Loathsome
Jump to: Webster'sConcordanceThesaurusGreekHebrewLibrarySubtopicsTerms
Topical Encyclopedia
The term "loathsome" in the Bible is often used to describe something that is detestable, repugnant, or abhorrent, particularly in the sight of God. It is associated with sin, disease, and moral corruption, reflecting the deep aversion that God has towards unrighteousness and impurity.

Biblical Usage and Context

1. Sin and Moral Corruption: In the Scriptures, sin is frequently depicted as loathsome because it is contrary to the holy nature of God. Proverbs 13:5 states, "The righteous hate falsehood, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace." Here, the loathsomeness of deceit and wickedness is contrasted with the purity and truth loved by the righteous.

2. Physical and Spiritual Disease: The Bible often uses physical ailments as metaphors for spiritual conditions. In Job 7:5, Job describes his suffering: "My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering." This vivid imagery of loathsome physical affliction parallels the spiritual and emotional turmoil he experiences, highlighting the repulsiveness of sin and suffering.

3. Idolatry and Abominations: Idolatry is frequently described as loathsome in the Bible. In Ezekiel 5:11, God declares, "Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you." The loathsomeness of idolatry is underscored by God's reaction, emphasizing His intolerance for anything that usurps His rightful place.

4. Consequences of Sin: The loathsome nature of sin often leads to severe consequences. In Leviticus 26:30, God warns the Israelites of the repercussions of disobedience: "I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you." The imagery of loathsomeness here serves as a stark warning of the judgment that follows persistent rebellion against God.

5. Repentance and Restoration: Despite the loathsomeness of sin, the Bible also offers hope for repentance and restoration. In Ezekiel 36:31, God promises renewal: "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations." This self-loathing is a step towards repentance, leading to God's forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with Him.

Theological Implications

The concept of loathsome in the Bible underscores the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin. It serves as a reminder of the need for purity and righteousness in the lives of believers. The loathsomeness of sin calls for a response of repentance and a turning away from anything that defiles or corrupts. Through Christ, believers are offered cleansing and redemption, transforming what is loathsome into what is pleasing in the sight of God.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(a.) Fitted to cause loathing; exciting disgust; disgusting.
Greek
2556. kakos -- bad, evil
... word Definition bad, evil NASB Word Usage bad (1), bad things (1), evil (32), evil
men (1), evil things (1), evildoer (1), harm (4), loathsome (1), wretches (1 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2556.htm - 7k

4767. stugetos -- hateful
... 3:3). 4767 ("despicable, detestable") describes people who good things,
ie find them abhorrent (loathsome). [4767() describes what ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4767.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew
2214. zara -- loathsome thing
... 2213, 2214. zara. 2215 . loathsome thing. Transliteration: zara Phonetic
Spelling: (zaw-raw') Short Definition: loathsome. Word ...
/hebrew/2214.htm - 6k

2603b. chanan -- to be loathsome
... chanan. 2604 . to be loathsome. Transliteration: chanan Short Definition: loathsome. ...
root Definition to be loathsome NASB Word Usage loathsome (1). ...
/hebrew/2603b.htm - 5k

2092. zaham -- to be foul, loathsome
... 2091, 2092. zaham. 2093 . to be foul, loathsome. Transliteration: zaham Phonetic
Spelling: (zaw-ham') Short Definition: loathes. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/2092.htm - 5k

2114b. zur -- to be loathsome
... zur or zir. 2115 . to be loathsome. Transliteration: zur or zir Short Definition:
offensive. ... root Definition to be loathsome NASB Word Usage offensive (1). ...
/hebrew/2114b.htm - 5k

7033. qalah -- to roast, parch
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to roast, parch NASB Word Usage burning
(1), parched (1), roasted (2). dried, loathsome, parch, roast. ...
/hebrew/7033.htm - 6k

1741. devay -- illness
... 1740, 1741. devay. 1742 . illness. Transliteration: devay Phonetic Spelling:
(dev-ah'ee) Short Definition: loathsome. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/1741.htm - 6k

887. baash -- to have a bad smell, to stink
... make to be abhorred, loathsome, odious, cause a, make to stink, utterly. A
primitive root; to smell bad; figuratively, to be offensive ...
/hebrew/887.htm - 6k

3988. ma'ac -- to reject
... maw-as') Short Definition: abhor. abhor, cast away off, contemn, despise,
disdain, become loathsome, refuse, A primitive root; to ...
/hebrew/3988.htm - 5k

8441. toebah -- abomination
... abominable act (1), abomination (39), abominations (60), detestable (2), detestable
act (1), detestable thing (3), detestable things (3), loathsome (2), object ...
/hebrew/8441.htm - 6k

Library

Spiritual Resurrection
... silent lumps of clay; and that your strong and stalwart frame, now standing to this
place, will be unable to move a muscle, and become a loathsome thing, the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 3 1857/spiritual resurrection.htm

Christ's Resurrection Song.
... We saw recently an exposition of Psalm 38:7. The words "For my loins are filled
with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh" were applied to ...
/.../gaebelein/the lord of glory/christs resurrection song.htm

April the Second "On Him!"
... Into the vale he went. And down there he found himself surrounded with all manner
of fierce, ugly, loathsome things. ... all the loathsome things were on Him! ...
/.../jowett/my daily meditation for the circling year/april the second on him.htm

A Divided Heart
... most deadly fashion. But we must observe again of this divided heart, that
it is a division in itself peculiarly loathsome. Men who ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/a divided heart.htm

"But we are all as an Unclean Thing, and all Our Righteousnesses ...
... in themselves than others. Always in this verse, they come to a more distinct
view of their loathsome condition. Anybody may wrap ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon xv but we are.htm

B. The Second Period. Chs. 5:1 to 6:11
... Leprosy was regarded as the most loathsome and terrible of diseases. It existed
in various forms but its invariable feature was its foul uncleanness. ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/b the second period chs.htm

A Miracle of Grace
... I shall introduce him to you first as a loathsome monster of guilt; then, secondly,
I shall show you how the hand of God followed him till he became a piteous ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 62 1916/a miracle of grace.htm

Whether Simple Fornication is a Mortal Sin?
... The other things mentioned were loathsome to the Jews through custom introduced
by the law into their daily life. Hence the Apostles ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether simple fornication is a.htm

Christ's Touch
... He lays hold on each, the flushed patient, the loathsome leper, the sacred dead,
with the all-equalising touch of a universal love and pity, which disregards ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/christs touch.htm

Rahab's Faith
... "Yea," says faith, "I did encounter this abomination of iniquity; I delivered this
woman from the loathsome chambers of ... Woman! art thou loathsome to thyself? ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 3 1857/rahabs faith.htm

Thesaurus
Loathsome (20 Occurrences)
...Loathsome (20 Occurrences). ... For there hath become loathsome The shield of the mighty,
The shield of Saul -- without the anointed with oil. (YLT). ...
/l/loathsome.htm - 12k

Noisome (7 Occurrences)
... sum (hawwah, ra`; kakos): "Noisome" from "annoy" (annoysome) has in Bible English
the meaning of "evil," "hurtful," not of "offensive" or "loathsome." It is ...
/n/noisome.htm - 9k

Loathing (6 Occurrences)

/l/loathing.htm - 8k

Foul (41 Occurrences)
... 5. (superl.) Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease. ... (See RSV). Psalms 38:5 My
wounds are loathsome and corrupt, because of my foolishness. (See NAS RSV). ...
/f/foul.htm - 21k

Abominable (52 Occurrences)
... 1. (a.) Hateful; detestable; loathsome; worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as
a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; execrable. ...
/a/abominable.htm - 23k

Loins (72 Occurrences)
... of unfitness for service is described in that the loins (kecel) are filled with
a burning (Psalm 38:7, the King James Version "loathsome disease"), or that "a ...
/l/loins.htm - 33k

Herod (45 Occurrences)
... He was carried out of the theatre a dying man." He died (AD 44) of the same loathsome
malady which slew his grandfather (Acts 12:21-23), in the fifty-fourth ...
/h/herod.htm - 57k

Quenched (22 Occurrences)
... dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they will be loathsome to all ...
/q/quenched.htm - 14k

Vilely (2 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS). Proverbs 13:5 A righteous man hateth lying; But
a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. (See JPS). ...
/v/vilely.htm - 6k

Ugly (7 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (superl.) Offensive to the sight; contrary to beauty;
being of disagreeable or loathsome aspect; unsightly; repulsive; deformed. ...
/u/ugly.htm - 8k

Resources
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son? | GotQuestions.org

What is the cause of the recent plague of child molestation incidents? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about snakes? Are snakes evil? | GotQuestions.org

Loathsome: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Loathsome (20 Occurrences)

Revelation 16:2
The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and evil sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.
(See NAS)

Genesis 43:32
They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians, that ate with him, by themselves, because the Egyptians don't eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
(See NAS)

Genesis 46:34
that you shall say,'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."
(See NAS)

Numbers 11:20
but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it is loathsome to you; because that you have rejected Yahweh who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out of Egypt?"'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV)

2 Samuel 1:21
Mountains of Gilboa! No dew nor rain be on you, And fields of heave-offerings! For there hath become loathsome The shield of the mighty, The shield of Saul -- without the anointed with oil.
(YLT)

Job 2:7
So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
(See RSV)

Job 6:7
My soul refuses to touch them. They are as loathsome food to me.
(WEB ASV DBY NAS RSV)

Job 7:5
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
(KJV YLT)

Job 8:14
Whose confidence is loathsome, And the house of a spider his trust.
(YLT)

Job 19:17
My breath is offensive to my wife. I am loathsome to the children of my own mother.
(WEB JPS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 38:5
My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, because of my foolishness.
(WEB ASV NIV)

Psalms 38:7
For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
(KJV)

Proverbs 13:5
A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
(KJV ASV)

Isaiah 66:24
"They shall go forth, and look on the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
(WEB NIV)

Jeremiah 6:15
Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: when my punishment comes on them, they will be made low, says the Lord.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 8:12
Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: in the time of their punishment they will be made low, says the Lord.
(See NIV)

Ezekiel 6:9
And remembered Me have your escaped among nations, Whither they have been taken captive, Because I have been broken with their heart that is going a-whoring, That hath turned aside from off Me, And with their eyes they are going a-whoring after their idols, And they have been loathsome in their own faces, For the evils that they have done -- all their abominations.
(YLT RSV)

Ezekiel 8:10
So I went in and saw; and see, every form of creeping things, and abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall.
(See RSV)

Ezekiel 20:43
And ye have remembered there your ways, And all your doings, In which ye have been defiled, And ye have been loathsome in your own faces, For all your evils that ye have done.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 36:31
And ye have remembered your ways that 'are' evil, And your doings that 'are' not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, For your iniquities, and for your abominations.
(YLT)

Subtopics

Loathsome

Related Terms

Loathsome (20 Occurrences)

Abomination (78 Occurrences)

Loaves (54 Occurrences)

Loathing
Top of Page
Top of Page