Original Word: מִשְׁאֶרֶת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mish'ereth
Pronunciation: mish-eh'-reth
Phonetic Spelling: (mish-eh'-reth)
KJV: kneading trough, store
NASB: kneading bowl, kneading bowls
Word Origin: [from H7604 (שָׁאַר - left) in the original sense of swelling]

1. a kneading-trough (in which the dough rises)

kneading trough, store

From sha'ar in the original sense of swelling; a kneading-trough (in which the dough rises) -- kneading trough, store.

see HEBREW sha'ar

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
perhaps kneading trough
NASB Translation
kneading bowl (2), kneading bowls (2).

[מִשְׁאֶ֑רָת] noun feminine a household vessel, AV(Exodus), RV kneading-trough; vessel in which was dough before it was leavened (Exodus 12:34) (hence usually derived from שְׂאֹר leaven (with שׂ — by error? — for שׂ), but this not certain; compare מַשְׂרֵת above); — only suffix מִשְׁאַרְתֶּ֑ךָ Deuteronomy 28:5,17 (both + טַנְאֲךָ); plural suffix מִשְׁאֲרוֺתֶיךָ, Exodus 7:28 (J; + תַּנּוּרֶיךָ), מִשְׁאֲרֹתָם Exodus 12:34 (E).

מְשֻׁבָה see מְשׁוּבָה. מִשְׁבְּצוֺת see שׁבץ

מַשְׂבֵּר, [מִשְׁבָּר] see שׁבר.

[מִשְׁבָּת] see שׁבת. מִשְׁגֶּה see שׁגה.

Household Tool in Ancient Israel

The kneading bowl was a common domestic vessel, usually carved from wood or fashioned from earthenware, large enough to mix flour, water, and leaven for the family’s daily bread. Its presence in every home made it a ready symbol of basic provision; to speak of the kneading bowl was to speak of life’s most fundamental sustenance.

Role in the Exodus Plagues

During the second plague, the Lord declared, “The Nile will teem with frogs… into your ovens and kneading troughs” (Exodus 8:3). The invasion of frogs into this intimate household item underscored the pervasiveness of judgment: not even the place where bread was prepared could escape divine intervention. What was ordinarily associated with nourishment became a reminder of the futility of resisting God.

Instrument of Deliverance in Passover

“So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having bound their kneading bowls in their cloaks on their shoulders” (Exodus 12:34). As Israel left Egypt in haste, the kneading bowl became a mobile testimony of redemption. By carrying unleavened dough, the people memorialized the speed of their salvation and inaugurated the perpetual Feast of Unleavened Bread. The very vessel that once suffered plague now served liberation.

Marker of Covenant Blessing and Curse

Moses later employed the kneading bowl as a touchstone of covenant life:
• Blessing—“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl” (Deuteronomy 28:5).
• Curse—“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl” (Deuteronomy 28:17).

Prosperity or deprivation would be felt first in the place where bread begins. The ordinary utensil became an index of Israel’s spiritual fidelity; obedience filled it, disobedience emptied it.

Spiritual Symbolism

1. Daily Bread: The kneading bowl represents dependence on the Lord for everyday needs, foreshadowing Jesus’ teaching, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
2. Leaven and Purity: By departing with unleavened dough, Israel illustrated separation from Egypt’s corruption, anticipating New Testament exhortations to live “sincere and true” (1 Corinthians 5:8).
3. Presence of God in the Mundane: Whether bearing frogs, dough, blessing, or curse, the kneading bowl shows that God engages the commonplace, sanctifying ordinary labor and exposing hidden sin.

Implications for Ministry and Discipleship

• Encourage the faithful to view domestic routines—cooking, earning, budgeting—as arenas of covenant obedience.
• Use the Exodus account to teach readiness; God’s deliverance may come swiftly, permitting no time for “leaven.”
• Highlight Deuteronomy’s blessings and curses to call the congregation to holistic holiness; spiritual compromise will eventually touch everyday provision.
• Employ the kneading bowl motif when celebrating the Lord’s Supper, linking the unleavened bread of Passover to the sinless body of Christ, the true Bread from heaven.

The kneading bowl thus moves from kitchen utensil to theological witness, tracing a line from bondage to blessing, from household economy to eternal redemption.

וּבְמִשְׁאֲרוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃ ובמשארותיך׃ ומשארתך׃ מִשְׁאֲרֹתָ֛ם משארתם miš’ărōṯām miš·’ă·rō·ṯām misharoTam ū·ḇə·miš·’ă·rō·w·ṯe·ḵā ū·miš·’ar·te·ḵā ūḇəmiš’ărōwṯeḵā ūmiš’arteḵā umisharTecha uvemisharoTeichaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts