Greek word · G5198

ὑγιαίνω

hygiainō

be healthy

'To be healthy, in good health' (Luke 5:31; 3 John 2). Used figuratively, it means 'to be sound, reasonable, wholesome'. In the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy and Titus) it describes teaching, words and faith: 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1, 2.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὑγιαίνω

(ὑγιής), [in LXX chiefly for שָׁלוֹם, and frequently in To ;]

to be sound, healthy, in good health: Luke 5:31 7:10 15:27, 3 John 1:2. In Past. Epp. (as also in cl.) metaphorically, ὑ. ἐν τ. πίστει, Titus 1:13 ; τ. πίστει, τ. ἀγάπῃ, τ. ὑπομονῇ, Titus 2:2; ἡ ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία, 1 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:3, Titus 1:9 2:1 ; λόγοι ὑγιαίνοντες, 1 Timothy 6:3, 2 Timothy 1:13.†

(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 1 Timothy 6:3

Range of meaning

'To be healthy, in good health' (Luke 5:31; 3 John 2). Used figuratively, it means 'to be sound, reasonable, wholesome'. In the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy and Titus) it describes teaching, words and faith: 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1, 2. A related adjective, ὑγιής, appears in Titus 2:8.

Against the English

KJV 'wholesome' keeps the health picture best. 'Sound' (BSB, ESV, NASB, WEB, YLT) can still mean 'healthy' ('safe and sound', 'of sound mind'). But in church English 'sound' has largely come to mean 'doctrinally correct, orthodox', and the medical picture is lost.

How it drifted

The phrase 'sound doctrine' became a set label for theological correctness, especially in post-Reformation confessional debates. Modern readers hear 'accurate' or 'orthodox'. The first hearers heard 'healthy, life-giving, as opposed to diseased'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek moral philosophers widely spoke of 'healthy' and 'sick' opinions and words. Stoics and Cynics treated the passions and false beliefs as diseases of the soul and the philosopher as a physician. Philo and Plutarch both speak of 'healthy' reasoning or speech. Abraham Malherbe's study of medical imagery in the Pastorals shows the author drawing on this shared vocabulary.

From the study of 2 Timothy 1:13

Range of meaning

To be in good health, be well, be sound in body. Used figuratively for being sound or right in thinking. It is a common word in letter greetings ('I hope you are well'), and in moral philosophy for a healthy, rational mind.

Against the English

'Sound' (KJV, BSB, ESV, NASB, WEB) is accurate in older English, as in 'safe and sound' or 'of sound mind', but today it mostly suggests 'correct, reliable, orthodox'. NLT's 'wholesome' keeps more of the health picture.

How it drifted

Over time the English phrase 'sound doctrine' became a technical term for orthodoxy, and the bodily health metaphor faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Pastorals use the word as a theme: 'healthy teaching' (1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1), 'healthy words' (1 Tim 6:3), 'healthy in the faith' (Titus 1:13; 2:2). They set it against the opposite: the false teacher is 'sick' (noseō) over controversies (1 Tim 6:4), and their talk 'spreads like gangrene' (2 Tim 2:17). Greek and Roman moralists such as Plutarch and the Stoics described philosophy as medicine for the soul and false opinion as disease (A. J. Malherbe, 'Medical Imagery in the Pastoral Epistles').

From the study of 3 John 1:2

Range of meaning

'To be in good health, be well'. Figuratively it means 'to be sound, correct'. The Pastoral Letters (1–2 Timothy, Titus) use it for 'sound teaching'.

Against the English

'Be in health', 'enjoy good health', 'be healthy'. All accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

This is the key verb of the ancient Greek letter health wish. Thousands of papyrus letters from Egypt open with some form of 'I pray that you are well' (εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν). One example is the 2nd-century AD letter of the soldier Apion to his father (BGU II 423): 'Before all things I pray that you are well and, being strong, always fare well.' Luke uses the verb for physical health (Luke 5:31; 7:10; 15:27).

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 5:31 ὑγιαίνοντες being well

    Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

    Here: "Those who are in good health": an ongoing state of being sound and well. Luke uses this ordinary Greek health word where Mark and Matthew have "the strong" (ischyontes).

  2. Luke 7:10 ὑγιαίνοντα.¶ in good health.

    And when the messengers returned to the house, they found the servant in good health.

  3. Luke 15:27 ὑγιαίνοντα in good health

    ‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’

1 Timothy · 2

  1. 1 Timothy 1:10 ὑγιαινούσῃ to sound

    for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

    Here: Literally 'being healthy'. It is a medical picture: true teaching is healthy and makes people healthy, while the false teaching is pictured elsewhere in these letters as a sickness or gangrene.

  2. 1 Timothy 6:3 ὑγιαίνουσιν to sound

    If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,

    Here: A participle, 'being-healthy', describing the words. This is a medical image: words that are healthy and make healthy. It sets up the contrast in verse 4, where the false teacher is 'sick' (νοσῶν) with controversies.

2 Timothy · 2

  1. 2 Timothy 1:13 ὑγιαινόντων of sound

    Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

    Here: Literally 'being healthy'. Paul calls the words healthy, and the healthy words give health. He sets them against teaching he calls sick and spreading like gangrene (2:17).

  2. 2 Timothy 4:3 ὑγιαινούσης sound

    For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.

    Here: Literally 'being healthy'. It is a medical word. The teaching is healthy and makes people healthy, in contrast to teaching that spreads 'like gangrene' (2:17).

Titus · 4

  1. Titus 1:9 ὑγιαινούσῃ sound

    He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

    Here: A medical word, the root of English 'hygiene'. The teaching is in good health and produces health, unlike the opponents' 'diseased' talk.

  2. Titus 1:13 ὑγιαίνωσιν they may be sound

    This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith

    Here: A medical word: 'be in good health'. The present tense points to an ongoing state of health. The false teaching is pictured as a sickness and the rebuke as treatment.

  3. Titus 2:1 ὑγιαινούσῃ sound

    But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

    Here: Literally 'being healthy'. It is a participle, a verb form used like an adjective, and it describes the teaching as healthy and health-giving. The same word in the next verse describes people: older men are to be 'healthy in faith, love and endurance' (2:2).

  4. Titus 2:2 ὑγιαίνοντας sound

    Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.

    Here: "Being healthy." A medical picture: the older men should be in good health where faith, love and endurance are concerned. It picks up the "healthy teaching" of 2:1 and 1:9, and stands against the "sick" teaching of the false teachers.

3 John · 1

  1. 3 John 1:2 ὑγιαίνειν to be in good health

    Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.

    Here: Physical good health. This is exactly the verb of the standard opening of ancient Greek letters, 'I pray that you are well'. Readers would have recognised the formula at once.

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