חָמֵץ châmêts — ferment, (figuratively) extortion
Translated in the KJV as leaven, leavened.
from H2556; ferment, (figuratively) extortion.
châmêts in each stem
Hiph'il
Causative · active — causing someone or something to do the action; the subject does it
Participle (active) 2
מַחְמֶ֗צֶת Exod 12:19 Participle (active), feminine singular
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
מַחְמֶ֖צֶת Exod 12:20 Participle (active), feminine singular
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›