καθαρός, ά, όν (s. καθαρίζω; Hom.+)
① pert. to being clean or free of adulterating matter, clean, pure, of a cup Mt 23:26. σινδών clean linen (PGM 4, 1861; 2189; 3095; 5, 217) Mt 27:59. λίνον καθαρὸν λαμπρόν (v.l. λίθον; on this Philo, Mos. 2, 72) Rv 15:6. βύσσινον λαμπρὸν κ. 19:8; cp. vs. 14; ὠμόλινον κ. Hs 8, 4, 1. ὕδωρ pure, clean water (Eur., Hipp. 209; SIG 972, 169; PGM 4, 3252; Ezk 36:25; Philo, Spec. Leg. 3, 58; Mel., Fgm. 8b, 17; 40 P.) Hb 10:22. Of metals (Hdt. 4, 166; Aristot., Meteor. 383b, 1; Theocr. 15, 36 ἀργύριον; Plut., Alex. 684 [32, 9] ἄργυρος; Sb 4481, 13 σίδηρος) χρυσίον κ. pure gold (Diod S 3, 14, 4; Ex 25:31; 2 Ch 3:5) Rv 21:18a, 21; ὕαλος κ. clear crystal vs. 18b. In the fig. lang. of Ignatius, referring to martyrdom, we have the concept κ. ἄρτος (Hdt. 2, 40; Teles p. 40, 11; Dio Chrys. 13 [7], 76 al.; Jur. Pap. 36, 29; POxy 736, 26) pure (wheat) bread, without admixture IRo 4:1. κ. φῶς pure light IRo 6:2.—ὁ λελουμένος ἐστὶν καθαρὸς ὅλος a person who has bathed is clean all over J 13:10a.
② pert. to being cultically/ceremonially pure, ritually pure (ins; PGM 4, 3084; 3085; LXX; Iren. 3, 12, 7 [Harv. II 60, 3]; Did., Gen. 177, 13) of the temple τὸ ἱερὸν … καθαρόν Ox 840, 17f. πάντα καθαρά everything is ritually pure, hence fit for use Ro 14:20; Tit 1:15ac.
③ pert. to being free from moral guilt, pure, free fr. sin (Pind., P. 5, 2; Pla., Rep. 6 p. 496d καθαρὸς ἀδικίας τε καὶ ἀνοσίων ἔργων, Crat. 403e; 405b al.; LXX; PsSol 17:36; EpArist, Philo, Joseph.; TestBenj 8:2f; ἔχειν κ. ψυχήν Theoph. Ant. 1, 2 [p. 60, 22]).
ⓐ of a pers. as entity οἱ καθαροί Tit 1:15b; cp. J 13:10b, 11; 15:3. Christendom is Christ’s λαὸς κ. Hs 9, 18, 4. οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ (Ps 23:4) Mt 5:8; cp. PEg3 45 (τῇ καρδίᾳ restored), 47f (καρδίας restored). καθαρὸς τῇ συνειδήσει ITr 7:2b; guiltless Ac 18:6. καθαρά εἰμι ἐγὼ καὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω I am guiltless and still a virgin GJs 13:3. ἀπό τινος free from (Ps.-Demosth. 59, 78; Cass. Dio 37, 24, 2. Exx. fr. pap and ins in Dssm., NB 24 [BS 196]; PGM 13, 648; 1004; Gen 24:8; Pr 20:9; Tob 3:14; PsSol 17:36; Jos., Ant. 4, 222; Ath. 12, 3; ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας Orig., C. Cels. 7, 50, 6) ἀπὸ τ. αἵματος (Sus 46 Theod.) Ac 20:26. ἀπὸ ῥύπου 1 Cl 17:4 (Job 14:4). καθαρός εἰμι ἐγὼ ἐξ αὐτῆς I am without guilt as respects her GJs 15:4. Before God ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ 15:3.—Also of the Holy Spirit Hm 5, 1, 2, imagery of brightness.
ⓑ of things related to a pers. as a morally or spiritually responsible being κ. καρδία (Lucian, Nigr. 14 κ. ἦθος; Simplicius in Epict. p. 93, 49 ζωὴ κ.; Gen 20:5; Ps 50:12; cp. κ. ψυχή: Pythagoras in Diog. L. 8, 31; Diod S 12, 20, 2; 13, 29, 6; πνεῦμα κ. Ath. 27:1) 1 Ti 1:5; 2 Ti 2:22; 1 Pt 1:22; B 15:1; 1 Cl 18:10; Hv 3, 9, 8; σάρξ Hs 5, 7, 1; κ. συνείδησις (POslo 17, 10 [136 A.D.]) 1 Ti 3:9; 2 Ti 1:3; 1 Cl 45:7 (cp. κ. συνειδός: Philo, Spec. Leg. 1, 203, Praem. 84); θρησκεία κ. Js 1:27. χεῖρες καθαραί (Aeschyl., Eum. 313, also Plut., Pericl. 8, 8; SIG 983, 5; Job 9:30; 22:30; Philo, Virt. 57; Jos., Bell. 5, 380, Ant. 4, 222; Just., D. 12, 3) B 15:1. μετάνοια κ. Hm 2:7; 12, 3, 2. διάνοια 1 Cl 21:8; Hs 4:7. αφ.11.6.14. m 5, 1, 3. ἔντευξιν 10, 3, 3.
④ pert. to being pure ritually and morally, pure, ritual and moral purity merge (Simplicius in Epict. p. 111, 18) Lk 11:41. After a confession of sins καθαρὰ ἡ θυσία ὑμῶν D 14:1, 3. ὁ ἐντὸς θυσιαστηρίου ὢν καθαρός ἐστιν ITr 7:2a.—TWächter, Reinheitsvorschriften im griech. Kult 1910; FPfister, Katharsis.—M-M. Pauly-W. Suppl. IV ’35, 146ff.—DELG. EDNT. TW.
Hom Hom , VIII B.C.—List 5
pert. pert. = pertaining (to)
PGM PGM = Papyri Graecae Magicae—List 4
v.l. v.l. = varia lectio (variant reading)
Philo Philo = P. of Alexandria, I B.C.–I A.D.—List 5
cp. cp. = compare, freq. in ref. to citation fr. ancient texts
Hs Hs = Similitudes
Eur Eur , V B.C.—List 5
SIG SIG = Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum3; superscript omitted in text—List 3
PGM PGM = Papyri Graecae Magicae—List 4
Philo Philo = P. of Alexandria, I B.C.–I A.D.—List 5
Mel. Mel. = Melito of Sardis, II A.D.—List 5
Fgm. Fgm. = fragment, fragmentary
Hdt. Hdt. = Herodotus, V B.C.—List 5
Aristot Aristot , various works, IV B.C.—List 5
Theocr Theocr , IV–III B.C.—List 5
Plut Plut , I–II A.D.—List 5
Sb Sb = Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten—Lists 3, 4
Diod S Diod S , I B.C.—List 5
Hdt. Hdt. = Herodotus, V B.C.—List 5
Teles Teles , III B.C.—List 5
Dio Chrys Dio Chrys , I–II A.D.—List 5
al. al. =alibi (elsewhere), aliter (otherwise), alii (others)
POxy POxy = Oxyrhynchus Papyri—List 4
IRo IRo = Ignatius to the Romans—List 1
IRo IRo = Ignatius to the Romans—List 1
pert. pert. = pertaining (to)
ins Ins, ins = Inscription, Inschrift, inscription(s). Without a period, esp. in lists, as at the beginning of entries; the capitalized form is used in titles. In conjunction with literary works this abbr. refers to the title or description of contents.
PGM PGM = Papyri Graecae Magicae—List 4
LXX LXX = Septuaginta, ed. ARahlfs, unless otherwise specified—Lists 2, beg.
Iren. Iren. = Irenaeus, Haereses, II A.D.—List 5
Harv. Harv. = WHarvey; s. Iren.—List 5
Did. Did. = Didymus Caecus (the Blind), commentator on OT books, IV A.D.—List 5
Ox Ox = POxy, but refers to fragments of documents esp. relating to the lexical data base—List 1
pert. pert. = pertaining (to)
fr. fr. = from
Pind Pind , V B.C.—List 5
Pla Pla , V–IV B.C.; s. also Ps.-Plato—List 5
al. al. =alibi (elsewhere), aliter (otherwise), alii (others)
LXX LXX = Septuaginta, ed. ARahlfs, unless otherwise specified—Lists 2, beg.
PsSol PsSol = Psalms of Solomon—List 2
EpArist EpArist = Epistle of Aristeas, II B.C.—List 5
Philo Philo = P. of Alexandria, I B.C.–I A.D.—List 5
Joseph Joseph This abbr. used when no specific texts are cited (s. Jos.); I A.D.—List 5
TestBenj TestBenj = Testament of Benjamin, s. Test12Patr—List 2
Theoph. Ant. Theoph. Ant. = Theophilus Antiochenus, II A.D.—List 5
pers. pers. = person(s)
cp. cp. = compare, freq. in ref. to citation fr. ancient texts
Hs Hs = Similitudes
cp. cp. = compare, freq. in ref. to citation fr. ancient texts
ITr ITr = Ignatius to the Trallians—List 1
GJs GJs = Gospel of James (Protevangelium Jacobi), II A.D.—List 1
Ps. Ps. = pseudo, pseudonymous
Demosth Demosth , IV B.C.—List 5
fr. fr. = from
pap pap = papyrus, -yri
ins Ins, ins = Inscription, Inschrift, inscription(s). Without a period, esp. in lists, as at the beginning of entries; the capitalized form is used in titles. In conjunction with literary works this abbr. refers to the title or description of contents.
Dssm. Dssm. = ADeissmann, various works—List 6
BS BS , s. Dssm., BS—List 6
PGM PGM = Papyri Graecae Magicae—List 4
PsSol PsSol = Psalms of Solomon—List 2
Jos. Jos. = Josephus. This abbr. used when follow by title; I A.D.—Lists 5
Ath. Ath. = Athenagoras, II A.D.—List 5
Orig Orig , var. works, II–III A.D.—List 5
Theod. Theod. = Theodotion, revision of Greek OT, II A.D.—List 2, beg.
1 Cl 1 Cl = 1 Clement—List 1
GJs GJs = Gospel of James (Protevangelium Jacobi), II A.D.—List 1
Hm Hm = Hermas, Mandates—List 1
pers. pers. = person(s)
Lucian Lucian , II A.D.—List 5
Simplicius Simplicius , VI A.D.—List 5
Epict Epict , various works, I–II A.D.—List 5
cp. cp. = compare, freq. in ref. to citation fr. ancient texts
Diog. L. Diog. L. = Diogenes Laertius, III A.D.—List 5
Diod S Diod S , I B.C.—List 5
Ath. Ath. = Athenagoras, II A.D.—List 5
B B = Barnabas (the Letter of), II A.D., except in series of uncial witnesses, in which case B refers to Codex Vaticanus (s. also Vat.). When the abbrv. B would ambiguous, Vat. is used for the codex.—List 1
1 Cl 1 Cl = 1 Clement—List 1
Hv Hv = Visions
Hs Hs = Similitudes
POslo POslo = Papyri Osloenses—List 4
1 Cl 1 Cl = 1 Clement—List 1
cp. cp. = compare, freq. in ref. to citation fr. ancient texts
Philo Philo = P. of Alexandria, I B.C.–I A.D.—List 5
Aeschyl Aeschyl , V B.C.—List 5
Plut Plut , I–II A.D.—List 5
SIG SIG = Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum3; superscript omitted in text—List 3
Philo Philo = P. of Alexandria, I B.C.–I A.D.—List 5
Jos. Jos. = Josephus. This abbr. used when follow by title; I A.D.—Lists 5
Just. Just(in) , II A.D.—List 5
B B = Barnabas (the Letter of), II A.D., except in series of uncial witnesses, in which case B refers to Codex Vaticanus (s. also Vat.). When the abbrv. B would ambiguous, Vat. is used for the codex.—List 1
Hm Hm = Hermas, Mandates—List 1
1 Cl 1 Cl = 1 Clement—List 1
Hs Hs = Similitudes
m m = Mandates
pert. pert. = pertaining (to)
Simplicius Simplicius , VI A.D.—List 5
Epict Epict , various works, I–II A.D.—List 5
D D = Didache, except that in a list of manuscripts or as textual variant D refers to Codex Bezae—List 1
ITr ITr = Ignatius to the Trallians—List 1
M-M M-M = JMoulton/GMilligan, Vocabulary of Greek Testament—Lists 4, 6
Pauly-W Pauly-W = AP./GW., Real-Encyclopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft—List 6
Suppl. Suppl. = Supplement (to serials)
suppl. = supplement, supplied (in grammatical references)
DELG DELG = PChantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque—List 6
EDNT EDNT = Exegetical Dictionary of the NT—List 6
TW TW = Theologisches Wörterbuch zum NT; tr. GBromiley, Theological Dictionary of the NT—List 6
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 489.
Greek Strong’s Number: 2513
Greek Word: καθαρός
Transliteration: katharos
Phonetic Pronunciation: kath-ar-os’
Root: of uncertain affinity
Cross Reference: TDNT - 3:413,381
Part of Speech: adj
Vine’s Words: Clean, Cleanness, Cleanse, Cleansing, Pure, Pureness, Purity
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
pure 17
clean 10
clear 1
[Total Count: 28]
of uncert. affin.; clean (literal or figurative):- clean, clear, pure.
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Greek
adj Adjective, Adjectively Hebrew
James Strong, “Καθαρός,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
CLEAN, CLEANNESS, CLEANSE, CLEANSING
A. Adjective.
katharos (καθαρός, 2513), “free from impure admixture, without blemish, spotless,” is used (a) physically, e.g., Matt. 23:26; 27:59; John 13:10 (where the Lord, speaking figuratively, teaches that one who has been entirely “cleansed,” needs not radical renewal, but only to be “cleansed” from every sin into which he may fall); 15:3; Heb. 10:22; Rev. 15:6; 19:8, 14; 21:18, 21; (b) in a Levitical sense, Rom. 14:20; Titus 1:15, “pure”; (c) ethically, with the significance free from corrupt desire, from guilt, Matt. 5:8; John 13:10–11; Acts 20:26; 1 Tim. 1:5; 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; 2:22; Titus 1:15; Jas. 1:27; blameless, innocent (a rare meaning for this word), Acts 18:6; (d) in a combined Levitical and ethical sense ceremonially, Luke 11:41, “all things are clean unto you.” See clear, C, Note (2), pure.¶
B. Verbs.
1. katharizo (καθαρίζω, 2511), akin to A, signifies (1) “to make clean, to cleanse” (a) from physical stains and dirt, as in the case of utensils, Matt. 23:25 (figuratively in verse 26); from disease, as of leprosy, Matt. 8:2; (b) in a moral sense, from the defilement of sin, Acts 15:9; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 9:14; Jas. 4:8, “cleanse” from the guilt of sin, Eph. 5:26; 1 John 1:7; (2) “to pronounce clean in a Levitical sense,” Mark 7:19, rv; Acts 10:15; 11:9; “to consecrate by cleansings,” Heb. 9:22, 23; 10:2. See purge, purify.
2. diakatharizo (διακαθαρίζω, 1245), “to cleanse thoroughly,” is used in Matt. 3:12, rv.¶
Note: For kathairo, John 15:2, rv, see purge, No. 1. For diakathairo, Luke 3:17, rv, see purge, No. 3.
C. Nouns.
1. katharismos (καθαρισμός, 2512), akin to A, denotes “cleansing,” (a) both the action and its results, in the Levitical sense, Mark 1:44; Luke 2:22, “purification”; 5:14, “cleansing”; John 2:6; 3:25, “purifying”; (b) in the moral sense, from sins, Heb. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:9, rv, “cleansing. See purge, purification, purifylng.¶
2. katharotes (καθαρότης, 2514), akin to B, “cleanness, purity,” is used in the Levitical sense in Heb. 9:13, rv, “cleanness.” See purify.¶
Note: In 2 Pet. 2:18, some inferior mss. have ontos, “certainly” (kjv, “clean”), for oligos, “scarcely” (rv, “just”).