Original Word: φθορά
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: phthora
Pronunciation: fthor-ah'
Phonetic Spelling: (fthor-ah')
KJV: corruption, destroy, perish
NASB: corruption, perishable, destruction, killed, perish
Word Origin: [from G5351 (φθείρω - corrupted)]

1. decay, i.e. ruin (spontaneous or inflicted)
{literally or figuratively}

corruption, destroy, perish.

From phtheiro; decay, i.e. Ruin (spontaneous or inflicted, literally or figuratively) -- corruption, destroy, perish.

see GREEK phtheiro

Cognate: 5356 phthorá (from 5351 /phtheírō) – destruction from internal corruption (deterioration, decay); "rottenness, perishableness, corruption, decay, decomposition" (Souter). See 5351 (phteírō).

Word Origin
from phtheiró
Definition
destruction, corruption
NASB Translation
corruption (4), destruction (1), killed (1), perish (1), perishable (2).

STRONGS NT 5356: φθορά

φθορά, φθορᾶς, ἡ (φθείρω), from Aeschylus and Herodotus down:

1. corruption, destruction, perishing (opposed to γένεσις, origin, often in Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch; opposed to σωτηρία, Plato, Phileb., p. 35 e.; for שַׁחַת, Psalm 102:4 (); Jonah 2:7): Romans 8:21 (on which see δουλεία); 2 Peter 2:12a (some (cf. R. V. marginal reading) take φθορά here actively: εἰς φθοράν, to destroy); ἐν φθορά, in a state of corruption or decomposition (of the body at burial), 1 Corinthians 15:42; by metonymy, that which is subject to corruption, what is perishable, opposed to ἀφθαρσία, 1 Corinthians 15:50; in the Christian sense, the loss of salvation, eternal misery (which elsewhere is called ἀπώλεια), Colossians 2:22 (see ἀπόχρησις); opposed to ζωή αἰώνιος, Galatians 6:8, cf. Schott ad loc. 2. in the N. T. in an ethical sense, corruption i. e. moral decay: 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 2:12{b} (some take the word here actively (R. V. text in their destroying), others refer it to 1 above), 2 Peter 2:19; with τῆς ζωῆς added, Wis. 14:12.

Overview

In the New Testament the idea conveyed by Strong’s 5356 centers on the inevitable disintegration that marks fallen creation—whether physical, moral, or societal—and on the promise that God in Christ will ultimately overturn that ruin. The word groups every appearance of natural decay, ethical degeneration, and judicial destruction under a single concept that powerfully underscores humanity’s need for redemption and the cosmos’ longing for renewal.

Physical and Cosmic Decay

Paul twice uses the term in 1 Corinthians 15 to describe the mortality that clings to the present body in contrast to the glory of the resurrection body. “What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42). Because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (15:50), the Christian hope is not the reform of the old creation but its transformation.

Likewise Romans 8:21 expands the scope from the individual body to the entire created order: “Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The decay of the universe is tied to Adam’s fall; its liberation is tied to the manifestation of the sons of God.

Moral and Spiritual Corruption

Galatians 6:8 applies the same word to ethical consequence: “The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.” Here corruption is not merely physical but moral destiny; indulgence of the flesh produces a harvest consistent with its nature.

Peter seizes on this ethical dimension in 2 Peter 1:4. Through God’s promises believers “have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Liberation from decay is already at work in the moral realm whenever the believer partakes of the divine nature. In Colossians 2:22 Paul adds that human regulations, though appearing pious, end in corruption because they lack the life-giving power of Christ.

False Teachers and Inevitable Ruin

The heaviest concentration of the term appears in 2 Peter 2, where the apostle depicts counterfeit teachers:
• “Like irrational animals… they too will perish in their corruption” (2 Peter 2:12).
• “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corruption” (2 Peter 2:19).

The passage teaches that a corrupt message both springs from and leads to corruption. The doom of such teachers illustrates divine justice; their fate is an object lesson to the church that departure from apostolic truth ends in ruin.

Contrast with the Incorruptible

Every reference implicitly or explicitly sets corruption over against something incorruptible: resurrection glory, eternal life, divine nature, Christ’s kingdom. The term therefore functions as a foil to magnify the permanence, purity, and power of God’s work. The believer’s inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4)—a direct reversal of the realm described by 5356.

Pastoral and Ministerial Significance

1. Hope in Suffering: Teaching on resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) consoles those facing mortality.
2. Ethical Urgency: Galatians 6:8 presses congregations to sow to the Spirit, reminding them that moral choices have eternal trajectories.
3. Discernment: Peter’s warnings equip elders to identify and oppose doctrines that mask slavery to sin under the rhetoric of liberty.
4. Creation Care and Eschatology: Romans 8:21 frames ecological concern within the greater hope of cosmic redemption, urging Christians to steward creation while longing for its final emancipation.
5. Sanctification: 2 Peter 1:4 encourages believers that escape from corruption is not merely future but operative now through union with Christ.

Historical and Theological Reflection

Early patristic writers (e.g., Irenaeus, Athanasius) saw in these texts a defense against Gnostic disdain for the material world: the doctrine of resurrection affirms that God will rescue the body from decay, not abandon it. Medieval and Reformation theologians highlighted the word in discussions on original sin, emphasizing that corruption pervades human nature apart from grace. Modern scholarship continues to view 5356 as a key term linking anthropology, cosmology, and soteriology.

Key References

• 1 Corinthians 15:42, 50
• Galatians 6:8
• Colossians 2:22
• Romans 8:21
• 2 Peter 1:4; 2:12, 19

Concluding Synthesis

Strong’s 5356 gathers into one term the frailty of the present age, the certainty of judgment on sin, and the glorious antithesis supplied by Christ. To proclaim the gospel is to announce that corruption, though universal and inevitable in Adam, has been decisively answered in the risen Lord who promises imperishability to all who believe.

φθορα φθορά φθορὰ φθορᾷ φθοραν φθοράν φθορὰν φθορας φθοράς φθορᾶς phthora phthorà phthorā̂i phthoran phthorán phthoràn phthoras phthorâsInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts