Defilement from Within: A Koine and Classical Greek Comparison of Mark 7:23

Πάντα ταῦτα τὰ πονηρὰ ἔσωθεν ἐκπορεύεται καὶ κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. (Mark 7:23)

All these evil things come out from within and defile the person.

Koine Greek Grammar and Syntax Analysis

• πάντα ταῦτα τὰ πονηρά — Neuter plural accusative subject. The phrase means “all these evil things.” ταῦτα is a demonstrative pronoun referring to a list of sins previously mentioned (vv. 21–22), and τὰ πονηρά is an attributive adjective phrase qualifying it.
• ἔσωθεν — Adverb of place: “from within.” Emphatically placed to contrast with external sources of impurity.
• ἐκπορεύεται — Present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular from ἐκπορεύομαι: “goes out,” “proceeds.” Middle in form but often active in function in Koine usage.
• καὶ κοινοῖ — Present active indicative, 3rd person singular from κοινόω: “defiles,” “renders common” (i.e., ritually impure). The subject remains “all these evil things.”
• τὸν ἄνθρωπον — Accusative masculine singular: “the man” or “the person.” Direct object of κοινοῖ.

Comparison with Classical Greek Usage

• κοινόω — In Classical Greek, κοινός means “common” as opposed to “private” or “sacred,” but the verb κοινόω is rarely used for ritual impurity. In Koine and Jewish-Greek, it takes on the technical meaning “to make unclean” (especially in LXX and NT).
• ἐκπορεύομαι — Classical authors often prefer προέρχομαι or ἐξέρχομαι for physical or metaphorical exit. ἐκπορεύομαι becomes more common in Hellenistic and biblical Greek for moral or spiritual emanation.
• πάντα ταῦτα τὰ πονηρά — The repetition of pronoun and article-adjective-noun chain is idiomatic in Koine. Classical Greek might streamline this as πάντα ταῦτα πονηρά or omit one of the determiners.
• ἔσωθεν as ethical center — In Classical Greek, ἔσωθεν typically denotes physical interiority. In Koine, it shifts toward moral or spiritual internality, often in didactic or ethical contexts.

Semantic and Stylistic Shifts

• Internalization of defilement — Koine theology shifts ritual purity from external actions to internal moral state. Classical ethics focus more on visible actions and civic virtue, not ritual purity.
• Verb focus: κοινοῖ — The theological weight of the verse rests on κοινόω, which in Jewish Koine signifies breaking sacred boundaries. This would be foreign in Classical Athens, where “defilement” was more associated with civic pollution or taboo violations.
• Syntactic bluntness — The sentence uses simple parataxis (no subordination): “these… go out… and defile…”—a hallmark of Koine oral narrative style. Classical Greek would more likely use relative clauses or participial asides.
• Stylistic economy — Koine often forgoes elegance for direct theological impact. The verse moves from subject to action to consequence in linear fashion, ideal for oral teaching.

Koine and Classical Comparison Table