StrongerBible

hōde

ὧδε

GreekG5602here

Appears 64 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 8:29Mat 12:6Mat 12:41Mat 12:42Mat 14:8Mat 14:17Mat 14:18Mat 16:28Mat 17:4 (2×)Mat 17:17Mat 20:61Co 4:2Rev 13:10Rev 13:18Rev 14:12
Root family
Word studyHOH-dehadverb

What hōde means

1

here, in this place; the spot where the speaker is.

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary little word for "here." It points to the place where the speaker stands, as opposed to somewhere else ("there"). Most of its uses in the New Testament are exactly this plain one: the loaves they have on hand, the people standing right there, the tomb where Jesus is no longer lying.

The same word also covers motion toward that spot, the way English "here" does in "bring it here" or "come here." When it follows a verb of bringing or coming, it marks the destination rather than a fixed location. The two are really one idea, place, seen either as where something is or as where it is headed.

It often works as half of a matched pair with the word for "there," setting this place against that one: "Look, the Messiah is here, or there."

Nuances

1ain this place; where the speaker or subject is.
Mat 12:6Mat 12:41Mat 12:42Mat 14:17Mat 16:28Mat 17:4 (2×)Mat 20:6Mat 22:12Mat 24:2Mat 24:23Mat 26:38Mat 28:6
1bto this place; here as the destination after a verb of bringing or coming.
Mat 8:29Mat 14:8Mat 14:18Mat 17:17Mrk 11:3Luk 9:41Luk 14:21Luk 19:27Jhn 6:25Jhn 20:27Act 9:21Rev 4:1
2

in this case, at this point; a figurative "here" that points to a situation rather than a spot.

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintyStrong

Sometimes the word does not point to a place at all. It points to the situation at hand, the way English can say "here is the problem" or "this is where the real question lies." The writer is not gesturing at a location but at the matter under discussion.

The letter to the Hebrews uses it this way to contrast two arrangements: in this case, ordinary mortal priests collect the tithe, while in that other case the one who collects it is said to live. Paul uses it to mean "on this point" when he lays out what is required of a faithful steward.

The book of Revelation has a memorable version of this. Several times it stops the vision to say, in effect, "this is the point that calls for wisdom" or "this is what the endurance of God's people comes down to." The word marks the moment, not a map location. One related use stretches "here" to mean "here on earth": Hebrews says that here, in this passing life, we have no lasting city.

Nuances

2ain this case, at this point, on this matter.
1Co 4:2Heb 7:8Rev 13:10Rev 13:18Rev 14:12Rev 17:9
2bhere on earth; in this present, passing life.
Heb 13:14

What scholars say about hōde

The lexicons (BDAG, LSJ, Thayer) treat this as a demonstrative adverb of place built on the demonstrative stem, with a settled core sense "here, in this place." BDAG arranges the New Testament data under place (in/at this place), a directional use "to this place, hither" with verbs of motion and bringing, and a transferred use "in this case, at this point." The directional use is well attested in Koine generally and in the Septuagint, where it commonly renders the Hebrew adverb po. The transferred sense in Hebrews 7:8 (set against ekei, "there/in that case") and the recurring Revelation formula ("here is wisdom," "here is the endurance of the saints") are noted in the standard commentaries (e.g. Aune on Revelation, Attridge on Hebrews) as a rhetorical pointer to the situation rather than a location. There is no live dispute over what the word means.

Sources

  • Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG), 3rd ed., s.v. ὧδεlexicon
  • Liddell-Scott-Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ), s.v. ὧδεlexicon
  • Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. ὧδεlexicon
  • David E. Aune, Revelation, Word Biblical Commentary (1997-1998)commentary
  • Harold W. Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Hermeneia (1989)commentary

All attested forms of ὧδε

adv

ὧδε, Ὧδε, ὧδέ

Mat 8:29, Mat 12:6, Mat 12:41, Mat 12:42, Mat 14:8, Mat 14:17, Mat 14:18, Mat 16:28