TR: ṭâhêr → katharizō (Cleansing/Purification)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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טָהֵר (ṭâhêr) → καθαρίζω (katharizō) → καθαρίζω (katharizō)
H2891, 94x 61x as translation 30x in NT
"be clean/cleanse" of ṭâhêr "cleanse/make clean"
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2891 | טָהֵר (ṭâhêr) | 94 | be clean, cleanse, purify (verb) |
| H2889 | טָהוֹר (ṭâhôwr) | 96 | clean, pure (adjective) |
| H2893 | טׇהֳרָה (ṭohŏrâh) | 13 | purification, cleanness (noun) |
Key OT passages: - Lev 16:30 — "on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD" - Eze 36:25 — "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you" - Mal 3:3 — "he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver"
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ṭâhêr (H2891) | καθαρίζω (G2511) | 61x | Primary equivalent — verb to verb |
| ṭâhêr (H2891) | καθαρός (G2513) | 23x | Adjective form for stative Qal |
| ṭâhôwr (H2889) | καθαρός (G2513) | — | Adjective to adjective mapping |
| ṭohŏrâh (H2893) | καθαρισμός (G2512) | — | Noun to noun mapping |
Semantic continuity in translation: The LXX translators mapped taher → katharizō with high consistency (61 of ~94 verbal occurrences). The Greek kathar- word family (katharizō, katharos, katharismos) mirrors the Hebrew tahor family (taher, tahowr, tohorah) almost exactly in structure and usage.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2511 | καθαρίζω (katharizō) | 30 | cleanse, make clean, purify |
| G2513 | καθαρός (katharos) | 27 | clean, pure |
| G2512 | καθαρισμός (katharismos) | 7 | purification, cleansing |
Key NT passages: - Matt 8:2-3 — "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus... saith unto him, I will; be thou clean." (Jesus cleansing leprosy — direct Levitical echo) - Acts 10:15 — "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (God redefines clean/unclean categories) - Acts 15:9 — "purifying their hearts by faith" (spiritual cleansing replaces ritual) - Heb 9:14 — "the blood of Christ... purge your conscience from dead works" (eschatological fulfillment of Lev 16) - 1 John 1:7 — "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" - 1 John 1:9 — "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
Direct OT→NT Quotations and Echoes¶
| NT Verse | OT Echo | Connection | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt 8:2-3 | Lev 13:6, 14:7 | Priestly pronouncement of cleanness | Jesus acts as priest, directly declaring "be thou clean" — the Piel declarative of taher |
| Luke 4:27 | 2 Kings 5:14 | Naaman's cleansing | Jesus cites this as precedent — Gentile cleansing foreshadowed |
| Heb 9:14, 22 | Lev 16:19, 30 | Blood purges/cleanses | Day of Atonement blood cleansing → Christ's blood cleanses conscience |
| Titus 2:14 | Eze 37:23 | God cleanses a people for himself | "purify unto himself a peculiar people" echoes Ezekiel's promise |
| Eph 5:26 | Eze 36:25 | Cleanse with water/word | "cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" echoes "sprinkle clean water" |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - The kathar- word group carries the full semantic range of taher: ritual, moral, and spiritual cleansing - Blood remains the primary instrument of deep cleansing (Lev 16 → Heb 9) - God remains the ultimate agent of spiritual cleansing (Eze 36:25 → 1 John 1:9) - The priestly declaration pattern persists (Lev 13 → Jesus in Matt 8)
What shifts: - From ritual to moral/spiritual: NT usage heavily favors spiritual cleansing over ceremonial; katharizō in the Gospels addresses leprosy (physical) but in the Epistles addresses sin/conscience - From priest-mediated to direct: Jesus himself declares "be thou clean" without the Levitical inspection process - From external to internal: Acts 15:9 — "purifying their hearts by faith" internalizes what was formerly external ritual - From repeated to once-for-all: Heb 10:2 — "the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins" contrasts with Levitical repetition
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