Greek word · G106

ἄζυμος

azymos

unleavened

Unleavened, unfermented. In the plural, used as a noun (ta azyma), it means the unleavened loaves (matzot) and also the Feast of Unleavened Bread itself.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

ἄζυμος, -ον

(ζύμη), [in LXX for מָצָּה; τὰ ἄ. (sc. λάγανα, cakes) = הַמָצָּה ;]

unleavened: ἡ ἑορτὴ τῶν ἄ. (הַג הַמָצָּה), the paschal feast (also called τὰ ἄ., Mark 14:1), Luke 22:1; ἡμέρα τῶν ἄ., Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7; ἡμέραι, Acts 12:3 20:6. Fig., of Christians, free from corruption: 1 Corinthians 5:7; exhorted to keep festival, ἐν ἀζύμοις (sc. ἄρτοις, λάγανοις, or, indefinitely, "unleavened elements"), ib. 8 (Cremer, 724).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Corinthians 5:8

Range of meaning: Unleavened, unfermented. In the plural, used as a noun (ta azyma), it means the unleavened loaves (matzot) and also the Feast of Unleavened Bread itself.
Against the English: KJV prints 'unleavened [bread]' with 'bread' in italics to show the word is supplied. YLT has 'unleavened food'. BSB, ESV, NASB and WEB supply 'bread'. The NLT has 'new bread', which keeps the contrast with old bread but drops the specifically Passover word 'unleavened'.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Exodus 12:15: 'seven days you shall eat unleavened bread (azyma)'. Mark 14:1, 12: 'the Passover and the Unleavened [Bread]'. Josephus calls the festival 'the feast of unleavened bread' (Antiquities 3.249). Philo discusses its meaning (Special Laws 2.150–161).

From the study of Acts 12:3

Range of meaning: As an adjective, "unleavened." In the neuter plural it means "unleavened loaves" (matzot), and by extension the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Hebrew ḥag ha-matsot. The festival lasted seven days, Nisan 15–21, immediately after the Passover lamb was slaughtered on Nisan 14 (Lev 23:5–8).
Against the English: "Days of unleavened bread" (KJV, WEB, YLT "unleavened food", ESV, NASB) keeps the plural "days." The BSB and NIV turn it into the festival name, "the Feast/Festival of Unleavened Bread," which is clear but drops the sense of a week-long period. In verse 4 the KJV renders pascha as "Easter," an anachronism. Here it correctly says "unleavened bread."
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint has "the feast of unleavened bread" (Exod 23:15; Deut 16:16). In the first century the whole eight-day period was loosely called "Passover": Luke 22:1 says "the feast of unleavened bread, which is called Passover," and Josephus uses both names interchangeably for the same festival period (e.g. Ant. 14.21; 17.213).

From the study of Mark 14:1

Range of meaning: Adjective 'unleavened'. As a neuter plural with the article (ta azyma, 'the unleavened things') it is the standard name of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15–21), during which no leaven could be eaten or even kept in the house (Exod 12:15–20; Lev 23:6).
Against the English: English translations supply 'Feast of ... Bread' (BSB, WEB) or leave it compressed (YLT 'the unleavened food'). Either works. The Greek plural is simply the festival's name.
Used elsewhere in the period: The LXX has 'the feast of the unleavened things' (heortē tōn azymōn, Exod 23:15; Lev 23:6). Josephus and Luke (22:1, 'the feast of unleavened bread, which is called Passover') show that in the first century the two names were used together, or swapped for each other, for one combined festival season.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 26:17 ἀζύμων unleavened [bread]

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

Mark · 2

Mark 14:1 ἄζυμα [Feast of] Unleavened Bread

Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him.

Here: Literally 'the unleavened things', the standard Greek name for the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15–21) that followed straight on from Passover.
Mark 14:12 ἀζύμων, of unleavened [bread],

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

Luke · 2

Luke 22:1 ἀζύμων of Unleavened [Bread]

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,
Luke 22:7 ἀζύμων of Unleavened [Bread]

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.

Acts · 2

Acts 12:3 ἀζύμων, Unleavened [Bread] —

And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Here: The seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15–21), which follows straight on from the Passover meal. Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims remembering the Exodus.
Acts 20:6 ἀζύμων Unleavened Bread

And after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and five days later we rejoined them in Troas, where we stayed seven days.

1 Corinthians · 2

1 Corinthians 5:7 ἄζυμοι· unleavened;

Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Here: 'Without leaven,' the state of every Israelite house and loaf during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Their standing in Christ is pictured as a house already cleared for the feast.
1 Corinthians 5:8 ἀζύμοις unleavened [bread]

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

Here: A plural adjective used as a noun: 'unleavened things', meaning the flat Passover loaves (Hebrew matzot). In the plural, 'the unleavened [loaves]' was also the name of the festival itself.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.