Cleansing
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Katharismos names cleansing, purification, or washing connected with ritual requirement, ceremonial practice, and, in climactic theological use, the purification for sins accomplished by the Son. The Gospels use it for prescribed cleansing after leprosy, Mary's purification according to the Law, Jewish purification jars, and dispute about ceremonial washing.
Reader summary
Full entry for καθαρισμός (G2512) · Open the biblical lexicon
Katharismos names cleansing, purification, or washing connected with ritual requirement, ceremonial practice, and, in climactic theological use, the purification for sins accomplished by the Son. The Gospels use it for prescribed cleansing after leprosy, Mary's purification according to the Law, Jewish purification jars, and dispute about ceremonial washing.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include cleansing (2), purification (2), [rites of] purification (1), ceremonial washing (1), he has been cleansed (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 1:44. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2), Luke (2), 2 Peter (1), Hebrews (1).
Katharismos names cleansing, purification, or washing connected with ritual requirement, ceremonial practice, and, in climactic theological use, the purification for sins accomplished by the Son. The Gospels use it for prescribed cleansing after leprosy, Mary's purification according to the Law, Jewish purification jars, and dispute about ceremonial washing.
Hebrews 1:3 moves the term into the work of Christ, who provided purification for sins and sat down at God's right hand. Second Peter uses the language of cleansing from past sins to warn against forgetful unfruitfulness. Katharismos therefore helps readers move carefully from ritual contexts to Christ's sufficient cleansing without despising the biblical practices that prepared the category.
Katharismos follows cleansing language from lawful purification and Jewish washing practices to the Son's completed purification for sins.
“See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Jesus instructs the cleansed man to present the offering Moses prescribed, honoring the lawful testimony attached to cleansing.
And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
Mary and Joseph act according to the Law's purification requirements, placing Jesus' early life within obedient Israel.
“Do not tell anyone,” Jesus instructed him. “But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Luke repeats the cleansing instruction after Jesus heals a leper, linking mercy, testimony, and Mosaic prescription.
Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.
The stone water jars for Jewish purification stand in the setting where Jesus reveals His glory at Cana.
Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing.
A dispute about ceremonial washing provides the backdrop for John the Baptist's testimony that Christ must increase.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews declares that the Son provided purification for sins before sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Peter warns that lack of growth shows a forgetfulness of cleansing from past sins.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Ritual or moral cleansing from defilement; in Hebrews, Christ's purification of sins through sacrifice.
Ritual or moral cleansing from defilement; in Hebrews, Christ's purification of sins through sacrifice.
(καθαρίζω). [in LXX for טָהֵר, טׇהֳרָה, etc. ;] cleansing, purification: Jhn.3:25; with genitive subjc., τ. Ἰουδαίων, Jhn.2:6; with genitive obj., of women after childbirth, Luk.2:22; of lepers, Mrk.1:44, Luk.5:14; with genitive of thing(s), τ. ἁμαρτιῶν, Heb.1:3, 2Pe.1:9 (Cremer, 319).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
cleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read versecleansing, purifying, purification
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
καθαρισμός is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
The core insight of katharismos is that cleansing language in the New Testament must be read along the line from ritual setting to Christ's sufficient work. Mark and Luke show Jesus respecting the Mosaic testimony connected to cleansing after leprosy. Luke 2 places Jesus' family within lawful purification. John uses purification jars and a washing dispute as narrative settings where Jesus' glory and John's witness come into view.
Hebrews then gives the decisive claim: the Son provided purification for sins and sat down at God's right hand. Second Peter turns that cleansing into a warning against spiritual forgetfulness. Katharismos therefore helps preaching honor biblical categories of purity while leading hearers to rest in Christ and remember what His cleansing demands.
Heb.1.3
Katharismos is a masculine noun for cleansing or purification. Its referent can be ceremonial, ritual, or soteriological, so the text's setting determines whether the emphasis is practice, testimony, or Christ's work.
Levitical cleansing laws and temple purity categories shape the background of katharismos. The New Testament does not erase that background; it shows Jesus fulfilling and surpassing it by providing purification for sins.