Lexicon :: Strong's G846 - autos

αὐτός, -ή, -ό, 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 (αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἠκούσαμεν we ourselves, opposed to witnesses whose testimony could have been taken); John 2:25 (αὐτὸς 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), Luke 11:52; 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 καὶ 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 καὶ 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 καὶ αὐτὴ συνειληφυῖα υἱόν thy kinswoman herself also, i. e. as well as thou); Matthew 27:57 (ὅς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμαθήτευσε [L T Tr WH text -τεύθη] τῷ Ἰησοῦ); Luke 23:51 [R G]; Mark 15:43; Acts 8:13 (ὁ δὲ Σίμων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίστευσε); Acts 15:32; 21:24; 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 (αὐτοὶ 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 (καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγώ I of myself also, not only assured by report, cf. Rom 1:8); 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; αὐτοὶ 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; αὐτὸς Ἰησοῦς, opposed to those who believed on him on account of his miracles, John 2:24; Jesus himself, not others only, John 4:44; αὐτ. Δαυείδ, 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; αὐτὸς ὁ Σατανᾶς, opposed to his ministers, 2 Corinthians 11:14; αὐτὸς ὁ θεός, God himself, not another, Revelation 21:3; αὐτὰ τὰ 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 (αὐτὸς καὶ 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 (τὶ ποιεῖ καὶ ζητεῖ αὐτός [L Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading αὐτό]); 1 Corinthians 3:15 (τινὸς τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, αὐτὸς δὲ σωθήσεται); Luke 24:15 (αὐτὸς (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 (διὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτά [WH marginal reading αὐτοῦ]); Romans 7:25 (αὐτὸς ἐγώ I alone, unaided by the Spirit of Christ; cf. Romans 8:2); 2 Corinthians 12:13 (αὐτὸς ἐγώ, unlike the other preachers of the gospel); Revelation 19:12; cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 733 iii.; Matthew § 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 (αὐτὸς σώσει HE and no other); Matthew 5:4-10 (αὐτοί); Matt 6:4 [R G]; Matt 17:5 (αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε); Luke 6:35; Luke 17:16; Luke 24:21; John 9:21 (αὐτὸς [T Tr WH omit]... αὐτὸν... 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 (αὐτὸς δὲ Ἰωάννης now he, whom I spoke of, John); Mark 6:17 (αὐτὸς γὰρ Ἡρώδης); Romans 8:16 (αὐτὸ τὸ 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, αὐτὸς 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 (αὐτὸς 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); αὐτὰ τὰ ἔργα, John 5:36; often in Luke ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ or ὥρᾳ, 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 αὐτὸ τοῦτο this very thing: Galatians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Philippians 1:6; εἰς αὐτὸ 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 αὐτὸ τοῦτο, 2 Peter 1:5 [Lachmann reads here αὐτοί].
d. even, Latin vel, adeo (in Homer; cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 733 ii.): καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ κτίσις, Romans 8:21; οὐδὲ ἡ φύσις αὐτή, 1 Corinthians 11:14; καὶ [Tr omits; L WH brackets καὶ] αὐτὸς ὁ υἱός, 1 Corinthians 15:28; καὶ αὐτὴ 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 τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους, Romans 1:20; or after prepositions, ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ, etc.; or where it indicates the possessor, ὁ πατὴρ 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; ἀφεὶς αὐτούς, Matthew 26:44; ἦν διανεύων αὐτοῖς, Luke 1:22; οὐκ εἴα αὐτὰ λαλεῖν, Luke 4:41; ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ 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 αὐτοὶ 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 αὐτή 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 δὲ αὐτῷ [L Tr WH genitive absolutely] ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ); Matthew 4:16; Matthew 5:40; Matthew 8:23, 28 [R G]; Matt 9:28; 25:29 (ἀπὸ [ommitted by L T Tr WH] τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος... ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ); Matt 26:71 [R G L brackets T]; Mark 5:2 [R G]; Mark 9:28 [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 εἴχετὸ 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 οὐδεὶς 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 ἐπιφοιτῶσι αὐτοῖς τὰς λοιπὰς πόλεις πύλαι ἀνοίγνυντο. But to this construction must not be referred Matthew 3:12 οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, nor 1 Peter 2:24 ὅς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς 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 τὴν 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 πολλοὶ καὶ 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 βουλῇ 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 τὴν διαθήκην τὴν πρώτην); Luke 2:22 (τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν, of the purification prescribed by the law of Moses to women in child-bed); John 8:44 (ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ, i. e. of the liar; cf. Baumg.-Crusius and Meyer at the passage). By this rather careless use of the pronoun it came 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 καὶ αὐτός; as, Luke 17:31; Acts 3:13 (ὅν ὑμεῖς παρεδώκατε καὶ ἠρνήσασθε αὐτόν [L T WH omit; Tr brackets αὐτόν]); 1 Corinthians 8:6 (ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, for καὶ 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, p. 304.
III. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό, with the article, the same;
1. without a noun: ὁ αὐτός, immutable, Hebrews 1:12; Hebrews 13:8 (Thucydides 2, 61); τὸ 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). τὰ αὐτά: Acts 15:27; Romans 2:1; Ephesians 6:9. ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό [Rec.^st passim ἐπιτοαυτό] (Hesychius ὁμοῦ, ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν 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; 3 Macc. 3:1; Susanna 14); together: Luke 17:35; Acts 3:1 [L T Tr WH join it to Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 7:5]; κατὰ τὸ 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 καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ 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 (τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον); Luke 6:38 [R G L marginal reading] (τῷ αὐτῷ μέτρῳ); Philippians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ νοὶ); 1 Corinthians 12:4 (τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα), etc. τὰ αὐτά (with the force of a substantive: the same kind) τῶν παθημάτων, 1 Peter 5:9. [Cf. ταὐτά.]

Related entry:

[ἐπιτοαυτό, Rec.^st in Acts 1:15; Acts 2:1; etc.; see αὐτός, III. 1, and cf. Lipsius, Gramm. Unters. p. 125f.]