ὑγι-ής G5199
Healthy, sound in body; figuratively wholesome or sound (of doctrine, teaching, or words).
A word rooted in physical well-being that carries a powerful metaphorical extension. In the Gospels it describes people made whole after miraculous healing -- the man at the pool of Bethesda whom Jesus asks 'Do you want to be made well?' (John 5:6), and the woman healed of her bleeding (Mark 5:34). The Spanish 'sana' and German 'gesund' capture this bodily wholeness. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul repurposes the same word for doctrine that is spiritually robust and uncorrupted, 'sound teaching' (Titus 2:1), bridging body and belief in a single adjective.
Senses
1. healthy, well (physical wholeness) — Describes a person restored to full physical health, free from disease or disability. Nearly all New Testament occurrences cluster in healing narratives -- especially John 5, where the word appears six times around one miracle at the pool of Bethesda. Cross-lingual glosses consistently render it as bodily wholeness: Spanish 'sano/sana,' French 'en bonne sante,' German 'gesund.' The underlying image is completeness, a body with nothing missing or broken. 11×
AR["أَصِحَّاءَ", "صَحِيحًا", "صَحِيحَةً", "مُعافاةً"]·ben["সুস্থ"]·DE["gesund", "ὑγιής", "ὑγιεῖς", "ὑγιὴς"]·EN["healthy", "well"]·FR["en-bonne-santé", "sain"]·heb["בְּרִיאִים", "בְּרִיאָה", "בָּרִיא"]·HI["सवस्थ", "से", "स्वस्थ", "स्वस्थ,", "स्वस्थ।"]·ID["sehat", "sehat.", "sembuh", "sembuh,", "sembuh."]·IT["sano"]·jav["saras", "saras.", "seger", "seger,", "seger.", "sehat", "waras,"]·KO["건강하게", "건강하고", "건강하니"]·PT["curada", "são", "sãos"]·RU["здорова", "здоровая", "здоровый.", "здоровым", "здоровым,", "здоровым.", "здоровыми"]·ES["sana", "sano", "sanos"]·SW["mzima", "wazima"]·TR["sağlıklı", "sizin"]·urd["تندرست", "صحتمند"]
2. sound, wholesome (of doctrine/words) — A metaphorical transfer from bodily health to doctrinal integrity, found exclusively in the Pastoral Epistles. Paul speaks of 'sound words' (1 Tim 6:3), 'sound doctrine' (Titus 2:1), and 'sound speech that cannot be condemned' (Titus 2:8). The same Spanish 'sana' serves both senses, showing how naturally the metaphor travels across languages. Just as a healthy body functions without corruption, sound teaching operates without distortion. 1×
AR["صَحيحًا"]·ben["সুস্থ"]·DE["gesund"]·EN["sound"]·FR["gesund"]·heb["בָּרִיא,"]·HI["स्वस्थ,"]·ID["sehat,"]·IT["ugiē"]·jav["saras,"]·KO["건전한"]·PT["sã,"]·RU["здравое"]·ES["sana"]·SW["lenye-afya"]·TR["sağlıklı,"]·urd["صحیح"]
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
ὑγι-ής, ές, genitive Attic dialect -οῦ; dative ὑγιεῖ; accusative, Ionic dialect ὑγιέα Refs 5th c.BC+ variant{ὑγιέα}, Refs 5th c.BC+; Attic dialect ὑγιᾶ Refs 5th c.BC+, erroneously called un-Attic by Moer.p.375 P., Thom.Mag.p.365 R.: dual ὑγιῆ Refs 5th c.BC+, and frequently in Attic dialect inscriptions, Refs 4th c.BC+, and as feminine, Refs 5th c.BC+:— comparative ὑγιέστερος Refs 5th c.BC+,…