Berean Strong's Lexicon perikatharma: Filth, refuse, scum Original Word: περικάθαρμα Word Origin: From the Greek words "peri" (around, about) and "kathairo" (to cleanse, purify) Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for "perikatharma," the concept of being despised or rejected can be related to Hebrew terms such as "נִדָּה" (nidah, meaning impurity or uncleanness) and "זָרָה" (zarah, meaning to scatter or disperse). Usage: The term "perikatharma" is used metaphorically in the New Testament to describe something or someone considered as the lowest or most despised. It conveys the idea of being treated as refuse or the offscouring of society. In a biblical context, it reflects the humility and suffering endured by the apostles and early Christians, who were often regarded as the dregs of society for their faith. Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Greek culture, "perikatharma" was used in a ritualistic context to refer to a person or thing that was sacrificed or used as a scapegoat to cleanse or purify a community. This concept was rooted in the idea of transferring the community's impurities onto the scapegoat, which was then cast out or destroyed. In the New Testament, this term is used to illustrate the apostles' willingness to endure disgrace and rejection for the sake of the Gospel. HELPS Word-studies 4027 perikátharma – properly, off-scouring (refuse); "left-overs," rejected after a thorough cleansing; (figuratively) an outcast, viewed as scummy residue (used only in 1 Cor 4:13). 4027 /perikátharma ("rubbish") describes someone as "the filth of the world, representing 'the most abject and despicable men' (Grimm-Thayer) – the scum or rubbish of humanity" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 237). [4027 (perikátharma) literally refers to the rubbish left-over after "cleansing all around." The Greeks used 4027 (perikátharma) "of criminals kept at the public expense, to be thrown into the sea, or otherwise killed, at the outbreak of a pestilence, etc. It is used in 1 Cor 4:13 much in this sense" (ibid).] NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom a comp. of peri and kathairó Definition that which is cleaned off, refuse NASB Translation scum (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4027: περικάθαρμαπερικάθαρμα, περικαθαρματος, τό (περικαθαίρω, to cleanse on all sides (περί, III. 1)), off-scouring, refuse: plural, τά περικαθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου (A. V., the filth of the world), metaphorically, the most abject and despicable men, 1 Corinthians 4:13. (Epictetus diss. 3, 22, 78;purgamenta urbis, Curt. 8, 5, 8; 10, 2, 7; (see Wetstein on 1 Corinthians, the passage cited); the Sept. once for כֹּפֶר, the price of expiation or redemption, Proverbs 21:18, because the Greeks used to apply the term καθαρματα to victims sacrificed to make expiation for the people, and even to criminals who were maintained at the public expense, that on the outbreak of a pestilence or other calamity they might be offered as sacrifices to make expiation for the state.) STRONGS NT 4027a: περικαθίζωπερικαθίζω: 1 aorist participle περικαθισας; 1. in classical Greek transitive, to bid or make to sit around, to invest, besiege, a city, a fortress. 2. intransitive, to sit around, be seated around ; so in Luke 22:55 Lachmann text From a compound of peri and kathairo; something cleaned off all around, i.e. Refuse (figuratively) -- filth. see GREEK peri see GREEK kathairo |
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