Word study · Greek
akathartos
unclean, impure
Say it: ah-KAH-thar-tos (approximate)
ἀκάθαρτος
What it means
Not purified: ritually unclean, unfit to come near what is holy. In Mark it is the usual label for evil spirits ("unclean spirit"), which shows how Mark pictures them: forces that defile and cut a person off from God's people. People also become unclean through disease, death, and certain foods, and much of Mark's story crosses those boundaries.
Range of meaning
- Ritually uncleanImpure under the law.
- Evil spiritAs in "unclean spirit."
- Morally impureDefiled in a deeper sense.