ἕλκος G1668
a sore, ulcer, festering wound; open, painful skin lesion, often symbolic of divine judgment
The noun ἕλκος denotes a wound, especially a festering sore or ulcer—an open, painful, often infected lesion. In biblical usage it appears in contexts of extreme affliction: the beggar Lazarus covered with sores (Luke 16) and the plague-like sores of Revelation's judgments. Ancient medicine offered little relief for chronic ulceration, making such conditions emblematic of both physical misery and sometimes divine displeasure. The sore visible on skin makes invisible spiritual or moral corruption tangible.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Luke 16:21 describes the beggar Lazarus: 'covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores'—abject poverty compounded by painful, untreated ulceration. Revelation 16:2 narrates the first bowl judgment: 'harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast'—plague recalling Egyptian boils. Verse 16:11 reports: 'they cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores'—unrepentant despite affliction. The Spanish (llagas, úlcera, úlceras) and French (ulcère) use medical terminology. The sores function symbolically: in Luke as mark of extreme poverty and suffering, in Revelation as visible manifestation of divine judgment on idolatry. Skin disease makes inner condition outwardly visible. 3×
AR["قَرحٌ", "قُروحِهِم", "قُرُوحَهُ"]·ben["ঘা", "ঘার"]·DE["Geschwuer", "ἕλκη"]·EN["a-sore", "sores"]·FR["ulcère"]·heb["שְׁחִין", "שְׁחִינִים", "שְׁחִינֵיהֶם"]·HI["घावों", "फोड़ा", "फोड़ों"]·ID["bisul", "bisul-bisul", "luka-luka"]·IT["elke", "elkos", "elkōn"]·jav["koreng"]·KO["종기가", "종기들", "헌데를"]·PT["feridas", "úlcera", "úlceras"]·RU["язв", "язва,", "язвы"]·ES["llagas", "úlcera", "úlceras"]·SW["jipu,", "majipu", "vidonda"]·TR["yara", "yaralar", "yaralarının"]·urd["پھوڑا", "پھوڑوں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἕλκος, εος, τό, wound, Refs 8th c.BC+ __2 festering wound, sore, ulcer, ἕ. ὕδρου the festering bite of a serpent, Refs 8th c.BC+; plague-ulcer, Refs 5th c.BC+, and both 1.1 and 1.2 are treated in Refs 5th c.BC+; ἕ. is applied to amputations in Refs __II metaphorically, wound, loss, Refs 6th c.BC+; ὑποκάρδιον ἕ. Refs 3rd c.BC+, cf. Latin ulcus, Sanskritárśas (n.) 'haemorrhoid': ἕ- by influence of ἕλκω.)