What does μολύνω (molýnō) mean in the Bible?
μολύνω (molýnō): Moral and spiritual defilement through contact with sin, not physical dirt
Greek · G3435
μολύνω
To soil (figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
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Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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μολύνω G3435
Pronunciation molýnō
What does μολύνω (molýnō) mean in the Bible?
μολύνω (molýnō): Moral and spiritual defilement through contact with sin, not physical dirt
Full entry for μολύνω (G3435) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3435?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include have not been defiled (1), have not soiled (1), it is defiled (1).
Where does μολύνω (molýnō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Corinthians 8:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (2), 1 Corinthians (1).
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 have not been defiled 1× Revelation 14:4
have not soiled 1× Revelation 3:4
it is defiled 1× 1 Corinthians 8:7
Show sample aligned rows
1 Corinthians 8:7 μολύνεται to it is defiled Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Revelation 3:4 ἐμόλυναν to have not soiled Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 14:4 ἐμολύνθησαν to have not been defiled Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Corinthians 8:7
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 2
1 Corinthians 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἐμόλυναν 1x emolynan Revelation 3:4
ἐμολύνθησαν 1x emolynthēsan Revelation 14:4
μολύνεται 1x molynetai 1 Corinthians 8:7
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 3:4
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 14:4
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x 1 Corinthians 8:7
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Moral and spiritual defilement through contact with sin, not physical dirt
Strong's G3435
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 3 times Word forms 1 form 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Corinthians 8:7 Source Gloss
to soil (figuratively)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
1 Corinthians 8:7 Verb Third Person Singular Present Passive Indicative
μολύνεται. molunetai
I soil, stain, pollute, defile
Read verse Revelation 3:4 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐμόλυναν emolunan
I soil, stain, pollute, defile
Read verse Revelation 14:4 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐμολύνθησαν· emolunqhsan
I soil, stain, pollute, defile
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 1 Aligned forms 3 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Passive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Present Passive 1 Cor 8:7 1×
Aorist Active Rev 3:4 1×
Aorist Passive Rev 14:4 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 3 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 2 present 1
Voice
passive 2 active 1
Mood
indicative 3
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)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Conscience corrupted or weakened by idolatrous associations and practices
Showing 1 selected witness from 3 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
μολύνω is built from this root:
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