ἁλυκός (halukos)
halukos
salty
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective halukos means simply "salty." It appears only once in the New Testament, in James 3:12, where it describes water that has been contaminated with salt. The word is a direct derivative of hals, the common noun for salt, and functions here as a descriptive quality rather than a standalone substance.
James uses this single term to make a sharp logical point about human speech. He asks how a spring can produce both fresh and salty water from the same source. The contrast is not between two different types of springs, but between pure output and corrupted output. The saltiness represents a fundamental flaw in nature that cannot be reconciled with its original design.
This rare usage highlights the impossibility of mixing opposing natures. Just as salt ruins fresh water rather than enhancing it, corrupt speech undermines the integrity of a believer’s life. The word carries no additional theological weight beyond this physical reality; its power lies in the obviousness of the analogy. Translators consistently render it as "salty" to preserve the simple, undeniable nature of James’ illustration.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word halukos means simply salty. James uses it in one short question to show how strange it is for a single source to produce two opposite results. A spring does not naturally give both fresh and salty water. When the output changes, the source itself has been compromised.
In our lives, this image helps us understand speech. Words often reveal what is truly inside us more clearly than our actions do. If kindness flows from a heart that is at peace, then harshness suggests something else is at work. We do not need to search for hidden meanings; the pattern is visible in daily conversation.
When we notice inconsistency in our own words, it can feel unsettling. Yet this clarity offers a chance to look inward with honesty. God invites us to examine where our speech aligns with His truth and where it drifts away. Resting in His grace allows us to grow into a more consistent witness.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- of salt1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἁλυκὸν1×
Key Verses
-
James 3:12
Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.
This verse uses the word to illustrate the natural impossibility of a single spring producing both fresh and salty water, serving as a metaphor for inconsistent speech.