What does ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía) mean in the Bible?
G167 names impurity or uncleanness in moral, bodily, and sometimes motivational contexts. Romans 1 places bodily dishonor downstream from exchanged worship and disordered desire.
Greek · G167
ἀκαθαρσία
Impurity (the quality), physically or morally
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ἀκαθαρσία G167
Pronunciation akatharsía
What does ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía) mean in the Bible?
G167 names impurity or uncleanness in moral, bodily, and sometimes motivational contexts. Romans 1 places bodily dishonor downstream from exchanged worship and disordered desire.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀκαθαρσία (G167) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G167?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include impurity (6), of impurity (2), to impurity (1), ulterior motives (1).
Where does ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 23:27. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Thessalonians (2), Ephesians (2), Romans (2), 2 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G167 names impurity or uncleanness in moral, bodily, and sometimes motivational contexts. Romans 1 places bodily dishonor downstream from exchanged worship and disordered desire. Galatians 5 includes impurity among the works of the flesh, while 1 Thessalonians 4 contrasts it with God's call to holiness. Paul can also use the word for corrupt motives in ministry, which keeps the category broader than sexual behavior alone.
Teachers should speak plainly without turning impurity into a label for shaming people. The passages expose sin before God and summon the whole person toward holiness through the Spirit. The body is not treated as dirty by nature. It belongs to God's good creation and, for believers, to Christ. Impurity is the misuse of desire, body, relationship, or motive against God's holy purpose. Gospel application therefore includes repentance, forgiveness, renewed obedience, accountable care, and protection for anyone harmed. It must never make victims carry another person's guilt.
How the Bible Uses It
G167 exposes impurity as a fruit of disordered worship and fleshly desire, then places it against God's positive call to embodied holiness.
- Rom.1.24
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.
Romans 1 treats impurity as part of God's giving-over judgment when worship is exchanged and desires are disordered.
- Gal.5.19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
Galatians 5 includes impurity among the acts of the flesh, setting it against life led by the Spirit.
- 1Thess.4.7
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
First Thessalonians 4 states the positive call: God has not called His people to impurity but to holiness.
Passage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It impurity 6× Matthew 23:27, Romans 1:24, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Galatians 5:19
of impurity 2× Ephesians 4:19, Ephesians 5:3
to impurity 1× Romans 6:19
ulterior motives 1× 1 Thessalonians 2:3
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 23:27 ἀκαθαρσίας to impurity Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Romans 1:24 ἀκαθαρσίαν to impurity Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Romans 6:19 ἀκαθαρσίᾳ to to impurity Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 12:21 ἀκαθαρσίᾳ to impurity Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Galatians 5:19 ἀκαθαρσία to impurity Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Ephesians 4:19 ἀκαθαρσίας to of impurity Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Ephesians 5:3 ἀκαθαρσία to of impurity Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Colossians 3:5 ἀκαθαρσίαν to impurity Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1 Thessalonians 2:3 ἀκαθαρσίας to ulterior motives Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1 Thessalonians 4:7 ἀκαθαρσίᾳ to impurity Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 23:27
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Romans 2 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 Ephesians 2 Colossians 1 1 Thessalonians 2
Source forms
ἀκαθαρσίᾳ 3x akatharsia Romans 6:19, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:7
ἀκαθαρσίας 3x akatharsias Matthew 23:27, Ephesians 4:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:3
ἀκαθαρσία 2x akatharsia Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3
ἀκαθαρσίαν 2x akatharsian Romans 1:24, Colossians 3:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 3x Romans 6:19, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:7
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 3x Matthew 23:27, Ephesians 4:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:3
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x Romans 1:24, Colossians 3:5
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2x Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not use G167 to create vague shame without a path toward holiness in Christ.
- Do not detach impurity from worship and desire. Romans 1 places bodily disorder downstream from exchanged worship.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use G167 to create vague shame without a path toward holiness in Christ.
- Do not detach impurity from worship and desire. Romans 1 places bodily disorder downstream from exchanged worship.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Moral corruption and sexual vice in Paul's ethics, not merely ritual defilement
Strong's G167
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 4 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Ephesians 5:3-7 Source Gloss
impurity (the quality), physically or morally
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Moral corruption and sexual vice in Paul's ethics, not merely ritual defilement
(ἀκάθαρτος), [in LXX chiefly for טֻמְאָה, טָמֵא ;] uncleanness, impurity,
aphysical (MM, VGT, see word): Mat.23:27;
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 23:27 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίας. akaqarsiav
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Romans 1:24 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίαν, akaqarsian
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Romans 6:19 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίᾳ akaqarsia
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse 2 Corinthians 12:21 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίᾳ akaqarsia
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Galatians 5:19 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσία, akaqarsia
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Ephesians 4:19 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίας akaqarsiav
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Ephesians 5:3 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσία akaqarsia
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse Colossians 3:5 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίαν, akaqarsian
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 2:3 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίας, akaqarsiav
uncleanness, impurity
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 4:7 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, akaqarsia
uncleanness, impurity
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 4 Aligned forms 10 Case pattern Dative (3) Number pattern Singular (10)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Gal 5:19 · Eph 5:3 2×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 23:27 · Eph 4:19 · 1 Thess 2:3 3×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Rom 6:19 · 2 Cor 12:21 · 1 Thess 4:7 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Rom 1:24 · Col 3:5 2×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Moral impurity prohibited among believers, listed with sexual sin and greed
Moral impurity as vice to be put to death, enumerated with earthly desires
Moral impurity characterizing the old self, to be removed in spiritual renewal
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀκαθαρσία is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G167 keeps moral clarity connected to worship, the body, and hope. Romans 1 shows that impurity is not an isolated mistake but one fruit of exchanging God's truth and glory. Galatians 5 places it among the works of the flesh that oppose life by the Spirit. First Thessalonians 4 refuses to leave the church in diagnosis: God calls His people to holiness. That movement matters pastorally.
Teachers must name sin without making shame the means of sanctification, and they must honor the body without calling every desire good. In Christ, the body belongs to the Lord and holiness becomes the fitting direction of redeemed life. Application should invite repentance, forgiveness, Spirit-enabled obedience, wise accountability, and protection. It should never transfer blame to people who have suffered another person's impurity or use a Greek term to bypass careful pastoral care.
Anchor passage
Rom.1.24
Doctrinal connections
- Rom.1.21-25 - Impurity follows exchanged worship and suppressed truth, locating bodily disorder within humanity's deeper refusal to honor God.
- Rom.6.19-22 - Believers no longer present their members to impurity but to righteousness and sanctification, joining bodily obedience to liberation from sin.
- Gal.5.19-25 - Impurity belongs to the works of the flesh, while life by the Spirit produces a contrasting pattern of holy love and self-control.
- 1Thess.4.3-8 - God's will and calling direct believers away from sexual impurity toward holiness, honor, and regard for brothers and sisters.
- 1Cor.6.13-20 - The body is for the Lord, belongs to Christ, and is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so holiness affirms the body's dignity rather than despising it.
- Eph.5.3-14 - Impurity must not be normalized among the saints; exposure serves the call to walk as children of light, not permission for humiliating spectacle.
Impurity or uncleanness is the reviewed display gloss for G167. In this Pauline-focused companion, local STEP TAGNT evidence shows about 9 Pauline use(s), with common forms including N-DSF 3, N-ASF 2, N-NSF 2. The noun forms name a condition; each vice-list or ethical context defines the impurity in view.
From Old to New Testament
Paul's impurity language keeps holiness embodied. The gospel does not despise the body; it calls the whole person away from impurity and toward God.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain