What does מַצָּה (maṣāh) mean in the Bible?
מַצָּה (maṣāh): Unleavened bread embodies ritual purity and covenant commemoration, opposing fermentation's corruption symbolism.
Hebrew · H4682
מַצָּה
Properly, sweetness ; concretely, sweet (i.e. not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically, an unfermented cake or loaf, or (elliptically) the festival of Passover (because no leaven was then used)
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מַצָּה H4682
Pronunciation maṣāh
What does מַצָּה (maṣāh) mean in the Bible?
מַצָּה (maṣāh): Unleavened bread embodies ritual purity and covenant commemoration, opposing fermentation's corruption symbolism.
Full entry for מַצָּה (H4682) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4682?
The BSB source-word alignment has 53 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include unleavened bread (17), of Unleavened Bread (15), unleavened (5), and the unleavened bread (2), and unleavened (2).
Where does מַצָּה (maṣāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 19:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (16), Leviticus (12), Numbers (7), 2 Chronicles (4).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It unleavened bread 17× Genesis 19:3, Exodus 12:15, Exodus 12:18, Exodus 12:20
of Unleavened Bread 15× Exodus 23:15, Exodus 29:23, Exodus 34:18, Leviticus 8:2
unleavened 5× Exodus 29:2, Leviticus 7:12, Numbers 6:19
and the unleavened bread 2× Judges 6:21
and unleavened 2× Exodus 29:2, Numbers 6:15
without leaven 2× Leviticus 6:16, Leviticus 10:12
along with unleavened 1× Exodus 29:2
along with unleavened bread 1× Exodus 12:8
and unleavened bread 1× Judges 6:19
during which unleavened bread 1× Ezekiel 45:21
either unleavened 1× Leviticus 2:4
into unleavened 1× Exodus 12:39
of unleavened 1× Numbers 6:15
or unleavened 1× Leviticus 2:4
the Feast of Unleavened Bread 1× Exodus 12:17
the unleavened bread 1× Judges 6:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 19:3 וּמַצּ֥וֹת to unleavened bread Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:8 וּמַצּ֔וֹת to along with unleavened bread Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:15 מַצּ֣וֹת to unleavened bread Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:17 הַמַּצּוֹת֒ to the Feast of Unleavened Bread Article | Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:18 מַצֹּ֑ת to unleavened bread Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:20 מַצּֽוֹת׃פ to unleavened bread Noun - feminine plural Exodus 12:39 מַצּ֖וֹת to into unleavened Noun - feminine plural Exodus 13:6 מַצֹּ֑ת to unleavened bread Noun - feminine plural Exodus 13:7 מַצּוֹת֙ to Unleavened bread Noun - feminine plural Exodus 23:15 הַמַּצּוֹת֮ to of Unleavened Bread Article | Noun - feminine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 19:3
Aligned rows 53
Books represented 13
Genesis 1 Exodus 16 Leviticus 12 Numbers 7 Deuteronomy 3 Joshua 1 Judges 4 1 Samuel 1 2 Kings 1 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 4 Ezra 1 Ezekiel 1
Source forms
מַצּ֖וֹת 10x maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Exodus 12:39, Exodus 29:2, Leviticus 2:4, Leviticus 7:12
הַמַּצּ֔וֹת 3x ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Exodus 29:23, Judges 6:21, 1 Chronicles 23:29
הַמַּצּ֖וֹת 3x ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Leviticus 23:6, 2 Chronicles 30:13, 2 Chronicles 35:17
הַמַּצּ֛וֹת 3x ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Deuteronomy 16:16, 2 Chronicles 8:13, 2 Chronicles 30:21
מַצּוֹת֙ 3x maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Exodus 13:7, Exodus 34:18, Leviticus 7:12
הַמַּצּוֹת֮ 2x ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Exodus 23:15, Exodus 34:18
מַצָּ֤ה 2x maṣ·ṣāh Leviticus 8:26, Numbers 6:19
מַצּ֣וֹת 2x maṣ·ṣō·wṯ Exodus 12:15, Joshua 5:11
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine plural 30x Exodus 12:15, Exodus 12:18, Exodus 12:20, Exodus 12:39
Article | Noun - feminine plural 16x Exodus 12:17, Exodus 23:15, Exodus 29:23, Exodus 34:18
Noun - feminine singular 4x Leviticus 2:5, Leviticus 8:26, Numbers 6:19
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural 2x Genesis 19:3, Exodus 12:8
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural 1x Judges 6:21
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Unleavened bread embodies ritual purity and covenant commemoration, opposing fermentation's corruption symbolism.
Source Gloss
properly, sweetness ; concretely, sweet (i.e. not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically, an unfermented cake or loaf, or (elliptically) the festival of Passover (because no leaven was then used)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Unleavened bread embodies ritual purity and covenant commemoration, opposing fermentation's corruption symbolism.
properly, sweetness; concretely, sweet (i.e. not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically, an unfermented cake or loaf, or (elliptically) the festival of Passover (because no leaven was then used) BDB: unleavened bread Usage: unleaved (bread, cake), without leaven.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
מַצָּה is built from this root:
מָצַץ H4711
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain