Greek word · G3647

ὁλοκληρία

holoklēria

wholeness

Wholeness, soundness, being intact in every part. From holos (whole) and klēros (portion, lot): having one's full share, nothing missing. Used in Greek writers for full bodily health.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament.

What it means

ὀλοκληρία, -ας, ἡ

(ὁλόκληρος), [in LXX: Isaiah 1:6 (מְתֹם)* ;]

completeness, soundness: Acts 3:16.†

(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 3:16

Range of meaning

Wholeness, soundness, being intact in every part. From holos (whole) and klēros (portion, lot): having one's full share, nothing missing. Used in Greek writers for full bodily health.

Against the English

BSB 'complete healing' and NIV 'completely healed' describe the event. KJV and WEB 'perfect soundness', and ESV/NASB 'perfect health', describe the resulting condition, which is closer to the noun. 'Perfect' in older English meant 'complete', not 'flawless' or 'morally perfect'.

How it drifted

'Perfect' has shifted from 'complete, finished' toward 'flawless', so KJV readers may hear more than the text claims. The Greek stresses completeness: no part left defective.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used only here in the NT. The Septuagint of Isaiah 1:6 has it of Israel as a beaten body: 'from the sole of the foot to the head there is no soundness (holoklēria) in it.' The related adjective holoklēros means 'whole, intact': uncut altar stones (Deut 27:6; 1 Macc 4:47), full weeks (Lev 23:15), and in the NT complete and sound people (Jas 1:4; 1 Thess 5:23). The intact, unblemished idea is close to the language used for sacrifices and priests.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 3:16 ὁλοκληρίαν complete soundness

    By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence.

    Here: Full bodily soundness with nothing lacking. The word is used only here in the NT. A man who had been 'lame from his mother's womb' (v. 2) is now intact in every part.

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