Greek word · G631
ἀπομάσσω
apomassō
to wipe off
To wipe off or wipe clean, as with a cloth or sponge. In wider Greek the same root (massō, to knead or press) also gives words for taking an impression or a mould. In the middle voice, as here, it means wiping something off oneself.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
απο-μάσσω
(μάσσω, Att... -ττω, to touch, handle), [in LXX: Tobit 7:17 * ;]
to wipe off, wire clean: mid., Luke 10:11.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To wipe off or wipe clean, as with a cloth or sponge. In wider Greek the same root (massō, to knead or press) also gives words for taking an impression or a mould. In the middle voice, as here, it means wiping something off oneself.
- Against the English
"Wipe off" (BSB, ESV, KJV, WEB, YLT) is accurate. Luke 9:5 and Matthew 10:14 use a different verb, apotinassō/ektinassō, "shake off," and that is the wording behind the English saying "shake the dust off your feet."
- Used elsewhere in the period
Used only here in the New Testament. In ordinary Greek it is a domestic word for wiping or sponging something clean (BDAG s.v.). Acts 13:51 records Paul and Barnabas carrying out the same sign, with "shake off" as the verb.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 10:11 ἀπομασσόμεθα we wipe off
‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’
Here: "We are wiping off (from ourselves)." Present tense: the words go with the action, done in the street while they speak. The word appears only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.