Greek word · G1669
ἑλκόω
helkoō
to have/cause sores
To cause sores. Passive: to be ulcerated, covered with festering wounds. It comes from ἕλκος, 'wound, ulcer, sore'.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἑλκόω, -ῶ
1. to wound.
2. to ulcerate; pass., to suffer from sores: pf. ptcp., εἱλκωμίνος (Rec. ἡλκ-), EV, full of sores, Luke 16:20.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To cause sores. Passive: to be ulcerated, covered with festering wounds. It comes from ἕλκος, 'wound, ulcer, sore'.
- Against the English
'Full of sores' (KJV, WEB, YLT) and 'covered with sores' (BSB and most modern versions) are accurate. The perfect tense describes a lasting condition, not a passing rash.
- How it drifted
The medieval 'leper' reading (see Λάζαρος) is not in the word. Ulcers could come from malnutrition, infection or many other diseases.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The verb is used in Greek medical writers (the Hippocratic corpus) and in Xenophon. The noun ἕλκος is used in the Septuagint for the boils of Egypt (Exod 9:9–11), the 'boils of Egypt' among the covenant curses (Deut 28:27, 35), and Job's affliction 'from sole to crown' (Job 2:7). It appears again in v. 21 ('licked his sores') and in Rev 16:2, 11.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 16:20 εἱλκωμένος full of sores
And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
Here: A perfect passive participle, 'in an ulcerated state'. His body is covered with open sores that won't heal. The word appears only here in the New Testament. Its root, helkos, is the word the Greek Old Testament uses for Job's sores and for the boils of the covenant curses.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.