STRONGS NUMBER G846

Original Word: αὐτός
Transliteration: autos
Phonetic Spelling: (ow-tos')
Part of Speech: Personal Pronoun
Short Definition: (1) self (emphatic) (2) he, she, it (used for the third person pronoun) (3) the same
Meaning: self, he, she, it, the sameherself, himself, itself, he, she, it, same

From the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of aer through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative heautou) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons -- her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which. Compare hautou.

see GREEK aer

see GREEK heautou

see GREEK hautou

STRONGS NT 846: αὐτός

αὐτός, αὐτῇ, αὐτό, pronoun ("derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be supplied." Klotz ad Devar. ii., p. 219; (see Vanicek, p. 268)). It is used by the Biblical writings both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from secular authors; cf. Buttmann, § 127, 9. (On classic usage cf. Hermann, Opuscc. i. 308ff, of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger, pp. 732-736.)

I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence.

1. When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is added a. to the subjects implied in the verb, the personal pronouns ἐγώ, ἡμεῖς, σύ, etc., being omitted: Luke 5:37 (αὐτός ἐκχυθήσεται the wine, as opposed to the skins); Luke 22:71 (αὐτοί γάρ ἠκούσαμεν we ourselves, opposed to witnesses whose testimony could have been taken); John 2:25 (αὐτός ἐγίνωσκεν, opposed to testimony he might have called for); John 4:42 (we ourselves, not thou only); John 9:21 (T Tr WH omit); Acts 18:15 (ὄψεσθε αὐτοί); Acts 20:34; Acts 22:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:9, etc.; with a negative added, 'he does not himself do this or that,' i. e. he leaves it to others: Luke 6:42 (αὐτός, viz., thou, οὐ βλέπων); Luke 11:46 (αὐτοί, viz., ye, οὐ προσψαύετε), ; John 18:28; 3 John 1:10. With the addition of καί to indicate that a thing is ascribed to one equally with others: Luke 14:12 (μήποτε καί αὐτοί σε ἀντικαλέσωσι); Luke 16:28; Acts 2:22 (G L T Tr WH omit καί); John 4:45; John 17:19, 21; Philippians 2:24, etc. In other passages καί αὐτός is added to a subject expressly mentioned, and is placed after it; and in translation may be joined to the predicate and rendered likewise: Luke 1:36 (ἡ συγγενής σου καί αὐτῇ συνειληφυῖα υἱόν thy kinswoman herself also, i. e. as well as thou); Matthew 27:57 (ὅς καί αὐτός ἐμαθήτευσε (L T Tr WH text ἐμαθητεουθη) τῷ Ἰησοῦ); Luke 23:51 (R G); Mark 15:43; Acts 8:13 (ὁ δέ Σίμων καί αὐτός ἀπιστευσε); ; 1 John 2:6; Galatians 2:17; Hebrews 13:3.

b. it is added to subjects expressed, whether to pronouns personal or demonstrative, or to nouns proper or common: John 3:28 (αὐτοί ὑμεῖς ye yourselves bear witness, not only have I affirmed); Acts 20:30 (ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν from among your own selves, not only from other quarters); Romans 15:14 (καί αὐτός ἐγώ I of myself also, not only assured by report, cf. ); 1 Corinthians 5:13 (ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν from your own society, opposed to them that are without, of whose character God must be the judge); 1 Corinthians 7:35; 1 Corinthians 11:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; αὐτοί οὗτοι, Acts 24:20; αὐτοῦ τούτου (masculine), Acts 25:25; Ἰησοῦς αὐτός Jesus himself, personally, opposed to those who baptized by his command, John 4:2; αὐτός Ἰησοῦς, opposed to those who believed on him on account of his miracles, John 2:24; Jesus himself, not others only, John 4:44; αὐτός Δαυίδ, opposed to the doctors of the law, whose decision did not seem quite to agree with the words of David, Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; αὐτός ὁ Σατανς, opposed to his ministers, 2 Corinthians 11:14; αὐτός ὁ Θεός, God himself, not another, Revelation 21:3; αὐτά τά ἐπουράνια, the heavenly things themselves (i. e. sanctuary), opposed to its copies, Hebrews 9:23 (see ἐπουράνιος, 1 c.).

c. it is used to distinguish one not only from his companions, disciples, servants — as Mark 2:25 (αὐτός καί οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ); John 2:12; John 4:53; John 18:1 — but also from things done by him or belonging to him, as John 7:4 (τί ποιεῖ καί ζητεῖ αὐτός (L Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading αὐτό)); 1 Corinthians 3:15 (τίνος τό ἔργον κατακαήσεται, αὐτός δέ σωθήσεται); Luke 24:15 (αὐτός (ὁ) Ἰησοῦς, Jesus himself in person, opposed to their previous conversation about him).

d. self to the exclusion of others, i. e. he etc. alone, by oneself: Mark 6:31 (ὑμεῖς αὐτοί ye alone, unattended by any of the people; cf. Fritzsche at the passage); John 14:11 (διά τά ἔργα αὐτά (WH marginal reading αὐτοῦ)); Romans 7:25 (αὐτός ἐγώ I alone, unaided by the Spirit of Christ; cf. Romans 8:2); 2 Corinthians 12:13 (αὐτός ἐγώ, unlike the other preachers of the gospel); Revelation 19:12; cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 733 iii.; Matth. § 467, 5; Kühner, § 468 Anm. 2; (Jelf, § 656, 3); with the addition of μόνος (as often in Attic writings): John 6:15.

e. self not prompted or influenced by another, i. e. of oneself of one's own accord: John 16:27 (so even Homer, Iliad 17, 254; and among Attic writings especially Xenophon). 2. When it gives Prominence, it answers a. to our emphatic he, she, it: Matthew 1:21 (αὐτός σώσει HE and no other); Matthew 5:4-10 (αὐτοί); (R G); (αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε); Luke 6:35; Luke 17:16; Luke 24:21; John 9:21 (αὐτός (T Tr WH omit) ... αὐτόν ... αὐτός); Acts 10:42 (L text Tr text WH οὗτος); Galatians 4:17 (αὐτούς); Ephesians 2:10 (αὐτοῦ); Colossians 1:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:5; James 2:6f. So in Greek writings also from Homer down; cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 734 v. It is used with the same force after relative sentences, where Greek prose uses οὗτος: Matthew 12:50 (ὅστις ἄν ποιήσῃ ..., αὐτός μου ἀδελφός ἐστιν, where in Mark 3:35 οὗτος); Matthew 26:48; Mark 14:44; cf. Buttmann, 107f (94f). Less emphatically, αὐτός is put before subjects, serving to recall them again: Matthew 3:4 (αὐτός δέ Ἰωάννης now he, whom I spoke of, John); Mark 6:17 (αὐτός γάρ Ἡρῴδης); Romans 8:16 (αὐτό τό πνεῦμα).

b. it points out some one as chief, leader, master of the rest (often so in Greek, as in the well-known phrase of the Pythagoreans, αὐτός ἔφα (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 22, 3, 4 and, p. 150 (142))): of Christ, Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:38; Mark 6:47; Mark 8:29; Luke 5:16; Luke 9:51; Luke 10:38; of God, Luke 6:35; Hebrews 13:5; 1 John 4:19 (not Lachmann).

c. it answers to our very, just, exactly (German eben,gerade): Romans 9:3 (αὐτός ἐγώ I myself, the very man who seems to be inimical to the Israelites); 2 Corinthians 10:1 (I myself, who bore myself lowly in your presence, as ye said); αὐτά τά ἔργα, John 5:36; often in Luke ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρα or ὥρα, αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ, in that very day, hour, season: Luke 2:38; Luke 10:21; Luke 12:12; Luke 13:1, 31; Luke 20:19; Luke 23:12; Luke 24:13, 33; Acts 16:18. In the writings of Paul αὐτό τοῦτο this very thing: Galatians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Philippians 1:6; εἰς αὐτό τοῦτο for this very purpose, on this very account: Romans 9:17; Romans 13:6; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 6:22; Colossians 4:8; and in the same sense (for this very thing) the simple accusative (as in Attic, cf. Matth. § 470, 7; Kühner, 2:267 Anm. 6; Winer's Grammar, § 21 N. 2) τοῦτο αὐτό, 2 Corinthians 2:3 (but see Meyer at the passage), and αὐτό τοῦτο, 2 Peter 1:5 (Lachmann reads here αὐτοί).

d. even, Latinvel,adeo (in Homer; cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 733 ii.): καί αὐτῇ ἡ κτίσις, Romans 8:21; οὐδέ ἡ φύσις αὐτῇ, 1 Corinthians 11:14; καί (Tr omits; L WH brackets καί) αὐτός ὁ υἱός, 1 Corinthians 15:28; καί αὐτῇ Σάρρα even Sarah herself, although a feeble old woman, Hebrews 11:11 (yet WH marginal reading reads the dative αὐτῇ Σάρρα; see καταβολή, 1).

II. αὐτός has the force of a simple personal pronoun of the third person, answering to our unemphatic he, she, it; and that 1. as in classic Greek, in the oblique cases, him, her, it, them, etc.: numberless instances — as in the genitive absolute, e. g. αὐτοῦ ἐλθόντος, λαλήσαντος, etc.; or in the accusative with infinitive, εἰς τό εἶναι αὐτούς ἀναπολογήτους, Romans 1:20; or after prepositions, ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ, etc.; or where it indicates the possessor, ὁ πατήρ αὐτοῦ; or a person as the (direct or indirect) object of an active verb, as ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ, Matthew 7:9; ἀσπάσασθε αὐτήν, Matthew 10:12; ἀφείς αὐτούς, Matthew 26:44; ἦν διανεύων αὐτοῖς, Luke 1:22; οὐκ εἴα αὐτά λαλεῖν, Luke 4:41; ἡ σκοτία αὐτό οὐ κατέλαβε, John 1:5. But see αὑτοῦ below. 2. Contrary to Greek usage, in the N. T. even in the nominative it is put for a simple personal pronoun of the third person, where the Greeks say οὗτος or ὁ δέ, or use no pronoun at all. This has been convincingly shown by Buttmann, 107ff (93ff); and yet some of the examples adduced by him are not decisive, but either must be or can be referred to the usage illustrated under I. 1; — those in which αὐτός is used of Christ, apparently to I. 1 b. But, in my opinion, the question is settled even by the following: αὐτός, Matthew 14:2; Mark 14:15; Luke 1:22; Luke 15:14; so too in the Sept. (cf. Thiersch, De Pentat. vers. Alex., p. 98); Sir. 49:7; Tobit 6:11; αὐτοί, Mark 2:8 (οὕτως αὐτοί διαλογίζονται in Griesbach); Luke 9:36; Luke 14:1; Luke 22:23; αὐτό, Luke 11:14 (Tr marginal reading WH omits; Tr text brackets). Whether αὐτῇ and αὐταί also are so used, is doubtful; cf. Buttmann, 109 (95).

3. Sometimes in the oblique cases the pronoun is omitted, being evident from the context: Mark 6:5 (ἐπιθείς, namely, αὐτοῖς); John 3:34 (δίδωσι, namely, αὐτῷ); John 10:29 (δέδωκέ μοι, namely, αὐτούς); Acts 13:3 (ἀπέλυσαν, namely, αὐτούς); Revelation 18:21 (ἔβαλεν, namely, αὐτόν), etc.

4. Not infrequently αὐτός in the oblique cases is added to the verb, although the case belonging to this very verb has preceded: Matthew 8:1 (Καταβάντι δέ αὐτῷ (L Tr WH genitive absolutely) ἀπό τόν ὄρους ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ); Matthew 4:16; Matthew 5:40; Matthew 8:23, 28 (R G); (ἀπό (om. by L T Tr WH) τοῦ μή ἔχοντος ... ἀπ' αὐτοῦ); (R G L brackets T); Mark 5:2 (R G); (R G); John 15:2 (πᾶν κλῆμα ... αἴρει αὐτό); Acts 7:21 (R G); James 4:17; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 6:4 (L Tr marginal reading brackets); cf. Winers Grammar, § 22, 4 a.; Buttmann, 142 (125). Doubtless the writer, while writing the earlier words with the intention of joining them to the leading verb to follow, marked off these very words as a clause by themselves, as if they formed a protasis; and so, when he came to the leading verb, he construed it just as though it were to form an apodosis.

5. By a Hebraism αὐτός is used redundantly in relative sentences: ἧς εἴχετο θυγάτριον αὐτῆς, Mark 7:25; οὗ τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ, 1 Peter 2:24 (R G T, but Tr marginal reading brackets αὐτοῦ); especially in the Apocalypse: ἥν οὐδείς δύναται κλεῖσαι αὐτήν, Revelation 3:8 (according to the true text); οἷς ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, Revelation 7:2; add Revelation 7:9; Revelation 13:12; Revelation 17:9; far more often in the Sept.; rare in Greek writings (from Callimachus () epistle 44); cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 709; (Buttmann, § 143, 1); Winers Grammar, § 22, 4 b. where add to the examples Herodian, 8, 6, 10 (5 Bekker) οἷς ἐπιφοιτωσι αὐτοῖς τάς λοιπάς πόλεις πύλαι ἀνοιγνυντο. But to this construction must not be referred Matthew 3:12 οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ, nor 1 Peter 2:24 ὅς τάς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτός ἀνήνεγκεν. For in the latter passage αὐτός is in contrast with us, who must otherwise have paid the penalty of our sins; and in the former the sense is, 'he holds his winnowing-shovel in his hand.'

6. Very often αὐτός is used rather laxly, where the subject or the object to which it must be referred is not expressly indicated, but must be gathered especially from some preceding name of a province or city, or from the context: Matthew 4:23 (περιῆγεν τήν Γαλιλαίαν διδάσκων ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς αὐτῶν, i. e. of the Galilaeans); Acts 8:5 (Σαμαρείας ἐκήρυσσεν αὐτοῖς, i. e. τοῖς Σαμαρείταις); Acts 20:2 (αὐτούς, i. e. the inhabitants τῶν μερῶν ἐκείνων); 2 Corinthians 2:13 (αὐτοῖς, i. e. the Christians of Troas); Matthew 19:2 (ὄχλοι πολλοί καί ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς, i. e. their sick); 1 Peter 3:14 (φόβον αὐτῶν, i. e. of those who may be able κακῶσαι you, 1 Peter 3:13); Luke 23:51 (τῇ βουλή αὐτῶν, i. e. of those with whom he had been a βουλευτής); Hebrews 8:8 (αὐτοῖς (L T WH Tr marginal reading αὐτούς; see μέμφομαι) i. e. τοῖς ἔχουσι τήν διαθήκην τήν προωτην); Luke 2:22 (τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν. of the purification prescribed by the law of Moses to women in child-bed); John 8:44 (ψεύστης ἐστιν καί ὁ πατήρ αὐτοῦ, i. e. of the liar; cf. Baumg.-Crusius and Meyer at the passage). By this rather careless use of the pronoun it camo about that at length αὐτοί alone might be used for ἄνθρωποι: Matthew 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14, 17 (here T WH Tr marginal reading αὐτόν); cf. Winers Grammar, § 22, 3; Buttmann, § 127, 8. 7. Sometimes, in relative sentences consisting of several members, the second member is not joined to the first by the relative ὅς, but by a loose connection proceeds with καί αὐτός; as, Luke 17:31; Acts 3:13 (By ὅν ὑμεῖς παρεδώκατε καί ἠρνήσασθε αὐτόν (L T WH omit; Tr brackets αὐτόν)); 1 Corinthians 8:6 (ἐξ οὗ τά πάντα καί ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, for καί εἰς ὅν ἡμεῖς); 2 Peter 2:3. This is the usage likewise of Greek as well as of Hebrew; cf. Winers Grammar, 149 (141); (Buttmann, 283 (243)); Bernhardy (1829), p. 304.

III. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτῇ, τό αὐτό, with the article, the same;

1. without a noun: ὁ αὐτός, immutable, Hebrews 1:12; Hebrews 13:8 (Thucydides 2, 61); τό αὐτό: — ποιεῖν, Matthew 5:46 (R G T WH text, 47 L T Tr WH); Luke 6:33; λέγειν, to profess the same opinion, 1 Corinthians 1:10; ὀνειδίζειν, not in the same manner but reproached him with the same, cast on him the same reproach, Matthew 27:44 (ὀνειδίζειν τοιαῦτα, Sophocles Oed. Col. 1002). τά αὐτά: Acts 15:27; Romans 2:1; Ephesians 6:9. ἐπί τό αὐτό (Rec.st passim ἐπιτοαυτό) (Hesychius ὁμοῦ, ἐπί τόν αὐτόν τόπον), to the same place, in the same place: Matthew 22:34; Acts 1:15; Acts 2:1; 1 Corinthians 11:20; 1 Corinthians 14:23 (Psalm 2:2; 2 Samuel 2:13; 3Macc. 3:1; Susanna 14); together: Luke 17:35; Acts 3:1 (L T Tr WH join it to Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 7:5); κατά τό αὐτό (Vulg.simul), together: Acts 14:1 (for יַחַד, Exodus 26:24; 1 Kings 3:18; examples from Greek writings are given by Kypke, Observations, ii., p. 69ff). Like adjective of equality ὁ αὐτός is followed by the dative: ἕν καί τό αὐτό τῇ ἐξυρημένῃ, 1 Corinthians 11:5 (Wis. 18:11; 4 Macc. 8:5; 10:2, 13; and often in Greek writings, cf. Winer's Grammar, 150 (141)).

2. With a noun added: Matthew 26:44; Mark 14:39 (τόν αὐτόν λόγον); Luke 6:38 (R G L marginal reading) (τῷ αὐτῷ μέτρῳ); Philippians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ νοι<); 1 Corinthians 12:4 (τό δέ αὐτό πνεῦμα), etc. τά αὐτά (with the force of a substantive: the same kind) τῶν παθημάτων, 1 Peter 5:9. (Cf. ταῦτα.)