Greek · G169 · unreviewed

ἀκάθαρτος

Impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))

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ἀκάθαρτος G169

Pronunciation akáthartos

What does ἀκάθαρτος (akáthartos) mean in the Bible?

ἀκάθαρτος (akáthartos) is a Greek word meaning "impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))". ἀκάθαρτος, -ον (ἀ- neg. Highlights the moral corruption opposed to Christ’s holiness. This term runs through the canonical themes of Holiness, Messiah.

Full entry for ἀκάθαρτος (G169) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))

Extended definition

Unclean spanning ceremonial impurity, moral corruption, and demonic possession—Judaism's ritual purity framework applied theologically.

(ἀ- neg., καθαίρω), [in LXX chiefly for טָמֵא ;] unclean, impure;

aphysically (LS, MM, VGT, see word);

bceremonially: Act.10:14,28 11:8, 1Co.7:14, 2Co.6:17, Rev.18:2; __(with) morally: Eph.5:5, Rev.17:4; with πνεῦμα, as always in Gosp., Mat.10:1 12:43, Mrk.1:23,26,27 3:11,30 5:2,8,13 6:7 7:25 9:25, Luk.4:33,36 6:18 8:29 9:42 11:24, Act.5:16 8:7, Rev.16:13 (cf. Cremer, 320).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

Highlights the moral corruption opposed to Christ’s holiness. Mark 1:21–28

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Neuter Matt 12:43 · Mark 1:26 · Mark 5:8 · Luke 11:24 · Acts 11:8 5×

Nominative · Plural · Neuter Mark 3:11 · Mark 5:13 · 1 Cor 7:14 3×

Nominative · Singular · Masculine Eph 5:5 1×

Genitive · Singular · Neuter Luke 4:33 · 2 Cor 6:17 · Rev 18:2 5×

Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 10:1 · Mark 6:7 · Luke 6:18 · Acts 5:16 4×

Dative · Singular · Neuter Mark 1:23 · Mark 5:2 · Mark 9:25 · Luke 8:29 · Luke 9:42 5×

Dative · Plural · Neuter Mark 1:27 · Luke 4:36 2×

Accusative · Singular · Neuter Mark 3:30 · Mark 7:25 · Acts 10:14 3×

Accusative · Plural · Neuter Acts 8:7 · Rev 16:13 · Rev 17:4 3×

Accusative · Singular · Masculine Acts 10:28 1×

Canonical Themes

Holiness Messiah

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses

Mark 1:21–28 ἀκάθαρτος akáthartos Nominative · Singular · Neuter

unclean

Additional Occurrences

Mark 1:40–45 ἀκάθαρτος akáthartos

unclean

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 10 — God Opens the Gospel Door to the Gentiles Luke 11 — Prayer, Kingdom Conflict, True Hearing, and the Exposure of Hypocrisy Luke 4 — The Spirit-Anointed Son Tested, Rejected, and Proclaiming the Kingdom Mark 1 — The Beginning of the Gospel: The Servant-King Appears with Authority Mark 3 — The Servant-King Confronted: Sabbath Mercy, Demonic Accusation, and the Family of God Mark 5 — The Authority of Jesus over Demons, Disease, and Death Mark 6 — Rejected Prophet, Sending Lord, Wilderness Shepherd, and Divine Son on the Sea Mark 9 — Glory, Unbelief, Suffering, Humility, and Radical Discipleship Matthew 10 — The Mission of the Twelve, Costly Witness, and Allegiance to Christ Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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