ὁ

hothe/this/whoHow to read Greek
greekNew Testament19,889 occurrences27 books6,978 verses

Definition

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

I. As demonstr. pron.

1. As frequently in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Acts 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

2. Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: 1 Corinthians 7:7, Galatians 4:22; pl., Acts 14:4; 17:32, Philippians 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Matthew 16:14, John 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁδέ, Hebrews 7:21, 23.

3. In narration (without ὁ μὲν preceding), ὁ δέ, but he: Matthew 2:14, Mark 1:45, Luke 8:21, John 9:38, al. mult.

II. As prepositive article, the, prefixed,

1. to nouns unmodified: ὁ θεός, τὸ φῶς, etc.; to abstract nouns, ἡ σοφία, etc., to pl. nouns which indicate a class, οἱ ἀλώπεκες, foxes, Matthew 8:20, al.; to an individual as representing a class, ὁ ἐργάτης, Luke 10:7; with nom. = voc. in addresses, Matthew 11:26, John 19:3, James 5:1, al.; to things which pertain to one, ἡ χεῖρ, his hand, Mark 3:1; to names of persons well known or already mentioned; usually to names of countries (originally adjectives), ἡ Ἰουδαία, etc.

2. To modified nouns: with of person(s) pron. genitive, μοῦ, σοῦ, etc.; with poss. pron., ἐμός, σός, etc.; with adj. between the art. and the noun, ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος, Matthew 12:35; the noun foll, by adj., both with art., ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, John 10:11 (on ὁ ὄχλος πολύς, John 12:9, see M, Pr., 84); before adjectival phrases, ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Romans 9:11.

3. To Other parts of speech used as substantives;

(a) neuter adjectives: τ. ἀγαθόν, etc.;

(b) cardinal numerals: ὁ εἶς, οἷ δύο, etc.;

(with) participles: ὁ βαπτίζων (= ὁ Βαπτιστής, Matthew 14:2), Mark 6:14; πᾶς ὁ, with ptcp., every one who, etc.;

(d) adverbs: τὸ πέραν, τὰ νῦν, ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος;

(e) infinitives: nom., τὸ θέλειν, Romans 7:18, al.; genitive, τοῦ, after adjectives, ἄξιον τοῦ πορεύεσθαι, 1 Corinthians 16:4; verbs, ἐλαχεν τοῦ θυμιᾶσαι, Luke 1:9; and frequently in a final sense, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρειν, Matthew 13:3 (on the artic. inf., see Bl., §71).

4. In the neut. to sentences, phrases or single words treated as a quotation: τὸ Ἐι δύνῃ, Mark 9:23; τὸ ἔτι ἅπαξ, Hebrews 12:27; τὸ ἀνέβη, Ephesians 4:9, al.

5. To prepositional phrases: οἱ ἀπὸ Ἰταλίας, Hebrews 13:24; οἱ ἐκ νόμου, Romans 4:14; neut. accusative absol., in adverbial phrases, τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, daily, Luke 11:3; τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, as regards the flesh, Romans 9:5.

6. To nouns in the genitive, denoting kinship, association, etc.: ὁ τοῦ, the son of (unless context indicates a different relationship), Matthew 10:2, al.; τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, the things that pertain to God, Matthew 16:23; τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης, Romans 14:19 (cf. M, Pr., 81ff.; Bl, §§46, 47).

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

19,889 total
  1. Acts 12:1ὁ; τὰς; τῶν · who; τῆς · the
    About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
  2. Acts 12:2τὸν · the
    He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
  3. Acts 12:3τοῖς · the; αἱ · the; τῶν
    And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
  4. Acts 12:4τὸ · the; τῷ · to the
    He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
  5. Acts 12:5Ὁ; τῇ; τῆς · the; τὸν
    So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
  6. Acts 12:6ὁ; τῇ · On; ὁ; τῆς · the; τὴν · to the
    On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
  7. Acts 12:7τῷ · the; τὴν · on the; τοῦ; αἱ · the; τῶν · [his]
    Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
  8. Acts 12:8ὁ · the; τὰ; τὸ
    “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
  9. Acts 12:9τὸ · what; τοῦ · the
    So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
  10. Acts 12:10τὴν · the; τὴν; τὴν; τὴν · the; ὁ · the
    They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
  11. Acts 12:11ὁ; ὁ · the; τὸν; τῆς; τοῦ; τῶν · the
    Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
  12. Acts 12:12τὴν · the; τῆς · of; τῆς · the; τοῦ · [also]
    And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
  13. Acts 12:13τὴν · [at] the; τοῦ
    He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
  14. Acts 12:14τὴν; τοῦ; τῆς; τὸν · the
    When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”