Exploring the Meaning of Ekptuo in Greek

ἐκπτύω means “to spit out.” It appears once, in Paul’s recollection of how the Galatians welcomed him despite the hardship of his bodily condition.

Root and Related Words

ἐκπτύω is built from the preposition ek (ἐκ), “out from” (Strong’s G1537), and the verb ptyo (πτύω), “to spit” (Strong’s G4429). The compound form naturally directs the action outward: what is expelled is sent “out from” the mouth rather than merely involving spitting in the abstract.

Occurrences

“That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you didn’t despise nor reject; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 4:14)

In this sentence Paul contrasts two possible responses the Galatians might have had toward him when his physical state presented “a temptation” to them. The verse sets up a pair of negatives—“you didn’t despise nor reject”—followed by a strong positive—“but you received me.” Within that contrast, ἐκπτύω contributes vivid physical imagery to the idea of refusal. The action “to spit out” evokes a bodily, instinctive expulsion: an unwanted thing is not simply declined but treated as something offensive that should be driven away. Paul’s point in the verse is sharpened by the way the thought moves from potential revulsion to actual honor. Instead of responding to the provocation of his condition with contempt or an expulsive rejection, they “received” him, and not in a minimal way: “as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.”

The verse also places the action in a relational frame. The object of the rejection is not merely an idea but “me”—Paul himself. So the image of spitting out, though physically concrete, functions here to mark the extreme end of personal rejection. It would have been a way of treating the messenger as though he were contaminating, unfit to be among them. Against that imagined possibility stands their actual conduct: they welcomed him in a manner that corresponds to high esteem, the very opposite of an act of expulsion.

Sense and Usage

The single attestation of ἐκπτύω anchors its sense in a social and emotional situation rather than in a description of bodily action. “To spit out” is a forceful verb precisely because it pictures rejection as something performed with the mouth—an outward act that can be seen and felt, not merely an inward judgment. In Galatians 4:14 the verb sits alongside two other responses (“despise” and “reject”), but it adds its own weight by suggesting the kind of rejection that does not simply turn away; it casts away. The contrast with “received me” shows that the issue is acceptance versus expulsion: whether Paul would be treated as welcome presence or as something to be gotten rid of.

Because the verse links the potential reaction to “a temptation to you in my flesh,” the word’s imagery fits the kind of response that can arise when a person’s physical weakness or affliction tests the patience or sensibilities of others. The definition “to spit out” captures an extreme, almost reflexive refusal—what someone might do to something perceived as unpleasant. Yet Paul’s emphasis is that this did not happen: their community response did not move toward repulsion but toward reception and honor. In that way, ἐκπτύω functions rhetorically: it helps Paul measure the distance between what might be expected under strain and what the Galatians actually did in showing welcome.

Even within this single context, the verb’s concrete force serves a broader communicative purpose. It is a word that paints the rejection as public and embodied. Spitting out is not an invisible decision; it is an act that would communicate contempt unmistakably. By negating such an action, Paul depicts their past conduct as not merely polite restraint but a genuine refusal to treat him as repulsive. Their reception—“as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus”—then reads as an act of honor that answers the possible shame implied in spitting out. The verse’s structure makes the verb part of a spectrum: from contempt and expulsion at one pole to reverent welcome at the other.

Imagery

In Galatians 4:14 the imagery of ἐκπτύω brings the language of the mouth into the ethics of hospitality. Spitting out is an outward sign of disgust, a way of pushing something away from oneself and from one’s space. Paul invokes that picture only to deny it, placing it in stark contrast with the act of receiving him. The result is a memorable portrayal of how decisively the Galatians’ welcome overcame whatever pressure his “flesh” might have exerted on their instincts or social expectations.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).