Leviticus 2:11

2:11 yeast: The bread commonly eaten in biblical times was comparable to modern sourdough. The substance that is often called “leaven” consisted of wild yeast spores mixed into moist dough or a flour mixture. The yeast would grow and cause the dough to ferment, souring and raising it. A reserved portion of the sour dough would be kneaded into subsequent batches (Matt 13:33). Unleavened bread was required for the Passover (Exod 12:8), in remembrance of Israel’s bondage in Egypt (Deut 16:3) and their speedy departure from that land (Exod 12:34; 13:3). Following the Exodus, unleavened bread acquired the status of altar bread. Leavened bread was not to be burned on the altar. • honey: The Hebrew word (debash) can also refer to fruit nectar. The reason for its exclusion is not stated, but perhaps the frequent use of honey in pagan offerings, particularly to gods of the underworld, was a contributing reason. If the word refers to fruit nectar, its association with wine and fermentation may have linked it with yeast, making it ineligible to be burned on the altar. However, both honey and yeast were allowed as part of an offering of first crops (Lev 2:12). Loaves of bread made with yeast were to be presented with thank offerings (7:13) and as a gift to the priest in the Festival of Harvest (23:17). In the New Testament, yeast becomes a spiritual metaphor, playing on its sour taste and on its tendency to spread (Matt 16:6, 11, 12; 1 Cor 5:6-8; cp. Matt 13:33).