4507. rhuparia

Lexical Summary

rhuparia: Filthiness, moral impurity

Original Word: ῥυπαρία
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: rhuparia
Pronunciation: hroo-par-EE-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (hroo-par-ee'-ah)
KJV: turpitude
Word Origin: [from G4508 (ῥυπαρός - dirty)]

1. dirtiness (morally)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

dirtiness, turpitude.

From rhuparos; dirtiness (morally) -- turpitude.

see GREEK rhuparos

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 4507 rhyparía (a feminine noun) – properly, dirt (filth); (figuratively) moral filth that soils (desecrates) the soul, emphasizing a specific application (influence) of moral filth. 4507 /rhyparía ("moral filth") is only used in Js 1:21.

[See also the cognate masculine noun 4509 (rhýpos), "moral filth viewed as a working principle."]

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4507: ῤυπαρία

ῤυπαρία, ῥυπαριας, ἡ (ῤυπαρός), filthiness (Plutarch, praecept. conjug. c. 28); metaphorically, of wickedness as moral defilement: James 1:21. (Of sordidness, in Critias quoted in Pollux 3, 116; Plutarch, de adulat. et amic. § 19; others.)

Topical Lexicon

Meaning and Concept

Strong’s Greek 4507 (ῥυπαρία) pictures anything soiled, foul, or morally befouled. The single New Testament use places the word squarely in the moral realm rather than in external hygiene. It speaks of the inner pollution that clashes with God’s holiness and hinders receptive fellowship with His Word.

Old Testament Background

The Septuagint employs ῥυπαρία at critical covenant moments where God confronts Israel’s defilement.
• Deuteronomy 23:14 warns that the camp must be kept holy so that the Lord will not “see in you any ῥυπαρία and turn away.”
• Isaiah 4:4 promises a coming day when “the Lord will wash away the filth (ῥυπαρία) of the daughters of Zion,” linking moral cleansing with the Spirit’s purifying fire.
• Zechariah 3:3–4 pictures Joshua the high priest in “filthy garments” (ῥυπαρία); the angel removes them and clothes him in festal robes, a vivid portrayal of justification by divine grace.

These passages root the concept in covenant life: defilement excludes, cleansing restores.

New Testament Exhortation (James 1:21)

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of wickedness, and humbly receive the word planted in you, which can save your souls.” (James 1:21)

James connects three realities:

1. Removal of ῥυπαρία (moral filth).
2. Rejection of the surplus of wickedness.
3. Reception of the implanted word that saves.

In context, the “word” (James 1:18) has already begotten believers; now that same word must be welcomed into a cleansed heart to complete its saving work. The image recalls agricultural practice: clearing weeds before planting ensures fruitful growth. Believers cooperate with grace by laying aside defilement so the word can flourish.

Theological Significance

1. Sanctification: ῥυπαρία names what must be abandoned in progressive holiness (compare 2 Corinthians 7:1).
2. Regeneration and the Word: James presents moral cleansing not as self-improvement but as the necessary environment for the saving word to operate.
3. Holiness and Worship: Just as ritual impurity barred Old Testament worshipers, moral filth today obstructs fellowship and witness (Hebrews 12:14).

Historical Interpretation

• Early Church: Clement of Rome and Ignatius urged believers to cast off “filth of the flesh and spirit,” echoing James to emphasize ethical transformation following baptism.
• Reformation: Martin Luther, commenting on James, saw ῥυπαρία as legalistic hypocrisy as well as overt sin; John Calvin viewed it as “all the depravity which begins to boil in us,” stressing the need for Scripture’s implanted power.
• Wesleyan Tradition: John Wesley took the term to affirm entire sanctification, asserting that the implanted word can ultimately cleanse the believer from inbred sin.

Pastoral and Ministry Application

1. Preaching: Call hearers to confession and renunciation of hidden sins before the public reading of Scripture, mirroring James’s sequence.
2. Counseling: Use James 1:21 to connect repentance with renewed engagement in the Word; Scripture intake without moral yielding breeds self-deception (James 1:22).
3. Discipleship: Encourage memorization of passages on purity (Psalm 119:9; Titus 2:11–14).
4. Corporate Worship: Incorporate moments of silent confession so the assembly approaches the Word with cleansed hearts, reflecting Old Testament camp purity and the Zechariah vision.
5. Social Witness: Address communal “filth” such as injustice or pornography; the church models holiness that validates proclamation.

Related Terms and Concepts

• 4508 ῥυπαρός – “dirty, vile”; used in Revelation 22:11.
• Katharizō (“to cleanse”) – the divine answer to ῥυπαρία (1 John 1:9).
• Hagiasmos (“sanctification”) – the positive state that replaces ῥυπαρία (1 Thessalonians 4:7).

Summary

ῥυπαρία exposes the inner corruption incompatible with God’s presence. Scripture moves from exposure to cleansing, culminating in James’s call to lay aside defilement so that the implanted word may complete its saving, sanctifying mission. The believer, the congregation, and the wider community are all summoned to this ongoing exchange: filth removed, Word received, holiness displayed.

Forms and Transliterations

ρυπαριαν ρυπαρίαν ῥυπαρίαν rhyparian rhyparían ruparian

Englishman's Concordance

James 1:21 N-AFS
GRK: ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν
NAS: all filthiness and [all] that remains
KJV: all filthiness and
INT: having laid aside all filthiness and abounding

Strong's Greek 4507
1 Occurrence

ῥυπαρίαν — 1 Occ.