G3068 — λούω (louo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3068
Original: λούω
Transliteration: louo
Pronunciation: loo'-o
Part of Speech: Verb (primary)
Occurrences: 6 unique verses, 6 tokens across 5 books
First Occurrence: John 13:10 — "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primary verb; to bathe (the whole person; whereas G3538 nipto means to wet a part only).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 047 — Activities Involving Liquids or Masses
Subdomain: 047.002 — Use of Liquids
Other words in subdomain: ἄνιπτος (G449), ἀπονίζω (G633), βάπτω (G911), ἐμβάπτω (G1686), νίπτω (G3538), πλύνω (G637)

Domain Neighbors (047.002 — Use of Liquids)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G449	ἄνιπτος	3	with unwashen
G633	ἀπονίζω	1	and washed
G911	βάπτω	3	dipped, have dipped
G1686	ἐμβάπτω	3	dippeth, when he had dipped
G3538	νίπτω	10	wash, to wash
G637	πλύνω	1	and were washing

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
washed	2	33.3%
and washed	1	16.7%
had washed	1	16.7%
is washed	1	16.7%
that was washed	1	16.7%

All six occurrences render as forms of "washed."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Peter	1	1.6
Hebrews	1	0.3
Acts	2	0.2
Revelation	1	0.2
John	1	0.1

Scattered thinly across the NT with no concentration in any single book. Absent from Paul's epistles and Synoptic Gospels. The word appears exclusively in narrative and exhortatory contexts.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Verse
λελουμένος	Perfect passive participle, nom sg masc	John 13:10
λούσαντες	Aorist active participle, nom pl masc	Acts 9:37
ἔλουσεν	Aorist active indicative, 3rd sg	Acts 16:33
λελουσμένοι	Perfect passive participle, nom pl masc	Hebrews 10:22
λουσαμένη	Aorist middle participle, nom sg fem	2 Peter 2:22

The Greek parser found 5 occurrences (Rev 1:5 uses a textual variant — some manuscripts read λύσαντι "loosed" from G3089 rather than λούσαντι "washed" from G3068; the KJV follows the reading "washed"). Active voice = physical washing by an agent (Acts 9:37, 16:33). Passive = state of having been bathed (John 13:10, Heb 10:22). Middle = the subject bathes itself (2 Pet 2:22).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Spiritual/Ceremonial Whole-Person Cleansing¶

John 13:10 — "He that is washed [leloumenos, perf pass] needeth not save to wash [nipto] his feet, but is clean every whit." The louo-bathed person is already wholly clean; only the feet require nipto.
Hebrews 10:22 — "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed [lelousmenos, perf pass] with pure water." Paired with sprinkling of the conscience; draws on Levitical full-body bathing.
Revelation 1:5 — "Unto him that loved us, and washed [louo] us from our sins in his own blood." Complete cleansing from sin through blood (KJV reading).

2. Physical Washing of the Whole Body¶

Acts 9:37 — "whom when they had washed [lousantes, aor act], they laid her in an upper chamber." Preparation of Dorcas's corpse — full-body washing as burial custom.
Acts 16:33 — "and washed [elousen, aor act] their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." The Philippian jailer washes Paul and Silas's wounds — physical care of their bodies.

3. Animal Self-Bathing (Proverbial)¶

2 Peter 2:22 — "the sow that was washed [lousamene, aor mid] to her wallowing in the mire." The sow bathes its whole body, then returns to mud. Middle voice = self-bathing. Illustrates reversion to former unclean state.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous)	G2424	2x (33%)	Jesus as speaker/agent in washing context
καθαρός (katharos)	G2513	2x (33%)	"washed... clean" — bathing results in wholeness
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	2x (33%)	"clean every whit" / "all his" — totality emphasis
αἷμα (haima)	G129	1x (17%)	"washed us... in his blood"
βαπτίζω (baptizo)	G907	1x (17%)	Acts 16:33 — louo (wound-washing) followed by baptizo

The pairing with katharos ("clean") in John 13:10 reinforces that louo produces complete cleanness, not partial.

Synonyms¶

νίπτω (nipto) G3538 — to cleanse a part, especially hands, feet, or face (10 verses)
πλύνω (pluno) G4150 — to plunge/wash objects, especially garments (1 verse NT; OT-heavy via LXX)
κατακλύζω (katakluzo) G2626 — to flood, deluge

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
νίπτω (nipto)	G3538	"wash" / "washed"	nipto = wash a body part (hands, feet, face); louo = bathe the whole person. John 13:10 uses both in one sentence to contrast them.
רָחַץ (rachats)	H7364	"washed"	Hebrew OT equivalent covering both part and whole; louo is the Greek rendering for full-body rachats.
βαπτίζω (baptizo)	G907	"washed" (1x)	baptizo = immerse/submerge, ritual-religious emphasis; louo = bathe for cleansing. Acts 16:33 uses both sequentially.
πλύνω (pluno)	G4150	"wash" (garments)	pluno = wash objects/fabrics; louo = wash persons/bodies.

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
רָחַץ (rachats)	H7364	40	30.82
כָּבַס (kabas)	H3526	20	23.69
עֶרֶב (ereb)	H6153	19	19.02
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	21	18.18
מַיִם (mayim)	H4325	30	16.98
טָמֵא (tame)	H2930	16	16.72
בָּשָׂר (basar)	H1320	13	12.83
טָהֵר (taher)	H2891	8	12.57

The primary Hebrew source is rachats (H7364, "to lave the whole or a part"), which accounts for 40 co-occurrences in the LXX. The high co-occurrence with ereb ("evening") and beged ("garment") reflects Levitical purity formulae: "he shall wash [rachats → louo] his flesh in water and be unclean until evening."