Word study
Wash
4 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: wash, washed, washing, washes, washings. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “wash” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- כָּבַס kâbas(tread), washtranslated this way 45 times of its 49 uses · Strong’s H3526Verb · Translated: wash 33, washed 8, Launderer's 4Full study and all 47 verses →
Genesis 49:11 He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
Exodus 19:10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
- רָחַץ râchatswash, wash off, away, bathetranslated this way 40 times of its 72 uses · Strong’s H7364Verb · Translated: bathe 23, wash 19, washed 14, bathed 6Full study and all 71 verses →
Genesis 18:4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
Exodus 29:4 Then present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
- שָׁטַף shâṭaphoverflow, rinse or wash offtranslated this way 2 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H7857Verb · Translated: rinsed 3, torrents 3, overflowing 2, like a flood 2Full study and all 29 verses →
1 Kings 22:38 And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
Job 14:19 as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
- רַחְצָה rachtsâhid.translated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H7367Noun · Translated: washing 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Song of Solomon 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.
Song of Solomon 6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.
Greek words (New Testament)
- νίπτω níptōI washtranslated this way 17 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s G3538Verb · Translated: wash 10, washed 5, going to wash 1, washing 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Matthew 6:17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Mark 7:3 Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.
- λούω loúōI wash, bathetranslated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G3068Verb · Translated: washed 3, already bathed 1, body was washed 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Acts 9:37 At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.
Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- πλύνω plýnōI washtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4150Verb · Translated: washing 1, washed 1, wash 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Luke 5:2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- βαπτίζω baptízōI dip, submerge, baptizetranslated this way 2 times of its 75 uses · Strong’s G907Verb · Translated: baptized 45, baptize 13, baptizing 7, Baptist 3Full study and all 64 verses →
Mark 7:4 And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
Luke 11:38 But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
- ἀπολούω apoloúōI wash off, wash awaytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G628Verb · Translated: wash 1, washed 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- βαπτισμός baptismósdipping, washingtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G909Noun · Translated: washing 1, baptism 1, baptisms 1, washings 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Mark 7:4 And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
Hebrews 9:10 They consist only in food and drink and special washings — external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
- λουτρόν loutróna bath, washing, baptismtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G3067Noun · Translated: washing 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Ephesians 5:26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.