Knead

Kneading—working dough with the hands to develop its gluten structure before baking—was a central domestic activity in the ancient Israelite household. The Hebrew lûš (to knead) describes this process of working flour mixed with water, oil, and sometimes leaven into a cohesive, pliable dough. Women were the primary bread-makers in Israelite households, and the kneading trough (mišʿeret) was a basic piece of domestic equipment.

Kneading appears in several narrative contexts: Abraham instructed Sarah to quickly make ready three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes for his divine guests (Genesis 18:6); the woman of En-dor kneaded dough to make bread for Saul before his last battle (1 Samuel 28:24); and Tamar kneaded dough to make cakes for her brother Amnon in the episode that ended in his assault on her (2 Samuel 13:8). Hosea 7:4 uses the image of a heated oven in the context of kneading and fermentation as a metaphor for the heated conspiracies of Israel's corrupt court. Paul's use of the kneading and leavening metaphor (1 Corinthians 5:6–7; Galatians 5:9) to describe the spread of sin or false teaching drew on the household familiarity with this daily process.