Leaven
Leaven is yeast or fermented dough used to make bread rise. In Scripture it can picture hidden influence, most often the spread of sin or false teaching, though in one parable it illustrates the quiet growth of the kingdom.
At a Glance
Leaven is yeast or fermented dough used to make bread rise. In Scripture it can picture hidden influence, most often the spread of sin or false teaching, though in one parable it illustrates the quiet growth of the kingdom.
Description
Leaven refers to yeast or a piece of fermented dough kept to work through a new batch of dough. In the Bible it appears both in ordinary life and as a symbolic image. The dominant negative use is in connection with corruption that spreads—such as sin, hypocrisy, or false teaching—seen in the Feast of Unleavened Bread and in warnings from Jesus and Paul. At the same time, Scripture does not use the symbol in only one way, since Jesus also compares the kingdom of heaven to leaven that works through the whole lump, emphasizing gradual yet pervasive influence. A careful definition should therefore say that leaven in Scripture usually represents a spreading influence, often negative, but sometimes positive depending on the context.