Lexicon
מַצָּה
mats.tsah
H4682
H:N-F Hebrew

unleavened bread

53
Occurrences
13
Books
Hebrew
Language

mats.tsah denotes unleavened bread, eaten in festival observance and prepared in offerings or meals.

The term most often denotes unleavened bread in the prescribed feast observed for seven days; it also identifies breads supplied with grain offerings and sacrifices, as well as bread baked or served in individual meals.

Senses in use

  1. Bread eaten in the seven-day feast · dominant

    The plural absolute form occurs in commands to eat this bread for seven days and in the name of the feast. In Exodus 12:15 the APB renders the clause "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread," while Exodus 23:15 joins keeping the feast with eating it for seven days; Deuteronomy 16:3 connects the eating with departure from Egypt.

  2. Bread supplied for offerings and priestly rites · common

    In offering instructions, the plural absolute form identifies loaves, wafers, or bread prepared with oil and placed among sacrificial provisions. In Exodus 29:2 the APB renders "loaves of unleavened bread mixed with oil" and "unleavened wafers spread with oil"; in Leviticus 8:26 both plural and singular forms occur as items taken from the basket before the LORD.

  3. Bread baked or served with a meal · occasional

    The plural absolute form can name bread prepared or set out as food in a particular scene. In Genesis 19:3 the APB renders that a host "baked unleavened bread, and they ate"; in Judges 6:20 it is set on the rock with the flesh, and in 1 Samuel 28:24 it is baked after flour is kneaded.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term as "unleavened bread," but in particular clauses it uses forms such as "unleavened cakes," "loaves," "wafers," "buns," and "flatbreads." Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these terms describe the verse's presentation rather than establish separate lexical meanings.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture