The DEFINED King James Bible Teaches the Leaven of the Pharisees is Fermented Dough

D. A. Waite, Jr., through his footnotes, misleads his readers by wrongly defining leaven.

D. A. Waite, Jr.'s  Wrong Definition For Leaven

D. A. Wate, Jr., defined "leaven" in the context of "leaven of the Pharisees" as:

fermented dough or yeast

4 Occurences of "Leaven of the Pharisees"

The word, "leaven" in the phrase, "leaven of the Pharisees" appears 4 times in the King James Bible:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Matthew 16:11

And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. Mark 8:15

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12:1

Was Jesus Warning Against the Fermented Dough of the Pharisees?

Leaven usually means "fermented dough," otherwise known as yeast, but not always. The Lord Jesus Christ warned his disciples to beware of a specific kind of leaven: "the leaven of the Pharisees."

His disciples understood that Jesus was not warning against yeast. Rather, he was telling them to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees (and Sadducees):

"Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:12

Jesus also defined the leaven of the Pharisees as hypocrisy:

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12:1

The Bible itself explains what Jesus meant by "leaven of the Pharisees" but you can find the meaning in at least one older unabridged dictionary as well. Webster's 1828 dictionary includes the second definition of leaven along with a Scripture citation:

n. lev'n. [L. levo, Eng. to lift.]

1. A mass of sour dough, which, mixed with a larger quantity of dough or paste, produces fermentation in it and renders it light. During the seven days of the passover, no leaven was permitted to be in the houses of the Jews. Ex. 12.

2. Any thing which makes a general change in the mass. It generally means something which corrupts or depraves that with which it is mixed.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matt. 16. [1]

Corrupt Doctrine and Hypocrisy Go Together

The leaven of the Pharisees—corrupt doctrine and hypocrisy—is with us today. We must beware of it, not prevent Christians from knowing what it is by falsely defining this kind of "leaven" as yeast.

Review

The Lord Jesus Christ warned against the "leaven of the Pharisees" which he said is the doctrine of the Pharisees (and Sadducees) and hypocrisy.

D. A. Waite, Jr., through his footnotes, said the leaven of the Pharisees is fermented dough.

Beware of the many out of context definitions in the DEFINED King James Bible. Those especially vulnerable to being deceived by false, out of context definitions are children, people who speak English as a second language and anyone who is not already grounded in sound doctrine.

Notes:

[1] Webster's 1828 Unabridged Dictionary http://www.webster1828.com/websters1828/definition.aspx?word=Leaven

Complete list of articles:  DEFINED King James Bible: Definitions For Change Index Page