לָחַם

lacham · fight; eat

Hebrew word · Strong’s number H3898 · appears 177 times in the Bible

What is the Strong number?

Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.

What it means

lacham (לָחַם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “fight; eat”.

Fight, wage war. In a few passages, another verb with the same letters: eat (Proverbs 23:1).

How to say it

la·cham

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

To struggle against an enemy with weapons and give battle; God also fights for his people.
To eat bread or food; another word written the same.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To fight, to do battle; in another form, to eat. BDB: to feed on; figuratively, to consume; by implication, to battle. From the same root come מִלְחָמָה, “war”, and לֶחֶם, “bread”.

“YHWH will fight for you” Exodus 14:14 Deuteronomy 1:30
Going out to fight 1 Samuel 17:33
“YHWH fought for Israel” Joshua 10:14
To eat, to sit at table Proverbs 23:1 Psalms 141:4

How we translate it

Forms of “fight”: “fight” 87, “fought” 62, “fighting” 19, “one who fights” 3… In the few passages where it means to eat, “eat” 5 (“When you sit down to eat with a ruler”, Proverbs 23:1).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

fight ×87
fought ×62
fighting ×19
eat ×5
one who fights ×3
devoured ×1

Related words

Words that come from it

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

Exodus 1:10
Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will multiply, and if war breaks out, they too will join those who hate us and fight against us and go up from the land.”
Exodus 14:14
YHWH will fight for you, and you will keep silent.”
Exodus 14:25
He removed the wheels of their chariots and made them drive with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for YHWH is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Exodus 17:8
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
Exodus 17:9
Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of Elohim in my hand.”
Exodus 17:10
Joshua did as Moses told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Numbers 21:1
When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.
Numbers 21:23
But Sihon did not let Israel pass through his territory; and Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.
Numbers 21:26
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, and he had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.
Numbers 22:11
‘Look, the people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the earth; now, come, curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”
Deuteronomy 1:30
YHWH your Elohim, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
Deuteronomy 1:41
You answered and said to me, “We have sinned against YHWH. We will go up and fight, according to all that YHWH our Elohim commanded us.” Each of you girded on his weapons of war, and you considered it easy to go up into the hill country.
Deuteronomy 1:42
YHWH said to me, “Say to them, ‘Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not among you, so that you are not struck down before your enemies.’”
Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not fear them, for YHWH your Elohim, he is the one who fights for you.”
Deuteronomy 20:4
for YHWH your Elohim is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
Deuteronomy 20:10
When you draw near to a city to fight against it, you shall call to it for peace.
Deuteronomy 20:19
When you besiege a city many days, fighting against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them, for from them you may eat, and you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a human being, to come before you in the siege?
Deuteronomy 32:24
Wasted by hunger, and devoured by burning fever and bitter plague; and the teeth of beasts I will send against them, with the venom of crawling things of the dust.
Joshua 9:2
they gathered together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one voice.
Joshua 10:5
So they gathered and went up, the five kings of the Amorite, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, they and all their camps, and camped against Gibeon and fought against it.
Joshua 10:14
There was no day like that before it or after it, when YHWH listened to the voice of a man, for YHWH fought for Israel.
Joshua 10:25
And Joshua said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed; be strong and firm, for thus YHWH will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
Joshua 10:29
Then Joshua passed on, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.
Joshua 10:31
Then Joshua passed on, and all Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and camped against it and fought against it.
Joshua 10:34
Then Joshua passed on, and all Israel with him, from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped against it and fought against it.
Joshua 10:36
Then Joshua went up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it.
Joshua 10:38
Then Joshua turned back, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it.
Joshua 10:42
And all these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, because YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, fought for Israel.
Joshua 11:5
All these kings met by appointment and came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight with Israel.
Joshua 19:47
And the territory of the sons of Dan slipped out of their hands; and the sons of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and took possession of it and lived in it; and they called Leshem Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
Joshua 23:3
And you have seen all that YHWH your Elohim has done to all these nations because of you, for YHWH your Elohim, he is the one who fights for you.
Joshua 23:10
One man of you pursues a thousand, for YHWH your Elohim, he is the one who fights for you, just as he spoke to you.
Joshua 24:8
And I brought you to the land of the Amorite who lived beyond the Jordan; and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.
Joshua 24:9
Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you.
Joshua 24:11
And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the lords of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I gave them into your hand.
Judges 1:1
After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel asked YHWH, saying, “Who will go up for us against the Canaanite first, to fight against him?”
Judges 1:3
Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanite; and I too will go with you into your lot.” And Simeon went with him.
Judges 1:5
They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him, and they struck the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
Judges 1:8
The sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it, and they struck it with the edge of the sword, and the city they gave over to fire.
Judges 1:9
Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite who lived in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the Shephelah.

And 137 more times.