G3435 — μολύνω (molynō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3435
Original: μολύνω
Transliteration: molynō
Pronunciation: mol-oo'-no
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Probably from G3189 μέλας (melas, "black") — suggesting soiling/darkening as root metaphor
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (5 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: 1 Cor 8:7 — "their conscience being weak is defiled"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Strong's: To soil (figuratively) — defile.

Thayer's: To pollute, stain, contaminate, defile. Used from Aristophanes onward. In the NT used only in symbolic and figurative discourse — of those who have not kept themselves pure from the defilements of sin, who have soiled themselves by fornication and adultery.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 53.004: Defile, Unclean, Common — Religious Activities
Domain 79.010: Clean, Dirty — Features of Objects
Other words in 53.004: ἀκάθαρτος (G169), ἀλίσγημα (G234), ἀμίαντος (G283), βδέλυγμα (G946), βεβηλόω (G953), κοινός (G2839), κοινόω (G2840), μιαίνω (G3392), μολυσμός (G3436)

Louw-Nida Domain Neighbors (53.004 — Defile, Unclean, Common)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G169	ἀκάθαρτος	26	unclean
G234	ἀλίσγημα	1	pollutions
G283	ἀμίαντος	4	undefiled
G946	βδέλυγμα	6	abomination
G953	βεβηλόω	2	profane
G2839	κοινός	7	common, unholy thing
G2840	κοινόω	10	defile, defileth
G3392	μιαίνω	3	defile, be defiled
G3436	μολυσμός	1	filthiness

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
defiled	2	67%
is defiled	1	33%

All three NT occurrences render as "defiled" or "is defiled." No translation variation exists in the KJV.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	2	0.50
1 Corinthians	1	0.23

Concentrated in Revelation (2 of 3 occurrences). Both books are written to churches facing pressure from surrounding pagan culture. Absent from the Gospels, the Levitical-vocabulary-heavy Hebrews, and the Petrine epistles.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Reference	Parsing	Voice	Tense
μολύνεται	1 Cor 8:7	V-PPI-3S	Passive	Present
ἐμόλυναν	Rev 3:4	V-AAI-3P	Active	Aorist
ἐμολύνθησαν	Rev 14:4	V-API-3P	Passive	Aorist

Voice distribution: 2 passive, 1 active. The passive forms (1 Cor 8:7, Rev 14:4) portray defilement as something that happens to a person. The sole active form (Rev 3:4) describes persons who actively soiled their garments — the agent is the one defiled.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Conscience Defilement¶

1 Cor 8:7 — "their conscience being weak is defiled" — present passive: conscience is being soiled by the ongoing practice of eating idol-food without knowledge; the defilement attaches to the internal moral faculty

2. Garment Defilement (Moral Purity Imagery)¶

Rev 3:4 — "which have not defiled their garments" — aorist active: believers in Sardis who did not soil their garments; garments symbolize moral conduct; the faithful "few" kept theirs unsoiled
Rev 14:4 — "which were not defiled with women" — aorist passive: the 144,000 described as not having been defiled; paired with "they are virgins"; the defilement is spiritual unfaithfulness expressed through the figure of sexual impurity

3. LXX Usage (Figurative Soiling)¶

The LXX uses μολύνω to translate H1351 גָּאַל (ga'al, "to soil, pollute, stain") — a verb for visible contamination of garments or hands (Isa 59:3, Lam 4:14, Zeph 3:1). This OT background anchors the NT figurative use: what was literal soiling of garments in the prophets becomes moral soiling in the apostolic writings.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἱμάτιον (himation)	G2440	1× (33%)	"defiled their garments" — garment-soiling imagery
λευκός (leukos)	G3022	1× (33%)	"walk with me in white" — purity contrast after defilement
γυνή (gynē)	G1135	1× (33%)	"not defiled with women" — sexual impurity figure
ἀρνίον (arnion)	G721	1× (33%)	"follow the Lamb" — purity of devotion to Christ
εἰδωλόθυτον (eidōlothyton)	G1494	1× (33%)	"eat it as a thing offered" — idol-food conscience defilement
συνείδησις (syneidēsis)	G4893	1× (33%)	"their conscience… is defiled" — internal moral faculty soiled

With only 3 verses, co-occurrence counts are low. The collocations split cleanly into two semantic fields: idol-food/conscience (1 Cor 8) and garment/purity/Lamb (Rev 3, 14).

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3436 μολυσμός (molysmos) — noun: filthiness, defilement (2 Cor 7:1 "filthiness of the flesh and spirit"); the stain-substance produced by the act of molynō

Synonyms¶

G3392 μιαίνω (miaino) — sully, taint, contaminate; the Levitical defilement verb (LXX primary for H2930 tame); focuses on ritual contamination that renders unfit for sacred participation
G2840 κοινόω (koinoo) — make common, profane; ceremonial category violation (clean vs. common); the food-laws debate word (Matt 15, Mark 7, Acts 10)
G4695 σπιλόω (spiloo) — spot, stain; visible blemish imagery (Jas 3:6, Jude 23)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
H2930 טָמֵא (tame)	H2930	"defiled"	tame = ceremonial/ritual uncleanness (Levitical system); molynō = figurative soiling (never ritual in NT)
H2931 טָמֵא (tame adj.)	H2931	"defiled"	The adjective form of H2930; describes the state of being ritually unclean
G3392 μιαίνω (miaino)	G3392	"defile"	miaino = contamination that corrupts intrinsic nature (LXX Levitical); molynō = surface soiling/staining that can be washed
G2840 κοινόω (koinoo)	G2840	"defile"	koinoo = profanation by category violation (sacred made common); molynō = figurative dirt on something that should be clean

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
דָּם (dam)	H1818	3	4.69	"blood" — bloodshed as defilement (statistical artifact from small verse set)
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	3	0.87	"all" — function word, not meaningful

The primary LXX connection for molynō is H1351 גָּאַל (ga'al, "to soil, pollute, stain" — 11 OT occurrences). The ga'al → molynō bridge appears in passages like Isa 59:3 (hands defiled with blood), Lam 4:14 (garments polluted with blood), and Zeph 3:1 (the polluted, oppressing city). This establishes the staining/soiling metaphor that carries into the NT.