Greek word · G1591

ἐκμάσσω

ekmassō

to wipe off

To wipe off or wipe clean, and so to wipe dry: removing moisture or dirt by rubbing with cloth or hair.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

ἐκ-μάσσω

[in LXX: Sirach 12:11, Ep. Jeremiah 13:1-27 24:1-10 * ;]

to wipe off: with accusative, Luke 7:38, 44, John 11:2 12:3 13:5.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: To wipe off or wipe clean, and so to wipe dry: removing moisture or dirt by rubbing with cloth or hair.
Against the English: Most versions say 'wipe' or 'dry', and both are accurate. When a translation uses 'wipe' at 12:3 but 'dry' here (as some popular versions do), English readers lose the verbal echo John set up between the two scenes.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament the verb appears five times: the sinful woman wiping Jesus' feet with her hair (Luke 7:38, 44), Mary of Bethany doing the same (John 11:2; 12:3), and Jesus wiping the disciples' feet here (13:5). In Jewish Greek writings it describes wiping a mirror (Sirach 12:11) and priests wiping the dust off idols' faces (Letter of Jeremiah 6:13 [Baruch 6:13]).

Range of meaning: To wipe off, wipe dry.
Against the English: 'Wiped' is accurate. The English simply cannot show that the same verb links this scene to others.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament it appears only in John 11:2; 12:3; 13:5 and Luke 7:38, 44. In John 13:5 Jesus 'wipes' his disciples' feet with the towel tied around him.

Range of meaning: To wipe off or wipe dry, as with a cloth. Rare in the NT.
Against the English: English 'wipe' is accurate. Translations don't show that the same verb returns in 13:5.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the NT it occurs only in Luke 7:38, 44 (the woman in Simon's house), John 11:2, John 12:3 and John 13:5 (Jesus drying the disciples' feet with the towel). In the LXX see Sirach 12:11 (wiping a mirror) and Ep. Jer. 13 (Bar 6:13), wiping dust from idols' faces.

Luke · 2

Luke 7:38 ἐξέμασσεν she was wiping [them]

As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

Here: Imperfect tense, which shows ongoing or repeated action: 'she kept wiping'. 'Them' is understood. John uses the same verb for Mary of Bethany wiping Jesus' feet (John 12:3) and for Jesus drying his disciples' feet with a towel (John 13:5).
Luke 7:44 ἐξέμαξεν. wiped [them].

And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

Here: 'She wiped them dry.' The same verb is used in John 13:5 for Jesus drying the disciples' feet with a towel. She did the towel's work with her hair.

John · 3

John 11:2 ἐκμάξασα having wiped

(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)

Here: To wipe something dry. John uses the same verb in 13:5 for Jesus drying the disciples' feet with a towel. Mary's act and Jesus' act are told in the same words.
John 12:3 ἐξέμαξεν wiped

Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Here: 'Wiped (them) off/dry'. The same verb comes back in 13:5, when Jesus wipes the disciples' feet with a towel. John is linking the two scenes.
John 13:5 ἐκμάσσειν to wipe [them]

After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.

Here: To wipe off or wipe dry. It is the same verb John used one chapter earlier, when Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus' feet and 'wiped' them with her hair (12:3; cf. 11:2). The action Mary did for Jesus, Jesus now does for his disciples.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.