Greek word · G4696

σπίλος

spilos

stain

Spilos: a spot, stain or blemish. It is a later Greek word; purist grammarians of the period disliked it and recommended kēlis instead. Rhytis: a wrinkle or fold, especially lines in the skin from age.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

σπίλος (Rec. σπῖλος), -ου, ὁ

1. a rock, cliff (Arist., al.).

2. In late writers = Att.. κηλίς (see Rutherford, NPhr., 87 f.), a spot, stain; metaphorically,

(a) of moral blemish: Ephesians 5:27

(b) of riotous and lascivious persons (cf. Dion. Hal., quoted by Mayor, in l): 2 Peter 2:13.†

(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 Ephesians 5:27

Range of meaning: Spilos: a spot, stain or blemish. It is a later Greek word; purist grammarians of the period disliked it and recommended kēlis instead. Rhytis: a wrinkle or fold, especially lines in the skin from age.
Against the English: Most translations render the pair well ("spot or wrinkle," "stain or wrinkle"). What English readers may miss is that both words picture physical beauty. A stain would remain after a careless washing, and a wrinkle is a sign of age.
Used elsewhere in the period: Spilos: 2 Pet 2:13 (false teachers are "spots"). The related verb is used in Jas 3:6 and Jude 23 (a "garment stained by the flesh"), and the adjective aspilos ("spotless") in 1 Tim 6:14, Jas 1:27 and 1 Pet 1:19 (the lamb "without blemish and without spot"). Rhytis occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. In wider Greek it is used of wrinkled skin and aging faces.

From the study of 2 Peter 2:13

Range of meaning: σπίλος means a spot or stain, a mark of dirt or disgrace. μῶμος means a blemish or physical defect. In ordinary Greek it also meant blame or reproach (Momus was the god of fault-finding).
Against the English: English "spots" or "blots and blemishes" is accurate. What English misses is the sacrificial background, which a Greek reader of the Septuagint would hear.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Greek OT uses μῶμος for defects that bar priests and animals from the altar (Lev 21:17–23; 22:20–25). Its opposite, ἄμωμος ("unblemished"), is the standard word for an acceptable sacrifice. In 1 Pet 1:19 Christ is "a lamb ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου." Ephesians 5:27 speaks of the church "without spot (σπίλον)… without blemish (ἄμωμος)." 2 Peter 3:14 urges readers to be found "ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι." Jude 12 has a similar-sounding word, σπιλάδες ("hidden reefs" or "spots").

Where it appears

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 5:27 σπίλον spot

and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Here: A spot or stain that spoils a surface, whether skin or cloth. It continues the washing image of v.26: after the bath, no stain is left.

2 Peter · 1

2 Peter 2:13 σπίλοι blots

The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you.

Here: "Stains." They are the dirty marks on the community. This is the opposite of what believers are to be in 3:14: "spotless" (aspiloi).

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