2595. karphos
Lexical Summary
karphos: Speck, splinter, mote

Original Word: κάρφος
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: karphos
Pronunciation: KAR-fos
Phonetic Spelling: (kar'-fos)
KJV: mote
NASB: speck
Word Origin: [from karpho "to wither"]

1. a dry twig or straw

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
mote, speck

From karpho (to wither); a dry twig or straw -- mote.

HELPS Word-studies

2595 kárphos – properly, a small particle (a splinter of straw or wood); "a dry stalk; a chip of wood" (Souter); something dry and light; a "chip or splinter, of the same material with the beam" (WS, 35).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from karphó (to dry up, wither)
Definition
a small dry stalk
NASB Translation
speck (6).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2595: κάρφος

κάρφος, καρφεος (καρφους), τό (from κάρφω to contract, dry up, wither), a dry stalk or twig, a straw; chaff (A. V. mote): Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41f, where it figuratively denotes a smaller fault. (Genesis 8:11; in Greek writings from Aeschylus and Herodotus down.)

Topical Lexicon
Summary of the Picture

Strong’s Greek 2595 (kárphos) paints an image of something minute and weightless—a tiny splinter, straw, or dry chaff. The word always appears in the plural “eye-log” parable of Jesus (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42). In every instance it is contrasted with δοκός (dókos, “beam”), heightening the absurdity of noticing another person’s trivial fault while harboring a massive one of one’s own.

Occurrences in the Gospels

Matthew 7:3—“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?”
Matthew 7:4
Matthew 7:5
Luke 6:41
Luke 6:42 (twice)

The Matthean setting is the Sermon on the Mount; Luke records a parallel message in the Sermon on the Plain. Both sermons emphasize kingdom ethics, stressing inward righteousness over outward show.

Historical and Cultural Setting

Carpenters, farmers, and householders in first-century Galilee would know the irritation of a bit of chaff blowing into the eye or a wood sliver lodged under the eyelid. Jesus, raised in Joseph’s carpenter shop, selected an everyday nuisance to illustrate a spiritual danger. The humor of a man with a rafter protruding from his eye volunteering ophthalmic help for someone else would have been evident to His listeners.

Theological Themes

1. Hypocrisy Unmasked: The contrast between speck and beam exposes self-deception (Matthew 7:5). Small sins in others seem large when one is blind to personal rebellion.
2. True Judgment Begins at Home: Self-examination precedes helpful correction (1 Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 6:1).
3. Mutual Care, Not Mutual Suspicion: After removal of the “beam,” the disciple is equipped to serve his brother. Jesus does not forbid discernment; He forbids censoriousness.

Old Testament Echoes

Though κάρφος itself is absent from the Septuagint, the imagery recalls passages where chaff or straw symbolizes what is valueless or fleeting (Job 21:18; Psalm 1:4; Isaiah 40:24). Such background reinforces the insignificance of the brother’s fault compared with one’s own unaddressed iniquity.

Ministry Applications

• Pastoral Counseling: Encourage believers to confront hidden sin before addressing another’s shortcomings.
• Church Discipline: Matthew 18:15-17 assumes participants who have already dealt with personal beams.
• Evangelism: Humility about personal rescue from sin lends credibility to a call for repentance.

Related New Testament Parallels

Romans 2:1 warns that judging others while practicing the same deeds invites divine judgment. James 4:11-12 counsels against speaking evil of a brother. These passages complement the speck-beam lesson by rooting right judgment in humility and love.

Preaching and Teaching Pointers

1. Illustrate with modern annoyances (e.g., a contact lens irritation) to bridge the imagery.
2. Emphasize both halves of the command: remove your beam; then help your brother.
3. Anchor application in the gospel—only the Cross supplies the grace to see and remove personal sin.

Practical Takeaway

Before any believer presumes to perform spiritual eye surgery on another, the mirror of Scripture must first expose the surgeon’s own impediment. Once grace has cleared the vision, the same grace motivates gentle restoration, fulfilling the law of Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
καρφος κάρφος κασία κασσιτέρινον κασσίτερον κασσίτερος κασσιτέρου κασσιτέρω karphos kárphos
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 7:3 N-ANS
GRK: βλέπεις τὸ κάρφος τὸ ἐν
NAS: do you look at the speck that is in your brother's
KJV: beholdest thou the mote that is in
INT: look you on the speck that [is] in

Matthew 7:4 N-ANS
GRK: ἐκβάλω τὸ κάρφος ἐκ τοῦ
NAS: me take the speck out of your eye,'
KJV: Let me pull out the mote out of thine
INT: [that] I might cast out the speck from the

Matthew 7:5 N-ANS
GRK: ἐκβαλεῖν τὸ κάρφος ἐκ τοῦ
NAS: to take the speck out of your brother's
KJV: to cast out the mote out of
INT: to cast out the speck out of the

Luke 6:41 N-ANS
GRK: βλέπεις τὸ κάρφος τὸ ἐν
NAS: do you look at the speck that is in your brother's
KJV: beholdest thou the mote that is in
INT: look you on the speck that [is] in

Luke 6:42 N-ANS
GRK: ἐκβάλω τὸ κάρφος τὸ ἐν
NAS: me take out the speck that is in your eye,'
KJV: pull out the mote that is in
INT: I might cast out the speck that [is] in

Luke 6:42 N-ANS
GRK: διαβλέψεις τὸ κάρφος τὸ ἐν
NAS: to take out the speck that is in your brother's
KJV: to pull out the mote that is in
INT: you will see clearly the speck that [is] in

Strong's Greek 2595
6 Occurrences


κάρφος — 6 Occ.

2594
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