Greek word · G5560

χωλός

chōlos

lame

Lame, limping, crippled in the feet or legs. Occasionally it is used figuratively of something 'halting' or defective. In the Gospels and Acts it is the standard word for people who cannot walk and are among those healed (Matt 11:5; Luke 7:22; Acts 3:2; 8:7).

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

χωλός, -ή, -όν

[in LXX for פִּסֵּחַ ;]

lame, halt, maimed: Matthew 11:5 15:30-31 18:8 21:14, Mark 9:45, Luke 7:22 14:13, 21, John 5:3, Acts 3:2 8:7 14:8, Hebrews 12:13.†

(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 Acts 14:8

Range of meaning

Lame, limping, crippled in the feet or legs. Occasionally it is used figuratively of something 'halting' or defective. In the Gospels and Acts it is the standard word for people who cannot walk and are among those healed (Matt 11:5; Luke 7:22; Acts 3:2; 8:7).

Against the English

Renderings are 'lame' (BSB, YLT), 'cripple' (KJV, WEB) and 'crippled' (ESV, NLT). All are accurate. 'Cripple' is now felt as harsh or offensive, but it does not misstate the meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint χωλός translates Hebrew pissēaḥ. It appears in the purity rules that barred a lame man from serving as priest (Lev 21:18), in the saying about 'the blind and the lame' (2 Sam 5:8), and in the promise of restoration: 'then the lame shall leap like a deer' (Isa 35:6 LXX, ἁλεῖται ὡς ἔλαφος χωλός). Jesus points to 'the lame walk' as a sign of his mission (Luke 7:22).

From the study of Hebrews 12:13

Range of meaning

Lame, crippled, limping, usually in the feet or legs. Used of people (the lame healed by Jesus, Matt 11:5; Acts 3:2) and of animals unfit for sacrifice (Deut 15:21; Mal 1:8). Figuratively, it can mean halting or wavering (cf. 1 Kings 18:21, Israel 'limping' between two opinions).

Against the English

English 'the lame' usually means lame people. The Greek neuter to chōlon is 'that which is lame,' most naturally a lame limb, which is how the NASB takes it ('the limb which is lame').

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 35:6 LXX: 'then the lame (chōlos) will leap like a deer.' That chapter also supplies v.12's 'drooping hands and weakened knees' (35:3). In the Gospels, healing the chōloi is a sign that the new age has arrived (Matt 11:5).

From the study of Luke 14:13

Range of meaning

χωλός means lame or limping, unable to walk properly. τυφλός means blind, and is sometimes used figuratively for those who do not understand.

Against the English

'Lame' and 'blind' are accurate in every version. In this verse both are literal, describing physical conditions.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 21:18 and Deut 15:21 list the blind and the lame among the 'blemishes' that disqualify priests and sacrificial animals. In 2 Sam 5:8 'the blind and the lame shall not come into the house' became a saying. Isa 35:5–6 promises that in the age to come the eyes of the blind will open and the lame will leap. Luke 7:22 points to the blind and lame being healed as a sign of who Jesus is. Dead Sea Scroll 1QSa 2:3–10 excludes those 'blind', 'lame' and 'crippled' from the assembly of the end times.

Where it appears

Matthew · 5

  1. Matthew 11:5 χωλοὶ lame

    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 who could not walk or walked badly. In Isaiah 35:6 "the lame shall leap like a deer." Lame and blind people were also kept from certain sacred roles (Leviticus 21:18; compare 2 Samuel 5:8), so restoring them carried social weight as well as physical.

  2. Matthew 15:30 χωλούς, lame

    Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.

    Here: People who cannot walk or walk only with great difficulty. It is the first item in a list that echoes Isaiah 35:6, 'the lame shall leap like a deer'.

  3. Matthew 15:31 χωλοὺς lame

    The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

    Here: People who could not walk properly or at all. These are the 'lame' of Isaiah 35:6, which Matthew's readers would recognize.

  4. Matthew 18:8 χωλὸν lame

    If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

    Here: Lame, unable to walk properly. It matches the lost foot.

  5. Matthew 21:14 χωλοὶ lame

    The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.

    Here: 'Lame people,' those who could not walk properly. Like the blind, they were often reduced to begging, and temple gates were a usual place to beg (compare Acts 3:2).

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 9:45 χωλὸν lame

    If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 7:22 χωλοὶ lame

    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 who could not walk, and so usually lived by begging. Isaiah 35:6 pictures the lame leaping like a deer.

  2. Luke 14:13 χωλούς, [the] lame,

    But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

    Here: People who could not walk properly. Like the blind, the lame were named in Israel's law and in the Dead Sea Scrolls as barred from priestly service, and at Qumran from the holy assembly.

  3. Luke 14:21 χωλοὺς lame

    The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

    Here: The lame, who could not walk well. They would have to be helped or led to the house, which fits 'bring in'.

John · 1

  1. John 5:3 χωλῶν, lame,

    On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 3:2 χωλὸς lame

    And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.

    Here: Disabled in the feet or legs. Here it is severe enough that he cannot walk at all and has to be carried.

  2. Acts 8:7 χωλοὶ lame

    With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed.

    Here: Lame: unable to walk properly. It recalls Peter healing the lame man at the temple gate (Acts 3:2) and Isaiah's promise that "the lame will leap like a deer" (Isa 35:6, the same word in the Greek Old Testament).

  3. Acts 14:8 χωλὸς lame

    In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.

    Here: 'Lame,' the usual Greek word for someone who cannot walk properly. This is the second description and the standard term. It is the same word used of the lame man in Acts 3:2 and in Isaiah's promise that 'the lame shall leap' (Isa 35:6 LXX).

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:13 χωλὸν lame

    Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

    Here: 'What is lame.' Because it is neuter it most naturally means a lame limb, though it can stand for whatever (or whoever) is limping. The word recalls Isaiah 35:6, 'then the lame will leap like a deer.'

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