← G1437 G1439 →

ἑαυτοῦ

heautoû

G1438 reflexive pronoun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the clause (himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself, ourselves, yourselves), often used to emphasize the subject's own action or possession. Can signal ownership or association ('one's own'), or, with prepositions, denote the agent performing the action upon themselves.

Semantic Range

himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself, ourselves, yourselves; one's own, their own, our own; reflexive reference to the subject; emphasis on the subject's agency or possession

Root / Etymology

Reflexive form built on the stem αὐτ- (“self”), with the prefix ἑ- marking reflexivity. Formed by combining the prefix ἑ- with αὐτὸς (replacing the initial vowel a- with e-), producing a reflexive pronoun. No direct derivation from other Greek terms; constructed within Greek pronominal system.

Historical & Contextual Notes

ἑαυτοῦ and its inflected forms function only as reflexive pronouns in Koine Greek, referring back to the grammatical subject, unlike αὐτός, which serves as both pronoun and intensive. The forms vary in case, gender, and number matching the subject. In the New Testament and Septuagint, ἑαυτοῦ occurs in singular and plural, masculine, feminine, and neuter, and with personal pronouns for additional clarity ('I myself', 'we ourselves'). The use of ἑαυτοῦ was already developed in Classical Greek, with more varied and sometimes periphrastic reflexive usage in Homeric and early literature. In Koine Greek, the genitive, dative, and accusative of ἑαυτοῦ replaced older reflexive forms, sometimes even standing for direct objects when the subject and object are the same entity. English translations (e.g., 'himself', 'themselves', 'your own', etc.) do not always convey the full force or nuance of self-reference, especially where emphasis or possessiveness is present.

Translation Consistency

primary "self" 0 occurrences

ἑαυτοῦ is a reflexive form; the neutral base "self" captures reflexivity and emphasis and can be inflected to yield English reflexive pronouns (himself, themselves, yourself, ourselves) or possessive senses (one's own) consistently and naturally across contexts.

Alternatives (317 occurrences):
"themselves" (160x) "yourselves" (53x) "himself" (32x) "oneself" (31x) "own" (16x) "herself" (9x) "itself" (8x) "ourselves" (4x) "than" (2x) "another" (2x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a reflexive pronoun otherwise obsolete and the genitive case (dative case or accusative case) of αὐτός; him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etc.:--alone, her (own, -self), (he) himself, his (own), itself, one (to) another, our (thine) own(-selves), + that she had, their (own, own selves), (of) them(-selves), they, thyself, you, your (own, own conceits, own selves, -selves).

Root Family

ἑαυτοῦ (heautou) — self, own, oneself

Root αὐτ- self, own, oneself

Word Forms

11 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1438-09 ἑαυτῶν eauton PRO.X 3P GEN M PL himself of themselves of themselves 109
G1438-11 ἑαυτοὺς eautous PRO.X 3P ACC M PL themselves themselves themselves 63
G1438-08 ἑαυτοῖς eautois PRO.X 2P DAT M PL themselves to yourselves themselves 51
G1438-10 ἑαυτοῦ eautou PRO.X 3P GEN N SG own of oneself of oneself 45
G1438-07 ἑαυτῷ eauto PRO.X 3P DAT M SG himself to himself to himself 28
G1438-06 ἑαυτῆς eautes PRO.X 3P GEN F SG itself of herself of herself 7
G1438-05 ἑαυτὴν eauten PRO.X 3P ACC F SG itself herself itself 7
G1438-03 ἑαυτάς eautas PRO.X 3P ACC F PL themselves themselves themselves 4
G1438-04 ἑαυτῇ eaute PRO.X 3P DAT F SG herself to herself to herself 2
G1438-02 ἑαυταῖς eautais PRO.X 2P DAT F PL for yourselves to yourselves for yourselves 1

Occurrences in Scripture

318 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1438-08 Matthew 3:9 ἑαυτοῖς eautois PRO.X 2P DAT M PL yourselves to yourselves yourselves
G1438-06 Matthew 6:34 ἑαυτῆς eautes PRO.X 3P GEN F SG itself of herself of itself
G1438-09 Matthew 8:22 ἑαυτῶν eauton PRO.X 3P GEN M PL their of themselves own
G1438-08 Matthew 9:3 ἑαυτοῖς eautois PRO.X 3P DAT M PL themselves to yourselves to themselves
G1438-04 Matthew 9:21 ἑαυτῇ eaute PRO.X 3P DAT F SG herself to herself to herself
G1438-06 Matthew 12:25 ἑαυτῆς eautes PRO.X 3P GEN F SG itself of herself itself
G1438-06 Matthew 12:25 ἑαυτῆς eautes-2 PRO.X 3P GEN F SG itself of herself itself
G1438-09 Matthew 12:26 ἑαυτὸν eauton PRO.X 3P ACC M SG himself of themselves of themselves
G1438-10 Matthew 12:45 ἑαυτοῦ eautou PRO.X 3P GEN N SG itself of oneself of oneself
G1438-10 Matthew 12:45 ἑαυτοῦ eautou-2 PRO.X 3P GEN N SG than itself of oneself than himself
← G1437 Greek Lexicon G1439 →