Greek word · G283

ἀμίαντος

amiantos

pure

'Unstained, undefiled.' It is the negative of miainō, 'to stain or pollute'. Used of ritual and moral purity: of Jesus the high priest, 'holy, innocent, undefiled' (Heb 7:26); of 'pure and undefiled religion' (Jas 1:27); of the inheritance that is 'undefiled and unfading' (1 Pet 1:4).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀ-μίαντος, -ον

(μιαίνω), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 3:13 4:2 8:20, 2Ma.14:36 2Mac 15:34 * ;]

undefiled, free from contamination (in π., of αἰθήρ; MM, VGT, see word): Hebrews 7:26 13:4, 1 Peter 1:4, James 1:27.†

SYN.: ἄμωμος, ἄσπιλος (Cremer, 784) (AS)

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

In depth

From the study of Hebrews 13:4

Range of meaning

'Unstained, undefiled.' It is the negative of miainō, 'to stain or pollute'. Used of ritual and moral purity: of Jesus the high priest, 'holy, innocent, undefiled' (Heb 7:26); of 'pure and undefiled religion' (Jas 1:27); of the inheritance that is 'undefiled and unfading' (1 Pet 1:4).

Against the English

'Undefiled' is accurate. 'Pure' (NIV) is close but loses the picture of a stain that comes from outside. NLT turns the image into its meaning, 'remain faithful', which is correct but drops the purity language.

How it drifted

English readers often take 'the bed undefiled' (KJV) as a statement that the marriage bed is automatically pure. In context the Greek describes a condition to be kept (see popular_drift).

Used elsewhere in the period

Leviticus 18 (Septuagint) repeatedly calls forbidden sexual unions defiling (miainō, vv. 20, 24). Genesis 49:4 (Septuagint) uses the same verb when Reuben 'defiled' his father's bed by sleeping with his father's concubine. Wisdom 3:13 calls the faithful woman amiantos. Hebrews itself uses amiantos for Christ the priest (7:26).

From the study of 1 Peter 1:4

Range of meaning

Undefiled, unstained, pure, in ritual, moral or physical senses.

Against the English

Most versions say 'undefiled'. NIV's 'spoil' turns it into a matter of decay and loses the purity language. That leaves 'perish' and 'spoil' saying nearly the same thing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of Jesus as high priest, 'holy, innocent, undefiled' (Heb 7:26), of the marriage bed (Heb 13:4), and of 'pure and undefiled religion' (Jas 1:27). In 2 Maccabees, after the rededication of the Temple, people pray that God will 'keep this house undefiled forever' (2 Macc 14:36; 15:34). In Wisdom 4:2 virtue wins 'the contest for undefiled prizes'. Behind the word stands the Old Testament idea that the land could be polluted (Lev 18:24–28; Num 35:33–34; Jer 2:7).

From the study of Hebrews 7:26

Range of meaning

Unstained, undefiled, not made impure. In Jewish usage it is mostly ritual and cultic, about the temple, the priesthood and purity. It is also used morally.

Against the English

"Undefiled" (KJV, BSB, WEB, NASB, YLT) keeps the cultic tone. ESV's "unstained" and NIV's "pure" are accurate but sound more generally moral, so the priestly-purity echo is weaker.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Maccabees 14:36 and 15:34: the temple kept "undefiled" (amianton). Wisdom 3:13 and Hebrews 13:4: the "undefiled" marriage bed. James 1:27: religion "pure and undefiled." 1 Peter 1:4: an inheritance "undefiled." Leviticus 21:11–12 LXX forbids the high priest to "defile himself" (cognate verb). Philo stresses the high priest's freedom from defilement (Special Laws 1.113ff).

Where it appears

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 7:26 ἀμίαντος, undefiled,

    Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

    Here: Priestly purity language: not made impure. The high priest was bound by the strictest purity laws (Lev 21:10–15), and this priest meets that standard in an absolute and moral sense.

  2. Hebrews 13:4 ἀμίαντος· undefiled;

    Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

    Here: 'Without a stain.' This is purity language from the temple and the Law. Here it pictures the marriage's sexual union kept from being stained by an outsider, that is, by adultery.

James · 1

  1. James 1:27 ἀμίαντος undefiled

    Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

    Here: Literally "not stained". It was used of a sanctuary, a priest or a sacrifice untouched by pollution. With "clean" it gives the positive side and the negative side of the same purity.

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 1:4 ἀμίαντον undefiled

    and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

    Here: Nothing can pollute it. The word comes from the vocabulary of ritual and moral purity, and recalls how Israel's land could be 'defiled' by idolatry and bloodshed.

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