TR: rachats → louo (Wash/Bathe)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT             LXX (Greek OT)          Greek NT
───────────           ───────────────          ────────
רָחַץ (rachats)    →  λούω (louo)           →  λούω (louo)
H7364, 71x            40x as translation       6x in NT
"wash, bathe"         of rachats               "bathe, wash"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H7364	רָחַץ (rachats)	71	wash, bathe (the whole or a part of the body)

Rachats is the OT verb for laving with water — covering full-body immersion (priestly purification, Lev 16:4), partial washing (feet, Gen 18:4; hands, Exo 30:19), and washing sacrificial parts (inwards and legs, Lev 1:9). Leviticus accounts for 37% of occurrences. Typically paired with kabas (H3526, garment washing) in the standard purification formula: "wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water."

Key OT passages: - Exo 29:4 — "shalt wash them with water" (priestly consecration) - Lev 16:4 — "shall he wash his flesh in water" (Day of Atonement) - Isa 1:16 — "Wash you, make you clean" (moral/figurative cleansing)

Library: H7364-rachats.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
rachats (H7364)	λούω (louo) G3068	40	30.82	Primary — full-body bathing
rachats (H7364)	νίπτω (nipto) G3538	19	24.74	Partial washing — hands, feet
rachats (H7364)	πλύνω (plyno) G4150	25	24.21	Washing objects (some overlap with kabas)

Semantic differentiation in translation: Hebrew rachats covers all washing — whole body, partial body, and sacrificial parts — without distinction. The LXX translators split this single Hebrew verb into three Greek verbs based on what is being washed: louo for full-body bathing, nipto for partial washing (hands/feet), and plyno for objects. This threefold Greek distinction carries directly into the NT, where louo and nipto are carefully distinguished (see John 13:10).

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G3068	λούω (louo)	6	bathe the whole person
G3538	νίπτω (nipto)	17	wash a part (hands, feet, face)

Key NT passages: - John 13:10 — "He that is washed (louo) needeth not save to wash (nipto) his feet, but is clean every whit" — explicitly distinguishes whole-body bathing from partial washing - Heb 10:22 — "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed (louo) with pure water" — priestly purification imagery applied to believers - Rev 1:5 — "Unto him that loved us, and washed (louo) us from our sins in his own blood" — the ultimate spiritual bathing

Library: G3068-louo.md

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The concept of washing/bathing as preparation for approaching God persists: OT priests bathed before entering sacred space (Lev 16:4); NT believers are described as having bodies "washed with pure water" before drawing near (Heb 10:22) - Water remains the medium: OT "bathe in water," NT "washed with pure water" - The rachats/louo action consistently denotes thoroughgoing cleansing of the whole person, not superficial rinsing

What shifts: - The LXX's three-way split of rachats (louo/nipto/plyno) introduces precision absent in Hebrew; the NT inherits this distinction, especially in John 13:10 where the louo/nipto contrast carries theological weight - Physical ritual washing (OT) becomes metaphorical in the NT: washing from sins (Rev 1:5), washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5 uses loutron, the cognate noun), bodies washed as spiritual preparation (Heb 10:22) - OT rachats is overwhelmingly cultic-ritual (Leviticus 37% of uses); NT louo is overwhelmingly figurative/spiritual (4 of 6 uses)