Original Word: καθαρός
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: katharos
Pronunciation: kah-thah-ROS
Phonetic Spelling: (kath-ar-os')
Definition: Clean, pure, clear
Meaning: clean, pure, unstained, either literally or ceremonially or spiritually; guiltless, innocent, upright.

Word Origin: Derived from a primary word meaning "clean" or "pure."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H2889 (טָהוֹר, tahor): Clean, pure

- H2891 (טָהֵר, taher): To be clean, to purify

Usage: The Greek word "katharos" primarily denotes physical cleanliness or purity, but it extends to moral and ceremonial purity as well. In the New Testament, it is often used to describe the purity of heart and spirit, as well as the cleanliness required by Jewish law.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the Jewish context, ceremonial cleanliness was crucial for worship and daily life. The Law of Moses outlined various rituals and practices to maintain purity, which included washing and avoiding certain foods and activities. In the Greco-Roman world, purity also had philosophical and ethical dimensions, often associated with moral integrity and virtue.

2513 katharós (a primitive word) – properly, "without admixture" (BAGD); what is separated (purged), hence "clean" (pure) because unmixed (without undesirable elements); (figuratively) spiritually clean because purged (purified by God), i.e. free from the contaminating (soiling) influences of sin.

Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
clean (adjective)
NASB Translation
clean (12), clear (3), innocent (1), pure (10).

STRONGS NT 2513: καθαρός

καθαρός, καθαρά, καθαρόν; (akin to Latincastus, incestus, English chaste, chasten; Curtius, § 26; Vanicek, p. 177); from Homer down; the Sept. mostly for טָהור; clean, pure (free from the admixture or adhesion of anything that soils, adulterates, corrupts);

a. physically: Matthew 23:26; Matthew 27:59; Hebrews 10:22 (23); Revelation 15:6; Revelation 19:8, 14, and Rec. in Revelation 22:1; χρυσίον, purified by fire, Revelation 21:18, 21; in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit, John 15:3; ὁ λελουμένος ... καθαρός ὅλος (where the idea winch Christ expresses figuratively is as follows: 'he whose inmost nature has been renovated does not need radical renewal, but only to be cleansed from every several fault into which he may fall through contact with the unrenewed world'), John 13:10.

b. in a levitical sense; clean, i. e. the use of which is not forbidden, imparts no uncleanness: πάντα καθαρά, Romans 14:20; Titus 1:15.

c. ethically; free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt: Titus 1:15; ὑμεῖς καθαροί, John 13:10 (11); οἱ καθαροί τῇ καρδία (as respects heart (Winer's Grammar, § 31, 6 a.)), Matthew 5:8 (καθαρός χεῖρας, Herodotus 1, 35; κατά τό σῶμα καί κατά τήν ψυχήν, Plato, Crat., p. 405 b.); free from every admixture of what is false, sincere, ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας, 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22, and R G in 1 Peter 1:22; ἐν καθαρά συνειδήσει, 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3; genuine (joined with ἀμίαντος) θρησκεία, James 1:27; blameless, innocent, Acts 18:6. Hebraistically with the addition of ἀπό τίνος, pure from, i. e. unstained with the guilt of, anything (Winers Grammar, § 30, 6 a.; Buttmann, 157f (137f)): ἀπό τοῦ αἵματος, Acts 20:26; Susanna 46 Alex., cf. Genesis 24:8; Tobit 3:14; καθαρᾶς ἔχειν τάς χεῖρας ἀπό τοῦ φόνου, Josephus, Antiquities 4, 8, 16; in classical Greek with a simple genitive, as φόνου, Plato, legg. 9, p. 864 e.; cf. Passow, under the word, p. 1528{a}; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, 3); Kühner, § 421, 4 ii., p. 344.

d. in a levitical and ethical sense: πάντα καθαρά ὑμῖν, Luke 11:41, on which see ἔνειμι. (Synonym: see εἰλικρινής; cf. Westcott on 1 John 3:3.)

clean, clear, pure.

Of uncertain affinity; clean (literally or figuratively) -- clean, clear, pure.

καθαρα καθαρά καθαρὰ καθαρᾷ καθαραί καθαραίς καθαράν καθαρας καθαράς καθαρᾶς καθαροι καθαροί καθαροὶ καθαροις καθαροίς καθαροῖς καθαρον καθαρόν καθαρὸν καθαρος καθαρός καθαρὸς καθαρού καθαρούς καθαρω καθαρώ καθαρῷ καθάρω καθαρών kathara kathará katharà katharā̂i katharas katharâs katharo katharō katharoi katharoí katharoì katharôi katharō̂i katharois katharoîs katharon katharón katharòn katharos katharós katharòsInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts