Lexical Summary rhupos: Filth, dirt, impurity Original Word: ῥύπος Strong's Exhaustive Concordance filth. Of uncertain affinity; dirt, i.e. (morally) depravity -- filth. HELPS Word-studies 4509 rhýpos (a masculine noun) – properly, "grease-filth," soiling all it touches; (figuratively) uncleanness that results from doing what is morally unfit, i.e. what is unacceptable because (morally) filthy (LS). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. word Definition filth NASB Translation dirt (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4509: ῤύποςῤύπος, ῤύπου, ὁ, from Homer down,filth: 1 Peter 3:21 (Buttmann, § 151, 14; Winer's Grammar, § 30, 3 N. 3). Topical Lexicon Essential Idea: Physical Dirt as a Figure for Moral Defilement The noun ῥύπος identifies ordinary grime that clings to the body or clothing. Scripture elevates the term, making bodily uncleanness a vivid picture of sin’s deeper stain. In 1 Peter 3:21 the word becomes a foil: baptism is not about “the removal of dirt from the body” but about the inner transformation God alone accomplishes. Old Testament Foundations of Cleansing • Leviticus repeatedly links outward washing with restored fellowship (Leviticus 15:5-11; Leviticus 16:30). New Testament Usage: 1 Peter 3:21 in Its Context Peter has just spoken of Noah, whose family “was saved through water” (1 Peter 3:20). He immediately clarifies that Christian baptism saves, “not the removal of dirt (ῥύπος) from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. The verse insists: 1. Water alone cannot cleanse the conscience. Theological Significance 1. Ceremonial insufficiency—Hebrews 9:13-14 contrasts animal-blood washings with Christ’s blood that “purifies our conscience.” Filth and Conscience ῥύπος stresses what baptism does not do; the conscience is cleansed not by water but by divine verdict (Romans 8:1). The believer’s appeal is for God to apply Christ’s finished work. Thus the term guards against sacramentalism while still affirming baptism’s ordained place. Historical Reception • Early apologists such as Justin Martyr underscored inner renewal over external ablution. Pastoral and Discipleship Applications 1. Evangelism—emphasize that no ritual, however biblical, substitutes for faith in the risen Lord. Illustrations for Teaching • Washing hands removes surface dirt but cannot touch the bloodstream; likewise, only Christ’s atonement reaches the heart. Related Passages Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 4:4; Ezekiel 36:25; Matthew 23:25-26; John 13:8-10; Acts 22:16; 2 Corinthians 7:1; James 1:21; Revelation 7:14. Summary Strong’s Greek 4509, ῥύπος, appears once yet carries weighty theological freight. Scripture uses the humble notion of bodily grime to caution that external rites, however sacred, must never eclipse the cleansing effected by the resurrected Christ. True purity flows from the cross, is sealed by the Spirit, and is joyfully proclaimed in baptism. Forms and Transliterations ρύπον ρυπου ρύπου ῥύπου ρύπω rhypou rhýpou rupouLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |