G2513 — καθαρός (katharos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2513
Original: καθαρός
Transliteration: katharos
Pronunciation: kath-ar-os'
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: Uncertain affinity
Occurrences: 28 tokens in 24 unique verses across 12 books
First Occurrence: Mat 5:8 — "Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Of uncertain affinity; clean (literally or figuratively): — clean, pure.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 79.010: Features of Objects — Clean, Dirty
Other words: ἀκαθαρσία (G167), διακαθαίρω (G1245a), διακαθαρίζω (G1245), ἐκκαθαίρω (G1571), καθαίρω (G2508), καθαρίζω (G2511), μολύνω (G3435), περικάθαρμα (G4027), ῥυπαρός (G4508)
Domain 53.003: Religious Activities — Purify, Cleanse
Other words: ἁγνίζω (G48), ἁγνισμός (G49), βαπτίζω (G907), βαπτισμός (G909), καθαρίζω (G2511), καθαρισμός (G2512), καθαρότης (G2514), ῥαντίζω (G4472)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[079] Features of Objects — clean versus dirty in both literal and figurative states.
[053] Religious Activities — purity language shaped by cleansing and consecration.

search_relationships.py keeps καθαρός in both the clean/unclean field and the ritual-purity field, matching its NT spread from conscience and heart to garments, gold, and water.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
clean	8	33.3%
pure	7	29.2%
a pure	5	20.8%
Pure	1	4.2%
in a clean	1	4.2%
in pure	1	4.2%
unto clear	1	4.2%
with pure	1	4.2%

KJV renders katharos as "clean" (42%) and "pure" (58%) in roughly equal measure, with the choice driven by context: "clean" for physical/ritual purity (linen, hands, body), "pure" for moral/spiritual states (heart, conscience, faith).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	6	1.5
Matthew	3	0.3
John	3	0.3
2 Timothy	2	2.4
1 Timothy	2	1.8
Acts	2	0.2
Titus	1	2.2
1 Peter	1	1.0
James	1	0.9
Romans	1	0.2
Hebrews	1	0.3
Luke	1	0.1

Highest raw count in Revelation (6×, mostly describing heavenly materials and garments). Highest density in the Pastoral Epistles (2Ti 2.4, Tit 2.2, 1Ti 1.8 per 100 verses), where it repeatedly qualifies "conscience" and "heart." Absent from Mark, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and the remaining General Epistles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Moral/Spiritual Purity of Heart and Conscience¶

The dominant NT usage — katharos describes an inner state of moral cleanness, applied to the heart, conscience, and faith. - Mat 5:8 — "Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God." - 1Ti 1:5 — "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and [of] a good conscience, and [of] faith unfeigned." - 1Ti 3:9 — "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." - 2Ti 1:3 — "I thank God, whom I serve from [my] forefathers with pure conscience." - 2Ti 2:22 — "follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

2. Ritual/Declarative Cleanness¶

Used in contexts where cleanness is pronounced or conferred — the state resulting from cleansing. - Jhn 13:10 — "He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." - Jhn 13:11 — "For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean." - Jhn 15:3 — "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." - Heb 10:22 — "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

3. All Things Declared Clean (Food/General)¶

Katharos in universalizing statements about created things being inherently clean. - Luk 11:41 — "But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you." - Rom 14:20 — "All things indeed [are] pure; but [it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence." - Tit 1:15 — "Unto the pure all things [are] pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure."

4. Innocence/Guiltlessness from Responsibility¶

Applied to persons who are "clean" from blood-guilt or moral responsibility for others. - Act 18:6 — "Your blood [be] upon your own heads; I [am] clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." - Act 20:26 — "I [am] pure from the blood of all [men]."

5. Physical Purity of Materials and Garments¶

Describes literal purity of objects — linen, gold, water, crystal — predominantly in Revelation's eschatological imagery. - Mat 27:59 — "he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth." - Rev 15:6 — "clothed in pure and white linen." - Rev 19:8 — "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." - Rev 19:14 — "clothed in fine linen, white and clean." - Rev 21:18 — "the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass." - Rev 21:21 — "the street of the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass." - Rev 22:1 — "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal."

6. Pure Religion¶

Jas 1:27 — "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction."

Morphological Distribution¶

All 26 parsed occurrences are adjective forms. Distribution by case/number/gender:

Form	Parsing	Count
Nominative Sg Masc	A-NSM	3
Nominative Pl Masc	A-NPM	4
Nominative Sg Neut	A-NSN	4
Nominative Pl Neut	A-NPN	3
Nominative Sg Fem	A-NSF	1
Genitive Sg Fem	A-GSF	2
Dative Sg Fem	A-DSF	3
Dative Sg Neut	A-DSN	1
Dative Pl Masc	A-DPM	1
Dative Sg Masc	A-DSM	1
Accusative Sg Masc	A-ASM	1
Accusative Sg Neut	A-ASN	2

Nominative forms dominate (15/26 = 58%), reflecting katharos' frequent use as a predicate adjective ("ye are clean," "all things are pure").

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	6x (25%)	"all things are pure/clean" universal declarations
θεός (theos)	G2316	5x (21%)	"before God," "shall see God" — purity in relation to God
καρδία (kardia)	G2588	5x (21%)	"pure heart" — inner moral cleanness formula
συνείδησις (syneidēsis)	G4893	5x (21%)	"pure conscience" — Pastoral Epistles formula
πίστις (pistis)	G4102	4x (17%)	"faith unfeigned" paired with pure heart/conscience
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	4x (17%)	"having" pure conscience / hearts
λαμπρός (lampros)	G2986	3x (12%)	"pure and bright" — Revelation linen descriptions
ἀγάπη (agapē)	G26	2x (8%)	"charity out of a pure heart" — virtue cluster
ἀνυπόκριτος (anypokritos)	G505	2x (8%)	"unfeigned" paired with pure heart/faith
βύσσινος (byssinos)	G1039	2x (8%)	"fine linen, clean and white" — Revelation garments
αἷμα (haima)	G129	2x (8%)	"clean from blood" — innocence of blood-guilt
λούω (louō)	G3068	2x (8%)	"washed... clean" — cleansing-by-washing pair

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2511 καθαρίζω (katharizō) — verb: to cleanse, purify, make clean (31v)
G2512 καθαρισμός (katharismos) — noun: cleansing, purification (7v)
G2514 καθαρότης (katharotēs) — noun: purity, purifying (1v — Heb 9:13)
G2508 καθαίρω (kathairō) — verb: to prune, cleanse (2v — Jhn 15:2; Heb 10:2)

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py surfaced both a clear moral-purity neighbor and several looser contextual parallels: - G53 ἁγνός (hagnós) — pure, innocent; the closest non-cognate synonym returned by the tool - G1344 δικαιόω (dikaióō) — justify, declare righteous; overlaps where purity language signals innocence - G4621 σῖτος (sîtos) — grain, wheat; a looser clean/separated-grain neighbor surfaced by the tool - G3717 ὀρθός (orthós) — right, upright; overlaps where purity is expressed as moral straightness

Antonyms¶

search_relationships.py returned one direct opposite and several looser purity-field contrasts: - G5004 ταλαιπωρία (talaipōría) — misery, wretchedness; the condition opposite the blessed purity/kind of wholeness attached to katharos - G169 ἀκάθαρτος (akáthartos) — unclean; the direct alpha-privative antonym - G952 βέβηλος (bébēlos) — profane, common; opposite of purity in cultic and moral settings - G5165 τρύβλιον (trýblion) — bowl, dish; a contextual purity-term contrast surfaced by the tool rather than a lexical antonym - G4969 σφάζω (spházō) — slaughter, butcher; bloodshed imagery contrasted with pure/clean states

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἁγνός (hagnos)	G53	"pure" (4v)	hagnos = morally innocent/chaste, with connotation of sexual purity and sinlessness; katharos = clean from defilement, broader ritual and moral scope
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	—	hagios = set apart/holy (consecration); katharos = free from contamination (cleanness)
ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos)	G169	antonym	akathartos = unclean, impure (α-privative of katharos); the negative counterpart

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 053.003 — Purify, Cleanse)¶

Word	Strong's	Verses	Key Difference
ἁγνίζω (hagnizō)	G48	4v	Verb: to purify (ceremonial/moral); katharos is the resulting state adjective
βαπτίζω (baptizō)	G907	25v	Verb: to immerse/baptize; specific ritual act, katharos is the quality achieved
καθαρίζω (katharizō)	G2511	9v	Verb cognate: the act of cleansing; katharos describes the state
καθαρισμός (katharismos)	G2512	4v	Noun cognate: the process of cleansing; katharos is the resulting quality
καθαρότης (katharotēs)	G2514	1v	Abstract noun cognate: the quality of purity as a concept
ῥαντίζω (rhantizō)	G4472	3v	Verb: to sprinkle (ritual application of blood/water); katharos is the state after sprinkling

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Score
טָהוֹר (ṭahôwr)	H2889	65x	7.06	29.57
טָהֵר (ṭahêr)	H2891	23x	5.59	17.78
זַךְ (zak)	H2134	7x	6.74	14.02
טָמֵא (ṭamêʼ)	H2931	13x	4.81	12.69
כָּבַס (kabaç)	H3526	10x	5.13	12.30
זָהָב (zahab)	H2091	25x	3.72	12.13

Primary OT equivalent is H2889 ṭahôwr (adjective: pure, clean) with 65 co-occurrences — a near one-to-one correspondence. The verb H2891 ṭahêr maps primarily to the verb cognate katharizō (G2511) but also renders as katharos in stative Qal contexts (23x). The presence of H2091 zahab (gold) reflects the "pure gold" collocation shared across both testaments.