1829. exerama
Lexical Summary
exerama: Vomit

Original Word: ἐξέραμα
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: exerama
Pronunciation: ex-ER-ah-mah
Phonetic Spelling: (ex-er'-am-ah)
KJV: vomit
NASB: vomit
Word Origin: [from a comparative of G1537 (ἐκ - among) and a presumed erao "to spew"]

1. vomit, i.e. food disgorged

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
vomit.

From a comparative of ek and a presumed erao (to spue); vomit, i.e. Food disgorged -- vomit.

see GREEK ek

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from exeraó (to evacuate)
Definition
vomit (noun)
NASB Translation
vomit (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1829: ἐξέραμα

ἐξέραμα, ἐξεραματος, τό (from ἐξεράω to eject, cast forth, vomit forth; cf. Lob. ad Phryn., p. 64), vomit; what is cast out by vomiting: 2 Peter 2:22, cf. Proverbs 26:11. (Dioscor. de venenis c. 19 (p. 29, Spreng. edition) (an example of the verb. Cf. Wetstein (1752) on Peter, the passage cited, and especially Gataker, Advers. misc. col. 853f).)

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Setting and Occurrence

2 Peter 2:22 uses the graphic noun translated “vomit” to portray those who, after a superficial cleansing by exposure to the gospel, return to the very corruption they once seemed to abandon: “A dog returns to its vomit, and a sow that is washed returns to wallow in the mud”. This is the sole New Testament occurrence, but it deliberately echoes Proverbs 26:11, weaving apostolic warning together with Old Testament wisdom.

Connection to Old Testament Imagery

Proverbs 26:11 declares, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly”. By invoking the proverb, Peter unites both covenants in a single moral principle: sin’s cyclical pull reveals an unchanged nature. Dogs were ceremonially unclean (Exodus 22:31) and despised scavengers; pairing them with vomit heightens the revulsion. Similar rhetoric appears in Leviticus 18:28 and Isaiah 19:14, where moral defilement is depicted with emetic language, underscoring God’s intolerance of impurity.

Historical and Cultural Background

Greco-Roman literature harnessed the image of vomit to condemn excess and moral decay; Stoic writers such as Seneca employed it against gluttony. First-century Jewish and Gentile readers alike would have grasped its force. The dog, roaming streets as a carrion-eater, symbolized uncleanness in Judaism and shamelessness in Hellenism, making Peter’s metaphor a cross-cultural indictment of false teachers.

Theological Significance

• Apostasy: The term unmasked the grotesque nature of turning back from revealed truth (Hebrews 10:38–39).
• Nature versus Conduct: Washing a sow does not change its nature; only regeneration transforms (John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
• Holiness: Sin is not merely mistaken but loathsome before a holy God (Habakkuk 1:13).
• Perseverance: While professing believers may fall away, the truly born again persevere (1 John 2:19).

Practical Application in Discipleship and Ministry

1. Counseling: Diagnose superficial conversions; call for heart regeneration, not behaviour modification.
2. Teaching: Emphasise the ugliness of sin to cultivate holy revulsion.
3. Leadership: Equip elders to expose doctrines that lure the flock back into moral filth (Acts 20:28-31).
4. Evangelism: Present salvation as a change of nature, guarding against false assurance.

Homiletical and Pastoral Insights

• Contrast 2 Peter 1:3-4 (partakers of the divine nature) with 2 Peter 2:22 (return to corruption).
• Illustrate: Just as the body expels harmful substances, the Spirit convicts and purges sin; re-ingesting it courts death.
• Exhort: Nourish new appetites—Scripture, prayer, fellowship—so that the stench of former sins is detested.

Related Scriptures

Proverbs 26:11; Luke 11:24-26; John 6:66; 2 Peter 1:9; Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-31; Revelation 3:16.

Summary

The lone use of Strong’s Greek 1829 furnishes a lasting, Spirit-inspired picture of sin’s repulsiveness and the peril of apostasy. By likening false teachers and their followers to a dog consuming its own vomit, Peter summons the church to steadfast holiness and underscores the gospel’s call to a transformed, persevering life.

Forms and Transliterations
εξειργάσατο εξειργάσω εξεραμα εξέραμα ἐξέραμα εξερευγόμενα εξερεύξαιντο εξερεύξεται εξερεύξονται εξηρεύξατο exerama exérama
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Englishman's Concordance
2 Peter 2:22 N-ANS
GRK: τὸ ἴδιον ἐξέραμα καί Ὗς
NAS: TO ITS OWN VOMIT, and, A sow,
KJV: to his own vomit again; and
INT: the own vomit and [The] sow

Strong's Greek 1829
1 Occurrence


ἐξέραμα — 1 Occ.

1828
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