What does ἐπιχρίω (epichríō) mean in the Bible?
G2025 means to rub, smear, or anoint something onto a surface. It occurs twice, both in John 9.
Greek · G2025
ἐπιχρίω
To smear over
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ἐπιχρίω G2025
Pronunciation epichríō
What does ἐπιχρίω (epichríō) mean in the Bible?
G2025 means to rub, smear, or anoint something onto a surface. It occurs twice, both in John 9.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπιχρίω (G2025) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2025?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include anointed (1), applied (1).
Where does ἐπιχρίω (epichríō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 9:6. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G2025 means to rub, smear, or anoint something onto a surface. It occurs twice, both in John 9. Verse 6 narrates Jesus applying mud to the blind man's eyes, and verse 11 repeats the action in the healed man's testimony. The verb names the application of the mud; it does not identify the material as an independent source of healing or establish a repeatable method.
Jesus acts and gives the command to wash, while the man's later report keeps the event concrete. Its narrow distribution requires restraint: the account supports trust in Jesus and truthful witness, not confidence in a substance, ritual, or technique.
How the Bible Uses It
The two governed uses describe the same action first as narration and then as testimony. Both remain inside the healing account in John 9.
- John.9.6
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
Jesus makes mud and applies it to the blind man's eyes. The verb names the application without assigning healing power to the mud.
- John.9.11
He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
The healed man reports that Jesus anointed his eyes and sent him to wash. This is the second and final G2025 occurrence.
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 anointed 1× John 9:11
applied 1× John 9:6
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 9:6
Aligned rows 2
Books represented 1
John 2
Source forms
ἐπέχρισέν 1x epechrisen John 9:11
ἐπέχρισεν* 1x epechrisen John 9:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x John 9:6, John 9:11
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use the applied mud as part of Jesus' sign, not as a repeatable healing formula.
- Let the healed man's testimony keep the application concrete and humble.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim G2025 teaches a material technique for healing.
- Do not detach the action from Jesus' command to go and wash.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to smear over
Strong's G2025
Lexical occurrences 2 verses Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 1 form 2 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to smear over
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 9:6 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέχρισε epecrisen
I spread on, anoint
Read verse John 9:11 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέχρισέ epecrisen
I spread on, anoint
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 2 Tenses Aorist Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 2×
Aorist Active John 9:6 · John 9:11 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 2 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 2
Voice
active 2
Mood
indicative 2
NT Occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Word Origins
ἐπιχρίω is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
The two uses let a teacher compare narration and testimony without leaving John 9. Jesus applies the mud in verse 6, and the man recounts the action in verse 11. The repeated verb confirms what happened, but it does not make the mud a sacrament, medicine, or transferable technique. The command to wash and the resulting sight belong to the narrative context. A careful sermon can respect embodied action while centering Jesus rather than the material means.
Anchor passage
John.9.6
Doctrinal connections
Both G2025 forms are aorist active indicatives referring to the application of mud in the same episode. Aspect and voice describe the narrated actions but do not identify a healing mechanism.
From Old to New Testament
Broader biblical teaching about healing, sight, and testimony may illuminate John 9, but no additional occurrence should be attributed to G2025 and no material-healing practice should be derived from the verb.
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