. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods.htm

The First Great Group of Parables.
... meal, till it was all leavened. [In Oriental housekeeping, yeast is not
preserved in a separate form. A piece of leavened dough ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/liv the first great group 5.htm

Thesaurus

Yeast (48 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The foam, or troth (top yeast), or the sediment (bottom yeast), of beer
or other in fermentation, which contains the yeast plant or its spores, and ...
/y/yeast.htm - 21k

Bread-yeast (1 Occurrence)
Bread-yeast. Breadths, Bread-yeast. Break . Multi-Version Concordance
Bread-yeast (1 Occurrence). Matthew 16:12 Then ...
/b/bread-yeast.htm - 6k

Beware (51 Occurrences)
... Matthew 16:6 Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees
and Sadducees." (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV). ...
/b/beware.htm - 21k

Leaven (24 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/l/leaven.htm - 21k

Leavened (16 Occurrences)
... "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures
of meal, until it was all leavened." (WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV). ...
/l/leavened.htm - 12k

Dough (15 Occurrences)
... "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three
measures of meal, until it was all leavened." (See NIV). ...
/d/dough.htm - 12k

Unleavened (51 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). 1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out the old
yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. ...
/u/unleavened.htm - 24k

Lump (7 Occurrences)
... Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump? ... 1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge
out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. ...
/l/lump.htm - 8k

Warned (63 Occurrences)
... Matthew 16:12 Then they perceived that He had not warned them against bread-yeast,
but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (WEY). ...
/w/warned.htm - 25k

Festival (62 Occurrences)
... 1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep our festival not with old yeast nor with
the yeast of what is evil and mischievous, but with bread free from yeast--the ...
/f/festival.htm - 23k

Resources

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Leaven? | GotQuestions.org

What is the leaven of the Pharisees? | GotQuestions.org

What are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Yeast: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Yeast (48 Occurrences)

Matthew 13:33
He spoke another parable to them. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened."
(WEB WEY NIV)

Matthew 16:6
Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
(WEB WEY NIV)

Matthew 16:11
How is it that you don't perceive that I didn't speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
(WEB WEY NIV)

Matthew 16:12
Then they understood that he didn't tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
(WEB WEY NIV)

Mark 8:15
He warned them, saying, "Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."
(WEB WEY NIV)

Luke 12:1
Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
(WEB WEY NIV)

Luke 13:21
It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened."
(WEB WEY NIV)

1 Corinthians 5:6
Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?
(WEB WEY NIV)

1 Corinthians 5:7
Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.
(WEB WEY NIV)

1 Corinthians 5:8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(WEB WEY NIV)

Galatians 5:9
A little yeast grows through the whole lump.
(WEB WEY NIV)

Genesis 19:3
He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into his house. He made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
(See NIV)

Exodus 12:8
They shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
(See NIV)

Exodus 12:15
"'Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
(WEB NIV)

Exodus 12:18
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening.
(See NIV)

Exodus 12:19
Seven days shall there be no yeast found in your houses, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a foreigner, or one who is born in the land.
(WEB NIV)

Exodus 12:20
You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.'"
(See NIV)

Exodus 12:34
The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
(See NIV)

Exodus 12:39
They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt; for it wasn't leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and couldn't wait, neither had they prepared for themselves any food.
(See NIV)

Exodus 13:3
Moses said to the people, "Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
(See NIV)

Exodus 13:6
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to Yahweh.
(See NIV)

Exodus 13:7
Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you, neither shall there be yeast seen with you, in all your borders.
(WEB NIV)

Exodus 23:15
You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.
(See NIV)

Exodus 23:18
"You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.
(See NIV)

Exodus 29:2
unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil: you shall make them of fine wheat flour.
(See NIV)

Exodus 29:23
and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh.
(See NIV)

Exodus 34:18
"You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt.
(See NIV)

Exodus 34:25
"You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left to the morning.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 2:4
"'When you offer an offering of a meal offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 2:5
If your offering is a meal offering of the griddle, it shall be of unleavened fine flour, mixed with oil.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 2:11
"'No meal offering, which you shall offer to Yahweh, shall be made with yeast; for you shall burn no yeast, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
(WEB NIV)

Leviticus 6:16
That which is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the Tent of Meeting
(WEB NIV)

Leviticus 6:17
It shall not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.
(WEB NIV)

Leviticus 7:12
If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 7:13
With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 8:2
"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;
(See NIV)

Leviticus 8:26
and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and on the right thigh.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 10:12
Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, "Take the meal offering that remains of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar; for it is most holy;
(WEB NIV)

Leviticus 23:6
On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 23:17
You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.
(WEB YLT NIV)

Numbers 6:15
and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal offering, and their drink offerings.
(See NIV)

Numbers 6:19
The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation;
(See NIV)

Numbers 28:17
On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 16:3
You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction; for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 16:4
There shall be no yeast seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
(WEB NIV)

Judges 6:19
Gideon went in, and prepared a young goat, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 28:24
The woman had a fattened calf in the house. She hurried and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it.
(See NIV)

Ezekiel 45:21
In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Yeast

Related Terms

Yeast (48 Occurrences)

Yelled (1 Occurrence)

Whelps (10 Occurrences)

Yelling (1 Occurrence)

Years: The Sun and Moon Appointed to Mark Out