TR: tumʼah → akatharsía (Uncleanness/Impurity)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)           Greek NT
───────────            ───────────────           ────────
טֻמְאָה (ṭumʼâh)   →  ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía) →  ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía)
H2932, 31x in OT       LXX co-occ: 26x          10x in NT
"uncleanness"           PMI: 28.97                "uncleanness, impurity"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H2932	טֻמְאָה (ṭumʼâh)	31	uncleanness, impurity — abstract noun
H2930	טָמֵא (ṭâmêʼ)	~160	to be/make unclean — the verb
H2931	טָמֵא (ṭâmêʼ)	88	unclean, defiled — the adjective

Key OT passages: - Lev 16:16 — "And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness (tumʼah) of the children of Israel" — sanctuary defilement requiring Day of Atonement cleansing - Ezek 36:17 — "their way was before me as the uncleanness (tumʼah) of a removed woman" — national sin conceived as ritual impurity - Ezek 36:25 — "from all your filthiness (tumʼah), and from all your idols, will I cleanse you" — eschatological cleansing promise

Library: H2932-tumah.md, H2931-tame.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ṭumʼâh (H2932)	ἀκαθαρσία (G167)	26	28.97	Primary — near-exclusive rendering
ṭumʼâh (H2932)	ἀκάθαρτος (G169)	8	12.24	Adjective form when LXX shifts POS
ṭumʼâh (H2932)	μιαίνω (G3392)	7	11.81	Verbal rendering in prophetic contexts
ṭumʼâh (H2932)	ῥύσις (G4511)	4	12.58	"Flux" — bodily-discharge specific

Reverse direction — what Hebrew words G167 akatharsía translates:

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ṭumʼâh	H2932	26	28.97	Dominant source — 26 of ~32 LXX uses
niddâh	H5079	11	19.67	"Separation" — menstrual/impurity overlap
ṭâmêʼ (verb)	H2930	10	12.53	Verb "to defile" occasionally nominalized
ṭâmêʼ (adj)	H2931	8	12.65	Adjective occasionally abstracted
zôwb	H2101	4	12.43	"Discharge/issue"

Semantic shift in translation: The LXX bridge is highly faithful. Hebrew tumʼah and Greek akatharsía both denote the abstract quality of ritual/moral impurity (not the adjective "unclean" nor the verb "to defile"). The noun-to-noun mapping is near-exclusive, preserving both the ritual (Levitical) and moral (prophetic) senses without significant semantic shift. The alpha-privative formation of akatharsía (a- + katharos "clean") mirrors the Hebrew derivation from ṭâmêʼ.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G167	ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsía)	10	uncleanness, impurity (moral/sexual)
G169	ἀκάθαρτος (akáthartos)	30	unclean (adj — esp. "unclean spirits")
G168	ἀκαθάρτης (akathártēs)	1	filthiness (hapax — Rev 17:4)

Key NT passages: - Matt 23:27 — "ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness (akatharsía)" — Jesus applies ritual impurity language to moral hypocrisy - Rom 1:24 — "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness (akatharsía) through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves" — moral degradation as divine judgment - Gal 5:19 — "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness (akatharsía), lasciviousness" — vice list placement - Eph 4:19 — "Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness (akatharsía) with greediness" - Col 3:5 — "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness (akatharsía), inordinate affection" - 1 Thess 2:3 — "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness (akatharsía), nor in guile" — ministerial purity - 1 Thess 4:7 — "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness (akatharsía), but unto holiness"

Library: TODO(need G167 study)

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The abstract-noun status: both tumʼah and akatharsía denote the condition/quality of impurity, not the person or the act - The antithetical pairing with cleanness/holiness: OT tumʼah opposes ṭohŏrâh (H2893) / qodesh (H6944); NT akatharsía opposes hagiasmos (G38 "holiness/sanctification") at 1 Thess 4:7 - The connection to sexual conduct: OT tumʼah covers menstrual and genital discharges (Lev 15); NT akatharsía regularly appears in vice lists alongside porneia ("fornication") and aselgeia ("lasciviousness")

What shifts: - Ritual → moral dominance: OT tumʼah is overwhelmingly ritual-cultic (Levitical bodily impurity, sanctuary pollution). NT akatharsía is overwhelmingly moral-ethical (sexual sin, greed, hypocrisy). The Ezekiel passages (36:17, 25, 29) form the transitional bridge — tumʼah as metaphor for national moral failure. - Cult → character: OT tumʼah is something contracted and removed by priestly ritual (washing, sacrifice, waiting). NT akatharsía is a disposition of the heart (Rom 1:24 "lusts of their own hearts"), overcome by sanctification (1 Thess 4:7), not by ceremony. - Jesus' pivotal reframing: Matt 23:27 applies the classic Levitical imagery (corpse-contact impurity from Num 19:13) to expose internal moral corruption, collapsing the ritual-moral distinction.