4508. rhuparos

Lexical Summary

rhuparos: Filthy, dirty, defiled

Original Word: ῥυπαρός
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: rhuparos
Pronunciation: hroo-par-os'
Phonetic Spelling: (rhoo-par-os')
KJV: vile
NASB: dirty, filthy
Word Origin: [from G4509 (ῥύπος - dirt)]

1. dirty
2. (relatively) cheap or shabby
3. (morally) wicked

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

vile.

From rhupos; dirty, i.e. (relatively) cheap or shabby; morally, wicked -- vile.

see GREEK rhupos

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 4508 rhyparós (an adjective, derived from 4509 /rhýpos, "moral filth") – filthy, foul (used only in Js 2:2). See 4509 (rhypos).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from rhupos
Definition
filthy
NASB Translation
dirty (1), filthy (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4508: ῤυπαρός

ῤυπαρός, ῤυπαρᾷ, ῥυπαρον (ῤύπος, which see), filthy, dirty: properly, of clothing (A. V. vile), James 2:2 (the Sept. Zechariah 3:3f; Josephus, Antiquities 7, 11, 3; Plutarch, Phocylides, 18; Dio Cassius, 65, 20; ῤυπαρᾷ καί ἀπλυτα, Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 2, 3 at the end; χλαμύς, Aelian v. h. 14, 10); metaphorically, defiled with iniquity, base (A. V. filthy): Revelation 22:11 G L T Tr WH. ((In the sense of sordid, mean, Dionysius Halicarnassus, others.))

Topical Lexicon

Meaning and Conceptual Scope

Strong’s Greek 4508 (ῥυπαρός) conveys the idea of something soiled, grimy, or foul, whether literally (dirt on garments) or figuratively (moral corruption). Scripture uses the adjective to expose both visible filth and the deeper uncleanness of the heart.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. James 2:2 – “Suppose a man comes into your assembly wearing gold rings and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy clothes also comes in.”
2. Revelation 22:11 – “Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous; let the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”

Historical and Cultural Background

In the Greco-Roman world clothing signaled status. Fine, dazzling garments identified wealth; stained, tattered garments revealed poverty or servitude. Within first-century synagogues and house churches, such outward distinctions could tempt believers to judge by appearance. John’s Apocalypse, written decades later, uses the same word to contrast those persisting in unrepentant sin with those robed in righteousness (Revelation 7:14; 19:8).

Theological Significance

1. Outward vs. Inward Purity – James intentionally selects a term for dirtied clothing to mirror internal attitudes. Showing favoritism to the rich exposes spiritual grime, regardless of outward respectability (James 2:4-9).
2. Perseverance of Character – Revelation 22:11 occurs after the final invitations of the book; the present imperative underscores that a person’s settled moral direction will crystallize at Christ’s return. The adjective ῥυπαρός therefore portraits enduring defilement in those who refuse the water of life (Revelation 22:17).
3. Holiness in Biblical Theology – From Leviticus’ holiness code to the New Covenant call to be “blameless and pure” (Philippians 2:15), Scripture pairs external cleanness with internal consecration. ῥυπαρός underscores the opposite state: pollution incompatible with God’s presence.

Practical Application for the Church

• Impartial Fellowship – James 2 presses congregations to welcome the poor without prejudice. Discrimination is “filthy” behavior, however refined its appearance.
• Call to Repentance – Revelation warns that persistent filth becomes permanent post-judgment. Churches must proclaim both forgiveness in Christ and the urgency of cleansing (1 John 1:9).
• Personal Holiness – Believers are exhorted to “cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). The rarity of ῥυπαρός in the New Testament sharpens its impact: few words so starkly depict the gulf between moral decay and the purity set before the saints.

Related Biblical Motifs

• Filthy garments exchanged for festal robes (Zechariah 3:3-5).
• Isaiah 64:6 likens self-made righteousness to “filthy rags,” echoing the same conceptual field of uncleanness.
• The bride of Christ is granted “fine linen, bright and clean” (Revelation 19:8), the antithesis of ῥυπαρός.

Summary

Strong’s 4508 functions as a concise but weighty reminder that God sees through surface appearances to the true state of the soul. Whether confronting partiality in the assembly or forecasting the eternal destiny of the unrepentant, the term summons every reader to seek the cleansing found only in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14).

Forms and Transliterations

ρυπαρα ρυπαρά ῥυπαρᾷ ρυπαρος ῥυπαρὸς rhypara rhyparā̂i rhyparos rhyparòs rupara ruparos

Englishman's Concordance

James 2:2 Adj-DFS
GRK: πτωχὸς ἐν ῥυπαρᾷ ἐσθῆτι
NAS: comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
KJV: a poor man in vile raiment;
INT: a poor [man] in shabby apparel

Revelation 22:11 Adj-NMS
GRK: καὶ ὁ ῥυπαρὸς ῥυπανθήτω ἔτι
NAS: do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still
INT: and he that is filthy let him be filthy still

Strong's Greek 4508
2 Occurrences

ῥυπαρᾷ — 1 Occ.
ῥυπαρὸς — 1 Occ.