"crippled in the feet, limping, halting, lame, Mt. 11:5; 15:30, 31; met. limping, weak, spiritually, Heb. 12:13; maimed, deprived of a foot, for ἀναπηρός, Mk. 9:45"
Definition and meaning
crippled in the feet, limping, halting, lame, Mt. 11:5; 15:30, 31; met. limping, weak, spiritually, Heb. 12:13; maimed, deprived of a foot, for ἀναπηρός, Mk. 9:45
In the original Greek the word is written: χωλός
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of cholos (G5560) across the King James Bible.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
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Common questions
Strong's G5560 (cholos) is a Greek word that means: crippled in the feet, limping, halting, lame, Mt. 11:5; 15:30, 31; met. limping, weak, spiritually, Heb. 12:13; maimed, deprived of a foot, for ἀναπηρός, Mk. 9:45 It appears 14 times in the King James Bible.
The word cholos (G5560) appears 14 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G5560 is cholos, a Greek word defined as: crippled in the feet, limping, halting, lame, Mt. 11:5; 15:30, 31; met. limping, weak, spiritually, Heb. 12:13; maimed, deprived of a foot, for ἀναπηρ. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
cholos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.