G48 — ἁγνίζω (hagnizō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G48
Original: ἁγνίζω
Transliteration: hagnizō
Pronunciation: hag-nid'-zo
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: From G53 ἁγνός (hagnos) "pure, clean, innocent" — same root family as G40 ἅγιος (hagios) "holy"
Occurrences: 7 unique verses (7 tokens) across 5 NT books
First Occurrence: John 11:55 — "and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G53 hagnos; to make clean, i.e. (figuratively) sanctify (ceremonially or morally).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 053 — Religious Activities
Other words in domain: ἁγιάζω (hagiazō, G37), ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos, G38), ἅγιος (hagios, G40), ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē, G42), ἁγνισμός (hagnismos, G49), ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos, G169)
Domain: 088 — Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrence
ἁγνίσωσιν	Aor Act Subj 3P	John 11:55
ἁγνίσθητι	Aor Pass Impv 2S	Acts 21:24
ἁγνισθείς	Aor Pass Ptcp Nom Sg M	Acts 21:26
ἡγνισμένον	Perf Pass Ptcp Acc Sg M	Acts 24:18
ἁγνίσατε	Aor Act Impv 2P	James 4:8
ἡγνικότες	Perf Act Ptcp Nom Pl M	1 Peter 1:22
ἁγνίζει	Pres Act Ind 3S	1 John 3:3

Voice distribution: Active 4× (57%), Passive 3× (43%). Tense distribution: Aorist 4× (57%), Perfect 2× (29%), Present 1× (14%).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
purify	2	28.6%
purify thyself	1	14.3%
purifying himself	1	14.3%
purified	1	14.3%
purified (your souls)	1	14.3%
purifieth	1	14.3%

KJV uniformly translates with "purify" in all forms. No translation variation.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Peter	1	1.0
1 John	1	1.0
James	1	0.9
Acts	3	0.3
John	1	0.1

Acts accounts for 43% of all uses. The word spans Gospel, history, general epistles, and Johannine epistles but is absent from the Pauline corpus proper, Hebrews, and Revelation. The concentration in Acts reflects the narrative of Jewish ceremonial practice in the apostolic period.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Ceremonial/Ritual Purification (Jewish Practice)¶

John 11:55 — "many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves" — pre-Passover ritual purification
Acts 21:24 — "Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads" — Paul's purification with men under a Nazarite-type vow
Acts 21:26 — "Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification" — temple purification ritual with vow completion
Acts 24:18 — "Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult" — Paul's completed state of ceremonial purity

2. Moral/Spiritual Purification (Interior Transformation)¶

James 4:8 — "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" — paired with καθαρίζω (katharizō, hands); hagnizō applied to the heart, indicating inward moral purification
1 Peter 1:22 — "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren" — purification of the soul through obedience to truth, resulting in genuine love
1 John 3:3 — "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" — self-purification motivated by eschatological hope, with Christ as the standard of purity (ἁγνός)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἱερόν (hieron)	G2411	2× (29%)	Purification associated with the temple (Acts 21:26, 24:18)
Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios)	G2453	2× (29%)	Jewish ceremonial context (John 11:55, Acts 24:18)
καρδία (kardia)	G2588	2× (29%)	Purification of the heart (James 4:8, 1 Peter 1:22 "souls")
ἁγνισμός (hagnismos)	G49	1× (14%)	Cognate noun: "days of purification" (Acts 21:26)
ἁγνός (hagnos)	G53	1× (14%)	Cognate adjective: "purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3)
ἀλήθεια (alētheia)	G225	1× (14%)	Purification through obedience to truth (1 Peter 1:22)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G53 ἁγνός (hagnos) — adjective: pure, clean, innocent, chaste (8v)
G49 ἁγνισμός (hagnismos) — noun: purification, the act of ceremonial cleansing (1v — Acts 21:26)
G47 ἁγνεία (hagneia) — noun: purity, the quality of cleanness (2v — 1 Tim 4:12, 5:2)
G54 ἁγνότης (hagnotēs) — noun: pureness, the state of cleanness (1v — 2 Cor 6:6)
G40 ἅγιος (hagios) — adjective: holy, sacred (same root family; 161v)
G37 ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) — verb: to make holy, sanctify, consecrate (29v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
καθαρίζω (katharizō)	G2511	"purify" / "cleanse" (1v overlap)	katharizō = to cleanse from defilement or disease (lepers, vessels, conscience); broader range including physical cleansing. hagnizō = specifically ritual or moral purification with connotations of consecration
ἁγιάζω (hagiazō)	G37	related concept — "sanctify"	hagiazō = to set apart as holy, consecrate to God's service; focuses on the state of being dedicated. hagnizō = to make ritually or morally pure; focuses on the process of removing impurity
חָטָא (chaṭaʾ)	H2398	"purify" in KJV (Num 19:12, 19)	Hebrew verb primarily meaning "to miss/sin" but in Piel/Hithpael = "purify from sin" (sin-offering ritual). hagnizō carries no connotation of sin-offering

Semantic Domain Neighbors¶

G37 ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) — make holy, sanctify (29v) — consecration emphasis
G38 ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) — holiness, sanctification (10v) — state/process of being holy
G40 ἅγιος (hagios) — holy, sacred (161v) — adjective of the holy state
G42 ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē) — holiness, sanctity (3v) — quality of holiness
G49 ἁγνισμός (hagnismos) — purification (1v) — the act of purifying
G169 ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos) — unclean, impure (29v) — antonym: the impure state hagnizō removes

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
קָדַשׁ (qadash)	H6942	17×	6.67	Primary: "to be/make holy, consecrate" — hagnizō is the LXX rendering of qadash in Nazarite consecration contexts (Num 6:3)
טָהֵר (ṭahēr)	H2891	8×	6.50	"to be clean, purify" — ritual/Levitical purification
לֵוִיִּי (Lēvîyîy)	H3881	8×	4.85	Levite — LXX uses hagnizō for Levitical purification rites
פֶּסַח (pesach)	H6453	3×	5.89	Passover — pre-Passover purification context
חָטָא (chaṭaʾ)	H2398	4×	4.06	"sin / purify from sin" — Piel/Hithpael purification use
כֹּהֵן (kōhēn)	H3548	6×	3.07	Priest — priestly purification associations

The dominant Hebrew source is H6942 qadash (17 co-occurrences, PMI 6.67), showing that hagnizō in the LXX primarily renders the Hebrew concept of consecration/sanctification rather than mere cleansing. The secondary source H2891 ṭahēr (8 co-occurrences) reflects the ritual purity dimension. This dual mapping — consecration + purification — explains the NT semantic range spanning both ceremonial and moral purification.