What does πνεῦμα · ἀκάθαρτος mean in the Bible?
πνεῦμα · ἀκάθαρτος: Spirit as the immaterial, animating principle that constitutes personal identity and agency in biblical anthropology and theology.
Greek · G4151, G169
πνεῦμα
Spirit/breath: spirit · impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
πνεῦμα G4151 spirit/breath: spirit
Pronunciation pneûma
Spirit as the immaterial dimension of human existence, or God's transformative power, distinct from soul and body.
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ἀκάθαρτος G169 impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))
Pronunciation akáthartos
Unclean spanning ceremonial impurity, moral corruption, and demonic possession—Judaism's ritual purity framework applied theologically.
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What does πνεῦμα (pneûma) mean in the Bible?
πνεῦμα · ἀκάθαρτος: Spirit as the immaterial, animating principle that constitutes personal identity and agency in biblical anthropology and theology.
Full entry for πνεῦμα (G4151, G169) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for G4151, G169?
G4151, G169 is connected to 379 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
MessiahSpirit
Greek phrase. Spirit as the immaterial, animating principle that constitutes personal identity and agency in biblical anthropology and theology.
Strong's G4151, G169
Lexical occurrences 379 verses Word forms 8 forms 379 references Study link Mark 5:1–20 Source Gloss
a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit
Extended definition
Spirit as the immaterial, animating principle that constitutes personal identity and agency in biblical anthropology and theology.
:--ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 8 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.
Form patterns 8 Aligned forms 379 Case pattern Genitive (106) Number pattern Singular (345)
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Matt 10:20 · Matt 12:43 · Matt 26:41 · Mark 1:12 · Mark 1:26 · Mark 5:8 · Mark 9:20 · Mark 9:25 · Mark 13:11 · Mark 14:38 · Luke 1:35 · Luke 1:47 · Luke 2:25 · Luke 4:18 · Luke 8:55 · Luke 9:39 93×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Mark 3:11 · Mark 5:13 · Luke 10:20 · 1 Cor 14:32 · Heb 1:14 · Rev 4:5 · Rev 5:6 · Rev 16:14 8×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 1:18 · Matt 1:20 · Matt 4:1 · Matt 12:31 · Matt 12:32 · Matt 28:19 · Luke 1:15 · Luke 1:41 · Luke 1:67 · Luke 2:26 · Luke 4:1 · Luke 4:14 · John 3:5 · John 3:6 · John 3:8 · John 7:39 95×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 10:1 · Mark 6:7 · Luke 6:18 · Luke 7:21 · Luke 8:2 · Acts 5:16 · 1 Cor 12:10 · 1 Cor 14:12 · Heb 12:9 · Rev 1:4 · Rev 22:6 11×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Matt 3:11 · Matt 5:3 · Matt 12:28 · Matt 22:43 · Mark 1:8 · Mark 1:23 · Mark 2:8 · Mark 5:2 · Mark 8:12 · Mark 9:25 · Mark 12:36 · Luke 1:17 · Luke 1:80 · Luke 2:27 · Luke 3:16 · Luke 4:1 91×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Mark 1:27 · Luke 4:36 · 1 Tim 4:1 · Heb 12:23 · 1 Pet 3:19 5×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 3:16 · Matt 12:18 · Matt 27:50 · Mark 1:10 · Mark 3:29 · Mark 3:30 · Mark 7:25 · Mark 9:17 · Luke 3:22 · Luke 4:33 · Luke 11:13 · Luke 12:10 · Luke 13:11 · Luke 23:46 · Luke 24:37 · John 1:32 66×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 8:16 · Matt 12:45 · Luke 11:26 · Acts 8:7 · Acts 19:12 · Acts 19:13 · Heb 1:7 · 1 John 4:1 · Rev 3:1 · Rev 16:13 10×
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Additional Occurrences
Mark 1:21–28 πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον pneûma · akáthartos
unclean spirit
Mark 3:7–12 πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον pneûma · akáthartos
unclean spirit
New Testament Witnesses
unclean spirit
Word Origins
πνεῦμα is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Highlights spiritual oppression overcome by Christ.
Canonical Themes
Messiah Spirit
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