G169 — ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G169
Original: ἀκάθαρτος
Transliteration: akathartos
Pronunciation: ak-ath'-ar-tos
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: Alpha-privative (ἀ-) + καθαίρω (kathairo, G2508) "to cleanse"; presumed derivative of G2513 καθαρός (katharos, "clean/pure"). Literally "un-clean."
Occurrences: 30 tokens across 29 unique verses in 8 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 10:1 — "he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἀ (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of G2508 (καθαίρω); impure (ceremonially, morally, or demonically): — foul, unclean.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 53 — Religious Activities
Subdomain: 53.4 — Defile, Unclean, Common
Glosses: defiled, ritually unclean
Other words in subdomain: ἀλίσγημα (alisgema) G234, ἀμίαντος (amiantos) G283, βδέλυγμα (bdelygma) G946, βεβηλόω (bebeloō) G953, κοινός (koinos) G2839, κοινόω (koinoō) G2840, μιαίνω (miainō) G3392, μολύνω (molynō) G3435, μολυσμός (molysmos) G3436

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
unclean	20	69.0%
an unclean	4	13.8%
foul	2	6.9%
of an unclean	1	3.4%
the unclean	1	3.4%
unclean person	1	3.4%
when the unclean	1	3.4%

Virtually every occurrence translates as "unclean" (96.6%). "Foul" appears only in Mark 9:25 and Rev 18:2.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Mark	11	1.62
Ephesians	1	0.65
Luke	6	0.52
Acts	5	0.50
Revelation	2	0.50
2 Corinthians	1	0.39
Matthew	2	0.19
1 Corinthians	1	0.23

Heavily concentrated in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (24 of 30 tokens, 80%). Mark has the highest density by far — over 3x Luke's rate. Absent from John, the Pastoral Epistles, Hebrews, James, and the Petrine letters. The Pauline uses (1 Cor, 2 Cor, Eph) shift the sense from demonic to moral/ritual. Revelation revives the demonic-spirit sense (Rev 16:13) and adds Babylon's impurity (Rev 18:2).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Unclean Spirits / Demonic Beings (21 of 30 tokens)¶

The dominant usage. Akathartos modifies πνεῦμα (pneuma, "spirit") to designate hostile spiritual entities Jesus and the apostles confronted.

Mat 10:1 — "he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness"
Mark 1:23 — "there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out"
Mark 3:11 — "unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, Thou art the Son of God"
Mark 5:8 — "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit"
Luke 4:33 — "a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice"
Acts 5:16 — "bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one"
Acts 8:7 — "unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed"

2. Wandering / Homeless Unclean Spirit (Teaching Parable)¶

Jesus' teaching about a displaced spirit returning to its "house."

Mat 12:43 — "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest"
Luke 11:24 — "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest"

3. Levitical / Dietary Uncleanness¶

Peter's vision and the debate over clean/unclean foods — applying the Levitical category (טָמֵא) to the Gentile-inclusion question.

Acts 10:14 — "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean"
Acts 10:28 — "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean"
Acts 11:8 — "nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth"

4. Moral / Ethical Impurity¶

Paul uses akathartos for moral defilement apart from demonic possession — sexual impurity, covetousness, or participation in pagan culture.

1 Cor 7:14 — "else were your children unclean: but now are they holy"
2 Cor 6:17 — "come out from among them, and be ye separate... and touch not the unclean thing"
Eph 5:5 — "no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom"

5. Eschatological / Apocalyptic Impurity¶

Revelation applies akathartos to demonic spirits and Babylon's spiritual contamination.

Rev 16:13 — "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon"
Rev 18:2 — "Babylon... is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai)	G1831	11x (38%)	"the unclean spirit came/went out" — exorcism formula
λέγω (legō)	G3004	10x (34%)	Jesus commanding or naming unclean spirits
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G444	8x (28%)	"a man with an unclean spirit" — the possessed person
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	6x (21%)	"all manner of unclean spirits" — universalizing scope
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	5x (17%)	"having an unclean spirit" — state of possession
ἐξουσία (exousia)	G1849	4x (14%)	Jesus' authority over unclean spirits
θεραπεύω (therapeuō)	G2323	4x (14%)	Healing paired with exorcism of unclean spirits
φωνή (phōnē)	G5456	4x (14%)	"crying with loud voice" — demonic outcry pattern
κοινός (koinos)	G2839	3x (10%)	"common or unclean" — hendiadys in Peter's vision
κράζω (krazō)	G2896	3x (10%)	Unclean spirits crying out at Jesus' presence

Word Family / Cognates¶

G167 ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsia) — noun: "uncleanness, impurity" (10v; predominantly Pauline moral usage — Rom 1:24, 6:19; Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19, 5:3; Col 3:5; 1 Th 2:3, 4:7; 2 Cor 12:21; Mat 23:27)
G2508 καθαίρω (kathairō) — verb: "to cleanse, prune" (2v; John 15:2)
G2511 καθαρίζω (katharizō) — verb: "to cleanse, make clean, purify" (27v)
G2512 καθαρισμός (katharismos) — noun: "cleansing, purification" (7v)
G2513 καθαρός (katharos) — adjective: "clean, pure" (25v; the positive antonym of akathartos)

Synonyms¶

No close lexical synonyms were identified by search_relationships.py. The nearest parallels are the clean/unclean domain terms already listed below.

Antonyms¶

G2513 καθαρός (katharos) — clean, pure; the direct positive opposite within the same kathar- word family

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[053] Religious Activities — includes ἁγιάζω (G37), ἁγιασμός (G38), ἅγιος (G40), ἁγιωσύνη (G42), ἁγνίζω (G48), ἁγνισμός (G49)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
κοινός (koinos)	G2839	both paired with "unclean" in Acts 10–11	koinos = "common, profane, shared" — what is not set apart; akathartos = defiled, impure — what is actively polluted or demonically tainted
κοινόω (koinoō)	G2840	"defile"	koinoō = to make common/profane (Mark 7:15 "defileth the man"); akathartos = the resulting state of impurity
μιαίνω (miainō)	G3392	"defile"	miainō = moral/cultic contamination (Tit 1:15, Heb 12:15, Jude 8); akathartos = the unclean condition, especially demonic
βδέλυγμα (bdelygma)	G946	both in defilement/impurity domain	bdelygma = an abominable thing, detestable idol; akathartos = the impure quality of a person, spirit, or thing

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 53.4 — Defile, Unclean, Common)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)	Key Difference
G234	ἀλίσγημα	1	pollutions	Hapax (Acts 15:20); physical defilement from idolatrous food
G283	ἀμίαντος	4	undefiled	Positive counterpart: "undefiled" — what has not been contaminated
G946	βδέλυγμα	6	abomination	The detestable object itself, not the state of impurity
G953	βεβηλόω	2	profane	To make common/secular; desecrate what is sacred
G2839	κοινός	10	common	What lacks holiness; profane rather than polluted
G2840	κοινόω	12	defile	To render common/profane; the process of profaning
G3392	μιαίνω	4	defile	Staining contamination — moral taint
G3435	μολύνω	3	defile	Soiling, making dirty — physical staining metaphor
G3436	μολυσμός	1	filthiness	The state of being soiled (2 Cor 7:1)

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
טָמֵא (tame')	H2931	69	7.35	Primary source — the adjective "unclean" in Levitical law
טָמֵא (tame')	H2930	53	6.11	Verb form — "to be/become unclean"
כָּבַס (kabas)	H3526	21	6.33	"to wash" — paired in purification instructions
עֶרֶב (ereb)	H6153	31	5.54	"evening" — "unclean until the evening" formula
נָגַע (naga')	H5060	30	5.29	"to touch" — touching makes unclean
נְבֵלָה (nebelah)	H5038	13	5.87	"carcass" — touching a carcass makes unclean
רָחַץ (rachats)	H7364	16	5.46	"to wash" — washing restores cleanness
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	25	4.62	"garment" — "wash his clothes" in purification
נִדָּה (niddah)	H5079	10	6.26	"impurity, separation" — menstrual/ritual impurity
גֵּרָה (gerah)	H1625	7	7.16	"cud" — "cheweth the cud" in clean/unclean animal law

The dominant LXX bridge is H2931 טָמֵא (tame', adjective) with 69 co-occurrences. The Hebrew source data reveals that akathartos in the LXX is embedded in the Levitical purification system — washing, touching, evening, garments, carcasses, cud-chewing animals. The NT usage narrows dramatically, with the demonological sense becoming dominant.