Greek word · G3015

λεπρός

lepros

leprous

From lepis, "scale". It means scaly, rough-skinned. In Jewish Greek it names a person suffering from lepra, the Greek Old Testament's word for Hebrew tsaraʿat. Tsaraʿat was a broad category.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λεπρός, -ά, -όν

(λεπίς), [in LXX for צָרַע ;]

1. (in cl.) scaly, rough.

2. leprous; chiefly as subst., ὁ λ., a leper: Matthew 8:2 10:8 11:5, Mark 1:40, Luke 4:27 7:22 17:12; of Simon, formerly a leper, Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3.†

(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 Matthew 8:2

Range of meaning

From lepis, "scale". It means scaly, rough-skinned. In Jewish Greek it names a person suffering from lepra, the Greek Old Testament's word for Hebrew tsaraʿat. Tsaraʿat was a broad category. It covered several visible skin conditions marked by flaking, discoloured or raw skin (Lev 13), and even mould on clothing and walls (Lev 13:47–59; 14:33–53). It was a category of ritual impurity defined by how the skin looked, not a single diagnosis in the modern sense.

Against the English

English "leper" and "leprosy" now mean Hansen's disease, a bacterial infection that destroys nerves and causes disfigurement. NIV and NLT say "a man with leprosy". KJV, ESV, BSB and WEB say "a leper". All of them use the word that brings Hansen's disease to mind. "Leper" also has a modern figurative sense of a social outcast, which is close to the social reality but can blur the specific purity law involved.

How it drifted

Medieval Latin lepra came to mean Hansen's disease, which spread widely in medieval Europe, and the biblical word was read in that light. Modern medicine then fixed "leprosy" as the name of that one disease.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Lev 13–14 uses lepra/lepros throughout. Josephus (Antiquities 3.261–268; Against Apion 1.281) describes those with lepra as excluded from cities and treated "as if dead". Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4QMMT and the Temple Scroll (11QT 46.16–18; 48.14–15) require separate places outside cities. The Mishnah tractate Negaim lays out detailed rules for diagnosis. Rabbinic tradition counted the metzora (the person with tsaraʿat) as like one dead (b. Nedarim 64b; compare Num 12:12, Miriam "like one dead"). Hansen's disease itself did exist in the region by the first century: DNA of the bacterium was found in a first-century CE burial shroud from a tomb near Jerusalem (Matheson et al., 2009).

From the study of Matthew 10:8

Range of meaning

Lepros means "scaly" (from lepis, "scale"). In the Greek Old Testament it translates the Hebrew tsara'at, a group of visible skin conditions (flaking, discoloured or raw patches). The same word was used for mould on cloth and walls (Lev 13:47–59; 14:33–53). Katharizō means to make clean or declare clean, and in this setting it is a word about ritual purity.

Against the English

"Leper" makes modern readers think of Hansen's disease, with numbness, disfigurement and lost limbs. The biblical condition was wider and usually different. "Cleanse" is accurate, but readers often hear it as just "cure."

How it drifted

Medieval Europe used "leprosy" for Hansen's disease. Later medical naming fixed that meaning in place, and translators carried it back into the Bible.

Used elsewhere in the period

Leviticus 13–14 sets out how a priest examines the skin, declares the person unclean and isolates them, then later declares them clean and offers sacrifices. In 2 Kings 5, Elisha heals Naaman's tsara'at and refuses payment, and his servant Gehazi is struck with the disease for taking money secretly. In Matthew 8:2–4 Jesus cleanses a leper and sends him to the priest.

From the study of Luke 7:22

Range of meaning

λεπρός: someone with lepra, a scaly or flaking skin condition. In the Greek Bible it translates the Hebrew tsara'at, which covered a range of skin conditions, and also mould on fabric and walls (Lev 13–14). καθαρίζω: to make clean or pure. It can mean physical cleaning, but in Jewish usage it chiefly means being declared or made ritually pure, so that one can come near holy space and rejoin the community.

Against the English

'Lepers are cleansed' (KJV, BSB, WEB) keeps the purity language. Renderings like 'cured' or 'healed' turn it into medicine alone and lose the point: the person is restored to community and worship.

How it drifted

Since the Middle Ages, 'leper' has meant someone with Hansen's disease. Ancient tsara'at/lepra was much broader, and true Hansen's disease is hard to identify in the Levant before the Hellenistic period. 'Cleansed' now sounds like washing or disinfecting.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 13:45–46: the person with tsara'at lives 'outside the camp' and cries 'Unclean!' Lev 14 sets out the ritual for declaring someone clean. Josephus (Against Apion 1.281) says lepers were excluded from towns. Some Dead Sea Scrolls texts (4QMMT, the Temple Scroll) set them apart even more strictly. In 2 Kings 5 Elisha cleanses Naaman, whom Jesus cites in Luke 4:27.

Where it appears

Matthew · 4

  1. Matthew 8:2 λεπρὸς a leper

    Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

    Here: Someone with lepra, the Greek term for the skin conditions of Leviticus 13–14 (Hebrew tsaraʿat). Under that law such a person lived outside the settlement, wore torn clothes and called out "Unclean!" Being in this state meant losing your place in the community and in worship, not only being ill.

  2. Matthew 10:8 λεπροὺς lepers

    Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

    Here: People with the skin conditions that Leviticus 13–14 calls tsara'at. These made a person ritually unclean and kept them out of ordinary community life. It is a much wider category than the modern disease called leprosy.

  3. Matthew 11:5 λεπροὶ lepers

    The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

    Here: People with *lepra*, the Greek word for the skin conditions of Leviticus 13–14 (Hebrew *tsaraʿat*). The term covered a range of visible skin diseases and was not limited to modern leprosy (Hansen's disease). The condition made a person ritually unclean and forced them to live outside the community.

  4. Matthew 26:6 λεπροῦ leper

    While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,

    Here: An adjective used as a nickname. It identifies Simon by a skin condition that, under biblical law, made a person ritually impure. Since he is hosting a dinner, he was most likely known for having had it rather than suffering from it then. The text does not say.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 1:40 λεπρὸς a leper

    Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

    Here: A man with a scaly or flaking skin disease of the kind Leviticus 13 classes as ritually defiling. The word labels his condition and his social status at once: unclean, and required to live apart. It does not necessarily mean what modern medicine calls leprosy (Hansen's disease).

  2. Mark 14:3 λεπροῦ, leper,

    While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

    Here: A nickname from a skin disease covered by the purity laws (Lev 13). He is hosting a meal in his own house, so he is not currently living in isolation. He was most likely healed, perhaps by Jesus, and kept the name.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 4:27 λεπροὶ lepers

    And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

  2. Luke 7:22 λεπροὶ lepers

    So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

    Here: People with a skin condition that Leviticus 13–14 classed as impure, which forced them to live outside normal community life. This does not mean only modern leprosy (Hansen's disease).

  3. Luke 17:12 λεπροὶ leprous

    As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance

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