What does λούω (loúō) mean in the Bible?
Λούω (loúō) means to wash or bathe. In John 13:10 Jesus distinguishes the bathing of the whole body from the washing of the feet.
Greek · G3068
λούω
To wash
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λούω G3068
Pronunciation loúō
What does λούω (loúō) mean in the Bible?
Λούω (loúō) means to wash or bathe. In John 13:10 Jesus distinguishes the bathing of the whole body from the washing of the feet.
Reader summary
Full entry for λούω (G3068) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3068?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] washed (1), has already bathed (1), her body was washed (1), that is washed (1), washed (1).
Where does λούω (loúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 13:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), 2 Peter (1), Hebrews (1), John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Λούω (loúō) means to wash or bathe. In John 13:10 Jesus distinguishes the bathing of the whole body from the washing of the feet. The immediate setting is His enacted lesson in humble service and the disciples' need to receive cleansing from Him. Jesus says the disciples are clean, though not all, keeping the action connected to His knowledge of Judas and to the deeper spiritual reality the foot washing signifies.
The New Testament also uses the verb for ordinary bodily care and for cleansing imagery. The Philippian jailer washes the apostles' wounds before he and his household are baptized (Acts 16:33). Hebrews calls believers to draw near with hearts cleansed and bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22). Second Peter warns that outward washing does not change a creature that returns to corruption (2 Pet. 2:22).
The verb itself does not identify one sacrament, teach that physical water automatically removes sin, or erase the distinction between justification and ongoing confession. Faithful teaching lets each passage explain the washing and keeps the center on Christ, who cleanses His people and forms them into servants who wash one another's feet.
Passage contextCanonical parallelEditorial synthesis
How the Bible Uses It
The verb joins ordinary washing with John 13's enacted lesson in cleansing and service and with wider New Testament cleansing imagery.
- John.13.10
Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
Jesus distinguishes whole-body bathing from foot washing while interpreting the act through cleansing, belonging, and Judas' betrayal.
- Acts.16.33
At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
The jailer's concrete care for wounded prisoners accompanies his response to the gospel and precedes baptism.
- Heb.10.22
Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Washing imagery belongs to confident access to God grounded in Christ's priestly work.
- 2Pet.2.22
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”
External washing without inward transformation cannot prevent a return to corruption.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It [and] washed 1× Acts 16:33
has already bathed 1× John 13:10
her body was washed 1× Acts 9:37
that is washed 1× 2 Peter 2:22
washed 1× Hebrews 10:22
Show sample aligned rows
John 13:10 λελουμένος to has already bathed Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 9:37 λούσαντες to her body was washed Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 16:33 ἔλουσεν to [and] washed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Hebrews 10:22 λελουσμένοι to washed Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 2 Peter 2:22 λουσαμένη to that is washed Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 13:10
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 4
John 1 Acts 2 Hebrews 1 2 Peter 1
Source forms
ἔλουσεν 1x elousen Acts 16:33
λελουμένος 1x leloumenos John 13:10
λελουσμένοι 1x lelousmenoi Hebrews 10:22
λουσαμένη 1x lousamenē 2 Peter 2:22
λούσαντες 1x lousantes Acts 9:37
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Acts 16:33
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 9:37
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x 2 Peter 2:22
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Hebrews 10:22
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x John 13:10
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let John 13 define the act through Jesus' service, cleansing, and call to follow His example. Avoid building an entire sacramental system from the verb alone.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every use of λούω refers to baptism. Acts 16:33 distinguishes washing wounds from the baptism that follows.
- Do not claim that outward washing guarantees inward renewal. Second Peter 2:22 uses a washed animal to warn about returning to corruption.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Washing the whole body, distinct from νίπτω (parts) and πλύνω (garments); often ceremonial.
Strong's G3068
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 2 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 9:37 Source Gloss
to wash
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 13:10 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
λελουμένος leloumenov
I wash, bathe
Read verse Acts 9:37 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
λούσαντες lousantev
I wash, bathe
Read verse Acts 16:33 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἔλουσεν elousen
I wash, bathe
Read verse Hebrews 10:22 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
λελουμένοι leloumenoi
I wash, bathe
Read verse 2 Peter 2:22 Verb Aorist Middle Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
λουσαμένη lousamenh
I wash, bathe
Read verse Revelation 1:5 Verb Aorist Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
λούσαντι lousanti
I wash, bathe
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.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 5 Tenses Perfect, Aorist Voices Middle, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Perfect Middle John 13:10 · Heb 10:22 2×
Aorist Active Acts 9:37 1×
Aorist Middle 2 Pet 2:22 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 1×
Aorist Active Acts 16:33 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 3 perfect 2
Voice
middle 3 active 2
Mood
participle 4 indicative 1
NT Occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
physical washing of a dead body in preparation for burial
washing wounds or removing physical marks from the body
complete bathing of the entire body with spiritual significance
metaphorical cleansing, purification of the body in spiritual sense
metaphorical cleansing from sins through Christ's redemptive work
Word Origins
λούω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
John 13 places cleansing in the hands of Jesus. Peter initially resists the Lord's humiliating service, but Jesus teaches that belonging to Him requires receiving what He gives. The distinction between bathing and foot washing also guards against two errors: treating believers as though Christ has not cleansed them at all, and pretending that ongoing sin and daily need no longer matter.
The wider New Testament keeps bodily washing, baptismal settings, priestly imagery, and moral warning distinct. A faithful sermon should therefore call people to receive Christ's cleansing, practice humble service, confess ongoing sin, and reject confidence in outward ritual apart from a heart transformed by grace.
Anchor passage
John.13.10
Doctrinal connections
- John 13:1-17 - Jesus washes the disciples' feet
- John 15:3 - clean through Jesus' word
- Hebrews 9-10 - priestly cleansing and access
- 1 John 1:7-9 - cleansing and confession
λούω commonly refers to washing the body, while other verbs can describe washing a part such as hands or feet. John 13 intentionally uses that distinction.
From Old to New Testament
Priestly washings and purity practices prepare the canonical language of cleansing, but John 13 centers the action in Jesus' person, service, and relationship with His disciples.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain