ὁλόκληρος

τέλειος téleios · G5046 · perfect, genuine, true

τέλειος emphasizes completeness in the sense of having reached full maturity or perfection, whether physical, moral, or spiritual. While ὁλόκληρος stresses having all parts intact (whole in every part), τέλειος focuses on completion or perfection of state. Both can describe physical soundness and spiritual completeness.

ὑγιής hygiḗs · G5199 · to be well, to be healthy, right

ὑγιής primarily means healthy or sound, especially in physical health contexts. It overlaps with ὁλόκληρος in describing physical soundness and wholeness of body, though ὑγιής emphasizes health and wellness while ὁλόκληρος emphasizes completeness with all parts intact.

κυλλός kyllós · G2948 · crippled

κυλλός refers to being crippled, maimed, or lacking a limb—the direct opposite of ὁλόκληρος (complete in every part). Where ὁλόκληρος means having all bodily parts intact and sound, κυλλός means lacking parts or being deformed.

χωλός chōlós · G5560 · lame, one who is lame

χωλός describes lameness or being crippled, representing physical defect or incompleteness in bodily function, the opposite of ὁλόκληρος which denotes complete soundness and integrity of all bodily parts.

תָּמִים tâmîym · H8549 · whole, complete, full

תָּמִים is the standard Hebrew term for wholeness, completeness, and being without defect, particularly used of sacrificial animals being unblemished and of moral/physical integrity. It serves as the natural Hebrew translation equivalent for ὁλόκληρος in contexts of physical soundness and completeness.

שָׁלֵם shâlêm · H8003 · whole, complete, intact

שָׁלֵם conveys wholeness, completeness, and soundness, often with connotations of being intact or in a perfect state. It is a viable Hebrew equivalent for ὁλόκληρος when expressing physical or spiritual completeness.

Whole, entire59.30

Closing his letter, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 states “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame,” where “complete” renders this adjective describing the whole person.

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.