Greek word · G3068

λούω

louō

to wash

To wash or bathe the whole body, as distinct from νίπτω (niptō, to wash part of the body, such as the hands or feet) and πλύνω (plunō, to wash clothes). It is used of bathing the living, ritual washing, and washing the dead.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λούω

[in LXX chiefly for רָחַץ (frequently of ceremonial washing; cf. Deiss., BS, 226 f.) ;]

to bathe, wash the body: with accusative of person(s), Acts 9:37 (of a dead body); id. before ἀπό (Deiss., BS, l.with), Acts 16:33; pass. ptcp. pf., John 13:10, Hebrews 10:22; mid., to wash oneself (Mayor, in l; M. Pr., 155 f., 238 f.), 2 Peter 2:22; metaphorically, Revelation 1:5, Rec., R, mg. (cf. ἀπο-λούω).†

SYN.: νίπτω, used of parts of the body-hands, feet, face; πλύνω, of things, as garments, etc. (see Leviticus 15:11; cf. Tr., Syn., § xlv) (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 Acts 9:37

Range of meaning

To wash or bathe the whole body, as distinct from νίπτω (niptō, to wash part of the body, such as the hands or feet) and πλύνω (plunō, to wash clothes). It is used of bathing the living, ritual washing, and washing the dead.

Against the English

English "washed" is accurate. What English cannot show is that this was a recognised funeral act, the first duty owed to the dead. NLT's "washed for burial" brings this out. BSB/NIV's "her body was washed" makes it passive and hides the fact that the believers themselves did it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Washing the corpse was standard across the ancient Mediterranean. In Homer, Patroclus' body is washed and anointed (Iliad 18.343–353). In Plato's Phaedo (116a), Socrates bathes before drinking the hemlock so the women will not have the trouble of washing a corpse. In Judaism, the Mishnah (Shabbat 23:5) allows people even on the Sabbath to 'anoint and wash' the dead and do what the body needs. Later rabbinic rules on mourning hold that women should prepare women's bodies.

From the study of Hebrews 10:22

Range of meaning

To bathe or wash the whole body, as opposed to niptō, which means washing hands or feet. In worship language it means ritual bathing.

Against the English

Most versions have 'washed'. YLT's 'bathed' is closer to the whole-body sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament it is used for washing priests at ordination (Exod 29:4; Lev 8:6) and for the high priest bathing his body in water before entering the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:4, 24). Compare John 13:10 (louō versus niptō). Ezekiel 36:25: 'clean water'.

From the study of John 13:10

Range of meaning

To wash the whole body, to bathe. Used of bathing people, of washing a corpse (Acts 9:37), of washing wounds (Acts 16:33), and in a figure of speech for cleansing in Hebrews 10:22 ("our bodies washed with pure water") and Revelation 1:5 in some manuscripts. In Greek generally it is the ordinary verb for taking a bath.

Against the English

Most modern versions say "bathed," which keeps the contrast with the feet. The KJV says "washed" for this verb and then "wash" for the different verb νίπτω, so English readers of the KJV cannot see that Jesus uses two different words.

How it drifted

Not really a drift of the English word. It is a translation choice in the KJV tradition that flattens two Greek verbs into one English one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek writers distinguished λούω (wash the body), νίπτω (wash hands, feet or face) and πλύνω (wash clothes). Trench's Synonyms of the New Testament and BDAG note this. The Greek Old Testament (LXX) Leviticus 15:11 uses all three in one verse: hands not washed (νίπτω), garments to be washed (πλύνω), body to be bathed (λούω). The Levitical purity laws repeatedly call for bathing the body in water to become clean (Lev 14:8–9; 15:5–27; 16:4, 24).

Where it appears

John · 1

  1. John 13:10 λελουμένος having bathed himself

    Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”

    Here: Perfect participle of the verb for washing the whole body. The perfect tense describes a bath that is finished and whose result still holds: this person has bathed and is still bathed. It can be read as "bathed himself" or "been bathed."

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 9:37 λούσαντες Having washed [her]

    At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.

    Here: "Having washed [her]." This is the washing of the whole body, the first step in preparing a corpse for burial. The masculine plural is the normal general 'they' of Greek and does not tell us who did the washing.

  2. Acts 16:33 ἔλουσεν he washed [them]

    At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 10:22 λελουσμένοι having ourselves washed

    let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

    Here: 'Having been bathed.' This is a whole-body washing, the word used in the Greek Old Testament for priests bathing before they serve. The perfect tense again marks a completed washing with lasting effect.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 2:22 λουσαμένη having washed

    Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

    Here: Middle voice, past action: 'having bathed herself' or 'having had her bath'. It pictures a cleansing that did not change her. Some hear a hint of washing at conversion or baptism (compare 2:20, 'escaped the defilements').

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