לוּשׁ (lush)
lush
to knead
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb lush means to knead dough, a physical action that transforms loose ingredients into a unified mass. In Scripture, it appears only five times, primarily in the historical books of Samuel and the prophetic writings of Jeremiah. The term describes the manual labor involved in preparing bread, emphasizing the tactile process of working flour and water together.
While the word itself is straightforward, its context often carries significant weight. In 1 Samuel 8:12 and 2 Samuel 16:2, it illustrates the everyday burdens placed on people, such as grinding grain or preparing food for armies and kings. Jeremiah uses the image in Jeremiah 44:19 to describe women making cakes for the queen of heaven, linking the physical act to religious practice. The word grounds abstract concepts of service or rebellion in the concrete reality of daily sustenance.
Its rarity in the biblical text highlights the importance of bread-making as a metaphor for preparation and community. Translators consistently render it as "knead," preserving the sense of effort and transformation inherent in the original language. The word reminds readers that even spiritual or political narratives are rooted in the ordinary rhythms of life.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When you read about kneading dough in Scripture, it is not just a cooking instruction. It describes the physical effort required to bring separate parts into one whole. Flour and water do not unite on their own; they need pressure, time, and hands-on work. This simple act mirrors how God often works in our lives, taking scattered moments and shaping them into something purposeful.
Even when the biblical text uses this image to show rebellion or burden, it reminds us that our daily routines matter. The same hands that prepare bread for a king or bake cakes for an idol are capable of serving God faithfully. Your ordinary work is never wasted in His eyes. He sees the effort you put into your home and your community.
Let this truth encourage you today. You do not need grand gestures to be useful to God. The steady, patient work of loving your neighbor and doing your duty well is a form of worship. May you find peace in the rhythm of your daily tasks, knowing they are part of His larger plan for your life.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ she kneaded [it]2×
- knead [it]1×
- from/ kneading1×
- [are] kneading1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מִ/לּ֥וּשׁ1×
- לָשׁ֣וֹת1×
- ל֖וּשִׁי1×
- וַ/תָּ֙לָשׁ֙1×
- וַ/תָּ֔לָשׁ1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 18:6
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.”
This verse shows the word used in a context of hospitality and urgent preparation for divine guests.
-
Jeremiah 7:18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Here the act of kneading is linked to idolatry, showing how daily religious practices can turn away from God.
-
I Samuel 28:24
The woman had a fattened calf in the house. She hurried and killed it; and she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it.
The woman kneads dough to provide a meal for Samuel, highlighting hospitality in a moment of spiritual crisis.