Original Word: שְׂאֹר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: s'or
Pronunciation: seh-ore'
Phonetic Spelling: (seh-ore')
KJV: leaven
NASB: leaven
Word Origin: [from H7604 (שָׁאַר - left)]

1. barm or yeast-cake (as swelling by fermentation)

leaven

From sha'ar; barm or yeast-cake (as swelling by fermentation) -- leaven.

see HEBREW sha'ar

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
leaven
NASB Translation
leaven (5).

שְׂאֹר noun masculine^{Exodus 12:19} leaven; — absolute ׳שׂ Exodus 13:7 (J), Deuteronomy 16:4 (D), Exodus 12:15,19; Leviticus 2:11 (all P).

שְׂאֵת see נשׂא. שָׂב see שׂיב.

שׂבךְ (√ of following; interweave; Late Hebrew סָבַךְ, derived species, שְׂבָכָה hair-net, etc.; Arabic insert, interewave; Syriac rush in, adhere, embrace, be mixed with, velum reticulatum; compare Assyrian šabikû, headdress, Dl^{HWB 638}).

Definition and Core Idea

שְׂאֹר refers to the small portion of fermented dough kept from a previous batch in order to leaven a new one. In Scripture it represents the source and spread of fermentation—something small that permeates the whole.

Occurrences and Immediate Contexts

1. Exodus 12:15, 19
2. Exodus 13:7
3. Leviticus 2:11
4. Deuteronomy 16:4

In every appearance the term is linked to the Feast of Unleavened Bread or to the grain offering. The focus is never on ordinary baking but on sacred moments when the presence or absence of leaven carried covenantal meaning.

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

Before the first Passover in Egypt, Israel was commanded, “Seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you must remove the yeast from your houses” (Exodus 12:15). The ritual purge of שְׂאֹר safeguarded the community from divine judgment (Exodus 12:19). Its physical removal dramatized spiritual separation—Israel was being severed from Egypt’s influence, hastened for immediate departure, and set apart for God.

Deuteronomy 16:4 reaffirms the command for subsequent generations: “No yeast is to be found in your possession for seven days.” The feast thus became an annual, multisensory catechism in holiness, memory, and mission.

Levitical Worship

Leviticus 2:11 forbids yeast in the grain offering: “You are not to burn any yeast…as an offering made by fire to the LORD”. Fermentation, a natural process of decay, was incompatible with sacrifices that symbolized purity and the unblemished devotion God requires. Exceptions for leavened loaves presented as first-fruits (Leviticus 23:17) were not burned on the altar, preserving the principle.

Symbolic Dimensions

1. Purity versus Corruption

Seor illustrates how corruption begins invisibly yet transforms everything it touches (compare Galatians 5:9). The mandated expulsion signified Israel’s call to moral and doctrinal purity.

2. Break with the Past

Leaving Egypt without leavened dough underscored a decisive break from former bondage; nothing of the old life was to infiltrate the new.

3. Urgency and Dependence

Unleavened bread bakes quickly. Israel’s reliance on God’s timing replaced leisurely, self-managed preparation.

Historical Background

Ancient Near-Eastern households customarily preserved a lump of fermented dough each day. Archaeological finds of dough trays and fermentation jars from the Late Bronze Age corroborate the normality of leaven in everyday bread making. The biblical call to eliminate שְׂאֹר therefore demanded intentional, counter-cultural obedience, highlighting Israel’s distinct identity among the nations.

New Testament Parallels and Fulfillment

Paul echoes Exodus when he writes, “Cleanse out the old leaven…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Though Greek uses ζύμη, the conceptual heritage is שְׂאֹר. Jesus, sinless and uncontaminated, fulfills the typology of unleavened bread. Believers celebrate the “festival” by lives marked by “sincerity and truth” rather than hidden corruption (1 Corinthians 5:8).

Ministry Implications

• Personal Holiness: Regular self-examination removes hidden “leaven.”
• Corporate Discipline: The church guards purity so that a “little yeast” does not infiltrate the whole body.
• Gospel Proclamation: As Israel’s exodus pointed forward, believers announce deliverance from sin through the true Passover Lamb.

Practical Application

During Communion or the annual remembrance of the Lord’s death, meditation on שְׂאֹר encourages believers to reaffirm separation from sin and joyful haste in obeying God’s call. Families may physically clear out leavened products in the days leading to Resurrection Sunday as a teaching tool, echoing the ancient practice.

Summary

שְׂאֹר, though appearing only five times, carries weighty theological freight. It is the emblem of hidden influence—either corrupting or, when removed, proclaiming holiness. Its consistent absence during Israel’s foundational feast and in sacrificial worship anticipates the sinless Messiah and calls every generation to live the unleavened life.

שְּׂאֹ֖ר שְׂאֹ֕ר שְׂאֹ֖ר שְׂאֹ֛ר שְׂאֹר֙ שאר śə’ōr śə·’ōr seOrInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts