leḥem (לֶחֶם)
- Language: Hebrew
- Romanized: leḥem
- Original script: לֶחֶם
- Gloss: bread, food, provision
The broad biblical word behind many bread texts. It carries the senses of bread proper, food in general, and provision, and stands behind the readings in The Staff of Bread, Our Daily Bread, The Aramaic Reading That Lost, This Is My Body, and The Schism Over Leaven.
Concordance Aid
Reading Note
Example passages: Genesis 3:19; Exodus 16; Deuteronomy 8:3; Isaiah 3:1.
Leḥem moves from toil after Eden to gift in the wilderness, from daily need to the warning that people do not live by bread alone. It can mean bread, food, provision, scarcity, and the fragile condition of life. The word keeps the book from reducing bread to a baked object.
Translation Range
Bread, food, meal, provision, sustenance. Nearby Hebrew words include ʾokel for food and dagan for grain.
Not To Be Confused With
Leḥem is not identical with grain terms such as dagan. It often names food as eaten or received, while grain terms point more directly to agricultural produce or supply.
Modern Caution
Do not read every use of leḥem as modern wheat bread, refined flour, or a diet category. The word often names provision more broadly than a modern loaf.
Related entries
- Matteh Lehem — staff of bread
- Lehem Min Ha Shamayim — bread from heaven
- Minhah — grain offering
- Artos — Greek equivalent
- Panis — Latin equivalent