ὅστις

hóstis

who

Relative pronoun indicating indefinite or general reference, often translated as 'whoever', 'anyone who', or 'those who'. The core meaning is: someone or something (persons or things) which, whoever, whichever, whatever, anyone/anything that, those who/which. In contexts, it functions to introduce a general condition, open category, or to emphasize the indefinite nature of the antecedent. In legal, proverbial, or ethical sayings in Koine, ὅστις is often used in contrast to a simple relative pronoun (ὅς) to underline generalized or hypothetical reference.

G3748

Matthew 2:6 · Word #18

Lexicon G3748

Lemmaὅστις
Transliterationhóstis
Strong'sG3748
DefinitionRelative pronoun indicating indefinite or general reference, often translated as 'whoever', 'anyone who', or 'those who'. The core meaning is: someone or something (persons or things) which, whoever, whichever, whatever, anyone/anything that, those who/which. In contexts, it functions to introduce a general condition, open category, or to emphasize the indefinite nature of the antecedent. In legal, proverbial, or ethical sayings in Koine, ὅστις is often used in contrast to a simple relative pronoun (ὅς) to underline generalized or hypothetical reference.

Morphology PRO.R NOM M SG All morphology codes

Part of Speech PRO.R — Relative Pronoun — Introduces relative clauses
Case NOM — Nominative — The subject of the sentence
Gender M — Masculine — Grammatical masculine
Number SG — Singular — One

Common Translation

Phrasewho
Literalwho-ever

Lexical Info

Lemmaὅστις
Strong'sG3748

SIBI-P1 Translation G3748-05

whoever

Morphological NotesRelative pronoun; nominative, masculine, singular (Gr,RR,,,,NMS); indefinite/generalizing form.
Rendering Rationale"Whoever" preserves the indefinite and generalizing force of ὅστις, distinguishing it from a simple "who." The nominative masculine singular form naturally functions as a general subject, which English "whoever" conveys.

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