BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
GREEK · G3067
loutron — washing
λουτρόν, -οῦ, τό (λούω), [in LXX: Sng.4:2 6:5, (6) (רַחְצָה), Sir.34:25 * ;] a washing, bath: τ. ὕδατος, Eph.5:26; τ. παλιγγενεσίας, Tit.3:5 (see AR, Eph., l.with).† (AS)
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H7366
ra.chats — washing
washing
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H7367
rach.tsah — washing
washing
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G3068
louō — to wash
λούω [in LXX chiefly for רָחַץ (frequently of ceremonial washing; cf. Deiss., BS, 226 f.) ;] to bathe, wash the body: with accusative of person(s), Act.9:37 (of a dead body); id. before ἀπό (Deiss., BS, l.with), Act.16:33; pass. ptcp. pf., Jhn.13:10, Heb.10:22; mid., to wash oneself (Mayor, in l; M. Pr., 155 f., 238 f.), 2Pe.2:22; metaphorically, Rev.1:5, Rec., R, mg. (cf. ἀπο-λούω).† SYN.: νίπτω, used of parts of the body-hands, feet, face; πλύνω, of things, as garments, etc. (see Lev.15:11; cf. Tr., Syn., § xlv) (AS)
5 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G909
baptismos — baptism
βαπτισμός, -οῦ, ὁ (βαπτίζω), prop., the act of which βάπτισμα is the result; 1. a dipping, washing, lustration: Mrk.7:4; of Jewish ceremonial. Heb.9:10; in Heb.6:2, βαπτισμῶν διδαχήν (-ῆς), "the pl. and the peculiar form seem to be used to include Christian baptism with other lustral rites" (Westc, in l.). 2. baptism: FlJ, Ant., 18, 5, 2 (of John's baptism), and some Fathers (see Soph., see word). Not so in NT, unless ἐν τ. βαπτισμῷ, in the act of baptism, Col.2:12, be read with Tr. (Rec., WH, R, -ματι). † (AS)
4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H1740
du.ach — to wash
1) to rinse, cleanse away by rinsing, cast out, purge, wash, washing 1a) (Hiphil) 1a1) to rinse 1a2) to cleanse (by washing) (fig.)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H1287
bo.rit — lye
lye, potash, soap, alkali (used in washing)
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G20804
nizō — to wash hands
1. to wash the hands or feet of another, (Odyssey by Homer):—;Mid., χεῖρας νίψασθαι to wash one's hands, (Iliad by Homer); so, νίψασθαι, absolute, to wash one's hands , (Odyssey by Homer), etc.; νίψασθαι ἁλός to wash [with water] from the sea, (Odyssey by Homer) 2. generally to purge, cleanse , (Sophocles Tragicus) 3. to wash off , ἱδρῶ νίψεν ἀπὸ χρωτός washed off the sweat from the skin, (Iliad by Homer); αἷμα νίζ᾽ ὕδατι (Iliad by Homer):—;Mid., χρόα νίζετο ἅλμην he washed the brine off his skin, (Odyssey by Homer):—;Pass., αἷμα νένιπται (Iliad by Homer)—;The word is commonly said of persons washing part of the person, while λούομαι is used of bathing , πλύνω of washing clothes . (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G6679
bothros — a cesspool
any hole or pit dug in the ground , Lat. puteus, (Homer): a natural trough for washing clothes in, (Odyssey by Homer):—; a hole , such as a fire makes in the snow, (Xenophon Historicus) (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G7914
katarchō — to rule
1. to make beginning of a thing, with genitive, (Aeschulus Tragicus); ὁδοῦ κατάρχειν to lead the way, (Sophocles Tragicus):—; rarely with accusative to begin a thing, (Plato Philosophus):—;with participle to begin doing, (Xenophon Historicus) 2. to honour , (Euripides) 3. Mid. to make a beginning, to begin , like Act., with genitive, (Euripides); also with accusative, (Euripides): absolute, κατάρχεται μέλος is beginning , (Euripides) 4. in religious sense, to begin the sacrificial ceremonies , Νέστωρ χέρνιβά τt οὐλοχύτας τε κατήρχετο Nestor began [the sacrifice] with the washing of hands and sprinkling the barley on the victim's head, (Odyssey by Homer); κατάρχομαι I begin the function , (Euripides):—;with genitive, κατάρχεσθαι τοῦ τράγου to make a beginning of the victim, i. e. consecrate him for sacrifice by cutting off the hair of his forehead, (Aristophanes Comicus); πῶς δ᾽ αὖ κατάρξει θυμάτω; (Euripides) 5. to sacrifice, slay , (Euripides):—;Pass., σὸν κατῆρκται σῶμα hath been devoted , (Euripides) 6. simply, to strike , (Plutarch) (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G8172
lebēs — a kettle
1. a kettle or caldron of copper, (Homer), etc. 2. a basin in which the purifying water χέρνιψ); was handed to the guests before meals, (Odyssey by Homer); also a pan for washing the feet, (Odyssey by Homer): a bath , (Aeschulus Tragicus) 3. a cymbal , (Herdotus Historicus) 4. a cinerary urn , (Aeschulus Tragicus):—;generally, a casket , (Sophocles Tragicus) (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →(Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which “the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, ‘rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.’” To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See ABLUTION.)
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.
