FILTH, FILTHINESS, the rendering in the Eng. VSS of a number of terms, usually refers to ceremonial uncleanness or moral depravity and only secondarily to actual dirt. The most common OT term is Heb. טֻמְאָה, H3240, “ceremonial uncleanness” (Ezek 22:15, et al.). The word is related to a number of others all meaning “defilement” or “to defile.” Less common but more graphic is Heb. צֵאָה, H7362, צֹאָה, H7363, “excretement,” possibly cognate to similar terms in other languages for bodily discharges. The term is used of garments and furniture (Isa 4:4; 28:8; et al.) but specifically in the sense of ceremonial impurity. The term אָלַח, H480, appears only in Psalms 14:3; 53:3 and Job 15:16. Its meaning and etymology are obscure, but there is no doubt from the parallel terms that it means “corruption.” The only known cognate is an Arab. term which refers to the souring or tainting of milk. The familiar passage in Isaiah 64:6, and possibly Ezekiel 16:6 refer to the female menses. The difficulty of these expressions is indicated by the confusion of usage among the various VSS. In the NT the conception of ceremonial cleanness is not foremost, as in the OT use of such terms. The most common Gr. word is ῥυπόω, G4867, “to make dirty,” “to defile” (Rev 22:11), the noun ῥύπος, G4866, “filth,” usually thought to be the oily exudate of a plant such as the hyssop (1 Pet 3:21), and the abstract concept ῥυπαρία, G4864, “dirt,” “filth” often used of moral or ethical depravity (James 1:21). The other more common term is αἰσχρός, G156, “ugly,” “shameful” and the like (1 Cor 11:6 et al.). The compo unds of this word are exceedingly graphic of man’s iniquity; e.g. αἰσχρολόγος, “foulmouthed” (Col 3:8), and αἰσχροκαρδής, “gain obtained by foul means” (1 Tim 3:8). The Scriptures continually use such terms to convey the total depravity of sin and its irremedial effects. This realization prepares man for the message of atonement and the antonyms of these terms are used to describe the state of the redeemed. See Clean.