Strong’s H2556 · Hebrew
חָמֵץ
châmêts
khaw-mates'
Definition
to be pungent; i.e. in taste (sour, i.e. literally fermented, or figuratively, harsh), in color (dazzling)
Etymology
a primitive root;
Where the KJV renders it
- cruel (man)
- dyed
- be grieved
- leavened
Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.
What the first audience heard
A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.